Circle of the Crayfish. 1973 PhilipsLive! 1974 Philips
Sixty Nine were a rock based instrumental organ & drums duo following in the footsteps of Hansson and Karlsson. This was something of a popular idea back in Germany during those days, and other such duos like Magma, Minus Two, and Twogether had a similar lineup / idea. Given the limitations of the small setup, it takes quite a bit of imagination and sound variation to keep things interesting. On Circle of the Crayfish, they do manage to get some outlandish sounds out of that organ, and combined with the rip-roaring tempos, the group do keep things hopping for the most part. There's even an introspective electronic piece. Even with all of the innovations applied, the album still sounds too monolithic overall for its own good. Sixty Nine are to be commended for their mighty effort here, but it's for a niche within a niche audience.
Priority: 3
***Both albums reissued on LP by Long Hair (2018)
9/10/10
2 comments:
Speaking of keyboard/drum duo albums, one that should definitely be on the wishlist is the debut album by Shuichi "Ponta" Murakami from 1976. It's a great mixture of jazz-rock and more abstract electronic/percussion stuff featuring Jun Fukamachi. One of my faves, actually. Also, that makes me realize that Fukamachi's debut LP from '75 (also featuring Murakami) should probably be on the list as well. It's funkier and less intense than "Rokuyu" but still quite good. Plus, it features a really long fusion jam called "Bamboo Bong". Can't go wrong with that! Interestingly, both of these LPs were released by Toshiba EMI as part of their "Pro-Use" series and are each simply entitled "Introducing".
Thanks Rob for the suggestions. I'll have to check them both out. There's so much from Japan left to be discovered I think. And yes, "Bamboo Bong" does indeed sound promising!
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