I don't know much about this one, but saw it in the Shiny Beast update this morning, and it looked like it could be cool. RYM shows that it was released in 2008, but with a more elaborate title. I don't know if it actually did come out then though. I haven't seen it anyway.
Karma Records says this about it: "History: After Burning Red Ivanhoe had stopped, Karsten Vogel (saxophone, keyboards) felt something new should happen. The first fusions bands appeared on the international scene, - inspired by this Karsten Vogel would make a band with direction towards a more modern sound. In the end this resulted in Secret Oyster, but before that Mermaid was put to sea. In many ways Mermaid was a perfect band: A mix between two famous Danish bands: Young Flowers, from where Peter Ingemann (bass, vocal) and Ken Gudmann (drms) was recruited, and Burnin Red Ivanhoe: Karsten Vogel and Ole Fick (guit, voc).
However the fortune was not in favor for the band. Their debut concert was hampered by bad acoustics, nerves and Karsten Vogel’s 40 degrees fever. Also the times had changed, not yet to fusion-power-rock but towards political correct rock.
After this start, the band took off for a longer tour in Norway. This tour was indeed very successful, and the band, now with drummer Claus Sarup, fulfilled every expectations.
Back to Denmark: Again it was difficult to maneuver through the musical landscape. The medias was prefixed on other things. After a few concerts, the band was stopped in Nov. 1974. Only one year after the start.
Now, more than 30 years later, Karsten Vogel found some tapes. Some was recorded by Denmark's Radio (in Denmark), some was private recordings (from Norway). These tapes present the first “Supergroup” in Denmark and the material is outstanding. Later followed Secret Oyster, but that’s another story."
3 comments:
Hi again!
I believe this was really released in 2008! I have this CD and bought it a year or two ago from Record Heaven (which lists it as released
2008-11-18). It seems that this CD for whatever reason is impossible to get outside Scandinavia. I am also not sure if Karma is still active. I tried to contact them last year and never got any reply.
Mermaids music is not that great, actually. Quite normal bluesrock jams with slight jazzy influences, not as sophisticated as Burnin Red Ivanhoe or Secret Oyster. The sound is also not the best, like second source radio recordings (taped radio transmissions). Only for collectors!
Greetings!
Achim
P.S.: There must be also something wrong in the story Karma tells about this album. These recordings were made in 1974 (as the CD states), thus a wile AFTER the formation of Secret Oyster. Thus, Mermaid could not have happened after Burnin Red Ivanhoe and BEFORE Secret Oyster. It must have been some side project that Vogel had while Secret Oyster was already existing!
Greetings!
Achim
Hi Achim,
I had also wondered if Karma was still cooking or not. Their website is up, but I'm not sure how up to date it is.
And you're right about the chronology.
Thanks for the comments!
- Tom
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