Spoils Of War
Personnel:
JAMES CUOMO keyb'ds, sax, recorder, clarinet, dobro A B C D
ROGER "RoFran" FRANCISCO bs, vcls A B
FRANK "Big City Frank" GARVEY perc A B
AL "Ral-Eardi" IERARDI gtr, vcls A B D
JAMES STROUD lights, trombone, FX A B
ANNE WHITEFISH/WILLIAMS vcls, gtr, organ B C
CHARLIE BRAUGHAM drms C D
PAUL CHOUINARD viola C
BOB WITMER bs C D
CAL DRAKE bs D
LARRY DWYER trombone D
STEVE LARNER vcls D
ASSORTED:
1(A) THE SPOILS OF WAR (RoFran Enterprises ) 1968
2(B) YOU'RE INVITED TO HEAR SPOILS OF WAR (Rofran XALS-2605) 1969
3(C) JAMES CUOMO (No label ) 1970
4(D) CUOMO'S RECORD (Depot Records RoFran 0608) 1970
NB: (1) 7" reel tape in box with sticker. (2) 7" EP with sleeve. (3) 5" reel tape in box with sticker. (4) 7" EP with sleeve. (1) and (3) reissued on LP as The Spoils Of War (Shadoks Music 001) 1999 which included a reissue of (2) as a bonus 7". A very small number of these vinyl albums were issued in an embossed red velvet sleeve. The regular printed cover edition was limited to 450 copies. (1) - (4) reissued on CD as The Spoils Of War (Shadoks Music 001) 1999.
Weird'n'wonderful sounds emanated from Urbana, Illinois in 1968 and 1969 thanks to this previously unheralded assemblage. The reissue contains a mixed bag of cerebral sounds - electronic collages interspersed or combined with jazzy vibes, acid rock, and dreamy folk rock. Some highlights:- Walk In, Walk Out opens with an electronic barrage before turning to more standard fuzz-psych with (for a change) good use of brass; the astounding E-Thing could be a soundtrack to 'Apocalypse Now' - a backdrop of whining, pulsing helicopter-like effects onto which is etched a heavy acid jam; Rit Yellow Of The Sun builds to a delicious Spanish-flavoured guitar freakout then degenerates into fuzz and electronic mayhem.
This should appeal especially to fans of experimental or electonic psych by the likes of Fifty Foot Hose and the United States Of America.
Roger Francisco was previously with The Prodigies.
(Max Waller/Clark Faville)
Although the swaths of wacky electronics are the traits that are the most immediate and aggressive characteristics of this album, James Cuomo and the Spoils of War's chief strengths were in fact their haunting and inventively arranged songs. Tunes like "You're the Girl" and especially "Now Is Made in America," with its lyrical references to detachable halos, eerie organ and unearthly high vocals, are reflections of a tender psyche as frail as an eggshell. At other points the vocals -- occasionally female, occasionally sped-up -- and melodic-but-experimental song shards recall parts of the Mothers of Invention in the We're Only in It for the Money era. Sometimes the electronic squiggles and blasts are effective, as on the foghorn-like tones into which "E-Thing" dissolves. More often, though, it's distracting and gimmicky, as though someone felt the material had to be even farther out than it was to gain credibility. At its best, it's the kind of astral, dreamlike underground psychedelia that was too off-the-wall and spontaneously idiosyncratic to be convincingly recreated after the '60s. AMG
|
