After just one album and two hit singles (the first
of which was the number one hit ‘Fire’, the other one
‘Nightmare’, which was just as disturbing, but fared less well), the
Crazy World Of Arthur Brown imploded in the middle of their first
American tour.
During their stage show Arthur Brown used to arrive
on stage with his head on fire, wearing long flowing gowns, weaving
round the stage like some demented dervish. He was backed on stage by
Vincent Crane on keyboards and Carl Palmer on drums, who at the demise
of the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown went on to form Atomic Rooster.
Carl Palmer only lasted one album with the Rooster
before going on to the diamond studded drum stool with first ‘Emerson,
Lake, and Palmer’ and then ‘Asia’. Vincent Crane obviously brought
in replacements and found his own way to rock ‘n’ roll stardom with
Rooster.
For Arthur Brown it was two years in litigation
before he was allowed to carry on his career, but when he did it was in
stunning fashion under the group banner name of Kingdom Come. First
there were two wonderfully eccentric albums in “Galactic Zoo
Dossier” and the self titled “Kingdom Come” with its glorious
tales of traffic lights, whirlpools, and teachers; both were released in
1972, before “Journey”, arguably Brown’s finest hour.
To say that the line-up fluctuated somewhat is a bit
of an understatement. From the first album only Andy Dalby on lead
guitar was still in the band, and when fourth drummer Chris Burrows left
after the first album, the band dispensed with a drummer altogether. All
the rhythm work was done by Bentley, a homemade drum machine, which
Brown operated both in the studio and on the live stage. This was not a
fact the band tried to hide, and by the time this wonderful album was
recorded, Bentley had been moved up to the very front of the mix. (If
only Spinal Tap had thought of this, perhaps one day they will. It would
make a wonderful headline, “Electric Drum machine killed in bizarre
gardening accident”.)
Having an electronic member in the band made perfect
sense. It was not possible that any of the others came from planet
Earth. You only have to listen to the eerie keyboards of Victor Peraino,
the man who actually spoke less than the drummer, to verify this.
The bass playing of Phil Shutt is hypnotically heavy
throughout. Andy Dalby’s guitar playing was always the perfect foil to
Arthur Brown’s crystal clear vocal delivery. When you listen to the
songs on this album you cannot help but wonder why Arthur Brown is not
mentioned in the same breath as other leading English vocalists such as
Paul Rogers and Joe Cocker.
To see this band acting out their songs on the live
stage at the beginning of the seventies was a sight to behold, giving
real meaning to a stage show. The band would arrive on stage with all
their faces painted gold. Then Arthur Brown would wind up Bentley,
thumping out a slow heavy beat, which would be the sign for the opening
of ‘Time Captives’. This song always opened the set in the band’s
later years, and on this album. As the beat starts to speed up, Phil
Shutt picks up the beat before being joined by Andy Dalby and Victor
Peraino, leading to Arthur Brown’s unworldly vocals.
The songs that follow do not disappoint, as the
musicianship is of the finest order. In the genre of Progressive Space
Rock, this ranges up there with the finest. (Pink Floyd’s Meddle and
Hawkwind’s Warrior On The Edge Of Time come to mind as other fine
albums of their ilk.) This album bears repeated listening, because the
closer you get your ears, the more you discover. If you would like to
listen to something out of the traditional rock avenues, may I suggest a
trip into the eccentric thoughts of Arthur Brown and his spacemusos on
this fine collection and take a ‘Journey’.
The
longer title is George W Bush - The Early Years, with a rider across the
cover - The Book They Tried to Ban! Written by James Hatfield, a former
political columnist, this book was originally published in 1999, but this
imprint was done this year (ISBN 1-904132-46-4). It is claimed by author
Hatfield that the original publication was withdrawn and suppressed, and
it was only after much infighting that it was eventually published.
Mott’s CD review: Kingdom Come – Journey
5 Fire Stars *****