Stairway to Escher (1974 / 2003)
Comparisons to Perigeo are about right, and
that’s definitely where the Italian band Bauhaus built its campfire
from. But whereas Perigeo seems to get stuck in slickly polished fusion
hell, Bauhaus have a much more raw sound and energy about them that is
completely endearing. What I particularly enjoy is the nimble guitar
playing, but with a raw biting fuzz tone. The ensemble playing is highly
melodic (sax, electric piano, guitar), another great quality. Fantastic
rhythm section as well. Sometimes the group will go in no man's land, as
the jam will hit a dead-end road and they'll just grind their way
through it. Since it wasn’t really meant for release to begin with, hard
to fault the final product too much. Other reference points are fellow
Italians Napoli Centrale and the German outfit Out of Focus on Four
Letter Monday Afternoon. All clearly looked to Soft Machine and Nucleus
as inspiration here. If any of these bands set off your iPhone Fusion
Want app, then by all means investigate Stairway to Escher.
Ownership: 2003 Akarma (CD). Akarma's
track record on reissues is clearly checkered, but this archival
release is nothing but first class. Fully authorized with band
participation and fantastic liner notes - all housed in a wonderful hard
bound digipak. Great sound of a live concert recorded in Rome, May
1974. Acquired in 2003.
2003; 10/2/16 (review / new entry)
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