Put Ocean in the same stack as Pye Fyte and Matter - that is, albums I haven't heard in 23 years since acquisition. I was really looking forward to this one, as my recollection was positive, and my current tastes are more geared to what I had remembered it sounded like. And that self-prophesy came true. God's Clown is exactly the kind of progressive hard rock I really enjoy. If you like nonstop crunching hard rock with searing guitar leads, high pitched vocals, and compositions that don't sit still - then God's Clown is near the top of that genre. I think what might hold this album back in the public eye is that they're French. It's just not a sound one associates with the country. It's very much rooted in America's heartland - something you might hear in Ohio, Michigan, or Illinois in the mid to late 70s. Musically one could state it's a proggy Led Zeppelin, or a faster and more complex Budgie, or perhaps a less involved Yes. Incidentally, the band's name was inspired by Tales from Topographic Oceans. Even given that, the music belongs more to hard rock than prog, and I've moved God's Clown to a different space in the collection. There's almost no keyboard presence, this is a guitar album through and through. I've read from many sources that the vocals are not well done. I hear them completely different, as Robert Belmonte shrieks with the best of 'em. These kind of affected vocals appeal to me more and more as so many contemporary vocalists seem devoid of emotion.
Ownership: LP: 1976 Crypto. Single sleeve. Recent online acquisition (2022). Probably the rarest album on the label. There's no date on the LP, though the CD is copyrighted 1976. Discogs has it as 1977. My cover doesn't have the writing on the back.
CD: 1998 Mantra. Purchased new upon release. Jewel case with a simple booklet that contains a small history of the band in French. This CD has been collectable for many years, and it remains the only reissue.
6/11/21 (new entry); 4/26/22
No comments:
Post a Comment