Monday, July 20, 2009

Don't Search for Love, Make It

There's definitely nothing like this.

Within the first few weeks of high school George Brady, a talented musician in his own right was bringing in extra large photos of his father proving that Jimi Hendrix had stolen his Caribbean look. It was pretty convincing. The saga continued two years ago as two friends of mine, while enrolled in an NYU documentary course, made a documentary (whcih I wish were online almost as much as Brady himself does) about the musician at the suggestion of one of his neighbors who was in the same group. That was when I first discovered this remarkable album art. It was about a year later, though, that I managed to hear the music, and I think it's pretty cool. My friend Sam Park strongly agrees.

Think CAN with a steel drum. That is probalby the best short description I cna give, but a strong one regardless. The steel drum is what makes this so unique and such a fascinating listen. The drum works in this psychedelic milieu much like the organ does, but with a more abrasive, organic, and exotic tone. The album kicks off really hard with "Glass House," maybe the best song on the album and the band jams out quite well, honestly, on par with a lot of the artists of the same time in West Germany. The energy on this track does not wane through the rest of the album especially on "Once Upon a Candle." The band functions well, letting Brady's unusual talents shine through while accompanying him perfectly. Brady's lyrics and vocals play a massive part into this album being so otherworldly, as his voice is not the greatest and his lyrics tilt rapidly between psychedellic psychobabble (see "Halucinodream") and stream-of-consciousness preaching. However it all works well and as hard as it would be to believe after seeing some of this documentary, Brady's "It's a Good World Outside" sounds sincere and is pretty effective.


Victor Brady - Brown Rain (197?)

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