WORLD IN SOUND – PART 1

     Many readers will no doubt have come across the World In Sound (WIS) label on mail order lists, websites and catalogues in recent years. It is most probable however, that having glanced at the artists concerned you will have passed quickly on to more familiar looking fare. One thing that WIS cannot be accused of is plumping for the familiar names. The label's ethos (posted on its home page www.worldinsound.com) is one of searching for the most obscure recordings and artists they can find. Based principally in the period 1971-78, WIS's catalogue is a fascinating trip through the esoterica of American underground music of a period often not as favoured as that of the '60s.     It would be a mistake though, to miss out on much of this music. It is to provide a rough guide to the label's output for the curious and because I have a pile of WIS CDs to review parked next to me on the office desk, that I have written this.
     WIS issue their output both in limited edition vinyl (in heavy gauge card sleeves), for the audiophile vinyl fanatics, but more affordably on CD as well. The music is invariably licensed directly from the artists concerned and who usually offer a thumbnail overview of their lives in the liner notes. This provides a time line for the appearance of the recordings, but does sometimes lack in detail on the specifics of their conception and intent. Some were seemingly recorded purely as a self-indulgence, or a hobby whilst others were recorded as demos for a record deal that never happened, or one that did but went pair shaped along the way. The result is that boxes of unissued reel to reel tapes or unsold LPs (which often command silly money in collectors circles) come to light once the artist concerned has been tracked down. Most WIS CD booklets contain the song lyrics and a few pictures of the artist. In conjunction with the artist's own words on the passage of their life, this positions the music in the personal time frame the music was created and experienced in. Hence we find often that the recordings were variously a passing whim, quickly moved on from when nothing came of them, or a high point in the artist's creative life which was never replicated elsewhere once the disappointment of indifference from the biz bit down on them. In any event the obscurity of the artists and their recordings ensures that them music is heard as part of the fabric of the everyday life of     the artists concerned, it was just something they did.
     I am going to go through the WIS discs I have here (which is a good percentage of the catalogue) in terms of     their musical stylings, punctuated by biographical details of the artists. To see and hear samples of them for yourself, visit www.worldinsound.com . As a whole they represent a pretty diverse variety of musical styles of the early –mid 70s, many of which you would not perhaps hear in quite the same way anywhere else. For Instance Daniel's Phoenix album (WIS 1008) combines quality electric guitar playing with amplified Cello in an exciting and original way. 'Get Ready To Rip', 'Saddened And Alone Again' and 'Have You Walked In The Sun' for instance blend the Cello's melancholia with a rock sound bed that makes the whole something quite unique (no, nothing like ELO!).Coupled with Daniel's emphatic vocal style, you really have to hear this. Born Daniel Tsadik Vodianoy in 1950 in South Bend, Indianna, Daniel was the son of a world renowned doctor of optomotry and brilliant musician mother. Training in piano from age two, Cello from five and guitar at twelve, he toured as a professional orchestral cellist     and became buddies with Tom Jones and Elvis. He wrote and recorded the songs on his CD between 1971 and 1978. There are vaguely Randy Newman type songs (as in 'Member Of My Tribe') which then spiral off into a different dimension with the duality of the cello and electric guitar. An album well worth your time and investment.
     Then there's Fred (a group not a person!). Sounding much more European (think Can or Focus) than American, Fred developed a progressive instrumental style that drew on jazz rhythms and timings, borrowed heavily from orchestral composition and melted it into a (tastefully!) progressive rock framework. Violin has a parity with electric guitar as a lead instrument for much of the time and overall the feel is much more like krautrock than fusion. The kick off track from their Notes From A Picnic album (WIS 1016) 'Here's A Wet One' is as representative of their sound as anything. Save for the occasional (very good) vocal interlude, this 1973 studio set is instrumental. Drummer Bo Fox regales us with the life and times of the band in the booklet and if you like European prog at its most incisive (even though they are American) then you will most certainly want to hear this. Their 'Live At The Bitter End' (WIS1020) is the next place to stop on your Fred tour. Starter 'Variations' is an excellent vehicle for electric violinist Dave Rose to improvise over and quite impressively he does so, right on through the second track, the twelve minute long 'Nocturnal'. A cerebral experience indeed, and to quote a     Fred song title 'The Head's The Best Part'.
     Joe Peace's Finding Peace Of Mind (WIS1005) has a varied stylistic feel moving between acid rock ('Reflections I Can See'; 'Finding Peace of Mind'), vaguely country rock balladry ('It's Been So Long'), the CSN or America sounding 'Welcome Aboard' and sprightly light-pop ('Hello My Lady Friend'). Graduating from high school garage bands, Joe Peace played the hotel and coffee shop circuit as a solo artist. He returned home and hitching up with former high school music friends decided to make a record, which they did in Cincinnati, Ohio at the Rite Recording studio (which mainly recorded religious music!). Having done so the manufacturing and distribution process was out of their hands and after six months gigging to promote the album, Joe went back out on the road as a soloist again. In the late 1980s Swiss collector Raymond Dumont tracked Peace down and purchased the last cases of the LP he had. Now it's available for all on CD and it's a worthy achievement.
     In a complimentary style to some extent comes Glen Faria's eponymous album (WIS1007). Stylistically, this falls into two parts. There are very southern swampy sounding tunes (e.g. 'Born In Georgia'; 'No Time For Your Tears') which bring to mind Little Feet. Then there are the troubadour acoustic soloings that have a dissident early Neil Young feel ('Summer's Gone') or Tim Hollier ('Get Off My Back') or even early Jake Holmes ('I'm Crazy'- which is my favourite on the disc). Altogether an engaging introspective sounding album of songs and one for late night musing. Faria was born in 1946 in Kentucky and Virginia. Tutored in piano at age five, he switched to guitar after a few years. His early idols were Elvis, The Everly Brothers and later Ian and Sylvia and Joan Baez. He bagan playing at coffee houses for $10 a night at age 15. Finally washing up in psych band Headstone Circus, he was offered a solo contract which he took and which this collection of music is resultant from. Faria never got rich off that, but he has had a life in music and still plays today.
     Joint Effort's Two Sided Country Blues (WIS 1004) is a set of acoustic numbers with a rather affected Bob Dylan vocal approach in many places. Many of the songs are duo numbers between members Val Zukowski and Steve Stark (formally Anderson) who first met as children in the blue-collar Detroit neighbourhood as a result of Stark's attempt to derail a train by placing rocks on the track that Zukowski quickly removed! Both had their own high school garage bands and moved in different directions. In 1968 Stark was involved in an accident that necessitated him returning home where he again hooked up with his childhood pal. Together with Brit, Graeme Srigley, they recorded some 50 songs. After which Stark and Srigley departed again leaving Zukowski with the tapes. He put all his cash ($1800) together to get selections pressed up into an LP which went nowhere, due to a lack of insider contacts or know-how. Zukowski went onto be a children's entertainer and finally became a mortgage banker. After 30 years he hooked up with Stark again and re-recorded some of the Joint Effort songs as extra tracks for the CD. If you're a folky or have an affinity with light acoustic music, this would be in your ball park, but it rather left me longing for something a bit more substantial to intervene occasionally. Nonetheless it has its attractions. The title track sounds like it could have been a real winner if it had just had a full band accompaniment. 'Goodbye Suburbia' is a pretty plaintive number with that Dylanesque off-key harmonica playing interspersing the acoustic guitars.
     Garrett Lund's Almost Grown (WIS1006) has a very languid misty blues guitar style in places (e.g. 'The Only Turnaround') and a very engaging and moving vocal style in a high register that really gives his songs an individuality of expression. Lund is something of a mystery. What is known is he joined a garage band called The Caretakers before graduating to psych rock band Trane who supported Jefferson Airplane, Led Zeppelin , The Who, Cream et al in the southwest of the USA. Lund eventually embarked on a solo career recording 'Almost Grown' at his own expense and got rejected by 22 record labels. He raised the revenue himself through family, friends and associates to make the LP himself (selling 2,000 copies in two weeks) and getting FM radio rotation on nine stations. Still there were no takers in the biz. Here it is now anyway and it's a beauty. This is one of my favourite WIS releases. Songs like 'Silver Sails' are elegiac in their feel and guitar style. Others like 'Never Gonna Take It Slow' have an orch pop feel that take us almost into Vaughan Thomas or Tony Hazzard territory, beautiful. Acoustic run-throughs like 'Bonny' or 'Serene' showcase Lund's soulful voice in an almost living-room setting. This is a CD that has a restless, searching feel to it with minor chords and plaintive vocal phrasing. Why the rock heads in the biz didn't want it at the time I can't imagine, but here it is now, don't pass it up!    
     Marcus's From The House Of Trax (WIS 1010) has long been a collectors' fave, almost legendary in fact. Recorded in 1978, it comes really too late to be part of an organically developing music scene and has more aesthetically in common with the first wave of psychedelic retrospection (a la Nick Nicely). Creepy atmospherics, phased vocals and guitar and rumbling undercurrents of moog characterise this set. It should be listened to as a whole as an aural experience rather than on a track by track basis as the soundwash cascades over you. Some songs feature extemporised guitar with a pop aesthetic counterpoint (such as 'Locked Inside A World') whilst elsewhere the primal vocalising is reminiscent of solo Peter Hamill. There are touches of early Hawkwind that merge with a kind of proto-gothism ('A Trip In Time'). There are lighter songs like 'Right Inside Of You Baby', which still feature the sonic soundwash and work equally as well. There is also a bonus CD with this which features seven acoustic numbers also recorded in 1978, or if you have real player on your computer, a seven song video. It's not a patch on the main course, but as an add on who's the loser? Marcus himself and his group recorded at the studio 'The House of Trax', who owner Jim Ferguson liked so much, he let them record for free. Marcus pressed up 500 copies of his LP and Ferguson tried to make connections with it on his behalf. Nothing much came of it however which inevitably led to his LP becoming a cult collectors classic. It is now available again and anyone who listens to neo psyche should ensure they wrap their ears around this disc as it is surely one of the foundation stones of psychedelia's current popularity.
     More WIS reviews and analysis next month
Paul Martin