Artist - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Title - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
Date - 1968
Tracks:
Prelude - Nightmare; Fanfare - Fire Poem; Fire; Come and Buy; Time/Confusion; I Put a Spell on You; Spontaneous Apple Creation; Rest Cure; I've Got Money; Child of My Kingdom
Arthur Brown is another artist I've always intended to delve deeper into but, for one reason or another, never got around to. Like most people, I'd heard 'Fire' on many occasions (and loved it - definitely one of my all time favourite songs) but the rest of his back catalogue remained a mystery.
Until now.
So what was I expecting from this album? Well, the name of the album/band, coupled with the cover itself and the filmed performances of 'Fire' that I'd seen, let me to expect it to be off the wall and as far from the mainstream as you could get. And I wasn't disappointed.
Psychedelia is the name of the game here. The entire album is drenched in Hammond Organ which, to me, is always a good thing. Even better was seeing that they came courtesy of Vince Crane, later of Atomic Rooster. The sound is very much rooted in the 60s with Brown himself exerting a madcap persona over everything.
'Fire', of course, is the highlight of the album but a special mention has to go to a wonderfully demented run through 'I Put a Spell on You.' and the completely insane 'Spontaneous Apple Creation' which utilizes spoken word narration alongside sung lyrics and a discordant backing that does not venture into cacophany.
All in all, CWoAB is an eclectic mind trip which more than lives up to its title
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