THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN LP
£
20
$
27
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Description
THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN LP
LABEL TRACK 612005 UK ISS 1968
VINYL VERY GOOD CONDITION
SLEEVE VERY GOOD CONDITION
Known to most of the planet, if at all, as the man who had a number 1 hit with Fire, wore a flaming helmet and never troubled the bestseller lists again, Arthur Brown's musical career actually started in earnest a couple of years before this, his debut album, and continues to this day. If all you know is Fire, and you like it, be assured that it's not even the best thing on this brilliant record. The format is organ trio, with Arthur Brown's incredible voice superbly supported by the late Vincent Crane's Hammond organ and occasional piano. What was side 1 of the original lp is a sort of "concept half album" on the subject of fire, hell and the devil, though neither hell nor the devil are mentioned in so many words. The music is right on the cusp between psychedelia and early prog rock, strongly arranged (with horns and strings added at times), well recorded and powerfully played. The opening Nightmare is one of Arthur's greatest efforts but completely failed to chart when issued as a follow-up single to Fire. It's a fine example of his vocal range, featuring some incredibly powerful falsetto, culminating in some awesome screams, always perfectly in tune. Fire Poem is a spoken piece over funky organ detailing a pleasant sojourn on a river bank suddenly turning into a screaming nightmare of fire, and the extraordinary and quite unique Fire itself follows. Come And Buy keeps up the excellent standard set so far and is the most obvious pointer to prog rock and reprises the "why is it so cold out here, let me in - the price of your entry is sin" refrain from the end of Nightmare. Time is a ballad where Arthur shows he has a gentler side, and then Confusion ends the mini-opera with yet another reprise from Nightmare. The second half of the album is just a collection of songs, and patchier, but mostly very fine - the opening cover of I Put A Spell On You is sheer genius, I wouldn't say it out-does Screamin' Jay Hawkins or Nina Simone, but it certainly equals them, and that's huge praise, and doesn't have the novelty aspect of Screamin' Jay's original. Spontaneous Apple Creation is a very silly psychedelic novelty, quite charming in its way and I guess he just about gets away with it. Rest Cure ventures into soul territory, somewhere Arthur Brown evidently feels completely at home, further illustrated by the blistering uptempo cover of James Brown's I've Got Money. And the closing Child Of My Kingdom has a kind of religious vibe to it before hitting a superb middle 8 where Vincent Crane unleashes a fabulous boogie piano solo, then returns to the original theme and gradually wanders off into the ether.
Amazingly, there is no guitar on this album; the lead is provided by the Hammond organ sound of the late great Vincent Crane. He never played better.
UK POSTAGE £3.00
EUROPEAN POSTAGE £6.00
REST OF WORLD £9.00
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