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Mike & The Ravens "Noisy Boys! The Saxony Sessions" (Zoho)
Forty-five years after the original lineup of little-known Northfield,
Vermont garage band fell apart, they're back, and damned if they don't
sound good. And by good, I mean gritty, sloppy, frenetic, proud, tough
and all manner of adjectives not usually applied to a quintet of sixty-
year-old rockers. Formed among the thriving (yet isolated) scene
encompassing Northfield, VT and Plattsburgh, NY, Mike & The Ravens
offered up the sound of 1962: pre-Beatles DIY rock recorded in a
cavernous roller rink and free of the trend-driven straightjacket
radio would eventually impose. The results held more in common with
the savage sounds of the Pacific Northwest than the sides waxed in
Chicago or Los Angeles, and the band became local heroes. The group's
original recordings can be found on the scene compilations "Heart So
Cold: The North Country '60s Scene" and "Cry of Atlantis: The North
Country Scene '58-'67, Vol. 2," and the group omnibus "Nevermore:
Plattsburgh '62 and beyond."
The group compilation follows the Ravens principles, lead vocalist
Mike Brassard and songwriter Stephen Blodgett, from their initial
meeting in the Ravens through a variety of '60s and '70s bands that
ranged from early frat rockers through psych-tinged sunshine pop. In
these new sessions, recorded in 2006 and 2007, Brassard and Blodgett
reunite with the other three original Ravens (Bo Blodgett-lead guitar,
Brian Lyford-bass and Peter Young-drums) to stomp convincingly around
the Point Rouses, NY club that hosted their state debut over forty
years earlier. The results find plenty of howl left in their voices,
growling fuzz in their strings, and a rhythm section that can still
crank up the heart-pounding excitement you'd expect on a Saturday
night. The band opens with their 1962-penned "Roller, Roller
Rollerland!" and quickly reveals how they got the rink's floor
bouncing up and down under the weight of bopping teens.
Stephen Blodgett's new songs retain the freewheeling spirit of his
earlier work, but the unusual titles ("Sweet Potato Red Sez Polly
Don't Ride" "Once I Was a Dancing Bear") and sly lyrics also speak to
the his post-Ravens psych work. The band, particularly Bo Blodgett on
guitar, also reach past 1962 for some mid-60s garage and fuzz sounds.
You still get the grunting energy of classic frat-rock, but layered
with some brain-buzzing guitar and off-center lyrics. The claxon intro
to "Who Will Love You" is an apt warning of the onslaught to come, and
the carnivorous howl of "She Wolf" fleshes out its story of a man-
eater. The album closes with the seven minute title track, and though
stretched to hippie ballroom length, the group never loses its raucous
engine room chug of guitars and vocals. The band's early singles are
highly prized among collectors, but often regarded as not having
captured the band's true vitality; forty-five years later, the Ravens
make the most of their second chance. [(c)2008 redtunictroll at hotmail
dot com] |
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