Various Artists - Harmony of the Spheres
(Drunken Fish)
If I could give this record a
thirteen, meaning kill your mother to get this cd, I
would.
The first of two cd's (side A of three records for
all you purists) begins with Bardo Pond's paen to
Spacemen 3. From the moment the super duper sweet bass
melody starts, it's all over for me. I'm lucky if I
can continue to function. The Bardos rock and sludge
through the 20 minute barrier and beyond, creating a
huge evening of sitar music-like tapestry that rips
your head off.
Flying Saucer Attack are up next and continue the
theme of super sweetness! Throughout the four
songs named "Since When," Dave Pierce invites us
inside his world of folk/noise/drone. And what a wonderful
world.
On what is perhaps my favorite side, the sorely
missed Jessamine proves how well they can improvise.
Naked sounding guitar and fuzzy bass collide with
abstract moogisms and circular drum patterns to create
pure brilliance. Clocking in at 22:30 (also the song
title), there are no cuts or edits here. I can only
imagine that this is what they sounded like late at
night with the lights off.
On side b the solo axe wielders come out to play. The
grand duke of the chorus pedal, Roy Montgomery starts
off the side with a long single track quite
reminiscent of his work on Temple IV,
definitely not a bad thing. His guitar chimes away as
farfisa drones in the background. You really can't go
wrong with this combination.
Loren Mazzacane Connors is up next and does little to
distinguish himself from the shadow of Montgomery, but
that's OK. Throughout his four songs, the guitar
playing is wonderful and very relaxing.
Charalambides ends the Harmony with a singular track
entitled "Naked In Our Deathskins." While this is
obviously home recorded, it is extremely charming in
it's simplicity and beauty. Ringing guitar patters
collide with wonderful female vocals to mesmerize the
listener.
Harmony Of The Spheres really is an essential for any
music fan. It stands alone for being the best drone
rock compilation of all time. Even if you don't
particularly like any of the bands included, you
really should get over it and order this from Drunken
Fish right now!
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