Dada
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970-71) - Elkie Brooks -- vocals - Mal Capwell -- sax, flute - Jimmy Chambers -- vocals, percussion - Barry Duggan -- sax, flute - Pete Gage -- lead guitar, bass - Martyn Harryman -- drums, percussion - Paul Korda (RIP 2020) -- vocals - Ernie Luchlan -- trumpet, flugelhorn - Don Shinn -- keyboards, organ bass, vibes
line up 2 (1971) - Elkie Brooks -- vocals - Mal Capwell -- sax, flute - Jimmy Chambers -- vocals, percussion - Barry Duggan -- sax, flute - Pete Gage -- lead guitar, bass - Martyn Harryman -- drums, percussion - Paul Korda (RIP 2020) -- vocals - Ernie Luchlan -- trumpet, flugelhorn NEW - Robert Palmer (RIP) - vocals - Don Shinn -- keyboards, organ bass, vibes
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- The Alan Bown Show (Robert Palmer) - Batti Mamzelle (Jimmy Chambers) - Elkie Brooks (solo efforts) - Carson (Mal Capewell) - Central Line (Jimmy Chambers) - Chain (Mal Capewell) - Jimmy Chambers (solo efforts) - Company Caine (Mal Capewell) - Elki & Own (Elkie Brooks) - The Four Kents (Jimmy Chambers) - Healing Force (Mal Capewell) - Jody Grind (Martyn Harryman) - Phil Jones And The Unknown Blues (Mal Capewell) - Paul Korda (solo efforts) - The Lonely Ones (Don Shinn) - Londonbeat (Jimmy Chambers) - The Meddyevils (Don Shinn) - Max Merritt and the Meteors (Barry Duggan) - Midnight (Jimmy Chambers) - Mighty Mouse (Mal Capewell) - Robert Palmer (solo efforts) - The Power Station (Robert Palmer) - The Paul Rettke Quartet (Barry Duggan) - Don Shinn (solo efforts) - Levi Smith's Clefs (Mal Capewell) - The Soul Agents (Don Shinn) - Vinegar Joe (Elkie Brooks, Pete Gage, and Robert Palmer) - The Vinegrettes (Elkie Brooks) - Geno Washington and the Ram Jam Band (Pete Gage) - The Zephyrs (Pete Gage)
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Genre: jazz-rock Rating: 3 stars *** Title: Dada Company: ATCO Catalog: SD
33-352 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: promo sticker on cover Available: 1 Catalog ID: 2377 Price: $30.00
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This is one of those album's that leaves me puzzled. It doesn't get rave reviews, but there is a loyal fan base who clearly feel some affection for the collection.
In case you had any doubts, yeah, they were inspired by the early 20th century avant-garde artistic movement. The good news was that 1970's "Dada" wasn't nearly as experimental and out there as the name would imply. Co-produced by Gage and Paul Clay, the largely original material was recorded at London's Olympic and Morgan Studios. Musically these eleven selections were kind of a musical grab bag including a broad array of genres, frequently mixed together across individual songs. The opener 'Big Dipper' was a perfect example. Showcasing Elkie Brooks, Jimmy Chambers and Paul Korda on lead vocals, over the span of four minutes the song visited conventional rock, soul and BS&T-styled horn rock. Elsewhere you got dollops of Broadway show tunes (their bizarre cover of The Stones 'The Last Time'), Donovan-styled singer/songwriter material ('Jasamin'), Free Design-styled pop-jazz (the title track), and even Gospel ('Seed Of Peace'). Surprisingly I was okay with the genre jumping. My big problem with the album came in the form of the horn arrangements. I'm just not a big fan of the genre and in this case whenever the horn charts kicked in, they pretty much destroyed whatever momentum the group was building.
Singer Robert Palmer joined the group in time for a 1971 American tour, but this one album was it for Dada with Brooks, her then-husband Gage and Palmer continuing the musical partnership in Vinegar Joe. Brooks then went on to an extensive solo career.
"Dada" track listing: 1.) Big Dipper (Pete Gage - Paul Korda) - 4:09 rating: *** stars The
first half of 'Big Dipper' started the album off with a strange mix of
conventional rock, soul and jazzier moves. It was quite good.
Unfortunately the second half
found the song found Brooks moving into the spotlight and the tune moving full throttle into BS&T-styled horn rock. Mildly
entertaining (loved Pete Gage's guitar figure), if not entirely convincing. Geez,
imagine someone reshaping The Stones 'The Last Time' for a Broadway
score of Godspell, or maybe The Rocky Horror Show ... Powered by Korda
and Brook's raw voices, yeah, this may
be one of the strangest Stone cover you'll ever hear. It's not bad;
just different and simply didn;t stack up well against the original.
Speculation on my part, but I'm guessing Korda's previous work on Hair may
have played a role in coming up with the arrangement. 'This
Is My Song' found the band shifting into pretty acoustic ballad territory.
Yeah, the arrangement grew hopelessly cluttered and over-the-top (again
recalling something out of a Broadway show), but
the Gospel-tinged melody was nice and there was no denying the band had some
strong singers in Brooks,
Chambers and Korda. Lordy
- lounge act ballad meets Gospel choir with Brooks at her most shrieky,
while Korda reminding me a bit of a hoarse Gary Wright.
Pray the rest of the album was better. Kudos to the band for truth-in-advertising ... Shinn's aptly titled 'Organ Interlude' provided exactly what was described -54 seconds of Shinn on church organ. Hum, echoes Brian Auger and Oblivion Express, or maybe ELP ... 6.) Tonite Is (Pete Gage - Don Shinn) - 0:54 rating: *** stars Another song snippet, 'Tonite Is' was interesting for showcasing the group's Association-styled vocal harmonies. Not exactly my taste, but the blended voices and roller rink organ interlude were quite nice. Again, it was more a song fragment than anything.
(side
2) There was no denying Brooks had a nice voice; to my ears occasionally sounding a bit like a British Grace Slick. My problem with her performances stems from the fact she had a chronic habit of trying to belt everything out even though her performances were 100% better when she kept her power under control. The jazzy ballad 'She Walks Away' was a nice example of Brooks singing with a bit of restraint. Shame it was such an atypical example. 2.) Aspen, Colorado (Tony Joe White) - 4:58 rating: *** stars As strange as the earlier Stones cover was, hearing the band do a Tony Joe White cover as a jazzy, Canterbury horn-propelled interlude was even more bizarre. I will admit hearing the way Chambers pronounced "Alabama" was a hoot ... 3.) Eyes of the Warren (Don Shinn) - 4:08 rating: *** stars 'Eyes of the Warren' was one of those songs that just kind of rambled along without any real direction, or goal. A strange mix of lounge act, jazz, folk, and rock components, the highlight came from hearing Shinn's keyboards and Brooks singing in her natural, non-shrieky voice. 4.) Jasamin (Paul Korda) - 2:36 rating: * star Powered by some oriental flute, 'Jasamin' was an acoustic folk number - pretty in a Donovan fashion, but saccharine and way to fey for my tastes. 5.) Dada (Paul Korda) - 3:48 rating: **** stars Ever heard The Free Design's interesting blend of pop, jazz, and lounge act moves? Well if you have then there's a good chance the title track would sound familiar. Atypical compared to the rest of the album, but kind of cool and my pick for the standout performance.
© Scott R. Blackerby September, 2024
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