Genre: rock
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: The Intergalactic Touring Band
Company: Passport
Catalog: PB
9832
Year: 1977
Country/State: US / UK
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG+
Comments: cut top right corner; includes original inner sleeve and insert
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 6196
Price: $10.00
Wow, how to even start with this weird one ... Imagine getting Alan Parsons stoned out of his mind; giving him a million dollar budget, and access to every known mid-1970s pop, rock, and soul star. You might have ended up with something like this truly bizarre studio project.
The brainchild of writers Danny Beckerman and Wil Malone, 1977's "The Intergalactic Touring Band" attempted to capitalize on the public's seemingly limitless infatuation with all things space oriented. Recruiting keyboardists Brian Cuomo and Peppi Marchetti (the latter of Good Rats fame), synthesizer player Larry Fast, lead guitarist David Scance, and bassist Peter Sobel, the result was a strange concept piece built around the theme of human colonization of space. Complete with an elaborate multi-page insert, the album sported the most impressive collection of guest stars I've ever seen on a record album. Simply check out some of the names in the supporting musicians column. Whoever financed this project must have had some deep pockets to collect talent like that.
So rather than try to fumble my way through the intricate and occasionally laughable plotline, I'll let you read it for yourself (as copied from the album insert):
"As civilization passed ... the year 2000, a great cultural revolution immersed the world in a peace which was to last up to the present time. Governments, as we know them, ceased to exist, and with the governments went world economy. With the invention of the first multi-purpose robots, life became very easy and time was spent on developing the creative mind of man.
It was the "creators" who ran society. while robots looked after essential administration, men and women teamed up as "creators" for the good of the whole. The better the creations produced, the larger their sphere of influence, inevitably becoming the ruling powers.
Science and technology was at its zenith. In the year 2014, the Star Drive Rocket had been invented by Joseph Harding and a year after the Star Drive Corporation ruled the world market. With Star Drive Rockets capable of hyperspace travel, the Star Drive Corporation began to mine the nearby planets bringing valuable minerals and ore back to Earth. But their rule was about to end, in fact, to surrender and merge into the now legendary Vibra Corporation creators of the most revolutionary invention since the wheel...the Vibracon Globe.
A team of bio-scientists working for VIBRA had stumbled upon a new energy source. They had found a way to amplify the VIBRA rhythms (or energy in emotions) sent out by the human body aura, and to harness them as an independent force. This new energy was used in many ways, the best known being the Vibracon Globe.
The GLOBE was used primarily in the production of robots which were offered for sale to qualified customers for use in the following manner: one would buy a robot, at that time the Mark I costing 1000 Drimes, and the robot would duplicate the buyer's VIBRA rhythms thus giving the two a personality of one.
It was the VIBRA Corporation that first instigated colonization of the planets, and it was in Star Drive rockets, constructed by the VIBRA Corp. the first pioneers left. World overpopulation was getting worse. People had to be stirred into looking to the stars. The VIBRA principle was used in creating that situation. Music was composed to help people get into the glories of space travel, ("Starship Jingle"), and rockets were built to carry thousands to the stars. The first ship took off in 2035, and each year more followed.
While Earth and her nearest neighbors flourished, the Star Drive Rockets sailed through their generations of hopeful pilgrims. Ten generations later, with the loss of many ships, they sighted their goal. In another galaxy, they discovered a beautiful planet which they called NEW EARTH. The year was 3035.
It was a glorious triumph for the VIBRA Corporation and the beginning of the legend which would reach every corner of the known universe.
It didn't take long for the inhabitants of NEW EARTH to make alien contact, and amidst the treaties and federations there grew a great love of creative pastimes.
Director of the creative departments of the VIBRA Corporation was Professor Lanse Roegring. It was the Professor's job to make sure that cultural relations between the planets ran smoothly, and it was Roegring who first came up with the idea of an...Intergalactic Touring Band."
The end result was a wild ride that managed to include a mind numbing array of musical genres including orchestrated film scores ('Approach'), mindless disco ('Love Station'), AOR ballads ('Heartbreaker'), and even a slice of Meatloaf aural hysteria ('Keeper Keep Us').
- Showcasing the London Symphony Orchestra (wonder what the cost), 'Approach (Overture)' opened the album with a progressive flavored instrumental that sounded 50% incidental sci-fi soundtrack and 50% Larry Fast solo album. Fast was featured of Mellotron and synthesizers. - "From deep in space races the Silver Lady toward the Orbital Entertainment Dome, site of the triumphant return concert of the IGTB. As she approaches and hovers, waiting to rock, we first see the magnificent OED." rating: ** stars
- With Rod Argent and Marge Raymond handling lead vocals, 'Silver Lady' was a decent pop song, though the spacey group vocals were an acquired taste. Imagine a pop song by a band like Jigsaw with Bonnie Bramlett onboard. "Materializing throughout the ship, the image of Silver Lady awakens the members of the IGTB. All is made ready for their entrance to the concert." rating: *** stars
- Opening up with some strange African-styled percussion and animal noises, 'Universal Zoo/' showcased the ever eccentric Arthur Brown on lead vocals. Thoroughly goofy and a perfect foil for Brown. Joel Krantz handled lead vocals on the power ballad 'Why'. Nice lead guitar from David Scance. "Opening with an IGTB favorite about the "Universal Zoo", a menagerie where even humans are kept, the band follow up with a new song that asks us 'Why"? rating: *** stars
- Hum, judging by the bouncy 'Starship Jingle' you could market space travel the same way you sell chewing gum, or beer. Funny, I don't remember Peppi Marchello having such a commercial voice on his Good rats material. "Earth had become an overcrowded utopia. In the greatest publicity campaign ever, the government of Earth tried to persuade its people to "Go Forth and Multiply". The Star Drive had been perfected, the first ships were almost ready. The only trouble was ... nobody wanted to go!" rating: *** stars
- 'Heartbreaker' started out sounding like an anonymous AOR power ballad, but improved substantially when Strawbs front man Dave Cousins kicked in on lead vocals. His aching, dry voice has always been a favorite and sounded particularly good on this one. Scance turned in another first-rate guitar solo on this one. "The first ship was never heard from again. Legend has it that in some far galaxy around a distant son, 5000 silver shrouded bodies slowly turn in infinite sleep." rating: **** stars
-
Power by Annie Haslam's instantly recognizable voice, ' Reaching Out' was
another pretty ballad, though the London Symphony Orchestra backing
threatened to drown her out in several places. "The
second ship drifted through its generations of hopeful pioneers. At
times a deep nostalgia for the old Earth was experienced - even by those
born on the ship who had never set foot on it themselves. The pioneers
would stare for days into the blackness of space, searching for the distant
speck that was Earth ... their home."
rating: ** stars
- Opening up with some
dated Larry Fast synthesizers, 'First Landing' morphed into a breezy,
acoustic pop number. Lead singer Steve Barth tried to do his best on
this one, but it ultimately sounded like a mixture of munchkins and drunken
Irish bar patrons. "One
by one they stepped onto the New Earth ... this was the third ship.
Great was the celebration."
rating: ** stars
- Snips Parsons has always been acquired taste in my book and he doesn't do much to salvage the weird and irritating 'Space Commando'. A mid-tempo rocker, I have to admit I had no idea what this song had to do with the plotline ... I swear, what the hell is wrong with those robots from Nebula 9 ... "A scuffle has broken out on the far side of the dome. Several aliens are heckling a veteran space commando." rating: ** stars
- Sporting the album's dumbest title and equally goofy lyrics, 'Robot Spaceman" had one of the best melodies. Unfortunately Jim Cuomo didn't have much of a voice. "One of the most coveted Vibra Corp jobs is that of a robot salesman. The IGTB sing of one such businessman and his cast of "magical men". rating: ** stars
- I suspect the disco-flavored 'Love Station' isn't something Ben E. King looks back on with fondness, or pride ... Another track that really didn't seem to have much to do with the plotline. Kudos to Clarence Carter for turning in the album's best guitar solo. "Launched by the Vibra Corp to play IGTB music and broadcast information on their concert appearances, Love Station's famous D.J. Romeo Jones makes a guest appearance to tell about his life at Love Station." rating: ** stars
- Wonder what it took to get Status Quo to sign up for this project, especially something as bizarre and lyrically grotesque as 'A Planet Called Monday/Epilogue'. Yeah, that was Francis Rossi on lead vocals. The song itself wasn't bad having a mildly pop-oriented flavor and a catchy chorus, but the dark concept definitely showcased some emotional issues for the writers ... "One of the strangest adventures the IGTB ever experienced was its trip to a planet called Monday. Without any permanent source of heat the inhabitants had to come up with a means of artificially heating their planet. This was established the 'Climb for Life' the spiral staircases that brought their people to the top of the sky where they burned their bodies giving off the energy to let others live. This 'Golden Sunrise' would be a sight the IGTB would not forget." rating: *** stars
- The over-the-top ballad AOR 'Keeper Keep Us' served as a preview of Meatloaf's forthcoming "Bat Out of Hell" successes. If you were a Meatloaf fan, this was right up your alley - a typical over-the-top Meatloaf performance. If you weren't a fan then the result was cheesy beyond all description. Hideous, hideous ... rating: * star
The album was tapped for a couple of singles.
UK release
- 1977's 'Love Station' b/w 'Space Commando' (Famous Charisma catalog number CB 306)
- 1977's 'Starship Jingle' b/w 'Reaching Out' (Famous Charisma catalog number CB 307)
US release
- 1977's 'Heartbreaker' b/w 'Heartbreaker' (Passport catalog number PS 7911)
As I said earlier, this album has always reminded me of something out of the Alan Parsons, or Jeff Wayne catalogs - basically a sci-fi book masquerading as a rock album. The difference with this one came in the amount of time and energy devoted to recording these tracks (not necessarily the caliber of the songs) - an investment clearly not paid back given the non-existent sales. Worth tracking down, if only for the camp factor.
"Intergalactic
Touring Band" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Approach (Overture) (instrumental) (Wil Malone) - 2:41
2.) Silver Lady (Danny Beckerman) - 4:29
3.) Universal Zoo/Why? (Danny Beckerman) - 4:56
4.) Starship Jingle (Wil Malone) - 3:29
5.) Heartbreaker (Wil Malone) - 3:59
6.) Reaching Out (Wil Malone) - 4:08
(side
2)
1.) First Landing (Danny Beckerman) - 3:18
2.) Space Commando (Wil Malone) - 4:02
3.) Robot Salesman (Danny Beckerman) -4:43
4.) Love Station (Danny Beckerman) - 2:56
5.) A Planet Called Monday/Epilogue (Danny Beckerman) - 4:34
6.) Keeper Keep Us (Danny Beckerman) - 3:48
Credited to Vibra Corporation, there was also a limited edition 12" promotional, seasonal single:
- 1977's 'Snow White Rock Christmas' b/w 'I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day' (Passport catalog number PSC 7910)
If your curious about this outfit, or simply have a couple of minutes spare time on your hands be sure to check out Steven Douglas Huddleston's amazing IGTB website. He hasn't updated it in a couple of years, but it is still fascinating:
http://www.kongaloid.org/igtb/igtb.html