Indescribably Delicious


Band members                             Related acts

  line up 1 (1965-68)  

- Mark Cohen -- drums, percussion

- Jim Conroy -- vocals

- Art Johnson -- rhythm guitar

- Bruce Turner -- guitar

- Steve Senchia -- bass

 

 

 

 

- The Bountymen (Jim Conrow and Bruce Turner)

- Crystal Circus (Bruce Turner)

- Darkwaters (Mark Cohen and Steve Senchia)

- Jimmy Discount 

- Strawberry SAC (Bruce Turner)

 

 

 


 

Genre: psychedelic

Rating: 3 stars ***

Title:  Indescribably Delicious

Company: Fanny 

Catalog:  FAN 20.08 92
Year:
 1993

Country/State: Torrance, California

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: 500 copy pressing

Available: 1

Catalog ID: --

Price: $

Another Southern California band that had to wait three decades to get a bit of recognition.  Except, in spite of what the record labels would like you to believe, it really isn't the story of a Southern California band, rather it's a mixture of band's and a couple of greedy record labels.

 

Singer Jim Conroy and guitarist Bruce Turner had been playing in The Bountymen when they were asked to jam with another local band - Darkwaters which included bassist Mark Cohen and drummer Steve Senchia.  Still in their teens, the four musicians found common musical interest and decided to form their own band; Indescribably Delicious (also known as I.D.).  Under their new nomenclature, they entered a local "battle of the bands" contest which they promptly won.  Playing local parties and dances saw them start to build a following which brought them to the attention of Gary Soloman (aka Gary Solo) who signed on as their manager.  Soloman helped the group polish their repertoire, added a light show to their act, and help them break into the local club scene.  From their they started opening for nationally known touring bands including The Buffalo Springfield, Steppenwolf, The Turtles and The Yardbirds.

 

 

In 1968 Soloman arranged for the band to record a couple of demos for Bill Holmes' All-American Records label.  Even though the band had not signed a contract, Holmes saw fit to release a single from the sessions:

 

- 1968's 'Baby I Love You' b/w 'Brother Where Are You' (All-American catalog number 5718 A/B)

 

 

Straight from Jim Conroy's mouth, here's the rest of the band's brief history and how the album credited to Indescribably Delicious came to be.

 

"... I was asked to come up to Hollywood and sing on a demo that the lead singer of the Strawberry Alarm Clock [Greg Mumford] and Gary Solo were making. I agreed to do it even though I didn't think the songs were very good, as I saw it as a chance to get some more recording experience. Bill Holmes had nothing to do with writing those songs, although he's credited as such on the Akarma release. Afterwards they made a small test pressing of the tunes and also put the three I.D. tunes on it. They gave me two of the test pressings, which I played for the guys and we all thought it was pretty funny. The tunes were bad, the playing was bad, and my singing was done in one pass, take it or leave it. I didn't really know the songs very well at all. The test pressing was jokingly called 'the Conroy' and we never listened to it again.

About a year after we had done our recording Bruce Turner got the call to be the lead guitar player for the Strawberry Alarm Clock and decided to take it. At the time The Strawberry Alarm Clock had split in two and Bill Holmes had the lead singer with one band and the other members had another. Bruce joined the one with Bill Holmes and the lead singer which lasted about 6 months when the two factions sued each other and ended up in the courts for the next 15 years. So, that's what happened to the Strawberry Alarm Clock and I'm sure Bill Holmes had a lot to do with that. As for the I.D., after Bruce left we broke up and that was that. It was the Fall of 1968."

 

So what's this baby sound like?  Well, as you'd expect from material recorded hastily and reflecting songs performed by different groups, there wasn't a sense of unity across these twelve performances.  Musically the collection jumped all over the place including stabs at mid-'60s garage, blue-eyed soul, AM pop ballads, rock, and even modest nods to psychedelia.   Of the two "bands" represented on the collection, the three Indescribably Delicious cuts were the strongest.  While all three tracks were outside covers, their version of The Who's 'The Kids Are Alright' was energetic and showed good tastes in outside material.  Similarly their jazz-meets garage version of Oscar Brown Jr.'s Baby I Love You' was arresting and a blue-eyed soul take on 'Baby I Love You' would have made The Rascals proud.  For a teen, Conroy was a surprisingly assured vocalist with the rest of the band demonstrating their extensive work in live settings.  The nine Greg Mumford/Strawberry SAC tracks were far more varied in terms of material and quality.   Mumford's voice was more polished than Conroy's but much of the material he was saddled with was subpar.  Clearly, Holmes and All-American were trying to find a marketing niche for Mumford and the revamped Strawberry Alarm Clock band.   Highlights included the blue-eyed soul opener 'Take a Little Bit of Loving', the lysergic-tinged folk-rocker 'Is It Love?', and the garage rocker 'No Time To Answer.'  

 

I wouldn't spend my next paycheck on this one, but at the right price, it's worth a spin.

So that's the history of the tracks featured on the 1993 Fanny "Indescribably Delicious" and the 1999 Arkarma release "Good Enough To Eat" (catalog number AK 046) releases.  Different cover art (Chilean artist Edgardo Cabrera's cover is the better of the two packages), but same tracks even though many of the tunes reflected different titles and writing credits (example 'Work Song' was listed as 'It's Been a Hard Hard Day' on the Arkarma release). 

 

Given the material was derived from a thirty year old acetate the sound quality was acceptable.  Nothing great, but you've hear far worse.

 

 

 

  

"Indescribably Delicious" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Take a Little Bit of Loving   (Bill Holmes - Gary Soloman) - 1:53    rating: *** stars

The album opened up with a decent slice of blue-eyed soul, showcasing Mumford's likeable voice.  Seems unlikely that Holmes and Soloman actually wrote the tune.  Interestingly, on the Arkarma album the song was titled 'Love for My Baby.'

2.) The Kids Are Alright   (Pete Townshend) - 2:05   rating: *** stars

One of three Indescribably Delicious performances, kudos to these guys for being one of the earliest American bands to recognize The Who's talent.  That said their cover of 'The Kids Are Alright' wasn't a major breakthrough.  They stuck pretty close to the original arrangement, singer Conroy adding a charming Buddy Holly echo to his delivery.  Hearing Steve Senchia given a chance to mimic Keith Moon was a hoot and provided the song's highlight

3.) Rest of My Life   (Bill Holmes - Gary Soloman) - 2:14   rating: *** stars

'Rest of My Life' was a nice, if overly orchestrated ballad.  Always liked the Flamenco guitar colorings.  

4.) I Got To Love You Again   (Gary Solo) - 2:00   rating: *** stars

Toughening up the sound, 'I Got To Love You Again' showcased some steaming fuzz lead guitar.  Another one with title discrepancies - on the Arkarma LP it was listed as 'Look Look.'

5.) Work Song - 2:05  rating: **** stars

'Work Song' was a stomping, blue-eyed soul rocker.  The track would have sounded good on AM radio.  This track was listed a 'It's Been a Hard Hard Day' on the Arkarma release. 

6.) Is It Love?  (Greg Mumford) - 2:43   rating: **** stars

With Mumford on lead vocals, 'Is It Love' was a sweet, lysergic-tinged folk-rock melody and provided one of the album's prettiest performances.  I think it was Mumford, but I've always wondered who provided the stabbing organ washes.

 

(side 2)

1.) One Last Ride   (Gary Solo) - 2:38  rating: *** stars

One of the more fully arranged tracks, 'One Last Ride' also shifted towards a more conventional rock song, including a blazing guitar solo.  'This one was listed as 'Take Me for a Ride' on the Arkama release.

2.) Brother Where Are You?   (Nat Adderley - Oscar Brown Jr.) - 2:40   rating: **** stars

Oscar Brown Jr.'s original, Freddie Cole, Al Wilson, The Midnighters - all recorded nice versions of this one.  Powered by Conroy's raspy voice (how could this guy still be in his teens?), this arrangement managed to somehow meld jazz, garage, and jazzy vibes.  As one of three Indescribably Delicious recordings, it was unlike anything else on the album and one of the highlights.  In another marketing twist, in 1970 Bill Holmes All-American label reissued the same track as a Ernie Joseph and Big Brother 45:

 

 

 

 

- 1970's 'E.S.P.' b/w 'Brother, Where Are You' (All-American catalog number 5718)

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.) In Too Deep  (Greg Mumford - Ruth Batchelor) - 1:45  rating: *** stars

Far too short, 'In Too Deep' was another tasty rocker with a great little guitar solo.   It also featured Mumford's best vocal.

4.) Big Ben   (Gary Solo) - 2:34   rating: * star

Ah, a mid-'60s "big statement" song ...  A rather tuneless and shapeless ballad, unfortunately Mumford sounded out of tune and out of breath on this one.   The Arkarma LP showed this one under the title 'Peace and Glory.'

5.) Baby I Love You   (Jerry Ragovoy) - 2:14   rating; *** stars

Previously released as Indiscribably Delicious' debut single, 'Baby I Love You' was a straight-ahead slice of Felix Cavaliere and the Rascals-styled blue-eyed soul.  Complete with a Stax-styled horn arrangement thus one would have made a nice single.  (My humble opinion, the Howard Tate version was even better.)

6.) No Time To Answer  (Gary Solo - W. Holister) - 2:28   rating: **** stars

The best Strawberry SAC performance, 'No Time To Answer' ended the album with a tasty slice of Farfisa and wha-wha guitar powered garage rock.  Loved the apocalyptic lyrics and end-of-song barnyard sound effects.  The track was listed as 'The World Is Ended Right Now' on the Arkarma release.

 

 

 

 

 

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