B

Wow, even without playing this album the overwrought liner notes ("Nightbird a desperate nocturnal Spirit seeking any fragment of warmth and compassion it can find. Nursing the broken wings of love, rage and fury. Nesting anywhere it can find comfort and strength t restore a song from the wounds of its love so that once again the Spirit can pursue the relentless and dedicated search for the love of life and the life of its love") let you know that this is going to be something different ... It also poses a major problem in trying to give it a fair grade. Unless you're a 'real person' fan, or willing to give the Kaplan Brothers credit for their sheer bravery in recording this set, then you probably won't get it. On the other hand, if your tastes include the bizarre and weird, the four star rating will probably make sense. Fair warning, this ain't going to be for everyone !!!

The third Kaplan Brothers album, 1978's "Nightbird: An Electric Symphony" is in fact one of the holy grails in 'real people' collecting. Having listened to this album dozens of times, It's simply hard to know where to start ... If you can imagine actor Richard Harris (of 'McArthur Park' infamy') having consumed a case of burbon and then deciding to stumble into a recording studio to cut a concept album, you'll get the general feel for this collection. Oh, I forgot to mention that the nine tracks come wrapped in some of the most hysterical mellotron moves you'll ever hear. The fact the Kaplans were clearly intent on making a big statement makes the results even more bewildering ... just check out the 'la la la' lyrics that open up 'Vodka and Caviare' (their spelling, not mine). Barely in-tune (but pompous) vocals, world class lounge act arrangements, way too much whistling, scattered goofy sound effects and those dreadful mellotrons make for an album that can only be described as 'special'. I'll also tell you that picking the standout track is tough. Their stab at King Crimson's 'Epitaph' is pretty much beyond description (talk about gumption). Also in the running is their stone faced cover of The Cascades' 'Listen to the Falling Rain'. How anyone could turn this piece of pop fluff into a dark and depressing epic is beyond me. The Kaplans some manage to do it. Opening with a cheesy rain sound effect, their cover version manages to included nursery rhyme lyrics, a thunder storm segment, a ten second snatch of Edvard Grieg's 'Hall of the Mountain King' and what sounds like a snippet of Yes' 'Roundabout'. Another possibility for best of show, the spaghetti western-influenced 'Life and Me'. Regardless, trying to picture the reaction of a Holiday Inn happy hour crowd to this epic (especially if they ever tried to play it live), is truly mind boggling. 'Honey, let's go up and buy a copy of the album during the intermission ...' (PS - The album includes a signed black and white publicity photo, but if you look at the bottom of the photo, their name is misspelled as 'The Kapan Brothers'.)

"Nightbird" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Ode to Life
2.) Vodka and Caviare
3.) Epitaph
4.) Listen to the Falling Rain
5.) Life and Me

Geez, imagine hearing a bizarre mixture of Bill Murray lounge act and a not all that subtle ripoff of David LaFlame's White Bird' .. Strange and fascinating.
3.) Happy
4.) He

Anyone know the details on these guys? Some references say they were from California, others Chicago. Many references say they were a duo, but the cover art and the promo photo that came with the LP show they were a trio.

Having asked the question, lo and behold, someone had some information on The Kaplans.

We were "Adult Groupies" and followed them for several years in the 70's when they played the midwest. When they left for the West Coast, we lost track of them. First saw them when they played at the "Fife and Drum" restaurant in DeKalb Illinois, our hometown. Subsequently followed them when ever we could in Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin. I recorded them whenever I could with a very basic two track setup on cassette. One channel plugged directly into their amp, the other a live mike. Eventually I had 20-25 hours on tapes.

When we followed them, they were a trio. Dick played guitar and was the lead vocal, Ed played bongo drums and some flute. The third member was not related to them, his name was Larry Andies. Larry played electric bass and sang falsetto harmony. He was also the composer of most of their original music; "Night Bird' was his. On one occasion Larry came to our place and during the evening played some of his music that the band wasn't using, it was (in my opinion) quite good.

As I said previously, we followed them all over. Our kids were teens at the time so we could pickup and go at a moments notice. We would drive to where they were playing, and after the sets go out with them and have a late night meal, then drive home.

One summer when they were working a resort in Wisconsin, we joined them for a long weekend and got to stay at the resort gratis as "guests of the band".

They kept their "book" updated, introduced new material constantly, Toward the end of our contact with them they were doing more and more of their own (Larry's) material.

Our last contact with them was in March of 1974 when they played at a place called the Yardarm in Ames Iowa. We drove out there for their last night (a Saturday) when they finished that engagement they were leaving for California. After that we lost track of them.