Raw Holly
Band members Related acts
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line up 1 (1970) - Arthur Brown -- vocals, vibraphone, recorded - Dave Ambrose -- bass - Pete Bailey -- percussion - Robert Ellwood -- lead guitar - Rob Tait -- drums, percussion
line up 1 (1970) - Arthur Brown -- vocals, vibraphone, recorded NEW - Julian Paul Brown -- keyboards, synthesizers - Dave Ambrose -- bass - Pete Bailey -- percussion - Robert Ellwood -- lead guitar NEW - Andy McCulloch -- drums, percussion (replaced Rob Tait)
line up 2 (1971-72) - Arthur Brown -- vocals, vibraphone, recorded - Julian Paul Brown -- keyboards, synthesizers NEW - Andy Dalby -- vocals, lead guitar (replaced Robert Ellwood) NEW - Desmond John Fisher -- bass (replaced Dave Ambrose) - Michael "Goodge" Harris -- keyboards, synthesizers NEW - Martin John "Slim" Steer -- drums, percussion (replaced Andy McCullocg)
line up 3 (1972) - Arthur Brown -- vocals, virbraphone, recorded - Andy Dalby -- vocals, lead guitar NEW - Michael "Goodge" Harris -- keyboards, synthesizers (replaced Julian Brown) NEW - Phil Shutt (aka Phil Curtis) (RIP) -- bass, vocals (replaced Desmond John Fisher) - Martin John "Slim" Steer -- drums, percussion
line up 4 (1973) - Arthur Brown -- vocals, drum machine, recorder - Andy Dalby -- vocals, lead guitar NEW - Victor Peraino -- keyboards, synthesizers, theramin, percussion, vocals (replaced Michael William "Goodie" Harris) - Phil Shutt (aka Phil Curtis) (RIP) -- bass, vocals (replaced Desmond John Fisher)
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- ARC (Rob Tait) - Arcadium (Robert Ellwood) - The Arthur Brown Set - The Arthur Brown Union - Brian Auger & the Trinity (Dave Ambrose) - Peter B's Looners (Dave Ambrose) - The Battered Ornaments (Peter Bailey and Rob Tait) - The Jeff Beck Group (Dave Ambrose) - Bell & Arc (Rob Tait) - The Booker T's (Dave Ambrose) - Camel (Andy Dalby) - Charge (Julian Paul Brown and Slim Steer) - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (Arthur Brown) - Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments (Peter Bailey and Rob Tait) - Pete Brown & Piblokto! (Rob Tait) - Andy Dalby (solo efforts) - The Kiki Dee Band (Phil Curtis) - Fields (Andy McCulloch) - The Foundations (Arthur Brown) - Gong (Rob Tait) - Greenslade (Andy McCulloch) - King Crimson (Andy McCulloch) - The Owl (Rob Tait) - Victor Peraino's King Come (Victor Peraino) - The Shotgun Express (Dave Ambrose) - Shy Limbs (Andy McCulloch) - Sisters (Robert Ellwood) - Spirit of John Morgan (Phil Curtis) - Steampacket (Dave Ambrose) - The SW5 (Arthur Brown) - Tiger (Phil Curtis) - Vapour Trails (Andy Dalby and Phil Curtis) - Vinegar Joe (Rob Tait)
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Genre: progressive Rating: 2 stars ** Title: Kingdom Come Company: Polydor Catalog: 2310-178 Country/State: UK Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: -- Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $50.00
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The band's sophomore album, 1972's "Kingdom Come" reflected an updated line-up with keyboardist Julian Brown replaced by Michael "Goodge" Harris and bassist Desmond Fisher replaced by Phil Shutt (aka Phil Curtis). Self-produced, I've always thought the second album was a drugged-out aural mess. Apparently intended as part of an extended concept piece, Brown's quoted as saying "Galatic Zoo Dossier" focused on the state of humankind in the present. "Kingdom Come" looked at the human animal itself and the dichotomy between the body and mind. While "Journey" focused on cosmic and spiritual matters. Hell if I have a clue what any of it was about. Nowhere near as cohesive, or entertaining as the debut album (which was nowhere near as good as "The Crazy World of Arthur Brown"), getting through these lengthy, disjointed, chaotic compositions has always been a struggle for me. I kept reading about hidden "treasures" in these grooves. Darn, I must not have looked hard enough. The mixture of sophomoric English humor (check out 'The Experiment (feat. "Lower Colonic Irrigation"), experimentation ('City Melody'), progressive moves and jazzy turns just left me cold and confused. As for the concept, even the explanations I've read are confusing - man is turned into a traffic light and then it gets really strange. Showcasing Brown's unique voice, the Gospel-tinged ballad 'Love Is a Spirit That Will Never Die' struck my ears as the album's most conventional and enjoyable effort. On any other album the track would have been relegated in the "also ran" category, but against the rest of these efforts, it was pretty good. Speaking of vocals, this time around Brown shared the spotlight with singer/guitarist Andy Dalby. In contrast to Brown's booming, theatric vocals, as displayed on the second half o 'The Experiment', Dalby had a dry, flat voice that would have sounded right at home on a Fairport Convention album. It sounded very strange next to Brown's performances. Clearly there are folks that like this collection so there must be something here. I'll set it aside and come back in a couple of years to see if anything has changed.
Polydor certainly didn't seem to know what to make of the album. It was the only one of the three LPs that did not see a single released. The buying public was similarly unimpressed, with the album generating few sales.
Keeping up his theatric leanings, Brown had each member dress up for their live performances. Brown typically dressed as a boat while Dalby wore a phone-shaped helmet. Bet that was fun for the band.
"Kingdom
Come" track listing: 1.) Water (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 8:10 rating: ** stars Did I put a Monty Python album on by mistake ... No, I don't think so 'cause nothing here was funny. The first part of this extended track sounded like a studio warm up with random taped dinner conversations, drunken football fans and seemingly endless blowing wind storm sound effects slapped on top of it. About two minutes in Goodie Harris started playing some bland elevator music jazz chords. That slowly morphed into something resembling a faceless film score. Arthur Brown's stoned voice finally made an appearance, but coming halfway through the song; surrounded by crashing wave sound effects and sounding like he was singing from the bottom of a well, I no longer really cared about the opener. It's weird, but at different times on the track Brown reminded me of Richard Thompson and Tom Jones. And then the final spoken word "Captain" snippet got me back to the Monty Python comparison ... What did I buy here? 2.) Love Is a Spirit That Will Never Die (Julian Brown) - 4:20 rating: **** stars Brown certainly had a unique voice. I find it instantly recognizable. It certainly benefits from being surrounded by quality material which meant the Gospel-ish ballad 'Love Is a Spirit That Will Never Die' was a mixed success. Certainly better than the opener, this one got better as it went along with Andy Dalby showcasing some tasteful, thick power chords. YouTube has a live 1999 acoustic performance of the song that is pretty spectacular: Arthur Brown - Love is (The spirit that will never die) - Live January 1999 (youtube.com) 3.) City Melody (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 6:10 rating: ** stars Opening up with some crashing Hammond B-3, 'City Melodies' captured Brown and band (Dalby on the second vocal), at their most "music hall" and experimental. Much of the song served as a spotlight for Harris' jazzy organ moves. The Atari sounding synthesizers kicked in around the three minute mark and the song started to get really weird with stream-of-consciousness lyrics, church bills, anonymous conversations, sirens, etc. Anyone into Brian Auger was liable to enjoy this one, though most folks are just going to scratch their heads. I would strongly suggest it's a bad song to be tripping to. 4.) Traffic Light Song (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 2:43 rating: *** stars Built on a funky Dalby riff, 'Traffic Light Song' again showcased Brown and Dalby on vocals. After all these years I still don't have a clue what the song was about - a traffic light that cannot turn green. Okat.
(side
2) Even though it featured Dalby on lead vocals, 'The Teacher' showcased Brown's operatic and English music hall fantasies. Like one Roger Waters, you got the impression Brown wasn't a big fan of the teaching profession. The song also had a nod to the previous traffic light theme - whatever that was about. Hard to image sitting through this one at a concert. LOL 2.) The Experiment (featuring "Lower Colonic Irrigation") (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 7:25 rating: ** stars 'The Teacher' flowed directly into 'The Experiment (featuring "Lower Colonic Irrigation")' where it continued the keyboard and guitar powered jazzy melody before Brown stepped in with some totally bizarro lyrics - "my waste products evaporate ..." Complete with fart and excrement jokes, it was very Zappa-esque to my ears. And then halfway through the song, everything changed. Dalby took over lead vocals and the song floated down a folky path, which was a good platform for Dalby's dry, slightly flat voice. 3.) The Whirpool (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 4:17 rating: *** stars Opening up with the sound of frogs, babies, trotting horses, ticking clocks and gawd knows what other effects, powered by Dalby's guitar 'The Whirpool' offered up the album's most conventional melody. Again, you got a peek at Brown's unique voice, but the highly personal lyrics were a tough slog. The track also served to showcase Phil Shutt's deep, rumbling bass lines. 4.) The Hymn (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Michael "Goodge" Harris - Phil Shutt - Martin John "Slim" Steer) - 8:44 rating: *** stars I have to smile every time I hear Brown's pretentious, goofy lyrics "this is my body, hair sticking strangely through my skin ..." and theatrical vocals transposed against the somber, calming keyboard-propelled melody. The song actually got significantly better when Dalby and Harris kicked in on guitar and keyboards. To my ears this was the song that served to show Dalby was quite an accomplished player.
© Scott R. Blackerby 05/2024
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Genre: progressive Rating: *** (3 stars) Title: Journey Company: Passport Catalog: 98003 Country/State: UK Year: 1973 Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: Available: 2 Catalog ID: -- Price: $25.00
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As to be
expected, prior to the release of 1973's "Journey"
the band underwent another set of personnel changes. This time
around drummer Martin
"Slim" Steer tendered his notice. Rather than replacing
him, Brown and company decided to buy a Bentley Rhythm Ace drum machine.
Brown did the programming. Elsewhere longtime keyboard player
"Goodie" Harris was replaced by American Victor
Peraino. The third and final
Kingdom Come album (credited to "Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come"
for American audiences), anyone expecting to hear something along the
lines of 'Fire' was goi
In case anyone cares, the America cover courtesy by David Powell was far more attractive than the UK version (Polydor catalog number 2310 254).
"Journey"
track listing: 1.) Time Captives (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 8:13 2.) Triangles (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 3:20 3.) Gypsy (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 9:10
(side
2) a. Lost Time b. Superficial Roadblocks c. Corpora Supercelestia 2.) Conception (instrumental) (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 2:06 3.) Spirit of Joy (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 3:15 4.) Come Alive (Arthur Brown - Andy Dalby - Phil Shutt - Victor Peraino) - 8:45
For synthesizers Kingdom Come used the VCS3, and the Mellotron and Theremin also figured prominently in the group's repertoire, especially after the addition of Victor Peraino in the band's line-up. On the final album, Journey, recorded in November 1972, there was no drummer either on the record or on tour; all the drum sounds were from the Bentley Rhythm Ace, an early drum machine manufactured by the Ace Tone company of Japan (Ace Tone later evolved into the Roland Corporation). Journey was the first album on which a drum machine produced all the percussion. A number of factors contributed to the end of Kingdom Come, including mediocre album sales, critical disdain, the revolving door membership of the band, and Brown's frustration with the music business in general. The band dissolved rather than officially breaking up, with Brown citing a desire to play simpler music and opt for a simpler lifestyle in general in later interviews. Following their split, Peraino returned to Detroit, where he made an album called No Man's Land in 1975 with some local musicians as Victor Peraino's Kingdom Come. Nearly 40 years later, in 2014, Peraino made another album, Journey in Time, under the same group name, this time with guest appearances from Arthur Brown on five of the tracks.
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to disappointed by the album.
I'll admit this one was an improvement over the self-titled second album.
Exemplified by the opener 'Time Captives', Brown and company opted
for a surprisingly aggressive
set that mixed progressive moves with extended instrumental segments.
With the focus on synthesizers (courtesy of keyboardist Peraino),
various electronic production enhancement and an irritating Bentley Rhythm
Ace drum machine, to my ears heavily orchestrated tracks such as 'Gypsy'
and 'Superficial Roadblocks' just never seemed to get going.
Luckily, Brown's eccentric voice and mannerisms remained instantly
recognizable. While rather far and few between, the album managed to
cough up a couple of redeeming moments.
'Spirit of Joy' and 'Come
Alive' boasted fairly conventional rock structures (the latter had
some nice guitar from Andy Dalby), while Brown's blood curdling screams on
'Conception' were pretty cool - they
certainly upset the family cat. Kind of a curiosity to me, but while
the liner notes credited Dennis Taylor as producing the set, Taylor only
handled two tracks. Turns out that Dave Edmunds (credited with 'remixing'
the album) actually produced the remaining five tracks at his Rockfield
Studios.
