line up 1  (1980-83)

- Bobb Trimble -- vocals, guitar, percussion

  backing musicians (1980)

- Don Christie -- bass, backing vocals

- Fred Hite -- drums (side 2)

- Paul Martin -- drums, percussion

- none known

Genre: psych

Rating: 4 stars ****

Title:  Iron Curtain Innocence

Company: Secretly Canadian

Catalog:  SC 162
Year: 2007

Country/State: Marlborough, Massachusetts

Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+

Comments: no bonus songs coupon, or insert

Available: 1

Catalog ID: 3338

Price: $30.00

Best time to listen to:  foggy Sunday morning

So indeed, Bobb Trimble is real.  Yes, he recorded several early-'80s vanity albums and even played occasional club dates in his native Central Massachusetts.

There's plenty of internet material on Trimble, but much of it seems to underscore he was an outsider from the get-go.  At a time when most of his musical contemporaries were embracing punk and new wave sounds, Trimble was recording a mixture of'60s and '70s  folk and psychedelic-inspired tunes.  The fact his first band The Kidds were literally children (average age 12), while his second band The Crippled Dog Band had a teenaged rhythm section, merely underscored Trimble marched to a different drummer.  It also made it difficult for Trimble to find clubs willing to hire him.  And then there's his music.  Overlooking the bizarre album cover which had a distinctly uncomfortable, slightly threatening image, 

1980's "Iron Curtin Innocence" was released on Trimble's own Vengeance label.  Trimble himself has said he can't remember if 300, or 500 copies were originally pressed, but today original copies are sought after, highly prized and priced collectables.  (For anyone curious, looking online, the most recent sale I found was from May, 2017 where a copy of the original album sold for just short of $2,200.)   Featuring eight original compositions, the album offered up a distinctively '60s and '70s vibe.  I've seen people compare his work to early Syd Barrett era Pink Floyd and that's not a bad analogy.  I would point out songs like 'Your Little Pawn' and 'One Mile From Heaven' were far more tuneful than most of the Pink Floyd catalog.  Personally, I hear Marc Bolan's influence scattered throughout the album.  Like Bolan, Trimble had a high, fragile, and slightly effeminate voice.  I remember originally wondering if Trimble was actually singing, thinking maybe he was letting female backing singers had a shot at the spotlight.  Heavy on dark, slightly ominous ballads, this isn't a celebrate-the-new-year party album.  Themes of loneliness and isolation prevail, so you won;t be needing those dancing shores ...   Not to imply anything about Trimble's persona (based on what I've read, he seems to a nice, quiet, peaceful kind of guy), but tracks like 'Through My Eyes (Hopeless As Hell) (D.O.A)' and 'Killed By the Hands of an Unknown Rock Star' would easily give Sting a run for his money in the aural stalker department.   I've struggled to come up with a way to describe Trimble's unique sound and the best I can come up with is using the analogy of a dark, wet, foggy Sunday morning where everything seems slow and tenuous.  Like watching fog envelop everything around you, there's something fascinating hearing fragments of Trimble's world reveal themselves to you.  Not for everyone, but still worth checking out.

"Iron Curtain Innocence" track listing:
(side 1)

1.) Glass Menagerie Fantasies   (Bobb Trimble) - 5:54   rating: **** stars

Technically I guess you'd initially tag 'Glass Menagerie Fantasies' as a folk song, but kicked along by Trimble's delicate, fey voice, and a fragile melody, the tune literally dripped lysergic elements.  Kind of funny hearing this while looking at the machine gun cover ...  If there was a tune on the album that reminded me of Barrett and Pink Floyd, I guess it would be this one.   Looking a little older, but still unconventional, YouTube has a clip of Trimble performing the tune during a June, 2011 performance at Washington, DC's Velvet Lounge: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gPd68RVh3Zk 

2.) Night At the Asylum   (Bobb Trimble) - 4:56   rating: *** stars

Not exactly the most uplifting song title you could have come up with, 'Night At the Asylum' was definitely strange.  The song sported a pretty, but ominous melody with snippets of  conversations and goofy, Halloween-styled sound effects scattered throughout the background.  And his voice remains a source of confusion - are you sure it isn't one of his female backing singers handling lead vocals ? 

3.) When the Raven Calls   (Bobb Trimble) - 6:36   rating: **** stars

Well, 'When the Raven Calls' made it clear Trimble could play him some fuzz guitar.  It also underscored he could pen a pretty, memorable melody, even if it was coupled with some of the strangest lyrics you'll ever hear - in this case it appeared to be inspired by some sort of Edgar Allen Poe-meets-post-apocalyptic scenario.

4.) Your Little Pawn   (Bobb Trimble) -  4:04  rating: **** stars

C'mon Bobb don't let her abuse you like that ...  Interesting to hear Bobb actually recording something that approached the outer realms of commerciality.  I'll give it an extra star for the burping synthesizers and the song's high camp factor.

(side 2)

1.) One Mile From Heaven (Short Version)    (Bobb Trimble) - 4:08   rating: **** stars

The first of two versions of the song (short and long), 'One Mile From Heaven' (Short Version) was a pretty, highly commercial pop ballad.  Showcasing some lovely acoustic guitar, Trimble even lowered his normally stratospheric voice to a mid-level.  Who knows why the song abruptly faded out ...  YouTube has an undated clip of Trimble performing a solo, acoustic version of the song at his Boston home: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJg9LnWKf_s 

2.) Killed By the Hands of an Unknown Rock Star    (Bobb Trimble) - 5:36   rating: **** stars

It seems to get overlooked in many of the reviews of Trimble's work, but he was a more than decent guitarist.   In spite of the clunky title, 'Killed By the Hands of an Unknown Rock Star' was another pretty ballad, with dark and disturbing lyrics that would have made Sting happy.  Not quite as commercial as the previous 'One Mile' but there was plenty of singer/songwriter angst on this one.  

3.) Through My Eyes (Hopeless As Hell) (D.O.A)    (Bobb Trimble) - 5:05   rating: *** stars

Hum, who would have expected to hear backwards guitar on a small budget, vanity project like this ?   'Through My Eyes (Hopeless As Hell) (D.O.A)' was a return to the slow, lysergic-tinged vibe that covered side one.

4.) One Mile From Heaven (Long Version)     (Bobb Trimble) -5:43   rating: **** stars

I've always wondered why this one appeared in two versions that appeared very similar ...   Oh, I get it, this one as longer.  Seriously, was it simply that Trimble had run out of material?   

At the urging of Trimble friend Kurt Thompson, in 2007 the Indiana-based Secret Canadian label reissued the album in CD and vinyl formats.

SRB 01/2018