A registered Communist starts a band called The United States Of America and lands a major label record deal before playing a single live gig ? Only in the Sixties... After studying with avant-garde legend John Cage in New York City, composer Joseph Byrd moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and decided to form a psychedelic rock band. His first recruit was ex-girlfriend Dorethy Moskowitz, whose icy vocals formed the perfect complement for the trippy sonic experiments Byrd had in mind.Their sound blended a range of musical genres, including avant-garde, psychedelic, and progressive. One of the more notable points of the band was that it had no guitar player. Instead, they used strings, keyboards and electronics, including primitive synthesizers, and various audio processors, including the ring modulator.
You can hear a heavy influence by Charles Ives as well - and then there are the "Thanks to USA" in the liner notes of Portishead's song "Half Day Closing" - which bears a more than superficial resemblance to the album's 1st song "American Metaphysical Circus".
An album of acid-rock less dependant on lysergic guitar for its impact than those great, weird sounds of primitive synthesizers from in ’60s.
Get it here: The United States Of America (224Kbps)
And enjoy !
1 Kommentar:
Ah, yes, this is a fine selection. One of the very first uses of electronics in a pop-rock context. Innovative! Got this on lp back in the day.
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