s/t

Description

The Bad Seeds and Zakary Thaks were mid-sixties Texas garage rock bands, formed in the wake of the British invasion, influenced by The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, The Yardbirds, and others. They became essential local attractions at a time when the 13th Floor Elevators and The Moving Sidewalks were blazing trails into psychedelia. In late 1966, Rod Prince on guitar and Roy Cox on bass from Bad Seeds joined David Fore of Zakary Thaks on drums to form a new San Antonio band featuring two lead guitars. Todd Potter completed the quartet on second guitar and they chose the name Bubble Puppy, taken from Aldous Huxley’s 1932 dystopian novel *Brave New World*. Huxley was an early proponent of LSD, fittingly enough. In 1969, Bubble Puppy recorded a top 20 charting hit with "Hot Smoke & Sasafrass", which begat their album *A Gathering Of Promises*. International Artists, the legendary Texas label that had already issued mind-bending classics by the Elevators, Red Crayola, Golden Dawn, and others, was the perfect fit. When the LP and subsequent 45s didn’t achieve the same success as “Hot Smoke & Sasafrass”, the band hired Nick St. Nicholas of Steppenwolf as their new manager and relocated to Los Angeles. A new band name was in order: Nick St. Nicholas chose Demian, the title of Herman Hesse’s 1919 novel. His books, popular with the counter-culture of the era, had provided Steppenwolf with their new name after replacing the highly successful Sparrow. Demian recorded the album live in the studio at Record Plant in a midnight to 6 a.m. session. Their arrangements were perfectly worked out, allowing them to combine the energy and economy of a live gig with a direct style, conducive to repeated listenings. They were undoubtedly aiming for pop success, employing proto-hard rock techniques in a radio-friendly manner, without compromising powerful guitar movements. The vocals at times recall the Bubble Puppy style, but are more melodic, with vibrant harmonies reminiscent of Moby Grape, Buffalo Springfield, James Gang… sometimes evoking Steve Stills/Richie Furay West Coast without being too soft. The album works beautifully when the radio-friendly vocals crown a devastating guitar ensemble. Early hard rock that is too bluesy and showy can become tiresome with repeated listens, especially if it insists on guitar solos, with the band relegated to the background… Demian maintains interest with inventive musical structures allowing the four musicians to constantly integrate into an ever-evolving yet coherent whole. This album is growing, despite its basic formation (two guitars, bass, and drums) and its no-frills production, we reach heights along the way. Demian is deadly hard rock, a perfectly organized atmosphere, straddling live energy and scholarly journey, among the first obscure major label killers that fetched high prices from collectors as early as the late 70s. It gets there every time, even half a century later!