ARTHUR BROWN'S KINGDOM COME
'''THE LOST EARS', DISC TWO''
1976
88:52
********************
DISC ONE (44:35)
1 Internal Messenger 04:21
2 Space Plucks 03:11
3 Trouble-Brains-Night Of The Pigs 03:59
4 Creep-Creation-Gypsy Escape 11:36
5 Love Is A Spirit 03:56
6 The Experiment 08:45
7 The Hymn 06:01
8 The Traffic Light Song 02:42
**********
DISC TWO (44:17)
1 Spirit Of Joy 02:47
2 Time Captives 07:10
3 Conception 02:04
4 Come Alive 08:24
5 Sunrise 06:33
6 Triangles 03:05
7 Metal Monster 01:48
8 Space Plucks-Dem Bones 05:53
9 So High Up Here 02:53
10 Through The Planets 03:35
********************
Arthur Brown/Vocals
John Marshall/Drums
McCullogh/Keyboards
Dennis Taylor/Bass Guitar
Drachen Theaker/Drums
Thunderthighs/Vocals
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
DISCOGS
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
The Lost Ears compiles almost 90 minutes of Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come from the years 1968-1972. There is nothing of the perverse majesty that his "Fire" single boasted, save Arthur Brown's personality sprinkled over these four sides. There are three unreleased tracks by Brown's Puddletown Express band and extensive liner notes from Chris Welch of Melody Maker, dated 1976. Those notes remind listeners that Alice Cooper cites Arthur as an influence, and the story of a night this band opened for Alice adds to the intrigue as the heavy progressive music plays. Andy McCulloch of Greenslade and Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer went through the revolving door of Arthur Brown's musical ministry, and his influence on those groups -- at least musically -- is documented here. "Love Is a Spirit" is an almost a cappella opening to side two, with just the keyboards creating an eerie church-like feel before the band kicks in and gets heavier, a thick dirge that is the rule, not the exception, and maybe a reason why this extraordinary artist never fully caught on. "The Experiment" is Deep Purple during their Tetragrammaton phase, and maybe Arthur Brown would have been better off following their lead and reinventing Joe South material. That Vanilla Fudge formula launched Deep Purple while Goodge Harris does his best Jon Lord, but the music remains somewhat inaccessible. Brown shifts somewhere between Sylvester & the Hot Band to some Frank Zappa-inspired nightmare. "Time Captives" is excellent science fiction rock, and one gets the feeling that, had the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Kingdom Come, and Puddletown Express had a Shep Gordon managing or an Andy Warhol endorsing him, this controlled insanity would have reached a wider audience. The concise and succinct power of his 1968 smash is missing on The Lost Ears, and despite the excellent musicianship, this lengthy collection becomes an ordeal. The two and a half minutes of "Conception" have Arthur Brown howling like some whacked-out witch doctor, and it's entertaining, but you aren't going to play it three times in a row, and Dr. John the Night Tripper learned how to bring that persona full circle. The Lost Ears is an important document of an innovative figure, a Screamin' Jay Hawkins from a far distant future. Missing are hit singles, and Alice Cooper could have repaid the musical debt by helping Arthur Brown out with that. The Puddletown Express material sounds like Syd Barrett escaped from the asylum to make another record, and who's to say that's a bad thing?
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Rovi
This UK band was formed in 1971 by the eccentric Arthur Brown (b. Arthur Wilton-Brown, 24 June 1944, Whitby, Yorkshire, England), a vocalist who had achieved momentary commercial fame three years earlier with his memorable single, "Fire". This new venture was completed by Andrew Dalby (b. Gainsborough, England; guitar), Julian Paul Brown (b. Liverpool, England; synthesizer), Michael Harris (keyboards), Desmond Fisher (bass) and Martin Steer (drums), a line-up immortalized in the film Glastonbury Fayre. Their debut album, Galactic Zoo Dossier, was a radical, experimental set, and featured an extended version of "Space Plucks", a piece the singer had written for his previous band with organist Vincent Crane. This high standard was sadly not maintained on its follow-up, Kingdom Come, which relied on contemporary progressive styles and featured new bass player Phil Shutt. Harris and Steer were dropped from the band for Journey, on which Brown, Dalby and Shutt were joined by keyboardist Victor Peraino and a drum machine. Kingdom Come broke up completely when their founder embarked on an erratic solo career.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
One of the most electrifying one-shot artists of the '60s, British singer Arthur Brown briefly set the charts alight in 1968, as well as thrilling audiences with his theatrical performances, which saw him wearing helmets of fire and outlandish costumes. His debut album was surely one of the most left-field commercial successes of the late '60s, if not of rock history. In addition to topping the British charts (and reaching number two in the U.S.) with his brilliantly demonic single "Fire," the self-proclaimed god of hellfire actually scored a Top Ten LP with his 1968 debut. Unveiling Brown's demented, fire-obsessed lyrical visions and swooping, theatrical vocals, it showcased his band's manic, agitated psychedelic sound, which was anchored by incendiary drumming, Pete Townshend's production, and an organist who could be best described as Jimmy Smith on acid. Brown's original band broke up in early 1969; in the early '70s he released several albums with Kingdom Come, which saw him pursuing a maddeningly obscure and less exciting brand of art rock. He recorded off and on after, with an additional flash of fame springing from his role as a priest in the film Tommy.
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
'''THE LOST EARS', DISC TWO''
1976
88:52
********************
DISC ONE (44:35)
1 Internal Messenger 04:21
2 Space Plucks 03:11
3 Trouble-Brains-Night Of The Pigs 03:59
4 Creep-Creation-Gypsy Escape 11:36
5 Love Is A Spirit 03:56
6 The Experiment 08:45
7 The Hymn 06:01
8 The Traffic Light Song 02:42
**********
DISC TWO (44:17)
1 Spirit Of Joy 02:47
2 Time Captives 07:10
3 Conception 02:04
4 Come Alive 08:24
5 Sunrise 06:33
6 Triangles 03:05
7 Metal Monster 01:48
8 Space Plucks-Dem Bones 05:53
9 So High Up Here 02:53
10 Through The Planets 03:35
********************
Arthur Brown/Vocals
John Marshall/Drums
McCullogh/Keyboards
Dennis Taylor/Bass Guitar
Drachen Theaker/Drums
Thunderthighs/Vocals
********************
ABOUT THE ALBUM
DISCOGS
********************
REVIEW/AMG
Joe Viglione
The Lost Ears compiles almost 90 minutes of Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come from the years 1968-1972. There is nothing of the perverse majesty that his "Fire" single boasted, save Arthur Brown's personality sprinkled over these four sides. There are three unreleased tracks by Brown's Puddletown Express band and extensive liner notes from Chris Welch of Melody Maker, dated 1976. Those notes remind listeners that Alice Cooper cites Arthur as an influence, and the story of a night this band opened for Alice adds to the intrigue as the heavy progressive music plays. Andy McCulloch of Greenslade and Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake & Palmer went through the revolving door of Arthur Brown's musical ministry, and his influence on those groups -- at least musically -- is documented here. "Love Is a Spirit" is an almost a cappella opening to side two, with just the keyboards creating an eerie church-like feel before the band kicks in and gets heavier, a thick dirge that is the rule, not the exception, and maybe a reason why this extraordinary artist never fully caught on. "The Experiment" is Deep Purple during their Tetragrammaton phase, and maybe Arthur Brown would have been better off following their lead and reinventing Joe South material. That Vanilla Fudge formula launched Deep Purple while Goodge Harris does his best Jon Lord, but the music remains somewhat inaccessible. Brown shifts somewhere between Sylvester & the Hot Band to some Frank Zappa-inspired nightmare. "Time Captives" is excellent science fiction rock, and one gets the feeling that, had the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, Kingdom Come, and Puddletown Express had a Shep Gordon managing or an Andy Warhol endorsing him, this controlled insanity would have reached a wider audience. The concise and succinct power of his 1968 smash is missing on The Lost Ears, and despite the excellent musicianship, this lengthy collection becomes an ordeal. The two and a half minutes of "Conception" have Arthur Brown howling like some whacked-out witch doctor, and it's entertaining, but you aren't going to play it three times in a row, and Dr. John the Night Tripper learned how to bring that persona full circle. The Lost Ears is an important document of an innovative figure, a Screamin' Jay Hawkins from a far distant future. Missing are hit singles, and Alice Cooper could have repaid the musical debt by helping Arthur Brown out with that. The Puddletown Express material sounds like Syd Barrett escaped from the asylum to make another record, and who's to say that's a bad thing?
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Rovi
This UK band was formed in 1971 by the eccentric Arthur Brown (b. Arthur Wilton-Brown, 24 June 1944, Whitby, Yorkshire, England), a vocalist who had achieved momentary commercial fame three years earlier with his memorable single, "Fire". This new venture was completed by Andrew Dalby (b. Gainsborough, England; guitar), Julian Paul Brown (b. Liverpool, England; synthesizer), Michael Harris (keyboards), Desmond Fisher (bass) and Martin Steer (drums), a line-up immortalized in the film Glastonbury Fayre. Their debut album, Galactic Zoo Dossier, was a radical, experimental set, and featured an extended version of "Space Plucks", a piece the singer had written for his previous band with organist Vincent Crane. This high standard was sadly not maintained on its follow-up, Kingdom Come, which relied on contemporary progressive styles and featured new bass player Phil Shutt. Harris and Steer were dropped from the band for Journey, on which Brown, Dalby and Shutt were joined by keyboardist Victor Peraino and a drum machine. Kingdom Come broke up completely when their founder embarked on an erratic solo career.
********************
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Richie Unterberger
One of the most electrifying one-shot artists of the '60s, British singer Arthur Brown briefly set the charts alight in 1968, as well as thrilling audiences with his theatrical performances, which saw him wearing helmets of fire and outlandish costumes. His debut album was surely one of the most left-field commercial successes of the late '60s, if not of rock history. In addition to topping the British charts (and reaching number two in the U.S.) with his brilliantly demonic single "Fire," the self-proclaimed god of hellfire actually scored a Top Ten LP with his 1968 debut. Unveiling Brown's demented, fire-obsessed lyrical visions and swooping, theatrical vocals, it showcased his band's manic, agitated psychedelic sound, which was anchored by incendiary drumming, Pete Townshend's production, and an organist who could be best described as Jimmy Smith on acid. Brown's original band broke up in early 1969; in the early '70s he released several albums with Kingdom Come, which saw him pursuing a maddeningly obscure and less exciting brand of art rock. He recorded off and on after, with an additional flash of fame springing from his role as a priest in the film Tommy.
********************
WEBSITE
********************
TO THE TOP
********************
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