| Track: | Rating: | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Phasors On Stun | | | | | |
| 2. One O'Clock Tomorrow | | | | | |
| 3. Hours | | | | | |
| 4. Journey | | | | | |
| 5. Dialing For Dharma | | | | | |
| 6. Slaughter In Robot Village | | | | | |
| 7. Aldeberan | | | | | |
| 8. Black Noise | | | | | |
Canada, as I've noted in other Tentative Reviews, was not a major contributor to the progressive "scene" of the 1970s. Remarkably few acts of an "art rock" variety appear to have emerged in this nation prior to the middle of the decade; moreover, the groups which eventually did emerge tended to be (i) somewhat derivative of international artists, (ii) more influenced by "hard rock" stylings than their European counterparts, (iii) unknown internationally and (iv) centred in a rather limited Toronto-based scene. Quite simply, there was never a strong local progressive presence in Canada during this time, even though the major British and American acts were as popular here as elsewhere.
There were some exceptions, of course. Rush have somehow managed to cultivate an international following, and, for better or worse, are far and away the most "popular" Canadian band to have emerged from the 1970s art-rock scene (nationally and internationally). Other groups, such as Klaatu and Max Webster, still have something of a following in limited circles ... and, of course, acts such as Saga and (shudder) Triumph managed to attain some notoriety in the 1980s "big rock" scene. But this amounts to rather little in the larger picture.[*]
FM qualify as a "mid-level" group within this culture -- never a terribly prominent group, they nevertheless managed to make some minor imprint on the national consciousness. Formed in the mid-1970s (surprise!) by Hawkins and the mysterious Nash The Slash -- who would subsequently refuse to make public appearances without his mummy costume -- FM originally produced decent-to-good art-rock recordings with space- oriented themes. A decade later, they had managed to transform themselves into a run-of-the-mill pop band (their single "Dream Girl" failed to enter the charts in 1987). Obviously, their long-term significance in the progressive scene is somewhat minimal.
Black Noise (1978) was their first album, and -- from the few sources which I've managed to find on the band -- is generally regarded as one of their brighter moments. The music on this release is good without being terribly spectacular, interesting without being terribly innovative, and musically competent without being a technological marvel. Quite derivative of the "cosmic" themes favoured by other bands of this type (one wonders if they hobnobbed with Klaatu in Yonge St. cafes), this is nevertheless a reasonably enjoyable progressive rock venture. While the album is by no means essential, progressive fans wishing to seek out different aspects of the North American scene could certainly do much, much worse.
The album begins with "Phasors On Stun", cited by some sources as the group's most famous track. This work is most obviously notable for its use of synthesizers in creating a space-rock ethos (the lead riff for this song sounds remarkably like Marillion, even though they didn't form for another year!), though the lead-off mandolin riff has a certain anthemic quality as well. Cameron Hawkins's vocals are decent enough (though poorly mixed), and a solo in mid-song (presumably Nash) fits the setting fairly well. The track may be a bit too "cosmic for cosmic's sake", but its enjoyable enough on its own terms.
"One O'Clock Tomorrow" tells the story of a heroic space journey, with more electronic wizardry from Hawkins and NtS. There is a somewhat unfortunate Lindsey Buckingham-esque quality in the vocals, and the constant reliance on space themes may irritate some listeners ... still, there is some decent music here. A Howe-esque (or is it Starcastle- esque?) solo appears in mid-song, prior to Hawkins's synthesizer feature.
"Hours" is a brief instrumental track, featuring (i) a good drum performance by Martin Deller and, (ii) a violin solo by NtS which suggests the prog-pop directions later developed by Ultravox. Perhaps it's a shame that this track didn't run a bit longer.
The very presence of a song entitled "Journey" on an album of this sort might be enough to terrify some readers. As it stands, the song is a relative weak link on the album -- treading the same themes as the first two vocal numbers, and, despite a good violin solo, not really cohering together as well as it could. It's inoffensive, but marred by a fairly predictable vocal section.
The album's second instrumental track, "Dialing For Dharma", begins in an unduly "safe" fashion (the phrase "Alan Parsons with better drumming" might spring to mind), giving the impression of poorly allocated musical talents. Thankfully, NtS's violin solo eventually develops into a decent progressive melody (vaguely similar to "Peaches En Regalia", in a sense), and achieves a state of instrumental grandeur by the track's conclusion.
"Slaughter In Robot Village" begins with spaceship-esque synthesizer tricks (could this be Deller?), which bear an odd similarity to a certain Synergy track of a similar title ("Slaughter On Tenth Avenue", to be specific). The band section which follows easily qualifies as one of the more "proggy" things on the release -- Hawkins's bass effects work fairly well, and NtS once again provides a good lead section. Perhaps Martin Deller was a more important figure to the band than most enthusiasts have realized.
"Aldeberan" features a return of the mandolin effect used on "PoS", and is otherwise dominated by thick synthesized chords. There is a certain "pop ballad" ethos lurking in the background of this track, though the trio manages to infuse enough musicianship into the track to keep things relatively interesting. Perhaps not surprisingly, the instrumental section is a highlight.
"Black Noise" qualifies as the "epic" track of the album. This ten- minute number begins with a fairly atmospheric setting (drums playing over a "windswept" keyboard feature), and subsequently develops as the best- arranged "vocal" track on the album. Hawkins's voice works better here than elsewhere (though the strain still shows at times ...); the instrumental middle section features a good use of electronics (and a violin "lament" that somehow manages to be flashy in a melancholy setting). It's a fairly predictable manner of ending the album, but it's still a decent piece of music.
This album probably won't make very many "top 10 progressive albums of all time" lists, but its presence is generally benevolent. Black Noise ultimately merits a "weak recommendation", I suppose.
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[ I am aware, of course, that this assessment of the Canadian art-rock scene is based entirely on English Canadian developments. I do not know of any art-rock/progressive groups having emerged in Quebec during this time, and I would welcome any enlightenment as such -- progressive music remains more popular today in Quebec than the rest of Canada, and I would not be too surprised to discover a hidden sub-culture in this province. I do know that many Quebecois classical artists, such as Walter Boudreau, Serge Garant, Micheline Coulombe Saint-Marcoux and Gilles Tremblay, were breaking new ground their scene at this point in time ... but this is obviously something structurally different.]
(review originally posted to alt.music.yes on 10 Jan 1999)