The Definitive Unsolved Mysteries Of.... Reviews
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The
sweet sounds of space rock reverberating in the realms of the inner
space between your two ears...honestly, there's nothing quite like
that that I can think of that can take you away. Except drugs. But
there's risk involved with those. Let Mr. Quimby's Beard do the work
for you.
An
almost instrumental album and the first 'proper' release in a long
time for arguably what is becoming one of the UK's leading
psychedelic bands. But, unlike the Ozrics, Tribe Of Cro and
similar bands, this lot presents things from a slightly
different and, for me, more rewarding angle. Instead of fusing
seventies acid rock with dub and Eastern influences 'a la Ozrics',
or trying for a more unusual angular approach in Cro vein, or
even tackling old style Gong head-on in Melting Euphoria
elements, this band take a more direct route - Hawkwind, Pink
Floyd & "Fish"-era Hillage. Yep, this is one sizzling (Andy Garibaldi, CD Services, Dundee)
Okay, so Mr Quimby's already have an album called The Unsolved Mysteries Of ( SPCD008 ), but like the title says, this is the 'Definitive', and how! This version has been two years in the making. As is often the case with their music, the bass is well up in the mix, and this outing is no exception. Ray's guitar elaborately weaves in and out of Hardy's superb keyboards and FX. There's a total of 12 tracks in all, kicking off with From The Sixty's, a collage of fx's and sounds which prepare us for the main thrust of Mystery Part 1 - an absolute gem ( that bass is something else! ). The production is out of this world. Several of the tracks segue into one another. The Calling Of The Clan, Nebulae, Darkness, Deejam and the stunning Beyond The Light are absolutely cracking numbers - the rest just manage brilliant. As I've often said, I'm not fond on comparisons, but if you're a lover of spacerock, then this album is perhaps one of the best there is: brilliant production, inventive music, superb playing, and a limitless supply of imagination. (Dave W Hughes, Modern Dance #27).
This album is probably as good an example of this genre of music as there is at this moment. Full of fluid guitar, ambient keyboards, samples and atmospheric effects, they glory in the halcyon days of spacerock whilst continuing to push back the musical barriers. The vocals are uncannily similar to 'Dave Brock' and there appears to be quite an influence of the keyboard work of 'Tim Blake', formerly of 'Hawkwind' and 'Gong'. 12 tracks totaling 64-minutes of spell binding music and outstanding virtuosity confirm this as the best spacerock album I have heard in many years and it ought to propel the band, given the right promotion and marketing, to the forefront of the space/ambient scene. The 2 part epic in 'Mystery' is essential listening but the quality is so high that to pick out individual tracks would be unfair, suffice it to say that there isn't a weak track. Check out the awesome 'Beyond The Light' to confirm this. I heard their debut album and I thought it was excellent but this is simply something else. If they continue to develop at this rate then really the future could be frightening. You must buy this album now!!! (Terry Craven, Wondrous Stories - Aug 99).
Not long ago I'd seen a posting on the internet spacerock newsgroup about Mr Quimby's Beard (MQB). After contacting the band I was sent their album "Out There", which you may remember we reviewed last issue. Also reviewed last issue was a more recent album, "The Unsolved Mysteries...". Scott Heller's review was a positive one but the feeling he was left with was that something was missing... that the songs "really feel like just pieces of something bigger and leave you wanting more". So here we have the "The Definitive Unsolved Mysteries Of..." I can't compare as I never heard the original, but the songs on this disc flow smoothly from one to the other and do indeed give the sense that a story is unfolding. Hawkwind fans will drool over this and MQB's previous releases. Fantasy based themes and lyrics and epic instrumental jams make MQB a band that will easily appeal to spacerock fans. In fact, I took a personal interest in the band after realizing that I was far from alone in the USA not having heard the music of this talented band. But besides being a great spacerock band, I sense from the epic quality of the music and lush keyboards in spots that MQB would appeal to much of the general progressive rock community as well. From Sunderland on the NE coast of England, MQB consists of Ray on guitar and vocals, Kidd on bass and vocals, Hardy on keyboards, FX, and vocals, and Gaz on drums. Tim Jones guests on guitar and narration and Terri B contributes backing vocals, both of whom head the Stone Premonitions label and are members of the Rabbit's Hat and Body Full Of Stars. The disc opens with "From The Sixty's", an intro piece with tribal percussion and crowd voices that seem to include announcements, chanting, and cheering. "Mystery (Part 1)" is an easy paced but intense tune with a heavy organ melody, thudding bass, and crunchy guitars. The guitar plays it's melody along with the darting synths and the whole song seems to function in an overture role setting the stage for the story that is about to unfold. "The Calling Of The Clan" with its great horn sounding the call, works well as a transitional segment piece, and in terms of song placement the band has worked in several such transitional tracks. The upbeat music of "Clouds" is an example of why MQB would appeal very much beyond the spacerock crowd to include general prog rockers as well. It's very much in the Hawkwind vein but also has lush keyboard segments that include heavier space rocking guitars. MQB's extended instrumental jams succeed in carrying the listener to the fantasy realms that the music describes and the ride is an exciting one with plenty of thematic twists and turns. "The Frailty Of Man" is another transitional piece that leads into "Mystery (Part 2)". I really like the keyboards on this track. They have a sequenced Tangerine Dream quality but there's also an early 70's organ sound. It's hard to explain but the whole track, like several others I've heard, has an early 70's feel but is in no way retro sounding. Like Part 1, this Mystery further illustrates MQB's musical story telling skills. And then there's the not so subliminal message to "sit back, smoke a joint, enjoy Mr Quimby's Beard". "Beyond The Light" is a majestic instrumental with symphonic keyboards and astral synths that fluidly rise and fall, up and down, left and right. The music floats along until the guitar takes command and the intensity level soars. Hawkwind fans will love this track as the band rocks out hard in space while still keeping the listener on course for his/her personal journey. At ten minutes the music really has a chance to stretch out and develop making this one of the stronger tracks on the disc. The last couple minutes ease the pace once again and the guitar slowly solos much like an extended Dave Gilmour feast. "Darkness" is a Middle Eastern psych tune with a dark tribal feel. It flows smoothly into "Deejam" which brings us back to the heavy guitar/keyboard sonic intense space jamming. It's a short track but manages to make its mark in the allotted time. And the last two minutes are among the heaviest head bangin' on the disc. The band does a good job of winding down with "The Shading Suns", which lead to "The Perplexity Of Infinity" where the journey ends on a quiet but regal note. The flute is the lead instrument gently leading us to the tale's conclusion. Happy ending? Sad? It's the band's intention that the story's path be left to the listener... (Jerry Kranitz, Aural Innovations #8 - October 1999)
A Darwinian view would suggest that over the last 20 years, following a natural scheme of evolution, that shabby beast of the 70's, Space Rock mutated into today's dance and ambient music. The electronic genes proved more suited for survival in the 90's. However, like the komodo dragon or duck billed platypus, something's just defy the logic of natural selection, and Mr Quimby's Beard fall magnificently into this category. Freaks of nature, Quimby's provide an ideal fix for those who like their electronics in an organic framework: the clatter of real drums, the crunch of real distorted guitars and the random bleeps and whirrs of someone seriously noodling about with a confused mass of wires and dials. For those of us for whom 70's Hawkwind remains the benchmark for fried genius, Mr Quimby's Beard come stumbling over the horizon like some day-glo 7th Cavalry, bravely brandishing their psychedelic banner into the next millennium. In deed, "Nebulae" could slip unnoticed onto the Hawks' "Quark, Strangeness and Charm", whilst the elegiac "The Shading Suns" weaves its melancholy spell amidst wheeling gulls in much the same way as "The Demented Man". Elsewhere, there are the obligatory touches of crusty reggae, with nods to the East on the Arabic-tinged "Darkness". The defying moment ( well - ten minutes, plus, actually ) is probably "Beyond The Light", which moves from majestic visions of other-worldly landscapes, through demented riffing with all electronic Hell braking loose, to a gentle, Floydy come-down. The Stone Premonitions label is its self something of a guarantee of quality, and this, Mr Quimby's Beards second CD, does the label proud. Whilst not whishing to endorse illegal practices in anyway, to finish with a quote from "Mystery" ( part 2 ) " : 'sit down....smoke a joint....and enjoy Mr Quimby's Beard....'. (Oz Hardwick, Astro Zombie)
Mr Quimby's Beard play what I would call British Festival Rock. Music that takes you from the inner mind to the psychedelic space groove, music that gets your head bobbing and your mind tripping, an assault of swirling synthesizer and guitars. In other words, music that sounds like Hawkwind. If you haven't been interested in where Hawkwind has gone lately, I urge you to check this band out. The flow of the album is very much in the Xenon Codex vein. Keyboard/guitar space jams mixed with the odd, quirky type of track (imagine if Harvey Bainbridge was on Warrior...). Keyboard player Hardy creates excellent sonic backdrops and lays down great solos, sort of a cross between Simon House and Harvey Bainbridge. The Guitar player Ray is reminiscent of Huw Lloyd Langton in style, and his vocals are great (Yes, Dave Brock does come to mind). Kidd's bass playing comes across a lot better on the CD release and the drum work with Gaz is good as well. Though they sound like Hawkwind they have added their own elements as well, making for an album that is instantly likeable and familiar but still hold's some surprises. I had received the cassette version of this a while back and thoroughly enjoyed it. I am now pleased to report a much better CD version is now available. Now if I only had something to put in my pipe! Recommended! (Dane Carlson - Exposé)
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