Monday, May 3, 2010

Burnin' Red Ivanhoe - W.W.W. (Den 1971)

Burnin Red Ivanhoe - W.W.W. (Den 1971, prog rock)

Formed: 1967, København, Denmark

Members:
* Karsten Vogel (saxophone, cello, organ),
* Steen Claësson (vocals, guitar),
* Kim Menzer (flute, violin, trombone, harmonica),
* Ole Fick (guitars, vocals),
* Jess Stæhr (bass),
* Bo Thrige Andersen (drums)

Related Artists:
The Baronets, Dårskabens Hus, Day of Phoenix, Maniacs, Secret Oyster

Also Known As: M/S Mitte - The Burnin’ Red Ivanhoes

Genres: Progressive Rock

Discography:
01. M144 (2LP) - 1969 Sonet
02. Burnin' Red Ivanhoe - 1970 Sonet
03. W.W.W. - 1971 Sonet
04. Miley Smile/Stage Recall - 1972 Sonet
05. Right On - 1974 Sonet
06. Burnin' Live (MC) - 1974 Instant Sound
07. Shorts - 1980 Pick Up Pulp
08. Spotlight Burnin' Red Ivanhoe 1969-74 (CD) - 1990 Sonet Spotlight, compilation
09. Lack Of Light - 1998 Polygram
10. Povl Dissing with Burnin' Red Ivanhoe: 6 Elefantskovcikadeviser - 1971 Sonet

Tracks:
01. 2nd Floor, Croydon 8:37
02. W.W.W. 6:07
03. Avez-Vous Kaskelainen? 4:47
04. Kaske-Vous Karsemose 3:49
05. All About All 4:08
06. Oblong Serenade 6:25
07. Cucumber-Porcupine 5:21

Reviews:
One of the biggest names of Scandinavian progressive groups that became well-known worldwide. Their music can be described as progressive jazz-rock under influences of beat, R&B, psychedelia... The compositions present often improvisational long passages with Karsten Vogel's (soprano sax, alto sax) musical visions.
They started in 1967 but the first album appeared two years later. It was double LP M144. By many considered their best. The comparison to The Who is especially clear in this early period. Most of the compositions have lyrics in native language but this changed with the following records where dominating language was English. The second, self-titled album presents the same style and similar record structure: after dynamic opening Across The Windowsill (on M144 it is famous Ivanhoe I Brøndbyerne) compositions of various style and atmosphere come: R&B Rotating Irons, dynamic blues-rock Gong-Gong, The Elephant Song, the ballad Near The Sea, etc. The last track is titled Secret Oyster Service - does it remind you of something? The third album WWW is probably their most progressive work. The music is more placid without crazy sax solos and R&B tracks; also over 8-minutes excellent 2nd Floor, Croydon has more progressive character. In the same year the band recorded LP with Danish folk singer Povl Dissing. Although the compositions are more folk oriented and all lyrics are in Danish there are some moments, especially over 10-minutes Tingel-Tangelmanden that could be interesting for progressive rock fans.
The group split in 1972 but before it happened they recorded one more album - it was "live in studio" Miley Smile/Stage Recall. Surprisingly, it contains only three old compositions: Ivanhoe I Brøndbyerne, Rotating Irons and Indre Landskab (however in different versions). The rest presents fresh material like rousing The Monster Song, funny cover version of the old standard Red River Rock or the longest and the most typical for the group, jazzy Bareback Rider. The album ends with R&B Goodbye, which is the musicians' farewell. All in all, Miley Smile/Stage Recall is another excellent position in group discography.
In fact, two years later one more album appeared signed as Burnin' Red Ivanhoe. Its story is pretty interesting. Vogel was a member of Secret Oyster at that time. He found (Ref. 2) that he collected some compositions that were not appropriate for experimental style of this group and decided to release the new album under old band name. Right On appeared in 1974 and is another "mandatory" item for BRI fans (unfortunately, this album is extremely difficult to find and very expensive). As for the members, there were former musicians of BRI: Vogel, Andersen, Fick, Secret Oyster: Knudsen and Day Of Phoenix: Karsten Lyng (vocal), so the band name on the album was used rather for formality. This record has rare moments when you hear the echoes of Burnin' Red Ivanhoe (mainly instrumental parts with sax solos) but more often of Day Of Phoenix' first album. The opening track reminds of Uriah Heep very much! In 1980 the group in old good line-up released Shorts, containing pop-rock compositions, quite enjoyable but it is a different story. Burning Red Ivanhoe was one of the most important and typical Danish rock representatives of that time. Fortunately, its rich discography is the evidence of wonderful musicians' output.
~ Internet Source.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Eerily prescient title aside, this third album from Burnin Red Ivanhoe (an outfit that preceded the formation of NWW list artists Secret Oyster) is operating at a real throat-lump-inducing peak of acidy jazz rock genius on this one. Karsten Vogel's plangently beautiful curlicues of alto sax salaciously wooze about in a manner that only Lol Coxhill's work with the Kevin Ayers And The Whole World band seems comparable to. Much like that album, WWW is suffused with an atmosphere that alternates passages of languorous beauty with runs of wild carnival-esque abandon, particularly on the album's latter half, whose atmosphere is so buttery warm and rich with "knowing" druggy vibes, you'd only wish that music could be absorbed through your pores.
~ Internet Source.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
These guys sound evokes so many contemporary bands and styles, that at the risk of not doing justice to their true value I have at least to point out that the end result of all that mix is a very original album; Echoes of Donovan’s vocal psych inflexions on the intro verses of track 1 give way to Eric Burdon’s style soul leaning expression, and the groove of the band as something of a R&B vibe akin to The Animals while the flute reminds Chris Wood; early Traffic also comes to mind on “All about all” (only with better sax work); There’s also 6 minutes of atmospheric psychedelic sound sculpting with early Floyd echoes, in “W.W.W.” – surely not a premonition to the state of mind one has today while surfing the web – that subtly transmutes and gains strength as a free Hawkwind-ish (who didn’t exist at the time) sound scape supported by a powerful rocking rhythm section (without synths, saxes, organ and bottleneck slide are the main tone generators); Even more interestingly is when BRI uses those psychedelic tapestries mixed with Canterbury styled jazz, saxes in true Soft Machine tradition while the organ only differs in that it’s not fuzzed (e.g. “Kaske-vous Karse Mose”) or with horns arrangements (trombone and sax) with Zappa influences and suitable vocal harmonies, followed by a jazz-rock groove powered by a lively swinging bass and drums engine (“Oblong Serenade”); There’s some early East of Eden reminiscences on the last track, whose line of psych vocals with happy feel are repeated over and over to a fading end; it’s this tendency to over stretch banal chord progressions, sometimes without finding interesting solutions to keep them fresh, that IMHO is this album major flaw.
~ by comusduke (RYM).

Download Links:
http://www.mirrorcreator.com/files/JRTQFWBE/Burnin__Red_Ivanhoe_-_W.W.W.__Den_1971__prog_rock_.rar_links

...and also...

http://www.multiupload.com/GPLKXIUQMQ
Burnin Red Ivanhoe - W.W.W. (Den 1971, prog rock).rar (73.63 MB)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

1 comment:

Peter said...

Brilliant! Thank you very much for BRI!