Influence - Influence CD (Mega Blowout Sale)
SKU
18-Pace 095
“One of the more interesting groups to emerge from the Canadian ‘60s rock scene, Influence was the brainchild of Irish guitarist Louis Campbell McKelvey—in late May 1967, through a chance meeting with The Haunted's guitarist Jurgen Peter, McKelvey met former Haunted drummer Dave Wynne and recruited him for the new project he was planning. Around the same time, he asked Czech bass player Jack Geisinger, who had been playing with The Buddy Miles Quartet, to join.
Influence debuted on June 1, 1967 at a small Montreal club, opening for free jazz musicians Sonny Murray and Archie Shepp. Later that month, the band was expanded when Geisinger's former colleagues from The Buddy Miles Quartet, singer/songwriter and pianist Bob Parkins (aka Bobo Island) and lead guitarist Walter Rossi joined. Not long after that, Influence relocated to Toronto’s Yorkville area and its burgeoning music scene. They were approached by ABC Records who brought them to New York City to record their album at Bell Studios with producer Dennis Minogue (aka Terry Cashman; the production credits are listed as Cashman, Pistelli & West).
The group's name reflected the musical influences they were exposed to during this period of change and genre crossings: rock was the foundation, but opening for jazz groups also played a hand in the direction their music would take added; that plus a strong dose of Frank Zappa and The Mothers Of Invention which shows up in some of their satirical lyrics and discordant modulations.
An adventurous album that was ahead of its time, which resulted in poor sales and being dropped by ABC.”
“In the same lane as the Deviants' seminal album Ptooff!, Influence's only album is a psychedelic parody of the counter-culture of the late 60's that satirises a diverse collection of genres(doo-wop, soul, raga-rock, etc.) to make fun of(while simultaneously partaking in) hippy culture.
Each piece of music in this album have their own(often extreme and experimental) progressions that trump most prog bands that came in the decade following this album.
Although some songs on this album may owe some of it's originality to other artists of the 60s (Frank Zappa, namely), Influence successfully managed to create one of the most difficult and impressive rock albums of their time.”-rateyourmusic
- LabelPacemaker
- UPC778578009526