"Sell out, sell out, that's the name of the game"
- HOPE
I belive an introduction is quite necessary, since only a few
people have ever heard of them... Not even the smarties (sorry to all of ya,
guys!) on Music Babble... Well, they formed around 1974, with John Woloschuk,
Dee Long and Terry Draper. The tendence was that they all three used to sing
and play both keyboards and guitars. However, Terry Draper played more drums
than the others, and John played the bass while in the studio.
They had all three been in different bands before, and some of their earlier
groups did actually release a couple of albums, Dee Long's group Bloodstone,
to give an example, so they weren't too unexperienced when they went into the
studio to record some stuff back in '74.
The main purpose with Klaatu was to let the music do the talking, not the image,
so therefore they didn't tell even the record company what their real names
were, and there were never any kind of credits to their LPs. They eventually
got problems with the image, as it would show. Well, they didn't make much noise
about themselves in the beginning, but then, some couple of years after the
foundation, a pretty big Canadian newspaper wrote an article with the headline
"Is Klaatu The Beatles?". Their quite Beatlish sound and the
fact that they were anonymous (c'mon, don't you think that Beatles could make
such a thing?) caused some lesser Klaatu-mania to blow across the world, and
their debut LP sold enough to reach #32 in the US. Unfortunately for the group,
their names were discovered, and the interest immediately calmed down most rapidly.
There's a lot more to tell, but I think I've put everything in the reviews,
and since I don't wanna repeat myself...
This album is actually the result of three years of songwriting. The first time they went into the studio was in 1974, and the first song they ever did was the rocking "Hanus Of Uranus", which they later re-recorded, now called "Anus Of Uranus". Songs like "Sub-Rosa Subway" and "California Jam" were also recorded this year. By some reason, they didn't record more than three or four songs per year - did it really take them a year to finish "Anus Of Uranus"? "Calling Occupants", okay, but not all of the tracks are as carefully crafted as that one...'Twas probably some controversy with the record company, as usual... Well, the tendence is that the earlier songs were pretty simple rockers, but they obviously developed through the years, and the result is this album, consisting of catchy rockers, sophisticated sci-fi rock, ass-kickin' rock'n'roll, pompous prog, cheerful Beatle-pop, and some in-between tunes. As you see, they obviously had some difficulties determing which direction they should take, but it doesn't misfit the album or anything, and it IS a debut!
Another obvious thing is that they worked hard on this album. Well, ambitiousness and seriousness often results in good things, and this album is no exception, even if they went somewhat overboard on "Little Neutrino" (the Tony Banks syndrome, you know?). Generally speaking, though, this album is an humble and serious attempt to join the chart-toppers.
The album opens on a most grandiose note. "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft". Do I need to say more? Umm, forgot I was speaking about Klaatu, not some rather well-known band...Well, it opens with some noises of someone walking in a forest or something, before the actual song comes in with a neat little mellotron line and some cute vocal melody. The song the moves on, beautiful like few, until the band start varying the picture with some heavier and some piano-poppy parts. At the end of the song do they loop the chorus some couple of times (not very important, but I thought I should mention it). In general, the song is probably the most grandiose masterwork the world has ever seen (yeah, pretty serious here!), with glorious mellotrons and beautiful melodies. The Carpenters covered it some year later, and THEN the song charted, it actually became a top 10 single in the UK. I've got to hear their version some time, to see if they were able to catch the heat of the original version. If they do, then they're not as bad as everybody says!
"California Jam" is one of the earlier tunes, and it's a cheerful, good-moody rocker. The best way to explain it is probably to call it "modern surf", since it catches the mood of beach-life pretty well, sunny shores, blue sea, cold cola...Not a too sensational tune, but it's definitely worth an ear or two, and play it in your cabriolet next time you're about to swim and it's SUMMER!
"Anus Of Uranus" is a purely ass-kickin' rock'n'roll
tune which I once had as my fav of the album. It's only that "Calling Occupants"
is SOOO more well-crafted and wondrous! I'd better stop ramblin' about that
song, eh, shouldn't I? Anyway, this "Anus Of Uranus" is a dang fun
tune about a guy who's taken for an interstellar travel through the solar system,
accompanied by this crunch machine of Klaatu.
"Sub-Rosa Subway" (hey! All three '74 songs in a row!) is the Beatle-pop
this time, with a catchy melody and lots of gorgeous orchestration - yeah, more
gorgeous than George Martin's! - which fills up every empty second of the song.
At the end are some Morse signals added, and though I don't know what they're
saying, I think that they're supposed to be a help on the way for those who
wanted to discover the real names of the members of the band.
"True Life Hero" is another ass-kickin' rocker, and, er, that's that. An ass-kickin' rocker. "Doctor Marvello", named after a character in some 50's sci-fi movie, is quite extraordinary, though, with a weird atmosphere which I'm sure you haven't heard similar before. It's about a couple who have lost their lust, so they summon black magicians and stuff. Pretty weird/fun, that is. The bass line rules.
"Sir Bodsworth Rugglesby III" is a piece of pure fun, with some lots of intelligent orchestration. The fun thing about the song is the vocals, which sounds like an old half-drunk sailor. It's actually John Woloschuk who's doing the singing, believe it or not. The way he managed to sound like that? He told the engineers to play the song at 45rpm just once, while recording his vocals, and then play it at the common 33rpm, and viola, there we are. Cool tune.
"Little Neutrino" is an overproduced feast for mellotron lovers (well, I am one, but i don't like it too much anyway.) The opening is moody and cool, and when the main mellotron line is added, well, mmm... The vocals are sung through a voice twister, and that's the first bad thing, though - hey, where's the humbleness? Oh, it's still pretty good, and the choruses are impressive, it's toward the end it's getting overboard, where they just put more and more mellotrons and different noises, which becomes pretty boring to go thru'. Well, it's just too pretentious. Klaatu uses to handle pretentiousness pretty well, but nut now, obviously...
Still, this album is impressive, and I wouldn't hesitate to call it one of the strongest debuts ever, easily matching In the Cort Of The Crimson King, Emerson, lake & Palmer and stuff. Get it if you can, I say!
Send your comments and reviews of "Klaatu"
In '77, the Rolling Stone pronounced Klaatu as "The hype of the year". Not without reasons, heh heh. The members were always anonymous, not even the record company knew their real name. But they did an intentional mistake: in one of their songs ("Sub-Rosa Subway") were some Morse signals hidden, which some zealot discovered, and the way down for Klaatu began with that discovery of their real names, and when it was obvious that they weren't the Beatles, they nearly didn't sell any records at all. This album only reached place #83 in the US, and the latter albums didn't even reach an enough high position to get a number, "highest chartposition: none" is a common sight. The commercial public is unfair. Really.
This album is built around the "Politzanians" and their destiny. I'll try to give a short summary here: The Politzanians were a superior race of human beings who outrivalled the less intelligent races, both in war and in developement. An example of this is that they were the first to race around the Universe in 80 days. But as they lived in luxuries and welfare, a madness grew, ending up in the destruction of the whole race, except for a lighthouse keeper who escaped the destruction and walked around in his lighthouse, where he lived the rest of his life. When he at last died, the last word he pronounced was "hope", and that word echoed through the Universe, bringing a feel of collaboration and harmony to the human races now dominating the Universe. Oh, it sounds pretentious, but the whole thing is delievered with a seldom beholded expertism and musicality.
The album takes off with the most Beatles-ish song, "We're Off You Know". Could have been the perfect marry to "Penny Lane" or "Strawberry Fields Forever". It has got a strong orchestration (by the way, all the orchestrations are made by an extremely potent guy named Doug Riley) that makes the song sounding exactly like a Sgt Pepper song. And, in fact, "We're off you know" would have been one of the best songs even on Sgt Pepper. The song displays the Politzanians while they moved out from their homeplanet and out to new worlds to inhabit. I think that's what it is about, at least.
"Madman" is a heavy-rocking tune that is about the growing madness, while the still sane people concentrated on the latest great adventure: Being the first civilisation to be "Around the Universe in 80 days". It's actually pretty scary, that little rocker, with LOTS of power hidden beneath the surface.
"Around The Universe In Eighty Days", then, has got an obvious sci-fi feel with voice-twisters, space-voices telling the pilots how long time the rest of the odyssey will take, mellotrons and whatever which might bring a scent of a space-odyssey. And of - course - there's dark, crunchy guitars and soundtrackish orchestration. Soundtrack, indded, I'd say!
"Long Live Politzania" takes place some lots of years after the breakdown of the Politzanian empire. Some scientists had discovered old ruins made by a long forgotten empire, and on a stone had they found the words "Politzania, long live Politzania" engraved. The song has got a news-reciter that tells the important facts about the new discoveries, and after every "radio programme" comes the band and sings, er- shouts, the chorus; "Politzania, Politzania!". After the first part of the song comes a wholly orchestrated part, very well-made and exciting as usual, and I can't do anything but dig these tunes! Klaatu+Doug Riley=as good as Beatles/George Martin, if not even better! The end of the song is called "The Politzanian National Anthem", which sure enough is pompous enough to be a real national anthem, only that this one is probably a parody on already existing ones.
The second side begins with "The Lonliest Of Creatures", in which a person thinks of himself as the lonliest of creatures in the Universe, but a gorgeous choir keeps telling him that he's not, it's that mentioned lighthouse keeper who is. After hearing about the lonely survivor in the lighthouse, the other lonely guy decides that he's beaten. That chorus could have been written by any old master, Bach or someone, at least it sounds as if it came right out of the head of some old master. I-m-p-r-e-s-s-i-v-e, that is. The song ends up in a huge chorus, and then moves over into "Prelude", which, as the name implies, is a prelude. Some Spanish tunes varies with tearful violins and more common "prelude-ish" tunes. Er, I didn't really catch the mood there, did I? That prelude is Godlike!
"So Said The Lighthouse Keeper" deals with the lighthouse keeper's last day in life, and you simply can't be unaffected by the obvious sorrow that the keeper has beared, and the bitterness he feels about the Politzanian's blindness for what was on the way to destroy himself. "For though my race was thought immune, themself did they consume", as he says. The song itself is dark and moody, and even the guitar seems to join the Keeper in his sorrow - that's how moody it is. He finally dies in the end of the song, but in his last breath he whispers -"Hope", the last song. That song is also very Beatlish, and is just as beautiful as anything the Fab Four ever put out, I promise! It's a mellow ballad with a great orchestration that helps the song on the way of becoming another masterpiece. Close your eyes and let your mind wander to the wondrous world of Klaatu, friend, and you'll never want to come back! It's indeed a worthy end to this excellent album, which is my absolute 1977 favourite, and it's probably one of my top 5, or even top 3 albums through the years - er, OK, it's the FRIGGIN' BEST ALBUM I'VE EVER HEARD! Even if it seems as if I'm quite alone on that point...Most people do agree that it's great, though. And it's so underrated! why couldn't the public concentrate on the music instead of the personnel?? This album could, no, would is a better word, have been a classic if more people bought it. I'm depressed.
Send your comments and reviews of "Hope"
A fact that I'm sad to tell you, this change of musical direction. I loved the previous two! Their completely new way to rip off the Beatles were the thing for me. This time they have canged towards pop. It's still of the first class, it's probably the best post-'75 pop album available, but the previous two, well, I love this one to death too! And after all, even the more "classical" prog bands also moved over into the more easy-listened music at this time, Yes begun with HM, Genesis became a pop band, King Crimson made some sort of prog-pop...Klaatu were actually one of the first bands to go commercial (whatever that means...), only Caravan were earlier with their Cunning Stunts. And after all, Klaatu cannot be called a prog band, now can they? The first album maybe, but I'd say that they're more "art". Anyways, as a result of the worse-growing commercial success, the excellent arranger Doug Riley broke up with the group, so the band had to bring in Eric Robertson to arrange the orchestrations. The orchestrations, yes...this time it's mostly string arrangements, but I suppose we can blame that on the poppy sound. Full-fledged orchestras seldom fit in pop songs, and most importantly, the band was too poor to be able to afford a whole orchestra, since Hope sold much worse than planned. They almost went into bankruptcy, actually.
By the way, this album probably introduced the decade of the 80's, even if no-one either bought the album, or knew that this was what a lot of popular bands would try to copy in only some couple of years. Well, the music has its roots in Beatles (of course), including both the jolly-poppy side of Beatles as well as the heavier one, but of course somewhat modernised. As usual is this an ambitious pop album, but they don't lose their humbleness and resonance even for a second. The newly born desire to write lyrics about life on Earth doesn't really lower the resonance bit, either. The thing that may piss off some people is the Beatles-rip-offs, but those aren't too obvious, and after all, that might as well be a reason to love them! It's all up to you, my friend. If you're tired of listening at your old Beatles records over and over, Klaatu may be a way to diversify your life.
The album opener is "A Routine Ray", perhaps the answer to "A Day In The Life"??? It's very Beatles-ish, though it's a pop tune, far from "A day in the life". Its style can be compared with the late Beatles. Er, most songs on here sound like the late Beatles...Anyways, it's an excellent pop tune to be played whenever you feel that everything and everybody is turned against you - you're not alone! (er, that was David Bowie..)
"Juicy Lucy" is a high-mood pop-rocker, though, opening with an funky bass, catchy melodies, and when everything comes around, I've no idea why this song didn't become a single hit. Do you? This is a perfect tune to place at the absolute top of the charts, and if only some other band would've made it, I'm sure it would have been a huge hit. But now it is like this that the radio dudes had grown tired of Klaatu's anonymity and obviously cool feeling towards radio, so they refused to play their records, and therefore, no-one heard of 'em. Just another sad story in the world of rock music.
"Everybody Took A Holiday" is about a happening "back in ancient time" to quote themselves. 1985, actually, and if we look at the year of release... Well, everybody took a holiday and never came back to their jobs. It's another Beatles-inspired pop tune a'la Sgt Pepper, which says a lot. Good mood and fun lyrics plus catchy melodies all the way.
"Older" isn't that Beatlesque, though - it's rather heavy and rocking (now I don't say the Beatles didn't rock!) and it's even more 80's-sounding. It has got a guitar riff that is just as crunchy as anything Judas Priest or Whitesnake put out, though not that heavy, but that's another thing. I dig it - it's just enough heavy to fit my tastes.
"Dear Christine" is a quite beautiful ballad, filled with love and stuff, very neat, and though commercial-sounding, it rules. And since it didn't become a hit, was it really commercial?? Nice string arrangement, by the way.
"Mister Manson" is another heavy rocker, sounding like anything Judas Priest put out, the singer even sounds like Rob Halford, even if the Klaatu guys never did any stunning howls like Halford. OK, I'm lying somewhat here - it DOES sound like some 80's metal, but the vocals doesn't at all sound like Rob Halford's. The song's about an evil fellow (guess who??) who uses to make evil thing all day. Quite almighty for being a heavy rocker, actually (yeah, come on and blame me, you rabid metalhead! (dedicated to Ratko)) and here I try to say that HM usually ain't the thing for me, even if I do like some.
"Tokeymor Field" sounds like "Strawberry fields forever", with an intelligent, poppy melody that dominates the chorus. Awesomely good-moody tune - where but for Caravan and Klaatu would I? It displays an immortal positivism in the band, even if they sold nearly no albums at all. They were happy just to play, and that feeling remains on the next song, "Perpetual Motion Machine", which has got one of the most intelligent pop melodies I've ever heard, jolly and with a touch of, er, animated movie?s In the chorus they sing the song title, while raising the tone for every word. The reason why I love this one somewhat more than the other songs is that this one, um, well, you know, it's just a subtle feeling I have...
"Cherie" is a quite folky ballad, and it has got a good chorus, even if it goes on my nerves. It also has got a harpsichord and some oldie goldie strings that adds an "old" feel to the song. Harpsichords rule.
"Silly Boys" is a bit funky, and for the first (and last) time on this album did they pick up the old voice-twisters. It has got some really catchy moments. What it actually is, though, is "Hanus Of Uranus" played backwards at the same time as another song is played forward. The result is quite confusing, but it does make a potent song. They also mixes it up with some notes from "Calling Occupants Of Interplanetary Craft".
Hey, this is one of the catchiest album I've heard so far! Get it!
Send your comments and reviews of "Sir Army Suit"
Well, Sir Army Suit didn't sell. Radio refused to play the songs, being tired of the anonymous Klaatu buddies. And their record company, Capitol, was by this time tired of being told what to do by their own act, so they told the band that either they would record a radio friendly record or they would break the band's contract. As if Sir Army Suit wasn't radio friendly. Anyway, the band was brought together with the producer Christopher Bond, who chose which songs they should record, and he then flew them to Los Angeles, gathered some studio musicians...The record company was eager to overlook the whole recording process, these guys being studio veterans or not. The whole thing ended up in a terribly generic, AOR-sounding thingy. There's no keyboards, almost no strings, just the common drums/guitar/bass constellation. The bass sounds incredibly ugly. The songs are either adult contemporary pop songs, usually written by John Woloschuk, or adult contemporary rock songs, generally written by Dee Long. And none of the guys has even a good voice for this kind of music - why not bring in a studio vocalist now that Terry Draper on drums have been wholly replaced by Ed Greene, Lee Sklar has taken over the bass playing, and Cristopher Bond himself even does some overdubs on guitar. Oh, there's an unnecessary saxophonist as well, Tom Scott. Not that he's bad, just unncessary.
The songs all goes in the same generic vein - with one exception, "Al Good Things", which is more of a classic Klaatu tune, a gentle ballad. But, the song is no saviour, and the whole impression makes me feel as if the sudden fall with 7 points from Sir Army Suit's 14 to this album's 7 is all OK.
The band members themselves detested the final result of the album, and after Long and Draper joined a cover band called FUNN, which actually was a Top-40 band, they got together once again, and with a desire not to quit on a bad note, they had Magentalane released. Which, luckily, is a lot better!
Send your comments and reviews of "Endangered Species"
Unlikely to end their career on a bad note, (Endangered Species, which I hope to get some day), they went together once again and recorded this album, their last effort and swan song. Geez, what I miss'em! Please, any well-established star - go cooperate with Klaatu! You're guaranteed to get a lot of hits - good hits! Few people can resistt theese cute pop tunes, and you'll steal all the Westlife and Britney Spears-fans!! Besides those who loves an artist because of the look, at least. Klaatu's first album since Endangered species (3 years ago, that is) could satisfy even the most harsh modern-lover, with the right back-up - but that's up to the well-established star to provide. Yes, yes, I know I'm sounding naive and pretentious, but it's true!Anyway, for the first time they provided the album with their names and pictures of themselves! John Woloschuk looks like he's got roots from South America, Dee Long looks like a weird inventor, and Terry Draper looks like an avantgarde guy (long-hairy with moustache and a subtle countenance). At last we learned to know them, these post-golden age weirdos. Feels good. Isn't it one of the finest covers ever? This surely can compete with Tarkus, White, Tales from topographic oceans, you know, the cover-elite. One thing about it is that it doesn't imply that it's a pop album, or does it? Can you name any other pure pop album with a such proggish cover? Hard, isn't it??
This album continues the Sir Army Suit formula with catchy, poppy tunes, but one new thing is that they now used chords much more than before. Not always for the best, but after all we all have to renew ourselves sometimes, don't we?
Well, the album starts off with "A million miles away", a great pop tune, easy-listened and with a light atmosphere. The chorus is catchy, with a fast bass line. The song is about a boy who uses to dream away while in school - dream that he was a million miles away. The song is quite like a book for children, with that atmosphere and those lyrics.
"The love of a woman" is pretending to be a bluesy cockrocker, but is a bit too pretentious to really fit my tastes. Like Kansas' "Child of innocence" and those, you know? Well, it's pretty unfair to compare Klaatu with Kansas - after all, Klaatu were great, and the song is much more huble than anything Kansas have ever put out, but just to make it clear that this isn't the best song I've heard in my life.
The next, "Blue smoke", really fits my tastes, though. It is a bluesy cockrocker, and an excellent car song. It starts off with an Arabic instrument (don't remember it's name, and I thought it wasn't important enough to check it out) before the chorus checks in, with a rock'n'roll piano and harsh vocals. The verses are different odysseys through the world of pop, comprimising a lot of different common usual hooks. They seem to say "pop can go to hell, rock will always rule" or something, and that's a good attitude!
"I don't wanna go home" sounds as a song coming right from Lennon/McCartney, even the vocals sounds right. It's a quite calm song, with maraccas and acoustic guitars dominating the song, besides the vocals. An electric guitar also can be found around, but not everywhere. It's sounding just as a reincarnated McCartney song!
"December dream" is a beautiful ballad with a commercial feel, but it's still very beautiful, from the earliest second through the increasing beauty to the end. It's their tribute to the recently deceased John Lennon, and they end the song singing "The dream is over..." Nice move, guys - at least you've done a great tribute!
"Magentalane" is another charming pop tune, with fun lyrics: "Under rosé coloured bainrows... I mean rainbows". It gets me every time. It's a tune of good mood, and, er, I suppose I'm getting boring in my endless praise of 'em, but I love it!
"At the end of the rainbow" is also another charming pop tune, with a steady bass riff and a quite childish melody. Lots of electric guitar, too. It's not that great, though, then I prefer the earlier tune.
"Mrs. Toad's Cookies" is a bunch of fun, and with it's moral: 'Too much good can be as sadly sad as too much bad'. Would work well as a children's song! Pretty fun for the more mature listeners as well.
"Maybe I'll Move To Mars" is the most progressive tune on here, with lyrics as a dialogue between two men, one of'em is a common working-man, while the other have worked with his friends for several years to build a ship that floats on gravity (naive, isn't it? But it rhymes, so who cares...), and now they're going away to Mars, but the working.man don't believe him, so he stays on Earth. But when the inventor has left, the worker regrets that he said no, and the inventor regrets that he didn't work harder to bring his friend to Mars, but he sends a postcard therefrom. How kind of him. anyways, the song sounds truly excellent, with an exceptionally beautiful chorus.
"Magentalane (...it feels so good)" is just about 35 secs long and is just a repeat of the chorus in "Magentalane".
Well, get Sir Army Suit first, is my advice, but this one RULES, too!
Send your comments and reviews of "Magentalane"