The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Arthur Brown - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
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CD Details

Artist: Arthur Brown
Brand: BROWN,ARTHUR
Edition: Music CD
Format: Import
CD Release Date: 1991-02-25
Music Label: Polydor/PolyGram
Soundtracks:
  1. Prelude - Nightmare (Mono Version)
  2. Fanfare - Fire Poem (Mono Version)
  3. Fire (Mono Version)
  4. Come And Buy (Mono Version)
  5. Time/Confusion (Mono Version)
  6. Prelude - Nightmare
  7. Fanfare - Fire Poem
  8. Fire
  9. Come And Buy
  10. Time/Confusion
  11. I Put A Spell On You
  12. Spontaneous Apple Creation
  13. Rest Cure
  14. I've Got Money
  15. Child Of My Kingdom

Music reviews of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Music Review: The album and band really does live up to its title
Rating: 5 Stars

In 1989, I was 16 and I wasn't exactly the type of person drawn to the likes of Paula Abdul or New Kids on the Block, in fact I was rather repulsed by them and much more interested in what was going on in the 1960s and '70s. At that time, I was starting to have it figured out that the music I was hearing on the radio I liked best were the psychedelic and progressive rock (I was listening to two Eugene, Oregon stations at the time, KZEL and KLCX, both very similar formats, that is, AOR, but they would throw in some prog rock on top of the usual Boston, Journey, Foreigner, as well as metal like AC/DC, Guns n' Roses or the flavor of the day metal acts like Warrant, Poison or Skid Row). One song those stations would play would be "Fire" from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. I didn't know any further of Arthur Brown at the time other than that song (I never knew of Kingdom Come or the three albums they made then, or his solo career after that band called it a day in 1973). It's just I thought it was a cool song.

Of course, this is the Crazy World of Arthur Brown we all know, with future Atomic Rooster organist Vincent Crane, with bassist Nick Greenwood (later of the prog rock band Khan that featured Steve Hillage and ex-Egg keyboardist Dave Stewart - not of the Eurythmics) and drummer Drachen Theaker (Carl Palmer didn't appear on the album, just on tour due to Drachen's fear of flying). There is no doubt Arthur Brown has one of the finest voices in rock. His vocal style is very much influenced by soul and R&B, but there's no getting around this: this is not your typical R&B-derived rock and roll, but psychedelia of the first order (with early prog rock elements, this album obviously was important in the evolution of prog rock prior to King Crimson). Vincent Crane's organ playing sounded more early '70s than that of the '60s, so he was pretty ahead of his time (of course he took that style with him with Atomic Rooster). He also conducted the horns and strings which are used throughout the album. Let's just say there is so much more to this album than just "Fire". "Fire" was obviously the big hit on the album, but it really obscured everything else he's ever done since. This album is full of great stuff like "Prelude - Nightmare" with some really crazy vocals from Brown himself and wild organ playing from Vincent Crane. "Fanfare - Fire Poem" continues with this craziness that'll simply blow you away! We all know "Fire" as it's a classic rock staple and a fantastic and sinister sounding piece. "Come and Buy" is a more mellow piece but never forgetting that dark and sinister atmosphere. "Time/Comfusion" is, for the most part, a slow piece with Vincent Crane's organ. He does a great cover of Screaming Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell On You", Creedence Clearwater Revival also did a cover of it around the same time. "Spontaneous Apple Creation" is just completely out-there. I get reminded of the more twisted moments of Brown's Kingdom Come's first album, Galactic Zoo Dossier (1971). "Rest Cure" is a short, rather staightforward piece, and was included as the flip-side to the "Fire" single. He also does a cover of James Brown's "I Got Money", done in his usual twisted style. "Child of My Kingdom" has more of that sinister atmosphere.

So much late '60s psychedelic had not aged particularly well, especially the flower power variety. The Crazy World of Arthur Brown had aged so much better. For one thing, Arthur Brown would not touch flower power with a ten foot pole and delve deeper in the darker recesses of the human mind (including the threat of damnation). Psychedelic acts rightfully knew they'd be taken more seriously and perhaps still respected years later when they steered clear of flower power. It really shows when you compare the music of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (or The Doors, for that matter, even if their subject matters were different, they completely avoided flower power too) up against something like The Strawberry Alarm Clock, and you can easily see. This is no flower power pop-psychedelia, to say the least. It's also why Arthur Brown, while not being able to come up with another hit, had no problems entering the 1970s with Kingdom Come, those albums were artistic triumphs even if they sold very little (and with the exception of Journey, their final album, you could only get them in the States as imports).

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown did record a followup called Strangeland in 1969, but it never saw the light of day until 1988, but if you can find a copy, do so, it's great and it shows you where he would be headed with Kingdom Come. And to show you that Arthur Brown didn't just float by on "Fire", do check out the three Kingdom Come albums, Galactic Zoo Dossier (1971), Kingdom Come (1972, the one with the crescent and star on the cover), and Journey (1973) creating some of the finest progressive rock I've ever heard (OK, so the second album is not as good, but still has lots of great material), while Journey (1973) finds the Hammond organ dropped in favor of synthesizers and Mellotron (and an early Bentley Rhythm Ace drum machine).

The Crazy World of Arthur Brown is truly one of the greats of psychedelia, and you really need to get the album.
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Description of The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

1991 reissue of the 1968 debut by the theatrical rock singer's band, featuring both mono and stereo versions of five tracks, including the #2 smash 'Fire'. 15 tracks total.Pete Townsend was associate producer of the album. A Polydorrelease.

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