(GONZO MULTIMEDIA; 2014)
I gotta be honest: I wasn’t into the whole Canterbury scene (odd, jazzy pop groups like Caravan,Soft Machine and Gong, the band Steve Hillage was in immediately prior to launching his solo career with 1975′s FISH RISING) or anything (other than Frank Zappa) that sounded even remotely like THAT kind of music. For
a couple of years there (probably about 1975 through 1978 or so), I was
all about one thing musically: Hard rock with screaming guitars, heavy
rhythms and – above all – absolutely no keyboards (unless they were
provided by people named Hensley, Emerson or
Lord) or horns; to be blunt, I was an idjit. Once I finally got all of
that “musical snobbery” out of my system, I started to realize that I
had missed some amazing music along the way. I was still a few years
removed from “discovering” Steve Hillage, via his 1982 double release,
FOR TO NEXT/AND NOT OR, so I was totally unfamiliar with the music here,
aside from the two covers. Of the eleven tracks, six are from the
just-released MOTIVATION RADIO (the album Hillage was touring behind); I certainly remember seeing the record in the bins back
in ’77 but, being totally unimpressed with the cover, I didn’t give it a
second thought (more idjitry). Thankfully, most of the music I
overlooked (for whatever dumb reason) through the years tends to be
reissued on a fairly regular basis. Likewise, stuff like RAINBOW 1977
crops up upon occasion.
Steve Hillage during his time in Gong (uncredited photo)
Before
we get into the particulars of this release, let’s get into a little
bit of history about the band, the show and how RAINBOW 1977 came to be.
Steve and long-time partner, Miquette Giraudy, went bare bones for this
tour, using only bassist Curtis Robertson and drummer Joe Blocker (both
coming from the jazz funk group Karma… Blocker was also in the final
version of Love for the REEL TO REAL album) to augment their sound,
rather than additional guitar and keyboard players. The decidedly funky
American rhythm section gives the music a much heavier bottom-end than
Hillage bands had offered before (or after, for that matter). The
Rainbow show was the final date of the MOTIVATION RADIO TOUR on November
3. Some of the show had appeared on a bootleg calledGGGONG-GO-LONG
which, after hearing it, prompted Hillage to find the original tapes
and release the full concert – or as much of it as was usable, at least
(more about that later).
Steve Hillage, unknown date (uncredited photo)
The
set opens with “Octave Doctors,” an instrumental intro with a funky
bass groove and powerful drumming underpinning the layers of synthesized
textures and an awesome, phased guitar solo from Hillage. The track
leads directly into an absolutely stunning version of George Harrison’s
“It’s All Too Much,” which is fueled by what can only be called
“majestic” keyboard work from Giraudy. A
couple more MOTIVATION RADIO tracks are up next (“Octave Doctors” being
the first). A weird, psychedelic introduction from Steve leads into
“Light In the Sky,” a weird, psychedelic number with sci-fi lyrics and a
spacey Hawkwind vibe. The song features another in a long line of great
Hillage solos, as well as an odd, little kids voice (it’s either Miquette
or Hillage) reciting the line, “Oh, me! Oh, my!/There’s a light in the
sky.” “Radio” is a mostly instrumental piece, with a nice Hillage solo
guitar (sounds like a hollow body, kinda like Steve Howe, but with more
balls) over a funky bottom by Blocker and Robertson. The minimal lyrics
are about – incredibly – radio. They’re really rather unnecessary, but
rather unobtrusive.
Steve Hillage, unknown date (uncredited photo)
“Electrick
Gypsies,” from the Todd Rundgren produced L, is probably the purest
example of rock ‘n’ roll here. The synthesizer embellishment adds the
prerequisite spacey feel, while everybody else gets funky, including a
funked-up guitar from Steve. The
tune segues into a movement from “The Salmon Song,” which features a
cool sounding solo from Hillage and the return of that little kid voice.
The piece moves into another FISH RISING number, listed as “Solar
Musick Suite (Part 2).” If I’m reading things correctly, that would be
the section of the song sub-titled “Canterbury Sunrise.” The tune
features Robertson’s three-minute-plus bass solo, with guitar and synth
adding some echoey texture before the drums kick things into overdrive.
Steve Hillage, Rockpalast 1977 (video still)
And,
so, we’re back to the final three songs from MOTIVATION… , starting
with “Motivation,” which features more groove-oriented guitar. The tune
has probably the best vocal performance of the entire set; Hillage’s
voice was made for this funkier style. Of course, better lyrics help,
too. There’s a crazed solo
at the end of the song, while the drums are particularly impressive. The
vibe and music of “Saucer Surfing” reminds me more of Hawkwind than
anything else, with lyrics like: “We’re real reality gypsies/Surfing on
vibrations with our minds.” Miquette has a heavily processed spoken word
section toward the end, sounding vaguely like a computer (which,
obviously, was the intent). Things remain trippy and spacey on
“Searching For the Spark,” which is highlighted by a long solo from Joe
Blocker. With his jazz background, Blocker’s solo is anything but
boring. The final number is an impressive cover of Donovan’s “Hurdy
Gurdy Man.” This version features ethereal keyboard and vocal work. Now…
remember when I mentioned that I had my doubts about this being the
entire concert? Here’s where that question comes to mind; just about
every live Hillage version I’ve heard of “Hurdy Gurdy Man” has a long
guitar solo. This one doesn’t. I can’t tell if the solo has been edited
out or if, for some reason, Steve just didn’t play one at the Rainbow
that night. It really
doesn’t matter… it’s a minor complaint; RAINBOW 1977 is one of those
records that grows on you with each listen, never sounding boring or
pretentious.
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO:
 | Live at the Rainbow 1977 CD - £9.99 |
 | Live in England 1979 CD - £9.99 |
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