Search - FRATERNITY OF MAN :: Fraternity of Man

A stunning compendium of virtuoso guitar styles

madreviewer | detroit | 10/03/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Elliott Ingber was the original guitarist for the Mothers Of Invention, but nothing on the "Freak Out" album will have prepared you for his dazzling performance here. The band was very competent, but the real attraction is Ingber, jumping effortlessly from style to style. Those who missed the 60s will be amused and bemused by the lyrics, which are like something out of a head comic (remember those?) They're paranoid about the police and they love their marijuana, but it's all so exaggerated that they must be joking...mustn't they? These are the guys who gave us "Don't Bogart Me" ("don't bogart that joint, my friend, pass it over to me") and sung it like they meant it. For me the highlights are "Blue Guitar" and "Last Call For Alcohol." The former is as simple and as effective as handing off to Walter Payton; I especially like the way Ingber wastes 40 or 50 notes in a bar and a half, but not just to be flashy. And in the latter, he does a near-perfect imitation of steel guitar--if it weren't for one riff, I'd be sure it was a steel guitar. Imagine the Strawberry Alarm Clock, only stoned, versatile, and brilliant, and you've got Fraternity of Man. And if you want to hear someone do new things with a guitar, you have to have this CD."

MID 1960'S PSYCHEDELIC CALIFORNIA BLUES BASED ROCK

COMPUTERJAZZMAN | Cliffside Park, New Jersey United States | 09/04/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"THIS CD CAPTURES THE MUSIC FROM A SPECIAL MOMENT IN TIME DURING THE 1960'S. IF YOU LIKE TO HEAR THIS KIND OF PSYCEHDELIC ROCK MUSIC FROM CALIFORNIA IN THE 1960'S YOU WILL "DIG" THIS ALBUM. IT WILL MAKE YOU WANT TO ROLL UP A J, AFTER YOU HEAR "DON'T BOGART THAT JOINT", WHICH FEATURES SOME REALLY NICE PEDAL STEEL GUITAR, AND WAS MADE FAMOUS IN THE MOVIE EASY RIDER. THE LEAD GUITAR PLAYER, ELIOT INGBER, WAS THE ORIGINAL LEAD GUITAR PLAYER ON THE FIRST RECORDED MOTHERS OF INVENTION ALBUM, "FREAK OUT" (RIGHT AFTER HENRY VESTINE LEFT TO GO PLAY IN CANNED HEAT). AND THIS ALBUM FEATURES THE FIRST RECORDING OF THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION SONG "OH NO", WHICH WAS ON THE WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH ALBUM. ADMITTEDLY, SOMETIMES THIS MUSIC SOUNDS LIKE IT IS TAKING ITSELF A BIT TOO SERIOUSLY, EVEN WHEN IT ISN'T, BUT THAT WAS THE 60'S! HEAVY!"