//Detroit slashers\\
running_man | Chesterfield Twp., MI | 06/15/2006
(4 out of 5 stars)
"I was going to title this 'Detroit Swelterweights', but since liner note author Chris Welch describes the music of Frijid Pink as "slashing Detroit rock", I thought '//Detroit slashers\\' would be more apropo, especially since most people think of Detroit as the most dangerous city East OR West of Shanghai anyway. But that wasn't the Detroit that I was growing up in in 1970, when the cool Pinks released their first and best sheet of vinyl. I had a buddy who was fond of that vinyl LP, and while he took some razzing for it, I didn't complain too much when he took it out for a spin. In fact, I liked it enough to wait for a slightly discounted example of this newly remastered version with additional bonus tracks to hit the 'for sale' rack, and finally picked one up after plenty of waiting.
Frijid Pink may be unknown to many of you, although they did score one monster hit in 1970 with their cover of The Animals 'House of the Rising Sun'. If you were living in the Detroit environs, however, you knew about the Pinks every bit as much as you knew about The Amboy Dukes, The Bob Seger System, and perhaps even The Stooges. You see Detroit was a hotbed for cutting edge rock circa 1970, just as the White Stripes and Eminem continue to put the city on the musical map today. And although this album could hardly be considered a classic, there's plenty of good, hard psychedelic rock to be had from both sides of the platter. And the band penned much of their own material. Lead guitarist Gary Thompson and bass guitarist Thomas Beaudry teamed up on 10 of the 14 tracks, while producer Mike Valvano penned 'Crying Shame'.
For the most part, Frijid Pink shred paint from the walls with enormous quantities (as the Coneheads would say...) of decibels. While the band tried releasing a number of songs as singles, it's hard to imagine why the opening track, 'God Gave Me You', didn't crack the Top 40. Sure the lyrics from this band never rise above mediocre ("God gave me love, God gave me you girl..."), but this hard rock ballad with the funky wah-pedal psychedelic guitar in the background simply cooks. They follow that up with another sweet number, 'Crying Shame', best described as a psychedelic blues-rock track featuring a very heavy & fuzzy lead guitar riff. The third track takes a diversion into 1950-ish boogie rock, and throws a fine slide guitar in along with kudo's in the lyrics to another Detroit blues instituion, Savoy Brown. 'Drivin' Blues', a J. Geils Band-style up-tempo blues romp, and 'Tell Me Why', an excursion into heavy metal chaos with a fuzzy lead guitar lending skeletal structure, close out side one of the original vinyl.
Side two of Pinks debut LP features the fast-tempo blast 'End of the Line' as the opener. The mono single version of this track is the closer on the bonus tracks, but go figure why anyone would want to hear the abridged mono version. Ditto for the single version of 'House of the Rising Sun' sans the toned down bridge, perhaps the most appealing element of that track. Speaking of 'House...', it's buried as the second track on side two... as though the boys had no idea this was hit material! It's one of the great rock covers, updating The Animals version with a bold foundation, a psychedelic wah-pedal in the background, and a faster tempo. Worth listening to just to pick up some energy! The last two songs on the original vinyl are also the longest tracks, each running just over six minutes, and they are a curious mix. 'I Want To Be Your Lover' is an anti-drug/alcohol/materialism/protest rant with a nice wah-pedal bridge and a throwaway minute-long drum solo. Ironically, that's followed by 'Boozin' Blues' a live slow blues track burying itself and frontman Kelly Green in its sorrow.
The remaining three bonus tracks are all curiosities. The Pinks don't cover Elvis as well as they covered Eric Burdon, however. 'Heartbreak Hotel' is a good rocker, but the decibels completely obliterate whatever melody Elvis' version possessed. 'Music For the People' diverges radically from the Frijid Pink formula, building itself around an acoustic guitar, organ, tambourine, and Motown-like background vocals. The lyrics carry a Coca-Cola 'I'd Like To Teach the World To Sing' message ("Thank God for music, He gives it to us all for free..."), but it has a decent sound to it, and somehow manages to fit in with all the heavy metal. And 'Sing a Song For Freedom' is an anthemic number with a tribal drumbeat. Both songs show the band possessed diversity beyond what the original vinyl touted.
This digipak comes nicely illustrated. Of course the name of the band and the day-glo pink foundation are just too cool... but we're also treated to detailed information on the band, numerous photographs from the era, and lovingly composed liner notes from the aforementioned Chris Welch. If you're a fan of heavy rock music from the late 1960's and early 1970's, and you never heard this disc, you really should give it a run for the money. I think you'll discover a moment in rock history that is sorely overlooked."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1