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Jonathan Richman | Dogmatics Photo | Paley Brother's Story
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Oh boy, here we are at the Ultimate Spinach. Their first album was reviled by the critics as phoney, now 40 years later it's getting some respect as an acid classic. Although even in 1968 Time Magazine did like the LP - CLICK for Time Magazine, May 1968 review. I always liked the songs and thought there was lots of content here. Upfront you have to know that the Spinach was the brainchild of Ian Bruce-Douglas the singer and player of some 10 instruments on the LP. Douglas wrote, "Ultimate Spinach is mind food." Ok, that explains it.
Some of the lyrics that the critics spotlighted as phony were actually tongue in cheek or sarcastic barbs by Ian Bruce Douglas, ahead of his time condemning the hippie scene. It was very perceptive of Douglas to grasp what was going on while being in the middle of it.
The First Album
There are three albums by the Spinach but in reality THIS is it . This is the one you must have. They never reached these heights again. There is something to hear every second. One of the Bosstown Sounds archetypical moments is the start of the album. You hear Ian's echoed voice, warning yet seductive and before you know it you're into the first song Ego Trip about your own misguided mind trip, don't you see? If you don't,
leave NOW because you don't get it.
The first self titled album from 1968 is full of over-the-top psychedelic lyrics while at the same time putting down the 'hippie' culture. Anti-war sentiment is a major theme also, not to forget paranoia, that was HUGE in the sixties.
Musically this is a delight. Great engineering also. Crisp sounds and effective use of multiple tracks. There is a wide variety of guitar sounds using wha-wha, fuzz, echo, tremelo, feedback and volume control.
Hip Death Goddess ...here it is, turn down the lights and seep into it.
Sacrifice to the Moon is in four parts. I can remember having discussions on which one was our favorite.
You have to read the liner notes by mastermind Ian Bruce-Douglas. They are a time capsule of hippie 1968 mind thought.
As a matter of fact it would make a wonderful 60's throwback night. Put some colored bulbs in your lamps. Put on some tie dyed shirts. Have a copy of The Prophet by Kahlil Gibran to quote from and spin the Ultimate Spinach and you are on a sixties mindtrip, baby.
The second album:
Behold and See
It's very illuminating to put on the second album right after the first. Behold and See has all the elements of the debut album yet falls way short of it. It seems like the air has been taken out of group. Ian Bruce-Douglas can't be faulted. The songs are equal to the first album. It's the performance and the recording that kill the project. The rhythm section sound like they are slogging through 10 miles of muddy road to their death. The slow tempos become funereal at many points. The sparkle, the intensity, the righteous ranting are gone even though it was recorded in 1968, the same year as the first. The engineering sounds plain and rote even though some of the same people are at the soundboard. I cranked up the volume to give it a boot in the ass but even then it sounds anemic, there's hardly any bottom end and the bass is uninspiring at best.
Time and again you can hear the familiar tonalities and riffs that made the first album great and you realize the missed opportunity here. The behind the scene story is that the group all turned on Douglas and they were not happy campers during the recording.
Even with all that the Spinach fan will find plenty to like and Douglas comes off well. He's got the songs and the trippy lyrics and his playing is equal to the first album. His ideas are strewn though the LP. Only he could come out with the song title, The Fifth Horseman of the Apocalypse ! Great, four are not enough. Rewrite the bible then to get your point across. The album ends in a repeating chant of "insanity - reality - insanity - reality." Ian, come back, all is forgiven!
Ultimate Spinach without Ian Bruce-Douglas is like San Francisco without the hills. The third album from 1969 is a different beast. Barbara Hudson is now the only connecting link to the first album/group. Ted Myers is added to bring the project along. He was the go-to guy during this period being in the Chameleon Church and Lost. This album is also noted as being Jeff Baxter's (of Steely Dan, ...fame) debut recording effort. Jeff gets a 6:50 minute blues to rip through on side one.
Must I go on? The album isn't bad, it's just not Spinach goddamn it and the cover SAYS Ultimate Spinach. It's not psychedelic but straight ahead rock from the period ...Ok, that's it, I'm out of here.
What happened?
Ian Bruce-Douglas had a web site for a while but it's gone now. There are a few places on the web where he pops up ... TRY THIS. Give a look at this long and eye-opening interview with the always frank Ian Bruce-Douglas...Ian Bruce-Douglas Interview.