The Day the Earth Stood Still
By Kim Fowley
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Track listing
- A1 Cadillac
- A2 Pray for Rain
- A3 Night of the Hunter
- A4 The Frail Ocean
- A5 Visions of Motorcycles
- A6 The Man Without a Country
- B1 Prisoner of War
- B2 I Was a Communist for the F.B.I.
- B3 Birth of a Nation
- B4 Long Live Rock 'n' Roll
- B5 The Day the Earth Stood Still
- B6 Is America Dead?
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3 Issues
6 Reviews
My favorite Kim Fowley album in terms of "songs," though to get the full effect you need to combine this with Animal God of the Street(s), which I believe was recorded at the same time. In 1970 Fowley made the somewhat bizarre decision to relocate to Scandinavia. The idea of Kim Fowley following in the footsteps of "the lost generation" is intriguing, and the track justifying his leave, "Is America Dead?" ranks among his best. Supposedly, one of the bands he produced in Sweden, Scorpion, is backing him on this. Perhaps influenced by their country's progg aesthetic, Scorpion play a loose form of psychedelic rock that makes most of the tracks seem like demos. To my ears, that is a good thing.
Published
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Pros
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+ Opener "Cadillac" is a decent slice of psych-blues. It kind of sounds like what the Cramps would do almost 10 years later.
+ The weirder the tracks on here, the more successful. "The Frail Ocean"s druggy ragtime, the anti-war honky tonk of "I Was A Communist For The FBI" or the Zappa-esque absurdity of closer "Is America Dead?" all work better because the more conventional tracks, while competent, come off as unconvincing.
+ "Is America Dead?" is simultaneously a drug-induced, stream-of-consciousness piece of shit and a wonderful example of completely self-aware, over-the-top, self indulgence. A guilty pleasure if there ever was one.
+ The awkwardly handled anti-American "politics" is actually one of this album's biggest charms.
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Cons
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- Fowley just doesn't have the voice to pull off the more "serious" Folk and Singer/Songwriter numbers; way too reedy and off key. That his backing band are fairly accomplished players brings this fact into fairly clear relief.
- "Night Of The Hunter" is about the worst attempt at aping Steppenwolf these ears have ever had the "pleasure" of hearing.
- Recorded in Finland and released solely in Sweden, this must have been only intended as a vanity project and most of the tracks on here bear that out. God knows what those accommodating Scandinavians thought of Fowley's "vision", but the musicianship is competent and the playing on "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is sympathetic. It's not a surprise though that this thing didn't get wider release.
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Verdict: meh plus
Pros
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+ Opener "Cadillac" is a decent slice of psych-blues. It kind of sounds like what the Cramps would do almost 10 years later.
+ The weirder the tracks on here, the more successful. "The Frail Ocean"s druggy ragtime, the anti-war honky tonk of "I Was A Communist For The FBI" or the Zappa-esque absurdity of closer "Is America Dead?" all work better because the more conventional tracks, while competent, come off as unconvincing.
+ "Is America Dead?" is simultaneously a drug-induced, stream-of-consciousness piece of shit and a wonderful example of completely self-aware, over-the-top, self indulgence. A guilty pleasure if there ever was one.
+ The awkwardly handled anti-American "politics" is actually one of this album's biggest charms.
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Cons
----------------------------------
- Fowley just doesn't have the voice to pull off the more "serious" Folk and Singer/Songwriter numbers; way too reedy and off key. That his backing band are fairly accomplished players brings this fact into fairly clear relief.
- "Night Of The Hunter" is about the worst attempt at aping Steppenwolf these ears have ever had the "pleasure" of hearing.
- Recorded in Finland and released solely in Sweden, this must have been only intended as a vanity project and most of the tracks on here bear that out. God knows what those accommodating Scandinavians thought of Fowley's "vision", but the musicianship is competent and the playing on "The Day The Earth Stood Still" is sympathetic. It's not a surprise though that this thing didn't get wider release.
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Verdict: meh plus
Published
Kim Fowley's The Day the Earth Stood Still begins with a lively psychedelic blues-rock cover of "Cadillac." It's a very strong opener, setting up the songs that follow very well. It's not until "The Man Without a Country" that the album starts to lose a little bit of steam. The folkier songs, in particular, are hardly distinguishable from their more popular contemporaries being released simultaneously all over world; it's in the psychedelic, freaky stuff that Kim Fowley shines. "Night of the Hunter," for one, is another hefty, unique tune (like the revamped "Cadillac") that holds this album a notch above the mundane. "Is America Dead?" is reminiscent of early Zappa, as is "Prisoner of War," but what I like about the album is Fowley's ability to fully unleash his experimental ambitions without it being the slightest bit of a turnoff. It nothing I would consider revolutionary, but, yeah, it's a decent experimental/psychedelic rock album.
Published
This is a legit reissue by the original label that released the first press in 1970. It features a pic sleeve. The music is a mix of soft, folky ballads, and heavy hippie rock. On this album, recorded and originally only released in Sweden, he is backed by a Swedish group called the Scorpions. Grades - 4 B's, 1 B-, 3 C's, and 2 C-'s.
Published
MNWP 7 Vinyl LP (1990)
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this is adult
kind of adult pop from kim, strange but yes, little serious this time, with the old subjets, hippism, america life style. kind of good album..Published
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