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Review: ANT-BEE REVIEWS
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ANT BEE - PURE ELECTRIC HONEY
(CD from https://shop.paragon-digital.net/index.html) ANT BEE - ELECTRONIC CHURCH MUSIC (CD from https://shop.barkingmoondog.com/main.sc) Originally released on Voxx Records in 1990, “Pure Electric Honey” was the first offering from Billy James, the music within a strange mix of sonic abstraction, drifting Psychedelia and bursts of Kraut inspired freakouts. Using a host of guest musicians, the collection is an inspired musical trip, the journey taking unexpected turns, through strange landscapes and familiar countryside, a love of early Floyd always a help in these situations.
As someone who has owned and loved this album since its initial release it is somewhat hard to be objective about it, however there is a naïve charm to the recordings with “Eating Chocolate Cake (In The Bath)” being a warm and simple slice of mellowness, “My Cat” invoking the stranger areas of UK Psych before becoming a fine spacey excursion, whilst “Black and White Cat, Black and White Cake” moves into more abstract areas, a quiet cloud of noises and voices. To round of side one, at least on the original vinyl, “The Wrong At Once (Has Gone)” is a beautiful track, the kind you find at the end of your favourite psych album, letting light and love into your soul, just relax and float downstream.
After the brief “Say AHHH!!” which is just that, lots of voices saying ahhh, and the ambient Eastern floatation of “The Green Gin”, the rest of the original album is taken up with “Evolution # 7” parts I-IV, a piece that manages to mix the Beatles with early electronic experimentation, creating a joyous track that you can return to again and again, heavy guitar solos adding to the fun to be had as your mind gets blown along the way.
As an added bonus, the CD also includes some of the original demos that were sent to Voxx including tracks that didn't make the final album. Possibly not essential, these are stilll worthwhile additions as they remain in the same style and fit in well ensuring the strangeness lasts to the very end. So, move on twenty odd years and we come to “Electronic Church Muzik”, the fourth release from Ant Bee, an album that follows a similar musical path although this time we find Mr James working with people such as Bunk Gardner, Peter Banks, Daevid Allen, Don Preston and Gilli Smythe. Opening with “Birth” the listener could be forgiven for thinking they have just put on an early going album as flute and space-whisper fill the room this feeling dismissed by “Living” and Alice Cooper cover with a nice loose seventies rock feel. This being Ant Bee of course, Daevid Allen appears on “The Language of the Body” half singing the usual bizzare word play over some stoned jazz musings, all good clean fun and the best thing to do is just go with it and keep smiling, especially as the whole thing falls to pieces as it goes along. Breaking into some Zappa style prog, “Eye of Agamoto” features Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner and Don Preston all proving what fine players they are, bringing life to a happy summery tune. After more gong style musings, a bluesy acoustic guitar riff heralds the arrival of “Mallard Flies Towards Heaven” a track which finds Zoot Horn Rollo teaming up with Rockette Morton to let it all hang out for a while adding another layer of surprise to the proceedings. This, of course is the albums strength and possible downfall, the sudden changes of style certainly means that nothing becomes stale or predictable, it is just that it is also hard to really get into the thing, however if your collection includes Gong Beefheart, Zappa and plenty of late sixties, early seventies underground sounds then this could well be the album for you. In fact, this collection could sound like you entire collection in sixty minutes, whether that is ultimately a good thing is for you to decide, but when you are in the mood for some confusion about what you are actually listening to then this hits the spot completely, Herbal cigarettes are optional and some good strong ale may well be as effective. (Simon Lewis) CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
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Review: ANT-BEE REVIEWS
|
|
ANT BEE - PURE ELECTRIC HONEY
(CD from https://shop.paragon-digital.net/index.html) ANT BEE - ELECTRONIC CHURCH MUSIC (CD from https://shop.barkingmoondog.com/main.sc) Originally released on Voxx Records in 1990, “Pure Electric Honey” was the first offering from Billy James, the music within a strange mix of sonic abstraction, drifting Psychedelia and bursts of Kraut inspired freakouts. Using a host of guest musicians, the collection is an inspired musical trip, the journey taking unexpected turns, through strange landscapes and familiar countryside, a love of early Floyd always a help in these situations.
As someone who has owned and loved this album since its initial release it is somewhat hard to be objective about it, however there is a naïve charm to the recordings with “Eating Chocolate Cake (In The Bath)” being a warm and simple slice of mellowness, “My Cat” invoking the stranger areas of UK Psych before becoming a fine spacey excursion, whilst “Black and White Cat, Black and White Cake” moves into more abstract areas, a quiet cloud of noises and voices. To round of side one, at least on the original vinyl, “The Wrong At Once (Has Gone)” is a beautiful track, the kind you find at the end of your favourite psych album, letting light and love into your soul, just relax and float downstream.
After the brief “Say AHHH!!” which is just that, lots of voices saying ahhh, and the ambient Eastern floatation of “The Green Gin”, the rest of the original album is taken up with “Evolution # 7” parts I-IV, a piece that manages to mix the Beatles with early electronic experimentation, creating a joyous track that you can return to again and again, heavy guitar solos adding to the fun to be had as your mind gets blown along the way.
As an added bonus, the CD also includes some of the original demos that were sent to Voxx including tracks that didn't make the final album. Possibly not essential, these are stilll worthwhile additions as they remain in the same style and fit in well ensuring the strangeness lasts to the very end. So, move on twenty odd years and we come to “Electronic Church Muzik”, the fourth release from Ant Bee, an album that follows a similar musical path although this time we find Mr James working with people such as Bunk Gardner, Peter Banks, Daevid Allen, Don Preston and Gilli Smythe. Opening with “Birth” the listener could be forgiven for thinking they have just put on an early going album as flute and space-whisper fill the room this feeling dismissed by “Living” and Alice Cooper cover with a nice loose seventies rock feel. This being Ant Bee of course, Daevid Allen appears on “The Language of the Body” half singing the usual bizzare word play over some stoned jazz musings, all good clean fun and the best thing to do is just go with it and keep smiling, especially as the whole thing falls to pieces as it goes along. Breaking into some Zappa style prog, “Eye of Agamoto” features Jimmy Carl Black, Bunk Gardner and Don Preston all proving what fine players they are, bringing life to a happy summery tune. After more gong style musings, a bluesy acoustic guitar riff heralds the arrival of “Mallard Flies Towards Heaven” a track which finds Zoot Horn Rollo teaming up with Rockette Morton to let it all hang out for a while adding another layer of surprise to the proceedings. This, of course is the albums strength and possible downfall, the sudden changes of style certainly means that nothing becomes stale or predictable, it is just that it is also hard to really get into the thing, however if your collection includes Gong Beefheart, Zappa and plenty of late sixties, early seventies underground sounds then this could well be the album for you. In fact, this collection could sound like you entire collection in sixty minutes, whether that is ultimately a good thing is for you to decide, but when you are in the mood for some confusion about what you are actually listening to then this hits the spot completely, Herbal cigarettes are optional and some good strong ale may well be as effective. (Simon Lewis) CURRENTLY AVAILABLE FROM GONZO
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Review: GERMAN ANT-BEE REVIEW (translated)
Anyone who knows him, 'the' Ant-Bee , will not be surprised by the track name and the names and aliases of the musicians know what the outcome is going. All others may serve the reading of the names mentioned as a reference, not for everyday use to find on this CD. Almost nothing.
"Pure Electric Honey" was first published in 1990 (LP) and this first album of Billy James aka Ant-Bee shows the baby steps of the avant-garde surrealism freaks with a 4-track tape machine. Explore what is, look how his love of music in the style of an artist like Syd Barrett or albums like . Magical Mystery Tour / Sgt Pepper can implement. The result was called "Pure Electric Honey" and love the created, turned Billy on the Bomp / Voxx label in Los Angeles. For the time in the Under Psychedelic underground scene was announced from the sixties and his music even got radio play time.Inconceivable, if you look at today's media landscape. Even private channels, locally or in the I-Net are likely to do with such musical output difficult nowadays.
The above two albums, as well as the music of Pink Floyd to Syd's times are actually almost pop, compared to Ant Bees output. Perhaps because one of the Beatles as well as Pink Flyod even the weirdest moments always connects somewhere in some way or combination of ingenious melodies.
When Ant-Bee this 'head-connection' is missing and you have to work out the music. Exactly, the songs to be discovered. The best early in the morning or late at night, on the one hand if you have the muse to have new in the head, or this is already so stuffed from the day that he simply takes this type of honey without much resistance.
Quotes from the booklet, which documents the development of the title, require in their testimony no further explanation: "Just listen, you might hear something." Or: "... the music thing ahead of it's time ..." She was safe and for the Most of them will be there to this day. The quote number one hits the nail on the head, because after initial 'difficulties' opens a sudden the music. These beginners thoughts you Informed initially if perhaps the house cat is ill and complains if a window shop with no wind rattles, ask the frogs from the neighbor's garden pond for asylum or the washing machine heralds the imminent transition to the scrap dealer by noise so pale after third listening test, and so many should also concede the plate. Ant-Bee has brought a psychedelic cosmos on CD - probably mention here and there experimental, but partly equipped with very harmonious moments - who wants to be discovered and recorded especially. Is that done, you can 'leave' come easy and the music as if by magic it automatically installs itself in exactly the places in the head, where it is currently expected and welcome.
Of course, and I'll guarantee it, is not an album, which is at the pole position on the shelf. Also, because you have an aural safe again after an appropriate time interval. But succeeded that's when jostling Bagpipes and Wetkyi moods with birds and frogs to the listener's favor when mellifluous sounds with vocal samples and drum attacks compete or sudden sinking beautiful surrealistic soundscapes in monstrous dark Angründen in the mind's eye. Ant-Bee has with illustrious musicians flock, among other things about his past 'reported' ... that he ate in protest for three weeks with his band stays When chocolate or what he experienced during his India trip. And that's what makes "Pure Electric Honey" an authentic work. No normal output-musicians with whom ambition whatsoever: Here you can when you open yourself to get direct insight into the psyche and soul of a musician. itself I liked the way the Indian best moments as they before mysticism and pleasant, almost trance- rhythm are bursting like that. If, and this is important if you have been listening to.2013er overlay issue are the way at five demo versions of 1987, which in principle do not dance while listening to out of line, but get involved as a matter of course into the overall structure.
https://rocktimes.de/gesamt/a/ant_bee/pure_electric_honey.html
Line-up:
Billy James (vocals, drums, percussion, tables, guitar, keyboards, tape manipulation) Guests: Herman Monster [Roy Herman] (electric, acoustic, slide & beast uitars) Mr. Green Beans [Greg Lamastro] (sitar) The Spiral Stairchase [Todd Rogers] (keyboards) Purple Plastic Penguin [Rick Snyder] (bass) Mod Martian [Rodney Martin] (slide guitar) Ymmit [Timmy Cannon] (bagpipes) The Colonel [ Jeff Wolfe] (harmonica) Nedock Toes [Scott Kolden] (guitar, studio scorcery) Om Shanti [Jeff Maredn] (flute) fuzzy Martian [Charlotte] (backwards violin)Rantin '& Ravin' [Bob & Suzannah Harris] (Rabtin ' & Ravin ') Gouda & The Potato (meows)
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO
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Pure Electric Honey SCD - £9.99 |
Review: ANT-BEE REVIEW
Album Review: Ant-Bee — Pure Electric Honey
CURRENTLY AVAILABLE AT GONZO
Pure Electric HoneySCD - £9.99
