Emerge

by The Litter

Overview

The Litter's Emerge combines the sound of the Amboy Dukes with Blue Cheer -- all while vocalist Mark Gallagher does his best at times to imitate Jack Bruce. Burt Bacharach and Hal David's "Little Red Book" gets torn apart in the translation and is lots of fun. Lead guitarist Ray Melina takes the band to the world of British rock with his "Breakfast at Gardenson's," the light feeling here a total about-face, a transition that complements the huge sound on most of the record. Opening track "Journeys" is that Brit rock flair and West Coast vocal sound meeting the Amboy Dukes. This has all been heard and done before, but the Litter emulate it so well that their concoction is actually quite inviting. "Silly People" is the rock band toying with jazz and blues, light years away from the garage, but working on a level that eluded the Blues Magoos and Lovecraft when those ensembles strayed too far from their origins. The Jack Bruce inspiration comes in loud and clear here, not only in the voice but in what the band is doing. The tunes are mostly in the two- to three-and-a-half-minute range with only the Iron Butterfly-ish "Future of the Past" clocking in at 12-minutes-plus ending side two and an over-five-minute rendition of Stephen Stills' "For What It's Worth" closing out the first side. The band's own "Blue Ice" works better than the cover of Buffalo Springfield and, face it, that 1967 protest song was unique and difficult to re-interpret. The Litter actually do a great job of walking on this sacred ground till they give it a half-time Ramones/the Dickies jolt years before that concept would come in to vogue; the attempt goes only halfway but is interesting. The album cover uses a negative photo pastiche and they've got the Blue Cheer image down pat. Bassist J. Worthington Kane does a fine job of producing his group studying their heroes and getting an A on the exam. It's just too bad a Terry Knight or Colonel Tom Parker wasn't around these parts to bring this to the masses. [Emerge was re-released on CD in 2015.] ~ Joe Viglione

Product Details

Release Date:	06/09/2015
Label:	Cleopatra
UPC:	0741157224221
Rank:	75599

Tracks

1. Journeys
2. Feeling
3. Silly People
4. Blue Ice
5. For What It¿¿¿s Worth
6. Little Red Book
7. Breakfast at Gardenson¿¿¿s
8. Future of the Past
9. On Our Minds

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Litter   Primary Artist
Ray Melina   Vocals (Background),Vocals,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Vocals (Background),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Lead,Vocals
Mark Gallagher   Lead,Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Tom Murray   Drums,Percussion
James Worthington Kane   Bass
Dan Rinaldi   Guitar (Rhythm),Vocals (Background)
J. Worthington Kane   Bass,Fuzz Bass,Special Effects

Technical Credits

Ray Melina   Composer,Composer
Jim Kane   Composer
Stephen Stills   Composer
The Litter   Producer
Henry Epstein   Liner Design,Cover Design
Mark Gallagher   Composer
S. Jones   Composer
Jim Bruzzese   Engineer
Punch   Producer
Tom Murray   Composer
M. Gallagher   Composer
James Worthington Kane   Composer,Producer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Hal David   Composer
Jerry Aronson   Photography
J. Worthington Kane   Composer,Producer