Bevis Frond?

[Dusty Chalk]

Someone said I'd like them. Any fans? Which album should I start with?

[jack70]

Someone said I'd like them. Any fans? Which album should I start with?
I got Bevis Frond's first release in LP form back in the late 80's. It was an idependent UK import, destined to obscurity. I liked it, so I got his next few Lps too. The artwork on those LPs is really neat... sorta like hand-drawn psych-lithographs. When he (Nick Saloman) started releasing his recordings in CD-form in the mid-90's, he added extra (non-LP) cuts to fill up the discs. He's someone you either like, or don't like. I consider him one of my top-20... certainly a top-50... fave artist of the 90's.

He was playing a "retro" type of psychedelic rock/classic 60's R&R, but with his own sound. He's in the same (kinda) sound as Robyn Hitchcock or XTC, at least they were all playing in the same sandbox. But I'm timid about "comparisons" because others will completely misinterpret my meaning here. (He DOESN'T sound like XTC). It's the kind of LP you might have heard in '68-69 from many of the punk bands after they heard Jimi Hendrix. I don't have ALL his discs, primarily because he put them out like candy. I think a lot of his songs are similar sounding (this could be said of 90% of bands), but there's usually one or 2 really good things on each release.

Dusty, I'm not sure if you'd like it... you tend to like some "out there" stuff, and this is pretty mainstream (in spirit & sound). I'd even venture (careful) there's a comparison here with bands like the Dead or Phish, in that there are some long spacey jam type cuts (one LP is called "Acid Jam")... but I don't have ANY Phish or Dead recordings, so take that with a grain of salt. I recommend you go online and listen to some samples.

[Davey]

Funny you should ask, because I just placed an order for the new Mary Lou Lord CD yesterday. Mary Lou Lord? Hehehe, yeah, Nick's a good friend of hers and she does a lot of his songs, but her new album is almost totally written by Nick Saloman and he plays guitar and bass and co-produced it. Kind of like Glen Ballard was to Alanis :)

Anyway, guess that doesn't really have much to do with your question, but I don't have any Bevis Frond albums (thought I had one LP from the mid 90s but none of the covers look familiar) so that's the best I could do. I have heard some songs over the years and would tend to characterize the sound similarly to Jack, especially in his Robyn Hitchcock reference. Guess he just never connected much with me, but I do like Mary Lou. The new one is titled Baby Blue because one of the three non-Nick Saloman songs is a cover of the Badfinger hit. Another is Pink Floyd's Fearless. And three other songs previously recorded by Bevis Frond. And nine new ones.

Just didn't want to see your post languishing here with only 14 views. I'm sure you'd do the same for me :)

[Dusty Chalk]

Just didn't want to see your post languishing here with only 14 views. I'm sure you'd do the same for me :)No, I wouldn't. Not if I didn't know anything, but you knew something, so thanks for the input (thanks to you, too, Jack). Sounds like I need to tread delicately. But FYI -- I listen to a lot of mainstream stuff, too. What's funny is, even though I don't like the Dead, I do end up liking bands that are compared to them, that have long freak-out jams especially. Phish is alright. I have that live album on which they performed Remain in Light in its entirety. It definitely had its moments.