greetings -
danny was gracious enough to invite me to review some albums of my choosing with the caveat that it wasn't something that (we) might not have raved about 5+ years ago. as danny's looming presence hadn't been overly prevalent in my life during that span (save the past 3 years) i risk the possibility of breaking this request. if that is the case, my sincere apologies.
for those reading this blog who are asking themselves, "who the hell is this guy?" i am danny's first cousin, 1/2 of the "kindergarden crushers", and allegedly iowa's biggest slipknot fan (thanks for always bringing that up, mark!) in addition to these flattering accolades, i also am a musician (ok...i'm a teacher). i was appreciative of danny allowing me to recommend some albums; hopefully whomever reads my reviews will be inspired enough to purchase and experience the music on their own terms.
the album at question is the self-titled album by the little known band, montage. montage released one album (1969) and is, in my opinion up to par with some of the great baroque pop albums of the era, i.e. "odessey and oracle", "walk away renee/pretty ballerina", "pet sounds", etc. as a matter of fact, montage is the brainchild of former left banke keyboardist and vocalist, michael browne. for those not familiar with the left banke, that is probably a great place to start, as the album "walk away renee/pretty ballerina" is one of the finest examples of the genre. the only thing lacking with the album is the lame-ass name; many bands used to title their albums, particularly if they weren't prolific with their perceived catchiest song titles. many people will recognize "walk away renee" and to a lesser extent "pretty ballerina", but the real gems on the album are "she will call you up tonight", "barterers and their wives" and "i've got something on my mind." these tracks contain zombie-esque harmonies, lush orchestrations (george martin, eat your heart out!) and harpsichords galore! the availability on this album (at this writing) is almost impossible to obtain on cd, but is pretty accessible digitally or on vinyl. rumor has it that sundazed is releasing "walk away renee/pretty ballerina" as well as their lesser second lp, "the left banke too" sometime this summer on several mediums!
after the success of "walk away renee/pretty ballerina" michael browne left to join the members of montage (who had just started their musical voyage), where he composed all of the songs and supplied the intricate keyboard parts. this album has more of a progressive feel than the two left banke albums, containing mellotron instead of strings, changing mixed-meter time signatures, atonality, and complicated rhythms. think the moody blues and the left banke's love child. the songs are also more sophisticated lyrically, occasionally coming across as a bit pretentious
some of the highlights for me are: "i shall call her mary" which sounds like a song off of an association album, "grand pianist" (my personal favorite) which could have easily been performed by the turtles, and "men building sand" with its marriage between dissonance and melodic bliss. the entire album is near perfection, and i would easily place this on my "desert island album list." this album (as are the left banke albums) is getting difficult to find on cd (it was discontinued from the sundazed catalogue, but can still be found on ebay, amazon market place, etc.). i purchased this album with high expectations, as i was aware of michael browne's association with the band, and it exceeded them tenfold! if you don't own either "walk away renee/pretty ballerina" and "montage" treat yourself to a wonderful listening experience.
-jensen
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