CHIRCO - Visitation [ 1972 U.S. Psych-Prog Rock / 1999 dig.remast.]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Artist: Chirco
Album: Visitation
Released: U.S.A. 1972
Source: CD 1999 Gear Fab Records ( GF-130 )
Genre: Progressive Rock - Psychedelic
Format: EAC-APE with scans 300 dpi. ( 196 mb.)
Review:
*** For every undiscovered rock or pop gem that springs from the late Sixties and early Seventies, there are dozens of albums whose hype far exceeds their musical quality. Occasionally, an album will arise from this era with its musical virtue still wholely intact, but, tragically, it is impaired by a single element that could have been easily avoided had the same consideration been given to it as to the music. The sole 1972 album, Visitation, by Chirco is one such misfortune. Chirco was actually originally a studio project led by percussionist Tony Chirco and producer Michael Cuscuna rather than a proper band, but eventually the New York band Sassafrass came aboard, and proved to be the project's saving grace. The musicianship in evidence on Visitation is uniformly ambitious and complex, with bassist Bruce Taylor and drummer S.H. Foote particularly impressive. They construct a swinging rhythmic underpinning that propels the music upward and forward, a match for the subtle spirituality of the lyrics. The album contains some of the hallmarks of progressive rock, especially the highly structured, conceptual songs that wear their pretensions on their sleeves, but although the usual rock instrumentation (drums, bass, guitar, keyboards) is present, Cuscuna also had the vision to variously incorporate horns and percussion, and the ubiquitous presence of electronic vibes helps Chirco create something that transcends progressive rock. The band's playing often approaches the texture and intricacy of jazz, with passages ranging from breezy to boldly powerful to grooving, and the album is equally demanding in that it does not contain proper songs; instead it consists of two side-long suites with each part rolling directly into the next without lulls or gaps. And although some of the music overreaches or descends into hackneyed hard-rock cliche, had Chirco stopped here, the album would have been a find. Unfortunately, the album is both dated and marred by the vocals, which are firmly planted in the '70s pedestrian hard-rock mold that emphasised histrionic wailing over expressiveness or genuine edge. With more idiosyncratic vocals, Visitation might well have had the right to claim itself a lost treasure from the progressive-psyche era. As it is, the album is hard even to enjoy for its good parts because they have been spoiled by the bad. (~ Stanton Swihart, All Music Guide )
Interesting and ambitious album, though more prog than psych. A really great, crisp guitar sound compensates for the fact that this occasionally sounds somewhat like Styx. What Homer is to guitar rock, this is to keyboard rock. Barry Tashian of the Remains produced and contributed one of the better songs. Some of the songs are arranged into suites, and flow together nicely, just falling short of the kind of pretense that could sink something like this. [AM]
While we've seen the LP advertised as a high priced psych outing, it ain't! There are splashes of fuzz guitar and occasional progressive moves, but propelled by vocalist Anvil Roth's AOR-styled pipes and delivery, these guys probably have more in common with 1970s hard rockers. The label and the overall Western motif left us with the impression this short-lived early-'70s outfit was from Colorado, but it was recorded in New York and Connecticut. Sonically the album's surprisingly impressive and offers up a nice mix of 1970s hard rock and Styx-styled progressive moods. Several tracks sport a vague new age-styled spiritualistic message, but have interesting arrangements and a couple actually rock out. To our ears, highlights are the opener "Sound of the Cross" and "Golden Image". [SB] ACID ARCHIVES.
Track List:
01 Sound of the Cross (2:15)
02 33 Years (3:51)
03 Cause I Love You (3:43)
04 Golden Image (7:00)
05 Dear Friends (7:46)
06 Mr. Sunshine (5:08)
07 Minutes (2:51)
08 Child of Peace (4:49 )
|
