By Gruesome Greg
The early 70’s were the golden years of heavy rock, with bands banging out loud, bluesy, psychedelic jams with the support of major labels. Nowadays, many forgotten acts from that era have seen a resurgence in popularity, certain “cult” bands like Sir Lord Baltimore, Leaf Hound, and Jerusalem, to name a few.
But if you dig even deeper, you’ll find plenty of 70’s rock bands that didn’t get a sniff of major-label backing, but still put out an outstanding album (and often just one) before calling it a day—until several years later. Woodstock, Ontario’s Warpig is a strong example of the latter, a band whose 1970 self-titled remained in relative obscurity before being re-released by Relapse in 2006. You can also put Poobah in that category. The Ohio trio released three albums in the 70’s—and seven more since 1989—with “Let Me In,” their debut, coming out in ’72.
You don’t wanna judge this one by its cover, a crude black-and-white drawing of a big-bearded hippie projectile-vomiting into a toilet. (I’m not making this up.) The Ripple Music reissue, while keeping the cover art intact, has tacked on a whopping 12(!) bonus tracks to the six cuts from the original LP.
After a silly little skit about an eight-year old buying his first gun, we’re hit with a heavy groove in the form of “Mr. Destroyer,” a song that sounds like Pentagram gone desert rock—20 years before Kyuss hit the scene! It’s followed, curiously enough, by “Enjoy What You Have,” an light, airy, Pink Floydian ballad.
“Live to Work” is a driving blues number, a working-man’s anthem, more pissed off and spaced-out than the early Rush single. After a bad Donald Duck impression, “Bowleen” has some tribal drumming and frantic, bad-acid-trip vocals and guitar work. “Rock n’ Roll” is a dirty acid rock single, with some far-out drum fills, and “Let Me In” offers more of the
same, including an extended drum solo.
The dozen bonus tracks run the gamut from blues rock singalongs to instro psychedelic freakouts. More bang for your buck is never a bad thing…
(Ripple Music)
(Orignally posted on StonerRock.com)
