Search - Kingdom Come :: Galactic Zoo

Arthur Brown-Galactic Zoo

Will K. Twork | 11/03/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When this LP released in 1971 I was into bands that weren't very mainstream. As a matter of fact, I bought "Captian Beyond's" first LP the same day I think.
Anyway, having seen "The Crazy Wourld of Arthur Brown" live in Detroit in the late 1960's pretty much wet my appitite for his voice/music. Even Atomic Rooster (featuring Vincent Crane and Carl Palmer from the original CWAB band) were a great (also underrated) band. But this LP really hit me hard. From start to finish (including a pre-recorded record player needle (remember record players?)complete with ungrounded hum and needle contact with the record just before the end of side two were just way too cool compared to anything else out there at the time.
Arthur Brown has one of the best voices in rock. He's still a very underrated vocalist and song writer. Check out last year's "Tantric Lover" and you'll see what I mean.
If you like the obscure, you'll love this album. Buy the CD now, before it's out of print again...."

Arthur wants your brains!

geezer-h | Jersey City, NJ | 06/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Arthur Brown never achieved the type of status in the rock cannons of, say, Alice Cooper (an obvious connection) as most people still only remember him for that sole hit in '68. After listening to this, you'll probably be finding yourself thinking how unfair this is at the same time realizing that the music presented by Arthur and Kingdom Come was WAY too out there to find any mainstream success circa '71 (or today for that matter). It's a shame because Arthur Brown is in possession of simply one of the greatest voices in rock ever. How great it is to hear Arthur let rip, especially today, where humorlessly bored deadpan drones pass for vocals. The music reflects the dynamics of his vocals, ranging from brutally loud, bassy hard rock/metal (INTERNAL MESSENGER) to intimately quiet moments (SIMPLE MAN) to the hilariously demented (BRAINS). The music tends to be somewhat doomy and the eclectic nature of it might be somewhat confusing, but it still stands as an extraordinarily well composed hard rock/prog album bar none, the likes of which you'll never hear again and one that could never exist in today's world of overly slick, digitized production."

Captures "the terror of the age"

Jeffrey J.Park | Massachusetts, USA | 02/24/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This 1971 release by Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come is intense...overwhelmingly so in fact and maybe a little bit scary too. The music on Galactic Zoo Dossier is a heady brew of apocalyptic hard rock played at crushing volumes, progressive rock, the European avant-garde, jazz, psychedelic rock, a little classical, and a smidge of the blues. At times, the pieces sound as if they are careening out of control, only to regain solid footing in the blink of an eye. For those folks that are familiar with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (I recall listening to "Fire" on my father's reel to reel tape player as a kid sometime in the mid/late 1970s), this album should prove to be a real treat. As a progressive/psychedelic rock fan, it appealed to me on a number of levels.



The musicians on this debut album include Arthur Brown (vocals); Julian Brown (VCS3 synthesizer); Andrew Dalby (lead electric guitar; acoustic guitar; and vocals); Desmond Fisher (electric bass guitar); Michael Harris (piano and Hammond organ); and the thunderous Martin Steer (drums and percussion). The group is comprised of excellent musicians that are capable of some fairly intricate and proggy ensemble work on one hand and positively blistering acid rock jams on the other. They are also capable of quoting from a broad range of non-rock musical styles (jazz, classical etc). Arthur Brown of course probably has the most distinct vocal style in all of rock and his very theatrical, "heavy metallish" vocal style really makes this music work for me - especially when he lets one of his trademark screams loose. Another favorite is the Hammond organ work of Michael Harris - he can rip right along with some of the greats and also gets a very churchy sounding tone - in general, he is an excellent player that covers everything from Jon Lord to Brian Auger to Keith Emerson. Andy Dalby is also worth mentioning and his guitar playing really adds to the "hair-raising" property of the music - he seems to favor a heavily distorted tone, but also uses cleaner tones on occasion.



The tunes themselves are all over the place and range from chaotic, avant-garde passages, through electrifying acid-rock jams and proggy workouts, to quieter pieces with classical overtures and in one extremely brief instance, folk-rock. In amongst this are bits and pieces of electronic manipulation and various studio effects. In spite of the mixture of disparate styles, there is great continuity to the album and all of the pieces flow together nicely into one lengthy song-cycle suite of sorts.



This remastered version by Sanctuary/Castle features excellent sound quality, loads of liner notes, and photos of Arthur Brown and the Band along with a few bonus tracks.



All in all, this album is very highly recommended to fans of hard psychedelic rock and open-minded prog fans. Other albums that might also prove to be enjoyable include Camembert Electrique (Gong, 1971) and In Search of Space (Hawkwind, 1971)."