Search - Spooky Tooth :: Ceremony

The album that almost killed Spooky.

William R. Nicholas | Mahwah, NJ USA | 06/12/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"From what I've read, Spooky Tooth's 2nd album was a hard rock masterpeice, and they were set for the big leauges. Then they put this out, and it drove them to the edge of the abyss.



Ceremony may not have been the best tactical move for this band, but it is a very good album. Most of the songs stand up as hard rock, though the hard rock on here is far darker than on their first two, blues-based albums. Think of the difference between The Faces and Black Sabbath and you'll understand.



The electronics can be destracting, but only becuase the songs hold up by themselves. For me, I like the 60s wierdness Pierre Henry adds to this. It is almost like you are playing two completely different albums at the same time on two turntables. The collaboration between him and the band is just so bizzare, you can't help but like it.



That alone makes Ceramony worth owning.



"

CHANGE OF HEART

Larry Johnson | Arizona City,Az.U.S. | 06/27/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"When I first reviewed this 'lp' I was relying on years of past disappointment with this particular piece of metal/art. I just received my copy of the 2009 remaster and WOW! what a difference. The electronics work with this version, excellent art reprint too. Though I still personally think the tape loop of some pathetic babbling that runs all the way through jubilation could be tossed, everything thing else is genius; mixed perfect, with the band and vocals up front the way it should have always been. The guitar work is crystal. 5 STARS!"

A bizarre record

CrazyLegs | California | 12/30/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"Pierre Henry's electronics sound very abrasive. I like a lot of the musique concrete records from Nonesuch like Stockhausen and Xenakis, but I haven't warmed to this. I guess I was expecting things to...gell more. From a prog-rock perspective, I actually prefer both of the Electric Prunes releases more than this because the David Axelrod production is so crisp and clear. As another entry in a short-lived experimental, and somewhat lost era of rock, perhaps it is worth another listen."