The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble

Based on the idea of a rock/classical fusion, they got a deal with Atlantic. Hey, it was 1968, the time of anything goes. The New York Rock and Roll Ensemble 1968, their eponymous debut, is a curious achievement. The band sounds like a weird blend of The Blues Project, The Association, and Moby Grape with classical trio and quartet interludes thrown in for good measure. Sometimes the classical bits were included in the middle section of a pop song. Three of the members- Michael Kamen (keyboards, oboe, horn), Dorian Rudnytsky (bass, cello), and Marty Fulterman (drums, oboe, horn) were Julliard trained and the other two were rock guitarists (Brian Corrigan, guitar, Clif Nivison, lead guitar). It's a crazy story. And remarkably, the record plays quite well today. Sounds of Time and Began to Burn are solid pop-rock for 1968. The Bach Trio Sonata in A is a straight reading, and just fine. The early Michael Kamen-penned You Know Just What It's Like is the best rocking moment, and the psych-pop of Studeo Atlantis is pretty daring, really.

The follow-up, Faithful Friends 1969 is a real treat, and like nothing else. That's not always a good thing, but these guys could really do rock, and really do classical, and they could also combine some quartet sounds with rock to nice effect in a way not heard anywhere else, at least not until some of the prog rock of the late seventies, and this is still different in a not-bombastic way that is great. Now, to be honest, it's mostly a rock album, and a pretty good one. I'm Too Busy, Asking Too Much, Kite Song, and the Hendrix-penned Wait Until Tomorrow highlight side one. Thinking of Mary's baroque pop, the classical Aria and the remarkable classical-pop fusion of Brandenburg (with Bach themes and new pop lyrics sung by band members, and a rocking ending) close out a strong set. 

Their third release, the strange Reflections 1970, was a collaboration between the band and Greek pop/theatrical composer Manos Hatzidakis. Hatzidakis wrote the music, while NY Rock Ensemble members wrote lyrics, played and sang. The work was ostensibly recorded for a soundtrack to a film that never was made. The music is good enough, but the sound has little to do with the rock/classical fusion of the band, and it is a difficult listen today. It was their last record for Atlantic, and may have been a contractual obligation choice for the band, who were on their way to Capital Records and a slight shortening of their name to New York Rock Ensemble.

In 1971, Roll Over arrived, and it is nothing short of a classic. The band, now down to a foursome with the departure of Corrigan, produced what I feel is their strongest set. They toured the record extensively, and why they didn't become more well-known is beyond me. They put on an excellent live show, and the record didn't have a bad song on it. They even performed some shows with classical orchestras, doing a rock set and a set with orchestra- before anyone else in rock even dreamed the idea. The two ballads Fields Of Joy (later covered by Lenny Kravitz) and Beside You (later used by Kamen for the movie What Dreams May Come) are the only use of their classical instruments. The rockers are all solid. I reviewed the record some years ago here.

The good news is that bands didn't get dropped right away after disappointing sales in the early seventies, so they soldiered on with Freedomburger 1972. Freedomburger, with its cover depicting Washington crossing the Delaware on a giant hamburger, was a fine follow-up to Roll Over, albeit with a less cohesive (or more varied) song selection. A fine cover of A Whiter Shade of Pale, with classical instruments and Kamen's soulful vocal, is great. The band writes and plays a ton of killer tunes, among them More Like The Master, Magic Lady, Shuffle, Barrel Full Of Wine, Carry Me Up, and Raise Your Barriers. I'm Sending A Friend To You is heartfelt, and almost everything works. Looking back today, they must not have been promoted right, because they were certainly talented enough, and these last two records are rock solid.

Michael Kamen tried to give it one more go with his 1973 solo debut titled New York Rock. Bass player Rudnytsky is still in the fold, and the "band" is rounded out with ace studio musicians David Sanborn, Hank DeVito, Larry Packer, and Dennis Whitted. Kamen revists Carry Me Up from Freedomburger and writes the beautiful Everything That Touches You. The rest is all over the place, and a little too ballad-heavy. But the classical quartet shows up for Christophene and the J. S. Bach cowrite Winter Child. All My Trials and 1984 are good, but not everything works as well.

And so another one bites the dust, never to be heard from again. Ou contraire. Not this time. Bassist Rudnytsky has gone on to make a living playing cello and bass in Los Angeles for TV and movies. Drummer Marty Fulterman, with a name change to Mark Snow, has written music for more than 100 TV series and movies, including the entire X-Files series. Michael Kamen went on to score more than 60 movie soundtracks, and collaborate with rockers (Metallica, Pink Floyd) on symphonic/rock projects. Kamen was nominated for two Academy Awards, and won three Grammys, two Golden Globes, two Igor Novello Awards, and an Emmy.

Everything except Reflections is worth hearing, and Roll Over and Freedomburger are highly recommended. Faithful Friends comes awfully close, and features their unique rock/classical fusion.

Erin McKeown Kiss Off Kiss 2021

 

There is a new Erin McKeown record and it is right there with her best work. The record was produced by Steve Berlin of Los Lobos fame, and it has a cohesive, and quite rocking, sound. Most of the songs deal with relationships, and it doesn't sound like those relationships are going particularly well. Of course this topic has resonated in many great records, so this one continues the long tradition of the break-up record. 

 

Cupido Stupido kicks things off in fast, punky style. Litany For A Minor Character has a nice riff and wordy lyric. Melancholy rocker On/Off Heart follows with a hooky chorus and a fine classic rock lead guitar break. Switch Shadows is an airy ballad, while Details Of The Crime has a slinky, "mysterious" guitar part. Go Along/Get Along returns to the fun pop-punk vibe, and details a relationship style just built for animosity. Business Of Show has a guitar figure that sounds like Andy Summers of the Police, and it rocks.

 

The second half is just as good. My Own Baby Now is a bluesy pop of a breakup song (I'll be my own baby now) with a sax break from Steve Berlin. What happens when a girl breaks up with a girl to date a guy inspires the vitriol of Is/He Does/He, a hook filled nasty pop-punk tune that has one of several rather graphic lyrics on the record. The title track is a another solid rocker followed by Landing Spot, an atmospheric piece with spoken word lyrics and great instrumentation. Today/Sex is another fast spiky rocker with solid drive and again with the sex-filled lyric (no innuendo here). The mid-tempo rock of Little Miss Mister with spare verses and big chorus ends the record as strong as it began.

 

Special merit goes to the band. Trent Baarspul (guitar), Damian Erskine (bass), Reinhardt Melz (drums), and Erik Duetsch (keyboards) all have their shining moments, and Melz is especially effective at pushing the rhythms forward. Erin's guitar and Berlin's sax fatten it all up nicely. Ms. McKeown is a fabulous singer that just seems to get better, and her songwriting continues to to produce great material. This one joins We Will Become Like Birds 2005, Hundreds of Lions 2009, and MANIFESTRA 2013 as one of her finest.