Benny Soebardja The Lizard Years 2cd

2cd
2012/1975-78
new
Guitarist from the Indonesian heavy prog band Shark Move, whose lone record of flute wank has been reissued & compiled here & there. When his main collaborator left for a rival band, Benny formed a new band called Giant Step, with an aim to cover ELP & Deep Purple. Since most musicians could only make money playing live, Benny slowly became frustrated with the demands of the Jakarta record labels. Wishing to avoid the happy ballads that were deemed necessary to the success of any recording project, he ended up making 3 solo albums for a small, undemanding label that only issued cassettes. 'Lizard', 'Gut Rock' and 'Night Train' supplement trashy boogie with wooly synth riffs, over the top choir parts, lyrics in English, and really crazy wah processing on the lead vocal. Chord choices tend toward minor keys & a few arrangements seem to be after a cheapie version of 'Dark Side of the Moon' as much as UK prog. Not always a super fuzzer, but the stadium rock drama is sincere & effective. Makes this a great backdrop for getting stoned by yourself in the middle of the night. Tracklisting: 18 Years OIld, Come Closer, Crime, In 1965, Sunny Day, Junky & How To Live, Cynthia, Candle Light, Loosing Time, Same Sun, The Advantage of Music For Me, My Dear Suzanne, Circle of Love, The End of the World, Pensive, Some Day, I'm Still In Luv Wit Ya, Gut Rock, Young Widow, Wise World, Night Train, In 1973, Stroll On, 18 Years Old II, Woman of Desire, Talked About My Girl, Struggle for Life, Calls Himself a Rider, Looking for Peace & Freedom, A Signal From Outer Space.