PISCES ~ A LOVELY SIGHT
~THERE HAVE BEEN MANY ARTIST RESURRECTED BY A LATE GENERATION, THEIR ALBUM PULLED FROM OBSCURITY TO THE BRIGHT LIGHTS OF REISSUES, RE~MASTERING, AND RECOGNITION. THEIR STORIES ARE TRAGIC, MYSTERIOUS, AND LEGEND PROCEEDS THEM: Robert Jonson SELLING HIS SOUL AT THE CROSSROAD, Nick Drakes'S LONELY END. "Pisces" DOES NOT FALL INTO THIS CATAGORY. TO BE SAVED FROM OBSCURITY, TO BE REVIVED, INDICATES IGNORED OUTPUT. PISCES TOTAL COMMERCIAL RELEASES CONSISTS OF THREE 7" SINGLES BETWEEN 1968~1969, ONE OF WHICH UNDER THE MONIKER "BRUNER", FOR Linda Bruner WHOM THEY COLLABORATED WITH ON FOUR SONGS~.
~THE ALBUM UNDER REVIEW HERE IS NEW. THAT IS TO SAY, IT NEVER EXISTED. A SIDE FROM THE THREE A~SIDES, NONE OF THIS MUSIC HAS BEEN RELEASED COMMERCIALLY OR REALISTICALLY HEARD OUTSIDE OF MAIN PISCES MEMBERS Jim Krein AND Paul Diventi'S BASEMENT STUDIO AND MINDS. THE ALBUMS TITLE "A LOVELY SIGHT", CHOSEN AS IT WAS THE BAND'S NAME EARLY ON AND LATER THE NAME OF KRIEN AND DIVENTI'S ROCKFORD STUDIO, OPENS WITH "DEAR ONE", PART OF THE COLLABORATIONS WITH "LINDA BRUNER" A SNAKY JEFFERSONIAN AIRPLANE TRACK WITH BRUNER'S WISPY DEEP PROCLAMATION, "DEAR ONE TELL ME YOUR DREAMS". THE FUZZED OUT PSYCHEDELIA THAT COLORS THIS RECORD ALREADY ILLUMINATES THE ROOM IN A DARK~LIGHT VENEUR~.
~IN THE STUDIO, "Pisces" EXPERIMENTED CONSTANTLY RECORDING BACKWARDS, TAPE SPLICING IMPART A LYSERGIC HUM. THESE EXPERIMENTS CULMINATED IN THEIR FIRST SINGLE "GENESIS II". IN AN ELECTRIC LADY LAND INSPIRED CHORUS OF BACKWARDS TAPE EFFECTS, DIVENTI WHISPERS LAMENTS OF HOW MAN "MUST STEAL FROM HIS BROTHER TO KEEP A HAPPY WIFE" BEFORE BEING PRESENTED THE OMINOUS HOPE OF JUDGEMENT DAY. IN INSTANCES, "PISCES" COME OFF TOO OVER THE TOP. DESPITE THE CREATIVE STUDIO PRACTICES, THE LOW~FIDELITY IMPARTS AN IMMATURITY, BUT IS SO CONGRUENT WITH THE GENRE AND MID~60'S THAT IT'S HARDLY A CONCERN. FANS OF Donovan AND The Electric Prunes WILL REVEL IN THE PSYCHEDELIC BOUNCE OF "LIKE A HOLE IN THE WALL WHERE THE RAT LIVES" AND "ELEPHANT EYES", A MUDDY GRIP ROMP LIKELY POLITICALLY CHARGED: IT GETS DARK WITHOUT LIGHT, WITH "ELEPHANT EYES"~.
~Linda Bruner'S 17~YEAR OLD VOICE AND 12~STRING GUITAR MIX POTENTLY, PROVIDING THE MOMENTS FROM THE ALBUM. "SAM" MAY BE THE STRONGEST TRACK ON THE ALBUM AND THE STORY OF A FALLEN SOLDIER IN "SAY GOODBYE TO JOHN" IS HYPNOTIZING WITH ITS CHORUS OF, "NO NO NO NO NO'S. THE FOUR TRACKS ON WHICH BRUNER IS FEATURED ARE CRISP AND FULL OF POTENTIAL; UNFORTUNATLY, AFTER RECORDING THE SONGS, BRUNER LEFT THE RECORDING INDUSTRY FEELING CHEATED AND USED BY THE BAND'S LABEL VINCENT RECORDS~.
~INTERESTINGLY, THE LINER NOTES POINT OUT THAT SHE WAS LAST HEARD FROM ON THE RUN FROM A FAILED CHECK FRAUD SCHEME. Numero Group HAS DONE A GREAT JOB RELEASING THIS ALBUM. ORIGINALLY FOUND THROUGH RESEARCH ON SOUL MUSIC, NUMERO IDENTIFIED "Pisces" OUTPUT INCLUDING A LONG FORGOTTEN NINE~SONG ACETATE, AS AN UNPOLISHED GEM. WHILE NOT AS FANTASTIC AS PSYCHEDELIA'S TRULY STAPLE RECORDS, "Pisces" HOLDS UP NEATLY. LISTENERS TIRED OF PULLING OUT "I HAD TO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT" YET AGAIN WILL FIND GREAT ENJOYMENT OUT OF THIS LITTLE RECORD THAT NEVER WAS AND ADDS A STRIKING FEATURE TO THE ALREADY BRILLIANT COMPLECTION OF THE LATE 60'S
LINKS
https://twitter.com/PISCESROCKBAND/
https:new.myspace.com/piscesrockband/
http://www.youtube.com/user/BOCEPHUS3460/
https://soundcloud.com/pisces-rock-band/
http://fandalism.com/piscesrockband/
https://vimeo.com/piscesrockband/
~PISCES~
~A GREAT, UNDISCOVERED PSYCHEDELICIC ROCK RECORD UNEARTHED FROM COMPLETE OBSCURITY BY MUSICAL ARCHAELOGISTS "Numero Group". "1969'S "A LOVELY SIGHT", "Pisces" ONLY ATTEMP AT AN LP, NEVER MADE WAX; BUT THE FUZZ GUITAR PHRASES AND TAMBOURINE SHUFFLE OF "DEAR ONE" INSTANTLY ILLUSTRATE THE BAND'S WOOZY REALM DEEPER INSIDE, BASS SCALES BORROWED FROM "Sgt. Pepper" GIVE WAY TO "Who" MOVES BY BAD FIDELITY AND HARSH INTRUSIONS OF FOUND SOUNDS~
~Jefferson Airplanes'S SWIRLED LYSERGIC HAIGHT STREET UTOPIA MELDS WITH THE URBAN NARCOSIS OF THE "Velvet Underground"S EAST VILLAGE. BUT "Pisces" HAILED FROM ANOTHER GHOST TOWN ALTOGETHER : Rockford Illinois, WHERE RUSTED, ENDLESS PLAINS BEAR CLOSE RESEMBLANCE TO A BUMMER ACID TRIP OR A JUNKIE'S ROCK BOTTOM. IN 1969, THE INDUSTRIAL MIDWEST WAS HURTING FOR THE HARD STUFF, BUT WHAT IT GOT WAS PLENTY OF THE "White Album" ENOUGH TO HAVE "Jim Krein", "Paul DiVenti" AND "Linda Bruner" RECORDING THROUGH A GLASS ONION ALL THEIR OWN~.
~THE UNSETTLING BALANCE OF THEIR UNISSUED LP COMBINES HOMESPUN PSYCHEDELIC VISION AND SECONDHAND STUDIO TRICKERY WITH NAIVE READINGS OF THE ROCK SOUND OF THE DAY, RESULTING IN A DIVERSE HAUNTED HEADSPACE FEW BANDS EVER FLEW THROUGH, LET ALONE OVER"~.
~Jefferson Airplanes'S SWIRLED LYSERGIC HAIGHT STREET UTOPIA MELDS WITH THE URBAN NARCOSIS OF THE "Velvet Underground"S EAST VILLAGE. BUT "Pisces" HAILED FROM ANOTHER GHOST TOWN ALTOGETHER : Rockford Illinois, WHERE RUSTED, ENDLESS PLAINS BEAR CLOSE RESEMBLANCE TO A BUMMER ACID TRIP OR A JUNKIE'S ROCK BOTTOM. IN 1969, THE INDUSTRIAL MIDWEST WAS HURTING FOR THE HARD STUFF, BUT WHAT IT GOT WAS PLENTY OF THE "White Album" ENOUGH TO HAVE "Jim Krein", "Paul DiVenti" AND "Linda Bruner" RECORDING THROUGH A GLASS ONION ALL THEIR OWN~.
~THE UNSETTLING BALANCE OF THEIR UNISSUED LP COMBINES HOMESPUN PSYCHEDELIC VISION AND SECONDHAND STUDIO TRICKERY WITH NAIVE READINGS OF THE ROCK SOUND OF THE DAY, RESULTING IN A DIVERSE HAUNTED HEADSPACE FEW BANDS EVER FLEW THROUGH, LET ALONE OVER"~.
~PISCES ROCK BAND~
~THE SECRET HISTORY OF PISCES~
~FORGOTTEN 60'S BANDS UNEARTHED BY RECORD FIENDS RARELY BLOW MY MIND, BUT "Pisces" IS AN EXCEPTION. IN JUNE 2009 "The Numero Group" RELEASED "A Lovely Sight", A COLLECTION OF 15 TRACKS FROM THIS ROCKFORD PSYCH OUTFIT , AND IT'S A STUNNER. THE CORE MEMBERS WERE KEYBOARDIST & SINGER "Paul Diventi", WHO GIGGED IN Rockford DANCE BAND, AND GUITARIST "Jim Krein", WHO PLAYED IN "The Chandras" WHILE AT THE UNIVERSITY OF Illinois & WORKED Chicago's North~Side CIRCUIT WITH "T he Monday Tuesday Band BEFORE SETTLING DOWN IN Rockford & PARTNERING WITHE DIVENTI AS "Seeds Of Reason"~.
~THEY CUT A PROMO~ONLY 45 WITH "Bobby Whiteside" PRODUCING, BUT AFTER KREIN VISITED Sanfrancico
IN 1967 THEY BECAME DELICATELY PSYCHEDELIC "A Lovely Sight" (THOUGH THEY WERE STILL PLAYING ROUGH CIRECO BIKER BARS). FINALLY THEY CHANGED THEIR NAME TO "Pisces" (AFTER THE STAR SIGN THEY SHARED) AND BUILT A MODEST STUDIO, WITH EQUIPMENT ON LOAN FROM THE SHOP RUN BY "Rick Nielsen's" PARENTS. "Pisces" WERE MORE MORE A RECORDING PROJECT THAN A LIVE BAND, KREIN HAD INSOMNIA AND EXPERIMENTED IN THE STUDIO CONSTANTLY, USING BACKWORDS GUITAR, PHASED DRUMS, & TREATED VOCALS TO CREATE UNEARTHLY SOUNDS WORTHY OF "Abby Road"~.
~Rockford's ONLY REAL LABEL HEAD TAYLOR "Vincent Chiarelli", SIGNED THEM TO HIS VINCENT IMPRINT, RELEASING TWO 45'S IN 1968 AND A THIRD IN 1969 UNDER THE NAME "Bruner", after "Pisces" ADDED 17 YEAR OLD SINGER "LINDA Bruner" A TALENTED BUT TROUBLED SOUL FROM Rockford's "WRONG SIDE OF THE TRACKS" IN "Loves Park". HER ETHERED VOCALS ADDED A NEW DIMENSION TO THE GROUP, LIKE "Nico DID FOR The Velvet Underground", BUT A PLANNED LP WITH BRUNER NEVER MATERIALIZED, AND A.L.S. Studios burned down in 1970, CRIPPLING THE BAND & ENDING THE PARTY. MORE THAN 35 YEARS LATER, NUMERO WOULD SIFT THROUGH A MOUNTAIN OF UNRELEASED RECORDINGS, WITH KREIN & DIVENTI'S HELP, TO COMPILE "A Lovely Sight"~.
~~BRUNER~SONGS FOR A FRIEND~~
~PISCES ROCK BAND~
~BLAME THE SHUFFLE OF TIME "BLAME THE INORDINATE AMOUNT OF ATTENTION SLOPPED ON DYLAN", BLAME THE EARLY MISTAKES OF SMALL INDEPENDENT LABELS IN THE SIXTIES AND SEVENTIES, OR BLAME SOMEONE UNRELATED ~ CAPTAIN KANGAROO, MAYBE. EITHER WAY, WE'RE ONLY NOW LEARNING ABOUT THE BEGINNING TO APPRECIATE A GAGGLE OF SINGER~SONGWRITERS FROM NIXON,~KENNEDY~LBJ ERA WHO WENT LARGELY IGNORED OR WERE JUST FORGOTTEN AFTER THEIR CAREERS DISSIPATED. WE'VE GOT KAREN DALTON, SIBYLLE BAIER, JUDEE STILL, AND NOW LINDA BRUNER. JUST SEVENTEEN WHEN SHE RECORDED THE TRACKS THAT COMPRISE "SONGS FOR A FRIEND', BRUNER'S NAKED INTENSITY AND HONESTY PUTS HER IN SEPARATE CATAGORY FROM EVEN THOSE A FOREMENTION ED GREATS, AND CERTAINLY IN A DIFFERENT CLASS FROM THE SYRUPY, OFTEN OVER PRODUCED SUNNY AM STAPLES WERE ASSOCIATED WITH THE SEVENTIES~
~SONGS FOR A FRIEND IS COMPRISED OF SIX SONGS ~ONE ORIGINAL, FIVE COVERS. THE ONLY OTHER ACCOMPANIMENT IS THE GUITAR PLAYING OF ONE Jim Krein , AND EVEN THAT IS KEPT RESPECTFULLY QUIET, AS IF THE NOTES ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OVERSHADOWING THE MOOD CREATED BY BRUNER'S TONE .BRUNER'S STRONG, ACHING VOICE IS NO DANGER OF BEING DROWNED OUT, BUT KREIN'S QUIET GUITAR PLAYING LENDS WHAT IS ALREADY A STARK RECORDING AN EVEN GREATER SENSE OF WONDER AND SOLEMNITY~.
~THIS IS NOT A RECORD YOU PUT ON AT A PARTY~IF YOU DO SO, EXPECT ALL HEADS TO TURN AND THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION TO IMMEDIATELY CEASE AND WHAT IS THAT IS THAT RECORD YOU'VE ON THE STEREO? THE MOST, GLORIOUS MOMENT COMES WITH BRUNER'S COVER OF THE Beatles "Don't Let Me Down", GIVING THAT SONG A CLARITY ONLY HINTED AT WHAT THE ORIGINAL. THE SWEET "Georgia On My Mind" IS STRIPPED BARE, LEFT WITH JUST ITS SINCERITY. AND WHILE "Wichita Lineman" AND "Thorn Tree In The Garden" ARE GREAT SONGS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, BRUNER'S INTERPRETATION TEASES OUT THE MELANCHOLY, PLEADING EDGE PINNED INTO THE HEART OF BOTH. THE SHORT ORIGINAL, "SONG LINDA WROTE HERSELFE" IS PROMISING, IF UNFORETNATLY TRYNCATED~.
~FOR MY MONEY, THESE TRACKS ARE FAR MORE INTERESTING THAN THE EARLY INTENTIONS OF THE FOLK MOVEMENT OR THE BLUESY RETREATS OF EARLY FLEETWOOD MAC AND THEIR ILK~NO PRETENSE, NO HIT LICKS, NO ORCHESTRA JUST A HEART BREAKING VOICE AND TREMENDOUS SONGS, BRUNER IS CURRENTLY ON THE RUN FOR CHECK FRAUD, OR SO WE LAST HEARD, AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE, HER LUCK TAKES A TURN FOR THE BETTER, LINDA PLEASE COME BACK, WE ONLY BEGUN TO FALL FOR YOU~.
Property Of Pisces Rock Band 2015
~SONGS FOR A FRIEND IS COMPRISED OF SIX SONGS ~ONE ORIGINAL, FIVE COVERS. THE ONLY OTHER ACCOMPANIMENT IS THE GUITAR PLAYING OF ONE Jim Krein , AND EVEN THAT IS KEPT RESPECTFULLY QUIET, AS IF THE NOTES ARE CONCERNED ABOUT OVERSHADOWING THE MOOD CREATED BY BRUNER'S TONE .BRUNER'S STRONG, ACHING VOICE IS NO DANGER OF BEING DROWNED OUT, BUT KREIN'S QUIET GUITAR PLAYING LENDS WHAT IS ALREADY A STARK RECORDING AN EVEN GREATER SENSE OF WONDER AND SOLEMNITY~.
~THIS IS NOT A RECORD YOU PUT ON AT A PARTY~IF YOU DO SO, EXPECT ALL HEADS TO TURN AND THE TOPIC OF CONVERSATION TO IMMEDIATELY CEASE AND WHAT IS THAT IS THAT RECORD YOU'VE ON THE STEREO? THE MOST, GLORIOUS MOMENT COMES WITH BRUNER'S COVER OF THE Beatles "Don't Let Me Down", GIVING THAT SONG A CLARITY ONLY HINTED AT WHAT THE ORIGINAL. THE SWEET "Georgia On My Mind" IS STRIPPED BARE, LEFT WITH JUST ITS SINCERITY. AND WHILE "Wichita Lineman" AND "Thorn Tree In The Garden" ARE GREAT SONGS IN THEIR OWN RIGHT, BRUNER'S INTERPRETATION TEASES OUT THE MELANCHOLY, PLEADING EDGE PINNED INTO THE HEART OF BOTH. THE SHORT ORIGINAL, "SONG LINDA WROTE HERSELFE" IS PROMISING, IF UNFORETNATLY TRYNCATED~.
~FOR MY MONEY, THESE TRACKS ARE FAR MORE INTERESTING THAN THE EARLY INTENTIONS OF THE FOLK MOVEMENT OR THE BLUESY RETREATS OF EARLY FLEETWOOD MAC AND THEIR ILK~NO PRETENSE, NO HIT LICKS, NO ORCHESTRA JUST A HEART BREAKING VOICE AND TREMENDOUS SONGS, BRUNER IS CURRENTLY ON THE RUN FOR CHECK FRAUD, OR SO WE LAST HEARD, AND WE CAN ONLY HOPE, HER LUCK TAKES A TURN FOR THE BETTER, LINDA PLEASE COME BACK, WE ONLY BEGUN TO FALL FOR YOU~.
Property Of Pisces Rock Band 2015