Below the review you will find a radio show which was Aural Innovations Space Rock Radio show #341 (December 4, 2014). This show is dedicated to the music of Steve Palmer and features chats with Steve between tracks. I did a previous radio special dedicated to Steve’s music in 2008, which you can CLICK HERE to check out. Together I think the two make an excellent overview of Steve’s work from the past 20 years.
Mooch – “Mrs Silbury’s Delicious Mushroom Flavoured Biscuits” (Cosmic Eye Records 2014, LP)
You need an open mind and an adventurous spirit to be a Mooch fan. Steve Palmer has guided the Mooch mothership to dramatically different corners of the stylistic universe, from all instrumental space excursions, to heavier Space Rock, and on to 1960s inspired Psychedelic songs. In 2007 Ambientlive Recordings released the 2-CD set, Dr Silbury’s Liquid Brainstem Band. Frequently cited as a catalog favorite by Mooch fans, Dr Silbury was an epic collection of Space and Progressive Rock and was one of the first great Mooch collaborative efforts, bringing in numerous esteemed guests.
As 2014 comes to a close we have the latest Mooch album, and the follow up to Dr Silbury – Mrs Silbury’s Delicious Mushroom Flavoured Biscuits – released on vinyl LP by the Cosmic Eye label. T Minus None opens the set with an electro groove pulse that lays the rhythmic foundation for a variety of alien and melodic synths, plus a killer combination of spacey, Bluesy rocking and melodic jazzy guitar, all building up to a high intensity space rocker with delicious guitar from Gary “Moonboot” Masters. The Golden Rule is next and hits the ground running with a quick paced beat and a deep space Pink Floyd-ish atmospheric aura. I like the combination of drumming and frantic electronic pattern, and the music really hits its stride when Cyndee Lee Rule comes charging in with one of the most intense yet passionately rocking violin solos I’ve ever heard from her. Mellifluo is a lovely melodic piece that makes me feel like I’m at an extra-terrestrial Hawaiian luau. Clouded is a spaced out soundscapes excursion with tasty keys from Jez Creek. At over 12 minutes The Great Retsina Jam is the longest track of the set. I love the combination of classic Prog keys and majestic space synths. There are lots of fun embellishments as the music progresses, including a totally trippy Arabic flavored and slightly Bluesy stringed instrument, shooting star synths, cavernous drones, barren windswept planet effects and much more. This is symphonic Space-Prog at its very best. Pstrings is like a more groove rocking version of Steve’s Blue Lily Commission project and is led by another killer guitar solo, this time from Alex Pym. A steady rocking beat propels the music as Pym cranks out Bluesy licks while a banquet of alien synths swarm about. Finally, Another Time, Another Place is the sole song of the set, being a seductively melodic bit of Space-Pop with mind-massage vocals from Bridget Wishart.
In summary, veteran Mooch fans are pretty much guaranteed to be delighted with this album, and it couldn’t be a better place for newcomers to start… Classic Mooch Space Rock with a solid cast of luminaries contributing.
For more information visit the Cosmic Eye Records web site at: http://cosmiceyerecords.blogspot.gr
Purchase the LP from the Cosmic Eye store at: http://www.musicbazz.com/products
Additional links:
Mooch, Blue Lily Commission, Stephen Palmer legal downloads at Musiczeit: http://www.musiczeit.com/directory.php?label=798&title=Stephen+Palmer+Music
Mooch on iTunes – plus some interlopers: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/artist/mooch/id137763981
Youtube Mooch Music Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/moochspacey
Soundcloud Mooch: https://soundcloud.com/moochspacey
Soundcloud Blue Lily Commission: https://soundcloud.com/blue-lily-commission
Soundcloud Stephen Palmer solo: https://soundcloud.com/stevepalmersolomusic
Mooch blog (informational, not day-by-day): http://moochmusic.wordpress.com
Mooch on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mooch/234564073283377
Ethnic musical instruments, with photos (2007): http://www.emportal.info/viewtopic.php?t=1420
Review and radio show interview by Jerry Kranitz
Playlist
[Track 1: 0:00-7:29] Mooch – “The Golden Rule” (from Mrs Silbury’s Mushroom Flavoured Biscuits)
[Track 2: 7:29-11:22] CHAT
[Track 3: 11:22-26:35] Mooch – “Lughnasadh” (from The Pagan Year)
[Track 4: 26:35-30:54] CHAT
[Track 5: 30:54-39:00] Mooch -“Outside Inside” (from Beltane To Samhain)
[Track 6: 39:00-40:57] CHAT
[Track 7: 40:57-48:28] Mooch – “Alien Culture” (from Planetfall)
[Track 8: 48:28-52:42] Mooch – “Yak Tantrum” (from The Psychedelic Adventures of Mooch in the Country of the Yak)
[Track 9: 52:42-55:35] CHAT
[Track 10: 55:35-1:07:45] Stephen Palmer – “Papyrus Head In The Nile” (from Berlin via Cairo/Berlin via Istanbul)
[Track 11: 1:07:45-1:10:11] CHAT
[Track 12: 1:10:11-1:17:58] The Nonexistent – “Criggion Times” (from Space Roc)
[Track 13: 1:17:58-1:30:12] The Golden Cake Company – “Floating With…” (from Would You Like Some Cake?)
[Track 14: 1:30:12-1:33:35] CHAT
[Track 15: 1:33:35-1:36:22] Mooch – “San Francisco” (from 1966)
[Track 16: 1:36:22-1:40:52] CHAT
[Track 17: 1:40:52-1:44:24] Mooch – “Where My Rifle Begins” (from 1968a)
[Track 18: 1:44:24-1:46:52] CHAT
[Track 19: 1:46:52-1:51:10] Mooch – “The Oak King & The Holly King” (from Stations Of The Sun)
[Track 20: 1:51:10-1:53:28] CHAT
[Track 21: 1:53:28-2:05:09] Mooch – “Train Klang” (excerpt) (from Train Klang)
[Track 22: 2:05:09-2:07:30] CHAT
[Track 23: 2:07:30-2:18:49] Blue Lily Commission – “Samsara” (from Bharatadubs)
[Track 24: 2:18:49-2:23:15] CHAT
[Track 25: 2:23:15-2:33:09] Blue Lily Commission – “Bangalore Dub” (from Eve Songs)
[Track 26: 2:33:09-2:37:40] CHAT
[Track 27: 2:37:40-2:45:14] Stephen Palmer – “The Innkeeper’s Tale” (from Shroomshire)
[Track 28: 2:45:14-2:53:38] Mooch – “Extended Life” (from Bottom Of The Barrel)
[Track 29: 2:53:38-2:56:02] CHAT
[Track 30: 2:56:02-3:05:07] Blue Lily Commission – “Culture 2″ (from Culture 2)
[Track 31: 3:05:07-3:09:17] CHAT
[Track 32: 3:09:17-3:11:35] Mooch – “He Left Me In The Afternoon” (from forthcoming Sunshine)
