Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Playlist for 5-21-10, featuring Randy Holden's 1970 album "Population II"

Here's a loud one for ya--

I've had this album in my collection for quite a while now, but I figured it'd be something either WIDR's 60's program or 70's program would've gotten into, and I didn't want to do any overlapping. But, it seems like I'm in the clear and this record has apparently never been played on WIDR except by me.

Randy was once a replacement guitarist for the proto-metal band Blue Cheer. At least, he played on one side of their record 'New! Improved!' and then decided they were 'sissy napping music' and started his own, heavier project. Now, if you've heard Blue Cheer, you'll no doubt realize that it would've been hard to craft something heavier than that in the late 60's...but, Holden was nuts.

For his first (and only?) solo album, Randy enlisted a drummer who could play keyboards with his feet so that they could just be a duo. They rented out an opera house or something just to hold all of Randy's massive amp stacks. Holden has said that the tempos of his songs are so slow because of the really intensive song arrangements on the drummer's part.

Here's what some folks have said about his record:

"...What we hear is a little under a half an hour’s worth of Holden’s super-slowed and heavy guitar riffing/wailing/soaring. The pure sludge of it will cause cracks in your ceiling, all the windows of your room, the sky itself and possibly even your brain. It’s almost as though Holden is trying to make his drummer sense his purpose is futile and bolt the studio door to leave him alone to continue his deafening work as it dwarfs everything in its path as guitar solo upon guitar solo reduce Lockheed’s drumming to function more as punched pillows in the background. And Holden’s volcanic eruptions continue as slow as molasses and fiery as lava, spewing forth a barrage to drown out even the caterwauling-ness of his own vocals...not to mention his rhythm and bass guitar tracks." - The Seth Man from Julian Cope's Head Heritage site

"While never attaining his rightful place in the pantheon of heavy rock guitar gods, Randy Holden will always be held in high regard for creating Population II - one of greatest high-volume displays of all time and an all-out monster of an album.

Best known for his brief tenure in Blue Cheer that lasted long enough for him to appear on the second side of their New! Improved! LP, Holden signed an endorsement deal with Sunn amplifiers upon his departure and ordered twenty 200 watt speaker cabinets for use on his debut solo release. And he used them all. At once.

Paired with Chris Lockheed, who handled drums and keyboards simultaneously, Holden took aim at laying down not only the loudest album in recorded history, but the first to successfully bridge the divide between psychedelic rock and heavy metal. The result, a heavily reverbed affair with piles of reverse effects, beautifully controlled feedback and sparse arrangements that allowed plenty of space for the volume to stretch out, was far beyond what Black Sabbath, the Stooges or Led Zeppelin were up to around the same time.

Even more amazing is how for a guitar-centric album, Population II is completely devoid of clichés, superfluous guitar heroics or trite lyrics, yet oddly enough, this slice of heaven received only a limited release on the small Hobbit label and was quickly withdrawn by Holden's management under a veil of secrecy. Thankfully, it has been heavily bootlegged in great fidelity for nearly 40 years. It may not be your thing, but if you allow this one to sink in, you'll get completely lost in it." - user KiDG, rateyourmusic.com


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Here's the playlist for the program:

May 21 - 1:58 AM Doris Norton A.D.A. Converter Personal Computer
No
e/d
May 21 - 1:52 AM Bob Bell Necropolis, Part 3 Necropolis
No
e/d
May 21 - 1:46 AM Rangda Bull Lord S/T
No
e/d
May 21 - 1:38 AM Anal Magic and the Reverend Dwight Frizzell Family, Birth of Helio and Selene Beyond the Black Crack
No
e/d
May 21 - 1:34 AM Axis of Awesome Four Chords ?? requestical Yes
e/d
May 21 - 1:24 AM Randy Holden Keeper of My Flame Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No Bizarro Jerry e/d
May 21 - 1:17 AM Randy Holden Blue My Mind Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No
e/d
May 21 - 1:15 AM Randy Holden Fruit and Iceburgs (Conclusion) Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No
e/d
May 21 - 1:13 AM Randy Holden Between Time Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No
e/d
May 21 - 1:08 AM Randy Holden Fruit and Iceburgs Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No
e/d
May 21 - 1:02 AM Randy Holden Guitar Song Population II Bizarro Jerry's whacked-out album of the week No Bizarro Jerry e/d
May 21 - 12:54 AM Jandek Crazy The Living End
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:51 AM Robert Alberg San Storms S/T
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:48 AM Bitter Blood Street Theater Snake and Cave Vol. 1
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:45 AM Doronco Gumo Umi Old Punks
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:40 AM Beautiful Losers Nobody Knows the Heaven Nobody Knows the Heaven
No Bizarro Jerry e/d
May 21 - 12:29 AM Gleneil Cheepy Chappy and Ito Cruise It
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:15 AM Hampton Grease Band Evans Music to Eat
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:15 AM Wild Man Fischer The Rocket Rock An Evening with Wild Man Fischer
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:13 AM Sensational Tearin' it Up Heavyweighter
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:10 AM Fred Frith Come Across Gravity
No Bizarro Jerry e/d
May 21 - 12:05 AM The Frogs Get Yourself a Man (If You're a Man) Made Up Songs 1-61
No
e/d
May 21 - 12:00 AM V-3 My Neighborhood Negotiate Nothing
No Bizarro Jerry e/d

Tracklist for 'Population II':

1. Guitar Song
2. Fruit and Iceburgs (sic)
3. Between Time
4. Fruit and Iceburgs (Conclusion)
5. Blue My Mind
6. Keeper of My Flame

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