Sunday 29 October 2017

MU ‎– "MU" (RTV Records ‎– RTV-300) 1971


Yes there were many bands named 'MU', one of which we just discovered in the previous post was a post punk band from Rotterdam, Holland. Another famous musician of Dutch lineage, was none other than Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart himself....(author falls to knees in worship and most probably tears too!). One of the magic band was the legendary 'Antennae Jimmy Semens', aka Jeff Cotton of MU (the American version thereof).
Having been psychologically broken by Van Vliets experiments with sleep deprivation, food deprivation, and physical violence to create a group that sounded as if they had lived in a locked cupboard for twenty years;he left. The final straw came when Drumbo's replacement drummer beat Jimmy to a pulp, breaking several ribs in the process.
He went on to form MU(usa), and made blues flavoured psych with some old chums from the music industry. The resulting album sounds like a very straight 'Trout Mask Replica' if one removed Beefheart, Zoot Horn Rollo, Rockette Morten,Drumbo snd even the Mascara Snake from the mix;leaving only, guess who, Antennae Jimmy Semens on his highly recognizable slide guitar. Except with three band mates who could not possibly approach the creative space that our Jimmy had been bent into.
The album bombed of course, and Jeff left the music biz to become a...gulp!...Christian!?....He must have been really fucked up by the 'Trout Mask replica' experience? You can see it in his face on the cover...ps. he's the fucked up looking one.

Tracklist:

A1 Ain't No Blues 4:03
A2 Ballad Of Brother Lew 4:30
A3 Blue Form 4:03
A4 Interlude 1:56
A5 Nobody Wants To Shine 4:08
B1 Eternal Thirst 9:34
B2 Too Naked For Demetrius 2:32
B3 Mumbella Baye Tu La 3:19
B4 The Clouds Went That Way 3:16


4 comments:

A. S. said...

You're right that this album is (almost painfully) straight, but it still has moments of greatness, e.g. the trademark Semens' riffing on "Mumbella Baye Tu La." Thanks so much for posting this one!

rex said...

and they got kind of freaky on maui and kind of formed a ufo cult there...

kmw said...

I'm confused, they all look fucked up. Not sure why this album feels so good. I can't stop listening to it.

SpboLive said...
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.