Beyond the Garage

No where in the annals of rock has there been such an interesting and overlooked band as the Music Machine( who took the name because when playing live they dreaded requests for the hits of the day and slammed into song after song of their own). Singer, songwriter Sean Bonniwell put the band through a gruelling regiment of practice sessions to perfect his arrangements. Beyond The Garage is a glorious culmination of the band's hard work. From the first song to the last, nothing lets you down. From raw and gritty to a sensational croon you would not see coming. I swear these songs will haunt you after one or two listenings. Take a look at Sean and the boys doing "Talk Talk" on You Tube...man those guys were COOL! It's a travesty their record company,Original Music, only wanted another "Talk Talk" and gave no credibility to Sean's other, better songs. This reviewer cannot give a high enough rating to all of the Music Machine material.

I have become recently into "The Music Machine" and their unique style of music, and their material has grown on me. I think "Turn On" is still their best album, but its worth checking out the rest of their compulation albums. This is one of those compulation albums. The best songs on this album are: "Bottom Of My Soul", "Absolutely Positively", "Soul Love", "Talk Me Down", & "Double Yellow Line". The rest of the songs on this album are just ok in my opinion. Check out the "Turn On" album first, to see if you like their music, then check out the rest.

I remember telling my friends about the 2nd Music Machine LP in the 60s . I liked it then , and like it now ! The extra tracks are a plus . W.B. didn't do a good job of promoting this LP. back in the day ! A must for fans .

Great missing piece of American music .i wish they had a more albums ,sound is so different from everything of that era and lyrics and voice very distinguish,exellent !

I love this music- had not heard many of these songs for years! I was so excited when I received this as a Christmas gift..... and thoroughly disappointed when I played the cd!!The quality of recording is so poor I can't listen to it!The lower frequencies are 3x too loud which overdrives the speakers on my Bose sound system.Complete waste! Do not buy this cd!

The Music Machine was here briefly, and then they blew away. But they left behind two albums...and this is the one to get.Back story: The Music Machine were the malevolent demons of garage rock. They dressed all in black, dyed their hair black and each member wore one black leather glove. The gloved hand symbolized the group, while the naked hand represented the individual. This alone should make you want to buy it.But it goes beyond the image. The Music Machine was one of the loudest, roughest and strangest bands around. Sailing on the coat-tails of their only hit, "Talk Talk", they finagled this last album out, which is mainly comprised of material made as the band was dissolving.But witness songs like "Bottom of the Soul" and "Eagle Never Hunts the Fly" and get blown back by the blast of divine light which will hold you by your throat. This is simply a great CD and one that any afficianado of garage rock should own.Now.

The title is apt: this is way beyond garage, and I've never understood why the MM is lumped in with that movement. Garage is all about passionate amateurs belting out three-chord songs. MM's music is much more complex, anticipating prog rock: minor chords predominate, along with unexpected chord modulations, unusual syncopation, counter-melodies, all tighly arranged and played with machine-like precision and theatrical menace. The "solo" in "Absolutely Positively" is taken not by a fuzzed-out guitar but by ... a high-hat with syncopated handclaps. The lyrics are much more mature in theme, dealing with alienation and the psychology of relationships, not just joyful affirmations about how good a skank named Gloria makes one feel. I love true garage bands--Shadows of Knight, early Leaves and Love, etc.--but MM has more in common with King Crimson than with Count Five. If metal began with Blue Cheer, prog rock begins here.

This album once again proves that the vast majority of people frequently dismiss brilliant albums into complete obscurity if VH1, MTV, or Rolling Stone don't happen to give it their oh-so important seal of approval. This album is, by far, one of the very best of the '60s psych-garage-proto-punk genre. Not because its totally unknown, mind you, but because its just that good. It's maturity and sophistication blow away most "garage" acts, yesterday and today, bar none. I wouldn't exactly call this album the "birth of prog" like the first reviewer, since this was performed with a punchiness and pop-sensibility that prog so often lacks. Sounds like a haunted kaleidoscopic monster rock aural movie. Flawless.