Ultimate Turn on

The Music Machine appeared at the tail end of 1966, one of a swarm of garage rock bands that began the year with The Five Americans’ “I See the Light” and included “Dirty Water”. “Little Girl”, “Hey Joe” “7 and 7 Is”, “Psychotic Reaction” and “96 Tears”. They were mostly one hit wonders, largely because the best of them were ahead of the times, none more so than the Music Machine, who were harder and darker than just about anyone. “Talk Talk” sung and almost spoken at times in the roughest, deepest and most gravelly of voices by band leader and songwriter Sean Bonniwell was like nothing else around and was immediately added to the song list of every rock band playing every open house and club around.Like a lot of musicians then, Bonniwell had come out of the folk scene. He had been in The Wayfarers, a typical group with harmonies much like The Kingston Trio, The Journeymen and The Limelighters and a penchant for comic material. They had been fairly successful with three RCA albums, but by 1965 it was clear that that scene was ending and Bonniwell felt constrained by the limitations of the genre. Unlike other folk-rockers who electrified folk material, he swung completely over to the rock side, quickly forming the Ragamuffins with bass player Keith Olsen (who had been backing folk singer Gale Garnett) and drummer Ron Edgar (who had been backing folk group, The Goldebriars). Olsen later became a very successful producer who among other things introduced Lindsay Buckingham and Stevie Nicks to Fleetwood Mac and produced their self-titled 1975 album.The trio realized they needed more and met lead guitarist Mark Landon in the guitar department of a music store. He had been in a surf band and later teen rock band, the Purple Gang and was impressed when he heard them at a local club. Keyboardist Doug Rhodes had been brought into the music scene by Curt Boettcher who had been in The Goldebriars and who was now producing The Association and got Rhodes some session work playing celeste on “Cherish”. As a quintet they became the Music Machine, an allusion to the way Bonniwell timed their sets with one song flowing into the next without a break.Bonniwell also felt a band should have a look and theirs was dark: they grew moptop hair which they dyed black and wore black clothing. This was a counterintuitive look in 1966-67, one of the most colorful of times. Then there was the black leather glove: Sean always wore one. And everyone else did at one time or another, but in the various appearances I’ve seen online, I’ve never seen all of them wearing one at the same time. Boniwell was determined and professional and made the band practice all the time. “Talk Talk” itself is a fast song with constantly changing rhythms that must have taken some time to master. Everyone who saw them perform live says that they were incredibly good and blew just about anybody else off the stage.They became the weekend band at a club in San Pedro, near Palos Verdes, far south of their Santa Monica living quarters and were discovered by producer Brian Ross at a gig at The Hollywood Legion Bowling Lanes. He was very impressed and got them a contract with Original Sound. This was Art Laboe’s label, primarily known for putting out the “Oldies but Goodies” series of 50s hits, so it was a weird fit, but record contracts weren’t exactly arriving in the mail every day. Their first single, “Talk Talk” debuted at #96 on November 12, 1966 and peaked two weeks at #16 beginning on New Year’s Eve’s Hot 100. Ross had picked it as the single because the slightly under two minute time would make it very welcome on Top 40 radio playlists.The album debuted in January, 1967 and reached a respectable #75 on the Billboard 200. After that there were long, exhausting tours, problems with some of their management, pressure for another hit, strained group dynamics and a rather quick dissolution. Bonniwell soldiered on with new members and Ross got him a contract with Warner Brothers as The Bonniwell Music Machine, but there were no more hits and the subsequent album failed to chart.I’ve had the old Collectables CD of their first album for years now but had to get the Big Beat 2-CD set because it has almost everything the original band recorded. This label (a sub label of British reissue label Ace) does a bang up job on everything they do. I’m very happy with the sound and their booklet, as usual ,is definitive. Like their booklet for Count Five, this one is 25 pages and is based on interviews of everyone involved by Alec Palao. These interviews are where you get stories and details that you won’t get anywhere else. The Collectables disc was from the label’s early days and has just a single piece of paper as the cover and nothing about the band.The band itself is excellent and very ahead of the curve on what was going on. Their sound is powerful with incredibly tight playing. Even though Boniwell’s unique voice dominates the proceedings, the band gave him incredibly good backing. Mark Landon’s lead guitar is fast and often distorted with a homemade fuzzbox by bass guitarist Keith Olsen who is able to keep up with him with complicated bass lines. Ron Edgar’s drums and Doug Rhodes’ Farfisa organ are important parts of the mix. Like “Talk Talk” there’s an explosive, angry feeling to many of the songs, though it’s not directed at anyone or anything. It’s more powerful than actually hostile.Every song is different, showing Boniwell to be a creative songwriter. Standout songs include the slightly dissonant “Trouble” with the fuzz guitar snapping in the background amid eerie effects by the organ. After a throbbing drum opening “Masculine Intuition” moves along at a fast pace as the singer realizes he’s about to break up with his current girl. “The People In Me” features group vocals and “Come On In’ is off center, hypnotic and dramatic. “Some Other Drum” is the only mellow song on the album and sounds like The Lovin’ Spoonful. “Double Yellow Line” was their third single and the only reason I can imagine it wasn’t a hit was probably because it was too wild for AM radio. “The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly” has to be heard by any fan of garage/psych - it’s a masterpiece of the genre. This band was so good and really heading in some interesting directions.Bonniwell was upset that any covers were put on the album and seems to have taken it personally, but in the end the labels controlled these things. Neil Diamond’s “Cherry Cherry” is a surprise for sure, but was only his second hit and was very current. Here it has a light latin feeling with keyboardist Rhodes on flute. It does show that in another era Boniwell might have been a successful pop singer. “Taxman” is the best of the covers and is more rocking and intense than the Beatles’ version, substituting President Johnson and Secretary of State Dean Rusk for the British Wilson and Heath. The second disc is mostly demos that are almost a finished track and show more of the range of the band.The Music Machine were not just an average band that got lucky with a good song. They were a really exceptional band that were too ahead of the times. By 1968 this music would have fit right in and Boniwells’ vocals would have been no rougher than Steppenwolf or Iron Butterfly. They deserved better.

The U.K. label Big Beat delivers once again with this truly Excellent 2cd set. This release actually surfaced in 2007 but I missed it back then but am now totally Ecstatic about discovering this Treasure Trove of The Music Machine's finest collection of the group's 1st incarnation. Disc one tracks in at over 75 minutes and includes 28 tunes that capture the truly Excellent sound by the original, definitive line-up. The 2nd disc contains 20 previously unissued recordings of rehearsals, demos, and early alternate mixes. To cap off side 2, there are 2 enhanced Video clips from 1966 taken from T.V. station KHJ-TV's show "Boss City". Altogether, disc 2 tracks in at over 52 minutes. The group consisted of Sean Bonniwell who wrote all of the group's original tunes and also sang Lead Vocal, rhythm guitar, and horn. Essentially, Sean was the leader of The Music Machine. Other members of the group included; Mark Landon on Lead guitar, Doug Rhodes on keyboards, bass, flute, and horn, Keith Olsen on Bass and vocals, and Ron Edgar on drums and vocals. I remember buying the L.P. when it came out in 1966 and over time, the music by the groups only seems to have held up extremely well. Of course, their only real hit was "Talk Talk", which is one minute and 57 seconds of aggressive perfection. But this fine collection captures so much more with the deeper tracks provided here. I have played the cd over 20 times in the past 2 weeks and find myself playing it with strong anticipation daily. Besides the big hit, I have discovered new gems that eluded me some 45 years ago. Other excellent tracks include: "Masculine Intuition", "The People In Me", "Come On In", and "Trouble". This collection captures the strong Chemistry that the group owned which was truly amazing. The 2nd disc of previously unreleased tunes gives the listener an inside glimpse of their recording process. Even the cover tunes sound truly their own on this release. They cover Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry", The Beatles's "Taxman", Ma Rainey's "CC Rider", and an excellent version of "Hey Joe". Later singles such as "The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly" and "Double Yellow Line", which were both recorded in 1967, have only improved over time. The collection provides both Stereo and Mono mixes of the L.P. and even though the sound is excellent on both versions, it is the Mono mix that best captures their full sonic blast. To go along with the musical collection, this package also provides an Excellent 28 page annotated booklet written by Alec Palao. The interviews are truly informative and revealing, as all original 5 members are interviewed. This is especially poignant due to the fact that Sean Bonniwell died of lung cancer on Dec. 20, 2011. All of the band's inside story is indeed fascinating. Some of the more interesting tidbits reveal such facts as it was Keith, himself, who built fuzzboxes to specifically have their own sound and to be different than other groups, which really kept their unique fuzztone sound. Also, the members of the group stressed the fact that Sean was All Business and worked very diligently on their songs. It was Sean's idea to wear all black garb, including the black glove, wearing strange medals around their necks, and even dying their hair black! Sean displayed a maturity in his songs which was rare in Rock music, both strongly dense & openly compelling, creative and tight. The interviews talk about how they would watch "stoned" groups play before them and then they would quietly set up their equipment an totally blow every other group off the stage. They were totally locked-in and NOBODY could outplay them live! All in All, this 2cd set is a revealing, enjoyable, and masterful collection of 60's fuzztone and solid chemistry! MOST HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! SMRZ!!

Garage Band makes good, they were Great. I really like their music - you can't compare this band to any other band during their time period, they didn't sound like anybody else out there. I highly recommend this album, because they were different and sounded great doing it. Essentially, Sean was the leader of The Music Machine. Other members of the group included; Mark Landon on Lead guitar, Doug Rhodes on keyboards, bass, flute, and horn, Keith Olsen on Bass and vocals, and Ron Edgar on drums and vocals. their only real hit was "Talk Talk", which is one minute and 57 seconds of aggressive perfection. But this fine collection captures so much more with the deeper tracks provided here. Other excellent tracks include: "Masculine Intuition", "The People In Me", "Come On In", and "Trouble". They cover Neil Diamond's "Cherry Cherry", The Beatles's "Taxman", Ma Rainey's "CC Rider", and an excellent version of "Hey Joe".

Oh YEH!

Un bon gros double CD qui contient l'intégrale (et plus encore) du super petit groupe mené par Sean Bonniwell qu'était The Music Machine. Surtout connu pour leur petit classique garage "Talk Talk", le groupe mérite beaucoup mieux que d'être réduit à ce seul titre, toute jolie déflagration excitante soit-elle.Le premier CD contient tous les enregistrements officiels du groupe, soit 16 titres sortis en 1965 et 1966, avec également les versions mono de 12 titres. Armé d'un orgue plus farfelu que Farfisa, The Music Machine faisait surtout vrombir une guitare fortement gonflée à la fuzz, de façon singulièrement brutale pour l'époque. Un vrai plaisir sur le furieux "Trouble", très Them, mais dans le genre proto-hard, "The Eagle Never Hunts The Fly" se pose carrément là, avec pas mal d'années d'avance.Ailleurs, le groupe sonne quasiment comme des Doors avant l'heure: écoutez "Come On In" ou sa reprise de "Hey Joe" (antérieure à Jimi Hendrix), c'est assez troublant. D'autant plus quand on sait que le groupe est originaire de Los Angeles, ville d'origine également, tiens tiens, de Morrison et consorts. Ça donne à réfléchir.The Music Machine se révèle aussi pas manchot du tout quand il s'agit de composer des morceaux bien foutus, pop en dedans mais qu'ils délivreront avec une énergie toute rock. Pour s'en convaincre, "The People In Me" et "Absolutely Positively" font preuve de beaucoup de charme.Il y a aussi des ballades un peu surannées et des reprises superfétatoires ("96 Tears", "CC Rider"). En vérité, est-ce parce qu'il est encore trop tôt, mais le groupe semble hésiter à suivre une direction franche. Il a des intuitions, de la suite dans les idées, mais se refuse à y adhérer totalement. Pourtant, The Music Machine affiche bel et bien des éléments totalement précurseurs et novateurs pour l'époque.Le deuxième CD renferme quant à lui 20 démos ou mixes précoces ainsi que deux clips visionnables sur ordi. On trouve certains titres absents du premier CD et l'ensemble est brut, énergique et hautement recommandable. Ça peut peut-être faire beaucoup pour ce groupe de seconds couteaux mais "The Ultimate Turn On" est sans doute la meilleure manière d'appréhender correctement The Music Machine. Qui n'a donc pas fait que "Talk Talk" comme fait d'arme notable. La preuve. Très valable pour les amateurs de groupes garage sixties car The Music Machine en est un fameux.