Buzzsaw - From Lemon Drops To Acid Rock! (US, 1969-71, acidfuzzgaragepsych, Collectables CDRrip, wav, log, artwork)

The story of The Lemon Drops - and the Weiss brothers in particular - picks up on this CD that closes out the 60s.

Somehow material from the band made it into the hands of someone with the interest and cash to bring the band to the West Coast again. Operating in and around San Francisco, the original Lemon Drops plus a few new members played some gigs than as a result of various and sundry forces shattered in three. The Weiss family stayed together and - after adding a sideman on bass produced the songs on this album. The songs themselves tend to be derivative of other, more successful groups of the time. I hear a lot of Guess Who in the material; a bit of a far-cry from typical material in the SF Bay area at that time. Perhaps, being only a trio - according to the liner notes a conscious decision - this was a deliberate attempt to differentiate themselves from their larger numbered contemporaries. If this is the case, then it was a poor decision. That older brother/manager states the band did nothing more than play free gigs here and there during this period is proof of my premise.

Although more-or-less competent late 60s politically-influenced psychedelia, there is little that - to this reviewer's mind - would have caught the ear of a promoter and/or record company A&R staffer. There are a couple of anti-war songs; one, "U.S. Chick," is so close to `American Woman' in content, style and structure that it's likely the women addressed were sisters. The last two cuts "Saturn Jam" and "Walkin' Thru a Rainbow" do standout by virtue of their being more electric-blues oriented. The former is an instrumental rave-up that is Yardbirds influenced; at times, there is a sloppiness in the playing that gives pause to consider whether this was a live-in-studio-cut. The latter is also more electric-blues and stands up quite right in the genre.

It's a shame the band couldn't take advantage of the stylings of these two songs. Again, perhaps it was the limitations of a three-piece assemblage. Not to be deterred, the band made yet another attempt to crack the Bay Area. But, that's another story and another CD.
(~amazon) By Jersey Kid


Between 1966-1968 the Lemon Drops were a typical three-chord garage band from Chicago. When the Lemon Drops broke up in 1969, three former members became Buzzsaw and began dipping into the heavy rock of power trios like the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Cream, and especially Blue Cheer. Buzzsaw's sound caught between their garage band roots and their burgeoning acid rock influence, not doing either form justice. Cuts emphasizing cosmic enlightenment like "Saturn Jam" and "Saturn Is Just a Few Days Away" have nothing in common with the truly cosmic themes composed by Sun Ra. This is mainly for acid rock collectors and archivists.
(~allmusic)

Buzzsaw-Death Calls


Tracks:
01.Saturn Is Just A Few Days Away 03:17
02.Death Calls 03:00
03.Don`t Listen To Sam 03:05
04.U.S. Chick 03:42
05.Roll Your Green Grass On 03:48
06.In The Country 05:10
07.The Sun Just Came Up On The Other Side 04:20
08.I`ll Be Wanting You 02:48
09.Won`t You Miss Her When She`s Gone 02:06
10.Gotta Be Rock n`Roll 03:43
11.I Really Like To Blow Your Mind 05:00
12.Such A Nice Morning 01:49
13.Saturn Jam 04:49
14.Walkin`Thru A Rainbow 02:59

Buzzsaw:
Eddie Weiss - gtr
Gary Weiss - drms
Rick Fertel - bs

[Rip and Scans by gigic2255]

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