COTTON
MATHER
Kontiki
(Rainbow
Quartz)
Can I make
one thing crystal clear? You won't find any Ruttles
jokes here.
Sure,
'Kontiki' calls to mind 'Revolver', 'Highway 61
Revisited', 'Magic Christian Music', 'Younger Than
Yesterday', 'Radio City' - these are key reference
points. But that's all they are. You could belittle
this record simply by playing 'spot the influence'
but such conduct ill becomes any serious
consideration of Cotton Mather. This is not a group
to be so easily brushed aside. The standards of
playing, singing, songwriting and production
exhibited here are unlikely to be bettered in the
near future, irrespective of the genre of music
involved.
Robert
Harrison is a consummate pop craftsman, passionate,
quirky, witty and innovative in the same way as his
heroes were. That this is no contrived pop-by-numbers
job is perfectly illustrated straightaway by the
manic pop-art rush of the opening " Camp
Hill Rail Operator", its outro taking as
much inspiration from Leigh Stephens' guitar work for
Blue Cheer as from, say, Jim McGuinn's. In short, it
rocks. The fuzzy experimentalism of "Private
Ruth" and "Church Of Wilson"
is perfectly counterbalanced by the sugar-free
sweetness of "Lily Dreams On" and
"You Spin My Wheels", which in
turn contrasts with the pop purity of "Password"
and "She's Only Cool". The 4-track
production is exquisitely executed and utterly
appropriate; no call for contrived lo-fi antics here.
The feel of this record is crucial to its appeal; it
flows with clarity and integrity throughout and
overflows with the obvious warmth and enthusiasm of
the participants.
You could
easily find your cynicism overturned when exposed to
music this good. Put down your preconceptions for one
minute and take time to savour fourteen cracking
tracks with not a weak moment among them; it must
have been the trousers. Boom f***ing boom.
J.N.
