BOC: fakes? SFG liner notes revelation

[Michael R Godwin]

On Wed, 2 May 2001, Robert C. Mayo wrote:
> yeah, you're right, and the SFG cd does actually help me understand BOC a lot
> better...This really is the first BOC lp--Lamb, Redeemed, Last Days, even
> some stuff on T&M flows right out of here. And it explains the stuff that BOC
> used throughout that I always thought was "strangley NOT-metal"; metal bands
> never/simply can't write stuff like Quicklime Girl or Teen Archer or even
> Astronomy...When metal bands write 'outside' its usually a ballad or a joke.
> This lp explained alot; i'm glad to finally own a copy and glad it's been
> able to deepen my understanding of the band.

Right. I got my copy yesterday and the very non-metal Byrds / Dead
influences on it continue right through the 70s BOC. Buck has never played
like a metal guitarist, and Albert is much too artistic to hit the drums
like Ian Paice (not that I'm knocking Paice). I totally agree with
Braunstein about the mixture of the sweet and the powerful being the
band's appeal. And incidentally, I also got a hint of Dickie Betts in the
guitar style. Was he well-known at that time, or is this just 'parallel
evolution'?

I much prefer the 'Oaxaca' versions to the 'Stalk Forrest' ones. The
'Stalk Forrest' cuts have more attention paid to the guitar solos, but at
the expense of the vocals and the band, I think.

With 2 more versions of "I'm on the lamb' (aka 'The red and the black')
this must be their most released song, as it's on the first two BOC albums
as well. (Though I expect they've released a lot of versions of DFtR by
now).

I was a bit disappointed by the notes - Stony Brook appears as Sunny Brook
in one place (and shouldn't it be 'Stonybrook' one word?) and Bouchard
appears as 'Brouchard' and 'Brochard' in different places. And it states
that 3 tracks from the Oaxaca tapes were added to 7 tracks from the
California sessions to make the album, but according to the back cover
there were only 9 tracks on the final album. Can anyone clarify, or is
this just a mistake in adding up?


- Mike Godwin

PS I like that "knickers" line too, but then I'm English ...