Lost/Forgotten Album #19

[Jon]

 

 

I first heard about this album from a review I read in Rolling Stone sometime in the late 80's. The main reason I wanted to get this album was because it was produced by Rick Rubin and I absolutely loved the Rubin-produced "Electric" from The Cult so it made perfect sense to pick up an album just because of a producer.

 

However, I was never able to find the album. It wasn't at Best Buy or any other local record store so I gave up and forgot about it.

 

A few years later I was in a mall and decided to visit a record store. While browsing the cassettes (at this time in my life I had not given myself over to the CD thing yet) I found an album by Masters Of Reality. But was it the same album I had read about a few years earlier?

 

The one thing that threw me off was the album cover. While the cassette had the album cover pictured above, for some reason I remembered the album cover pictured in the review as completely different.

 

And I wasn't insane....the album cover in the review WAS different, but they were the same album. To prove to you I AM NOT INSANE, I have tracked down the original album cover:

 

 

See?

 

Why was the album cover changed? I have no idea. I suppose I could do some research or something, but what's the point? You can if you want. Go ahead, I'll wait.

 

So what we've got here is an album of (mostly) heavy blues rock, with obvious late 60's/70's influences. You can also hear some country thrown in, progressive rock, stoner metal...just a smorgasbord of styles.    

 

What's really great about this album is that, if you've never heard it before, you don't know what the next song will sound like. Oh, you think you may, but there's so many different styles on this album, it kind of throws you for a loop that you might just want to start the whole thing again. And it's not jarring: each song fits in with the ones before and after.  

 

Equally impressive is the followup that came four years later , "Sunrise On The Sufferbus" featuring Ginger Baker on drums. Maybe I'll feature it somewhere down the line...

 

And, to sum this mess up......this is one of my favorite albums of the 80's. 

 

The title, you ask? "Masters Of Reality" (or The Blue Garden album).

 

The name of the band, you ask? Masters Of Reality and you can listen to it HERE.

 

 

 

Master Of Reality 

 

1. The Candy Song*

2. Doraldina's Prophecies*

3. John Brown*  

4. Gettin' High*

5. Magical Spell*

6. Theme For The Scientist Of The Invisible*

7. Domino*

8. The Blue Garden*

9. The Eyes Of Texas*

10. Lookin' To Get Rite*

11. Kill The King*

12. Sleepwalkin'* (bonus track)

 

 

 

Availability: OOP, but can be picked up for about 25 bucks used. Good luck on this one, maybe you can find it a bit cheaper.

 

MSoTW: Well, nobody even came close with last week's song so it really was a mystery! Guessing the song title doesn't count so here is the mystery finally unveiled.......last week's MSoTW was........................................"Wide Awake" by.............................Nantucket from their 1979 album titled................................................................................"Your Face Or Mine".

 

For this week's MSoTW, I would like everyone to give Rjhog a chance. Give him a chance to get one song before the end of the year. He should know it. If not, well, we've kinda come to expect that so it shouldn't be too shocking.  

[RJhog (Admin)]

I'll agree with Scott's assessment (is that too many s's?). Anyway, I thought The Candy Song and The Blue Garden were pretty cool.

[Gordon Williams]

Just stumbled on this (3 years later!). Really liked it. Definitely a bunch of different song styles, but the rockers were really good. Especially liked "Candy Song", "Gettin' High", and "Domino". And "Domino" sounds so familiar, I know I've heard this track several times...but I dont think I heard this band do it.

So, Jon, is this Domino a cover? Or was it a radio hit? Or maybe I've heard somebody else cover it? For some reason, I'm wanting to think I've heard Danzig do a version of this? Anybody?

[Scott]

The site is rich enough in content that when you hear of a band you want to sample, its likely you can come here and find them...  More people should know about that!!

[Jon]

Unless it's been deleted to open up space for more awesome postings!

Nope, "Domino" is an original. It could have been played on the radio, don't think it was a "hit" per se.  Don't see anything about someone else covering it either.

[Gordon Williams]

Ok, thanks. Then I guess I had heard some Masters Of Reality before...at least this Domino tune. Everything about it...chorus, vocals, guitar...even the lyrics are familiar.

[Jon]

It was in a Stephen Seagal movie, Marked For Death I believe. Maybe it's your favorite movie and you've seen it billions of times and that's why the song's familiar?

But, if a Stephen Seagal movie is your favorite of all time, I feel sorry for you.