Bevis And Twink “Magic Eye” 1990 UK Neo Psych Jam Rock
One of the freakiest and most difficult to find Bevis Frond albums, this is a limited-edition collaboration with legendary British psychedelia figure Twink (aka, John Alder, ex-Tomorrow, Pretty Things, Pink Fairies, etc.), a drummer whose previous collaborators ranged from Syd Barrett to Hawkwind. Clearly he was a like-minded soul, and unlike most other Bevis Frond “collaborations,” which end up being completely dominated by Nick Saloman’s singular vision, Magic Eye is definitely the work of both men. Opening with a completely over-the-top spoken introduction from Twink, the album is possibly the most purely psychedelic album Saloman has ever been involved with. The nine lengthy songs bristle with backwards effects, trippy guitar and keyboard textures, and the sort of lyrics one would expect to find in such settings. (“Flying Igloos,” anyone?) Honestly, the whole thing sounds like it could have been recorded in 1969. A good-humored but not silly album, this is a most enjoyable set well worth tracking down….by allmusic……
When you take two classic British Eccentrics of this stripe and throw ‘em together, the margin for disaster would appear to be off the board. Is Nick Salamon aka Bevis Frond gonna stomp all over ex-Pink Fairy/Pretty Thing Twink’s (John Adler to his mom) acid-damaged exaltations with his acrobatic fuzzed-out guitar leads or will it be the other way around? Thankfully, neither. This is a collaboration in the truest sense of the word. Opening track, “Sorrow Remembered”, in fact, doesn’t sound particularly like what we’ve come to expect from either man; beginning with some heavily phased drums, a Mingus-like bassline is then introduced before the duo journeys into a polyrhythmic Beefheart jam. Twink’s autobiographical “The Fairy” is a churning, three-chord fuzz-punker that is almost the equal of “Do It!”– it could, in fact, pass for a Pink Fairies outtake. What’s most impressive of all is that they never cross the line from inspired lunacy into overindulgent wankery. Some of Salamon’s most captivating soloing can be found here– especially noteworthy being the coda of “She Darks the Sky” where he makes fine use of a Wah-wah pedal, his wailing completely unhinged, but restrained. A term not used very often to describe the man…..by TheePope…..
