Demon Fuzz

The music of the 70’s rose, full of hope and still with its innocence intact – more or less – and brimming over with ideas and enthusiasm. Bands were allowed daft names and music companies even took chances on bands that played 10 minute jazz-oriented grooves without vocals and without a hope of hitting the singles chart. This is the world that gave us Demon Fuzz and we should rejoice that from that time of richness we have such gems as this to enjoy.

This has been one of the legendary Brit-Psych albums that were thought lost until a while back when it surfaced and now Esoteric have packaged it together with the three tracks from the even more rare three track EP the band released on Sunset. It reeks of the jazz and African influences that were rife at the time and the ‘Blood Sweat & Tears crossed with Grand Funk Railroad’ blast of sound that greets the listener is both exciting and intriguing. They really do have influences from all over – there is some of the Arabian desert as well as Chicago, NYC and Marseilles – and an overwhelming integrity and sense of depth to the music.

This may not sound exciting but it is all of that as well. The sax playing is superb, courtesy of Paddy Corea, and the keyboards featuring Ray Rhoden are a hell of a lot more than fills for the sound. The seven guys who made up Demon Fuzz had a history that went back through the sixties and who had been playing Ska, Soul and Blues before finding their place as ‘Progressive’ artists.

Admittedly some of the songs meander and the ‘groove’ sometimes needs the assistance of certain chemical stimulants to be fully appreciated but this is a great example of what happens when a band is allowed to find its own path without the ‘guidance’ of men in suits.
There are a lot more hits here than there are misses and thanks to the internet you can even forgive them the name – you don’t have to walk into WH Smith and ask for the latest by Demon Fuzz from a sniggering 14 year old.

Just turn down the lights and enjoy it.