| Here's a rare ORIGINAL 1970 pressing of an album that's well-known amongst crate diggers - the Power of Zeus' "The Gospel According to Zeus" on the Rare Earth label. Well-known because these guys were about as heavy and bombastic as you could possibly get - big evil fuzz guitar riffs meet thunderous John Bonham drums, foundation-shaking bass guitar meets mammoth Valhallan pipe organs, all vying for space deep within the bowels of Thor's Vulcan iron forge. Add in some cowbell and we got ourselves a TON of mystical fun! These boys wouldn't know a light touch if it smacked 'em upside the head with a mallet - there's not a PINCH of subtlety within these flame-spewing grooves, so if you're a Cowsills fan, best hurry home to mommy before the sound byte below gets blood on your fuzzy bunny slippers. That's a clip from "Death Trip", by the way - yeah, a little breezy soft pop ditty called "DEATH TRIP" - lovely, isn't it? This particular Wisconsin death-ride begins with a few backwards moans from the dead, followed by an ominous voice that booms "And then.I die!" as if AC/DC dumped Angus Young and replaced him with Angus Scrimm. So, yeah, right off the bat, you know we're out of Spanky and Our Gang territory here, but just in case, the Power of Zeus kids hammer the point home - literally - with a series of MASSIVE fuzzed-out guitar riffs that crash down one after the other, raining hot cauldrons of molten lava on your Nascar bedsheets, while our lovely nursery rhyme begins in earnest: "I see my body lying in the grave. My soul is free now, I'll never be a slave. Mysteries of the universe now I'll surely see. I see the light of eternity!" Which, apparently, comes chaperoned by a thousand moaning angels of death, because that's what we hear next. This is, obviously, HEAVY stuff, a first-person view of the moment of death taken from someone who probably had been there a few times. This is Bloodrock's "D.O.A." seen through the eyes of Gary Gilmore. Bon appetit, boys and girls! Elsewhere, you'll find plenty more sweaty hard psych grooves (and a cowbell) on the growling "Hard Working Man", with its PUNISHING guitar riff and overzealous drummer. It's a full-speed-ahead onslaught, one half Spirit's "I Got a Line On You" and one half Fever Tree's "99 and a Half." And because Power of Zeus lacks any shred of subtlety, they also have ambition to burn - and it shows on something like "Uncertain Destination", a big dramatic spooky slab of proto-prog-psych with a massive cathedral organ, crunching fuzz licks and wailing acid guitar solos. The soaring vocals and dramatic chord changes strongly recall the Beatles "A Day in the Life", and if a band like Deep Purple ever tried their hand at this Fab Four classic, it would sound just like this. Now, as bombastic as "Death Trip" was, I kinda understood what it was about. Which is MORE than I can say for the final track here, "Sorcerer of Isis (the Ritual of the Mole)" - precisely the kind of title you come up with when you're completely stoned and just about ANYTHING sounds important. This particular chemically-enhanced ode to Egyptian goddesses and burrowing rats begins with a HUGE cymbal crash, just like the one that ended "Nights in White Satin." From there, we head off into a mystical funk groove, with rumbling bass and a KILLER guitar solo that pans back and forth from speaker to speaker. At the 2-and-a-half minute mark, the song breaks off completely and veers off into a very strange synth break, sort of a low-budget Pink Floyd trip or a blind man ransacking the sound effects library for the TV series "Star Trek", with some eerie and barely-audible voices faintly heard through the stellar mayhem. Then, we head back into the song once more, and no one ever tells us WHAT this all has to do with the Egyptian goddess, her trusty sorcerer, or the naked mole rat. But who am I to argue with the Power of Zeus? They're bigger than me, and there's more of 'em. And they're more than likely to ram a hot lightning rod down my throat if I even CONSIDERED writing something derogatory about their album. So it's brilliant. And heavy. And unforgiving. Now, boys, can I have my lunch money back? Original 1970 pressing on the Rare Earth label. Cover's in EXCELLENT shape. Vinyl looks new, no marks, plays EXCELLENT (check out sample).
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN!
Click on the above link to listen to a sample of the ACTUAL RECORD you're bidding on! Winning bidder pays $4.50 for media mail shipping plus tracking in the US, $8 air mail to Canada, $14 everywhere else. Paypal, Bidpay, checks and money orders accepted. And please be sure to check out my other auctions for more vinyl obscurities, and I will combine shipping costs on multiple wins. |
