The Mandrake Memorial - Medium 1969

Mandrake Memorial's sound didn't change that much between their first and second album, but Medium is definitely a letdown after their fine self-titled debut. Although it retained the solemn vocals and classical-tinged electronic keyboards, as well as some jazz and Indian influences, there was a drift toward a harder rock sound and longer, more meandering songs. It's the compositions that drag the record down the most, as they aren't nearly as tuneful or concise as those on their first release. Too, while much of the material on the first album had a buoyant, soaring quality, there was a bit of a somber, bummed-out feeling on this one, as if the musicians were in regretful repose from exultant flight. The comparison might seem strange, but at times it sounded like the Youngbloods might have if they'd taken their jazzier and more experimental tendencies to more self-consciously progressive ends. There was less emphasis on harmony vocals this time around, too, and Randy Monaco's vocals had a sorrowful quality that sometimes recalled those of Lawrence Hammond from the barely-better-known-than-Mandrake Memorial band Mad River, though Monaco wasn't quite as doleful. All these criticisms make the album seem worse than it was: there's some interesting psychedelic interplay between guitar, keyboard, and vocals, and it's not unpleasant. But it doesn't go anywhere particularly exciting, either. AMG.

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The Mandrake Memorial - The Mandrake Memorial 1968

By far their best album, this suite-like collection features some haunting, first-rate songs, such as "Bird Journey," "Here I Am, " and "Dark Lady." With their harmonies and interplay between guitar, electric keyboards, and occasional sitar, they were very much a band of their age. Still, they played with a drive and precision that anticipated progressive rock. AMG.

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The Mandrake Memorial - Puzzle 1969

While Mandrake Memorial's second LP (Medium) had moved them in a more self-consciously progressive hard rock direction, their third and final album went somewhat off the deep end in that regard. There was little left of the song-driven psychedelia of their first and best album, and what had replaced it came close to drowning in an inchoate blend of late psychedelia and early progressive rock. There's much apparent ambition on this record but little coherence, alternating semi-improvised-sounding noodly instrumental passages with not-so-great songs and positively weird swells of operatic doomsday voices and cinematic electronic rock. It sounds like a concept album without a concept, complete with brief interludes and preludes. Parts of the ten-minute "Bucket of Air" make it clear that they probably did their share of listening to Pink Floyd's A Saucerful of Secrets, but the Floyd seemed positively economic next to this squawky aimlessness. Occasional gasps of their original song-oriented brand of wistful psychedelia can be heard, but it's overwhelmed by the messy crossfire of half-formed fusions of hard rock, classical, and other miscellany. The 1996 reissue on Collectables adds both sides of the non-LP single "Something in the Air"/"Musical Man," the A-side of which was a cover of the Thunderclap Newman hit. AMG.

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