A Masters of Reality album that’s more of a collection of odds and ends and utterly disjointed and still somehow cohesive, Give Us Barabbas surfaced in 2004 through the band’s self-release imprint Brownhouse Recordings and has its roots in a got-shelved 1995 long-player called The Ballad of Jody Frosty. What would’ve been the follow-up to 1992’s Sunrise on the Sufferbus (discussed here) never made it to public ears, and in addition to its title-track, which appears here as the string-laced opener, an instantly memorable hook of a melody that also served to intro the live album Flak ‘n’ Flight (discussed here), it featured “Voice and the Vision,” “Still on the Hill,” “Bela Alef Rose,” and “Brown House on the Green Road,” which show up on Give Us Barabbas as well, along with pieces like “Desert Song” with Ginger Baker (Cream) on drums, “Jinalee Jindalie” with guest vocals by Scott Weiland of Stone Temple Pilots and the John Lennon cover “It’s So Hard.”

What’s ironic about the Lennon track is that it’s not the most Beatlesian inclusion on the record at all, or even the most Lennon-solo feeling. Taken from Imagine, it’s Lennon doing bluesy Elvis worship, while “I Walk Beside Your Love” comes through like a lost Dakota demo, and “Voice and the Vision,” “Off to Tiki Ti” and “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow” tap into that weird, kid-song singalong spirit of “Rocky Raccoon” or “All Together Now,” and though the follow-the-bouncing-ball oddity of “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow” is delightfully strange as twisted through Masters of Reality spearhead Chris Goss‘ vision of folk and might be more “Octopus’ Garden” than “Yellow Submarine,” the spirit is there one way or the other. Personnel, arrangements and styles vary throughout, but songwriting carries the album through its 12-song/41-minute entirety, and however they came together, from the stand-up bass that gives such warmth to “Voice and the Vision” to the handclaps in “Off to Tiki Ti” and the gentle blend of acoustic and electric guitar on “Jindalee Jindalie” — never mind the harmonies between Goss and Weiland — the album is a masterclass in being exactly what it wants to be, each song fostering its own intent and structure while feeding into the overarching strength of the whole.

Goss is of course known for his production work and collaborations with Kyuss, Fatso Jetson, Nebula, UNKLE, Ian Astbury, Mark Lanegan, Queens of the Stone Age, Melissa Auf der Maur, as well as for performing on records for many of the same and in projects like Goon Moon and Desert Sessions, etc. He’s someone who’s had an essential hand in making heavy rock and roll what it is today, especially in his work helping to shape Californian desert rock in the studio. Fair enough. Give Us Barabbas is something of a look at the aftermath of that. It was the first full-length Masters of Reality put out following 2001’s Deep in the Hole (discussed here), and the subsequent European touring with Nick Oliveri and Josh Homme — both then of Queens of the Stone Age — documented in 2002 on the aforementioned Flak ‘n’ Flight live outing. Deep in the Hole is probably the closest Masters of Reality ever came to doing ‘desert rock’ on aesthetic terms, and it felt like a conscious decision. Give Us Barabbas, with its fluid lineup, older songs and reworked pieces, reconciles some of that with the pre-“alt-rock” alternative rock of Goss and the band’s earliest output in their 1988 self-titled, aka The Blue Garden. Perhaps that’s where some of the Beatles-style songcraft comes in. If you’re going back to the roots of a thing, that’s a good place to head.

But for all the variety throughout these songs — and there isn’t a complete version of Give Us Barabbas streaming anywhere, you’ll note “Hey Diana” and “It’s So Hard” are missing from the playlist above; sorry, I did my best and I’m not about to just upload the thing myself without permission — there’s nothing haphazard about them. The sharpness of sound in “I Walk Beside Your Love” is no less purposeful than the lush “The Ballad of Judy Frosty,” and the boogie in “Brown House on the Green Road” adds movement to the harmonies in “Bela Alef Rose” just before it and “Still on the Hill” — are we talking about the ‘Fool’ there? — a short time later, that track working similarly leading into “The Desert Song,” which renews the shuffle. At this point, Masters of Reality had already been a band for over 15 years, and with Goss as the ringleader — he gets co-billing on the album cover, even listed first on some versions — they were obviously comfortable going wherever they wanted to go. Comfortable enough to tuck “Jindalee Jindalie” away as the penultimate cut on the record, effectively buried in the linear CD format like the treasure that it is, hidden away with the rest of the tracks on top. And as if to underscore the point, to cap with “Don’t Get Caught by the Huntsman’s Bow,” with its Super Mario Bros. 3 keyboard line and a druggy whoknowswhat even beyond what Masters of Reality fostered on 1999’s Welcome to the Western Lodge, well, yeah. A band so willing to mess around with their own processes should only be admired.

Masters of Reality‘s last album was 2009’s Pine/Cross Dover (review here). There was word they were to put out a record and tour Europe in 2020, but neither materialized, the tour for pandemic reasons, the record presumably because there was no tour. Fair enough. Chris Goss posted a few tracks on Soundcloud a while back, but there’s been no solid release date offered for the next release that I’ve found, though I’d be happy to be corrected on that. He worked on John Garcia‘s last solo album and has been busy with various other concerns, his social media a blend of rock and roll, conspiracy theories and so on. Strange times. I’d still be plenty happy to have another Masters of Reality album, should the occasion come about.

Thanks for reading. As always, I hope you enjoy.

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The Pecan woke up this morning before 6AM and when I finally went up to bring him down after finishing the above — it was a bit after 7; always takes him a while before he’s willing to get up anyway — dude was a fucking tornado. Not so much bouncing off the walls as crashing through them. He took a nap yesterday afternoon, as did we all, and it clearly did him some good. Me too. I was a god damned wreck before that. After, just a regular wreck.

Family coming down from CT and from up the hill in the neighborhood later on today, so that will be enjoyable and probably a lot. How it goes. I’ll shower, take a xanax, have a shake for lunch; self-care. It’ll be fine.

Next week is the Quarterly Review. Can you hang with it? It’s a full two weeks. Next week and the week after. 100 releases front to back. I haven’t done a double-QR in a while, and I’m tired of looking at all the same folders on my desktop. This will clear out most of them. Maybe I’ll even make a new banner if I have time.

The Pecan starts camp on Tuesday, which is what will make that Quarterly Review even remotely possible. What a wreck these past two weeks have been in between school and camp starting up. He’ll be going three hours a day, five days a week. Dude needs to be out of the house. He just needs it. And after the pandemic year, I figure the more socialization he gets the better off he’ll be in the longer run. But even more than that, it’s just about accommodating all of his GO. Because he’s all go.

I’m interviewing Eddie Brnabic from Hippie Death Cult tomorrow. Was supposed to be yesterday, but the day was just too much of a mess. Couldn’t handle it in the ol’ brain. With the QR on, I don’t know when that will be posted, but I’ll make it happen whenever I have a spare couple minutes next week. Don’t expect a lot of news or anything like that. 10 records written up per day is the mission. Everything else is gravy.

Speaking of interviews, thanks to those of you who checked out that one with Dave Wyndorf. I got some kind words on that and it was much appreciated.

All on social media, interestingly. Not one actual comment on the site this week, which is odd. Usually there’s something. Too hot, maybe? I don’t know. People are sweet either way, mostly. I’ll take what I can get.

New logo merch coming soon. Sleeveless for your sun’s-out-guns-out summer, and tote bags basically because The Patient Mrs. likes tote bags. It’s the logo with a cool little “est. 2009” on there. I’ll post it when it’s live in the meantime, thanks to MIBK for making it happen.

Gimme show is next week with the second Neurosis thing. That’s super fun. Need to do the voice tracks, which I guess now’s as good a time as any. Let me get on that.

Thanks for reading. Great and safe weekend. Hydrate and all that.

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Masters of Reality, Deep in the Hole (2001)

Who could argue? Led by Chris Goss, founder of Masters of Reality, and producer of not only their own landmark output but also records by Kyuss, Fatso Jetson, Queens of the Stone Age, etc., 2001’s Deep in the Hole offered some of the catchiest, most immediately memorable fare ever to come from American heavy rock. Ever. Yes, I mean it. Ever. Goss‘ love of classic rock — need we mention that Ginger Baker played on 1993’s Sunrise on the Sufferbus? — and particularly The Beatles showed itself throughout the record in some of the poppy turns and its strong hooks, but tonally it was of the desert all the way through, and the list of guest reads like a Desert Sessions roster: Josh Homme, Dave Catching, Nick Oliveri, Roxy Saint, Troy Van Leeuwen, among others. Goss himself is the focal point, however, his vocals and guitar front and center throughout, guiding the record in classic form. Its blend of influences and stylistic pulse hit at just the right moment to capture an atmosphere of what post-Kyuss desert rock could be all grown up.

And I guess I’m breaking it out to close the week because it’s summer, or close enough to it. Deep in the Hole, with its bright guitar, sing-along choruses in “Third Man on the Moon,” “A Wish for a Fish,” “High Noon Amsterdam” and the title-track, among others, has always been a warmer-weather record in my mind, so with the sun out and the sky blue, it seems as fitting a time as any to break this one out. I hope you enjoy it.

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Kind of dragging ass owing to no caffeine, poor sleep, general stress, and so on, but before I get into any of that, I want to send extreme thanks to Diane Farris aka Diane Kamikaze for having me on her show yesterday at 91.1 WFMU in Jersey City, NJ, for a recap of this year’s Roadburn. If you didn’t get to hear it, please check it out here: http://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/60608

It was great to be on FMU for the second time, and of course awesome to talk about music with Diane and to relive some choice Roadburn memories. I had Enslaved twice in the playlist. I professed my love for Anathema. It was a good time.

After that, en route to lunch with Slevin, whom I’d not actually seen in far too long, my car started to overheat four separate times, so I had to pull off to the side of the road and let the engine cool for a while. It kept doing it later, so my car’s in the shop and I’m waiting to hear from them, and I’m still in New Jersey when I was supposed to leave yesterday evening. Not sure when or how I’ll be getting out of here and heading back north, first to Connecticut, then to Massachusetts, but whatever. I’ll figure it out. After the Kings Destroy show Tuesday, family time Wednesday, FMU and vehicular drama yesterday and a full day today, I’m too exhausted to care. Any one of those things would’ve been enough for one week on its own. This week was like three weeks rolled into one. I feel like a grindcore snare drum.

This week coming is that other job interview. Not sure exactly when that will be, but somewhere in there. I’ve got new stuff coming from Plainride, Closet Disco Queen and maybe Hosoi Bros. if I can actually get two seconds to answer an email, and reviews of Cherry Choke, My Sleeping Karma, and if there’s time, Goatsnake. We’ll see if I get there.

Have a great weekend and thanks for reading. Please check out the forum and radio stream.

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Masters of Reality, Flak ‘n’ Flight (2003)

First, I love this album. I don’t know that I have a favorite live record, but if I did, this would have to be high on the list if not at the top. From the dripping sentimental opening guitar lines of “The Ballad of Jody Fosty” used as the intro on down to Mark Lanegan himself showing up for “High Noon Amsterdam” and Chris Goss (2010 interview here) leading the way brilliantly through a set spanning what was already by then a substantial career backed by drummer John Leamy and Queens of the Stone Age‘s Josh Homme and Nick Oliveri, ending with “She Got Me (When She Got Her Dress On)” and the Ramones cover “Cretin Hop,” it’s just perfect. Right band, right time, right songs. The versions here of “Rabbit One” and “Why the Fly?” outdo their studio counterparts (the latter is my favorite single Masters of Reality moment, period), and “Deep in the Hole” and “Third Man on the Moon” remind of how criminally underrated 2001’s Deep in the Hole — the full-length which Masters of Reality was touring to support at the time — is in the sphere of desert rock. Unreal, how good this record is.

Of course, Goss is probably best known as the producer of Kyuss at their peak, having helmed the holy trinity of 1992’s Blues for the Red Sun, 1994’s Welcome to Sky Valley and 1995’s …And the Circus Leaves Town, but Masters of Reality goes all the way back to 1981 when Goss started the band on the East Coast. Their first album, Masters of Reality (aka The Blue Garden) arrived in 1989 and it and 1993’s Sunrise on the Sufferbus set the band apart from both commercial rock and the nascent grunge movement, “alternative” still very much an underground ideal at that point. It would be six years before Welcome to the Western Lodge showed up in 1999, but when it did, it found Masters of Reality with a more psychedelic focus — influences and experiments that would solidify into the prime songwriting of Deep in the Hole two years later. Goss‘ second album working with Leamy, it also featured Dave Catching, Lanegan, and a host of others, including Homme and Oliveri, who at that point were one year removed from Queens of the Stone Age‘s second album, Rated R.

I don’t know how they wound up doing the tour with Goss. Rated R came out in June 2000, so a full year’s touring cycle (which included their disastrous stint on Ozzfest 2000) would’ve likely been done, but I’m not sure on the timeline of this European run, which was Sept.-Dec. 2001, and when Queens started working on their third record, 2003’s now-classic Songs for the Deaf, on which Goss also appears, singing lead on the bonus track “Mosquito Song.” Still, Flak ‘n’ Flight captures all of these players at an arguable pinnacle of their powers, and is a thrilling, special document of a moment not likely to come again. Masters of Reality‘s latest outing was 2009’s Pine/Cross Dover (review here), which showed Goss‘ will to manipulate a pop influence was unabated.

Hope you enjoy.

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Next week is Vinyl Week. I’ve got a backlog of LPs that need to get written about, so I’m just gonna plow through them as best I’m able. To be honest, I doubt I’ll get through all of it — the pile’s like that — but I’m going to try damn hard to do precisely that and we’ll just see how it goes. Stay tuned as well for a couple giveaways (yes, vinyl giveaways) and anything else I can think of. I also have a couple streams planned, for Brain Pyramid and U Sco and who knows what else will come down the line in that regard, but my priority all next week is LP reviews, so if it’s news or whatever that has to get pushed back to fit that in, that’s what I’m going to do. The rest can wait. I gotta clear some space on my desk.

So, reviews of Storm Ross, 35007, The Kings of Frog Island, Mos Generator and more coming up next week. It’ll be awesome.

I’m also leaving in a little over an hour’s time to go see Blackwolfgoat‘s CD release show in Allston, so I’ll review that as well. Big Friday night out. I was all set to go see Magic Circle in Cambridge last night, but the thought of being in such proximity to Harvard this close to the start of the semester scared me off. Wide-eyed scholarship winners perpetuating the global elite. I stayed home and hung out with The Patient Mrs. I’m sure the show was good, but can’t say I feel like I lost out.

There’s more, but I need to put some water on for pre-show pasta. Do us both a favor and have a great and safe weekend, and please check out the forum and radio stream.

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