The Music Machine
Listen – Come On In – MP3
Greetings all.
The time has come for all good men to say ‘Hey, it’s Thursday.’
That being the case it’s also time for another bowl of groove juice, this fine day coming to you in the form of one of my favorite songs by the Music Machine.
If’n you aren’t familiar with the Music Machine and the wonderful sounds they made, you should back away from the interwebs and find yourself a copy of their greatest hits. I say this because back in the day, when I picked up the original Rhino reissue of their best stuff (1985-ish), having only previously heard their biggest hit, the manic ‘Talk Talk’, I was – as the kids say – blown away.
When you’re fan of garage punk and psychedelia you are more often than not adrift in a sea of never-had-a-hit-wonders, who in their day managed to crawl into a recording studio and crank out one genuinely interesting 45 before dropping off the face of the earth. There are certainly exceptions to the rule, as every once in a while band managed to keep it going for several 45s, or in rare instances even an LP. However, in most of these cases, despite a somewhat more substantial discography, they really only ever had one song that was worth listening to, so it’s a wash.
While listening to that Music Machine compilation, it occurred to me immediately that they really had a “voice” (literally in their leader Sean Bonniwell, and figuratively as well). Their mix of garage punk and moody psychedelia and – this above all other considerations – Bonniwell’s songwriting talent took them to an entirely new level.
This was no one-off Nuggets act from Bumfuck, Pennsyltucky. The Music Machine was a truly interesting band.
Though my fave Music Machine song, ‘Masculine Intuition’ was already posted here as part of Iron Leg Digital Trip #2 the Freaked Out Mind Blowing Scene of Right Now (click on Podcasr Archive link in the sidebar for details), today’s selection comes in a close second.
‘Come On In’ is a fantastic vehicle for Bonniwell’s deep, Morrison-esque voice, and the production on the single is deep with reverb. The Jim Morrison comparison is apt because if you didn’t know any better you might mistake ‘Come On In’ for a lost Doors track.
The version of the Music Machine that recorded ‘Come On In’ broke up in 1967, with Bonniwell continuing on as the Bonniwell Music Machine for one more LP.
Bonniwell is still at it today, having written an autobiography (which I’d love to read) and reformed a version of the Music Machine.
I hope you dig the track.
Peace
Larry
Buy – Turn On: The Best of the Music Machine – at Amazon.com