måndag 25 juni 2012

KING GEORGE DISCOVERY/MUSIC IS MUSIC AL 02 (-68) SWEDEN

George Clemens moved from Virginia to New York in the early sixties and started to sing in Harlem clubs, performed with Don Convay and contributed back-ground vocals on the legendary "Have Mercy" single. He also recorded with Ray Charles band and played with King Curtis at the same time as Jimi Hendrix. The two bonded a friendship wich lasted till Hendrix' death. At the same time Chas Chandler brought Hendrix to England King George got an offer from a Scandinavian agent to settle in Sweden and sing with "Harlem Kiddies" - a black soul band touring Europe. After working with them for a while he hooked up with a bunch of Swedish young musicians and started the group "Discovery". It's clear the whole concept was inspired by Jimi Hendrix Experience - black US artist surronded by young local musicians, the name itself, and parts of the music. They quickly became famous in Scandinavia by excessive touring - I heard a lot about their great live act back then, but unfortunately never got to see them. The album is hard to describe - has good soul numbers and fine vocals in a traditional style, all written by King George, but also lots of psych guitars and wild drumming. Sound quality is OK, but wrapped in a rather primitive garage feeling. So maybe "Psych Soul Garage" is the right depiction. Pressed in Germany for domestic and Scandinavian markets, issued as compatible stereo only, but sounds good either way. I don't know of any other original issue, but group also released a '45 on Bell label in Italy with two non-LP tracks. This was the gangs only official LP. Guitarist Anders Nordh and bassist Paul Sundin later went on to progressive group "Life". King George has worked with many American and European artists since and released a large number of albums and singles, solo or in different constellations. First press came with label as shown here and thin fully laminated cover. (SWÄU*)(ÖGÄ*) (SCÄ*)(CCÖ*)

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