Although the sound quality is slightly boxy, the opening track on CBGB’s 1985 is a treat. “Gardens” is on a line between first-album Rain Parade and Unhalfbricking-era Fairport Convention, it’s hard to tell from this live album whether Rochester, New York’s Absolute Grey – grey, not gray – caught the attention of their subdued-seeming Manhattan audience four decades ago while playing NYC’s prime roots-level venue. Now, though, it’s clear “Gardens” is top-drawer folk rock-inclined psychedelia which demands instant attention.
When a studio version of “Gardens” – recorded in July 1985 – was issued, it was on the flip of a 1986 Germany only single of which the A-side was a live version of The Dream Syndicate’s “Tell me When it’s Over.” Knowledge of Absolute Grey was not limited to the US.
CBGB’s 1985 is a reissue of a live document of a 12 April 1985 show which first appeared under the title Live at CBGB’s New York 12/4/85. It was originally released later the same year by the UK’s Acid Tapes, the for-real legendary cassette-only label based in Heywood, Greater Manchester. Acid Tapes had already issued an Absolute Grey cassette (one side live, the other of four-track, demo-style recordings).The band’s debut album, Green House, had come out on the tiny US label Earring Records in 1984. By the time the band split in 1990, there were three other independent-label albums and an EP.
From a conventional perspective, Absolute Grey would be a footnote, known only to those taking deep dives into independent US music – including the Paisley Underground – of the 1980s. However, “Gardens” makes the case that serious consideration is necessary; wider consideration.
Taking in CBGB’s 1985 supports this view. “Gardens” was unmistakably not a one-off. Intense set closer “Killing Birds” is also along the Rain Parade/Fairport Convention lines, with hints of second-album Trees c 1970 and current-day practitioners of this type of thing such as The Trimdon Grange Explosion. Further pointers to where Absolute Grey were coming from are apparent. There is a top-notch cover of Jefferson Airplane's “White Rabbit." “A Joke” and “More Walnuts” step into R.E.M.’s contemporaneous ball park. “Willow” has a mid section which is a bit debut LP Echo & The Bunnymen. (pictured left, the insert card from Live at CBGB’s New York 12/4/85, the original release of CBGB’s 1985)
Absolute Grey were Beth Brown (vocals), Matt Kitchen (guitars), Mitchell Rasor (bass) and Pat Thomas (drums – he is now a notable cultural/music historian). Regulars on the East Coast live circuit, the band also played California and were variously billed with Alex Chilton, The Long Ryders, The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Salem 66 (who, with their shared folk propensities, they bore some similarities with) and The Three O’Clock. Absolute Grey were sometimes in the right places, and at the right times. But, whatever they were doing and despite the cult-level interest in Germany and the UK, they fell between the cracks.
With its tribute essays by folks who saw the band at the time, the nicely packaged CBGB’s 1985 – inexplicably marketed as “Previously Unreleased”: original copies of the 1985 cassette can still be found – is absolutely worth seeking out. Fans of any of the names mentioned above won’t be disappointed.
- Next week: stunning previously unheard tracks from The Adverts early period with Stiff Records – the “We Who Wait” / “New Boys” single
- More reissue reviews on theartsdesk
- Kieron Tyler’s website
