MICHAEL GARRICK — Mr Smith's Apocalypse (as Garrick's Fairground) (review)

MICHAEL GARRICK — Mr Smith's Apocalypse (as Garrick's Fairground) album cover

Album · 1971 · Third Stream

3.5/5 · 2011-09-02
Sean Trane

Leader Michael Garrick amidst his best albums of the early 70’s formed a special project which didn’t fit his usual sextet formations, and therefore created Garrick’s Fairground and wrote the concept of God’s absence or non-existence. Garrick had often used the vocals in jazz in unusual manners as shown by the outstanding Lotus album and the future Troppo disc to come, but also dealing with poetry in jazz. This present ambitious work indeed took his vocals idea a few step further (read: out there), this time using full choirs, on top of four lead voices, the best-known being Norma Winstone. Given the album’s line-up for the musicians, I had the warmest and highest expectations from this promisingly-titled album, most notably the presence of 4/5 of the RCQ (only Carr is missing) and wind-men Lowther and Themen. Alas deception was at hand, because the emphasis is more on the vocal experiences than on the jazz music, often not really that jazz, per se. Indeed, while there is definitely jazz base on MSA, it is kind of unique and escapes ready-made description and usual pigeonholes. Indeed the choral passages are often very complex and expressive: the lyrics are rather strong (courtesy of Poet John Smith >> can’t invent THAT, right? ;o)) and emotional, often veering incredibly cheesy and tacky, sometimes even evoking the Kobaian choirs of Magma, but also operatic or music-hall moments.

Soooo, the album opens and ends on two separate tracks from the main-concept, including the opening and enthralling Epiphany and the ethereal & bluesy closing Peacemakers tunes. In the meantime, the 23-movement (from 1 to just over 5 minutes-long) title track suite occupies the rest of the album, and it is a wild ride at times, mostly due to the very messianic vocals, sometimes close to prayers, but one must admire the incredible work of writing and adapting both the music to the poem and likewise in the opposite direction. One of the more unusual trait from Garrick’s habits is that he doesn’t touch a piano or an harpsichord (given the classical and mlusic-hall elements used here), but plays everything on his organ, which tends to cheapen the atmosphere, lowering an ambitious passage into a circus thing.

Not really my cup of tea, but in some ways, MSA could be seen as Garrick’s songwriting crowing achievement. Being a confirmed atheist, you’ll understand easily that the engaged (but not necessarily for or against) mystical/religious concerns of the concept are just not up my alley, therefore making it difficult for me to really accept or dig in the oeuvre’s debate. Nevertheless, there are some music passages I like, but they are very much outnumbered by the more awkward and cheesy, sometimes almost-grotesque moments.

Although I’ve spinned this album a few times over the last years, I’ve not been able to ever feel comfortable with this strange and unclassifiable mix of incredibly different elements from opposite sides of the musical spectrum. I don’t think I ever will really enjoy it either, but it doesn’t stop me of being impressed by the grandeur and sheer amount of sweat and patience to build such an amazing project. I will very rarely rate higher an album than I really enjoy it, but in this case, the sheer size and ambition of the present project and its result is so impressive (even though not my thing), that it can only inspire my respect and I’ll give a full star more than I actually would ever really enjoy it.