WHITE WITCH are back to treat us to another helping of space madness and, admittedly, metal mayhem. (1) WE'LL ALL RIDE HIGH (money bags) Here we go again, Is this really one vocalist? The song starts off with the Ronn that we became familiar with in previous songs such as "Jackson Slade" but out of nowhere this new vocal thing happens, The sound is somewhat reminiscent of when you get that soft drink phlegm web in the back of your throat and your phlegm web in the back of your throat and your voice sounds temporarily laminated, if that makes since. I admit, I was really put off by it when I first heard it as a teen. I had visions of Steven Tyler suddenly being possessed by the spirit of Jim Nabors. I have since recovered from such visions, so please, spare me your concern. On the more flattering side, I found the theatrical potential of this piece, fueled by the lyrics, very reminiscent of the KINKS, PRESERVATION ACT 2. I also love the instrumental thing that starts to happen right as the song fades out. (2) SLICK WITCH The" oh yea" that Mr.G lays on us at the beginning of this one made me think, oh no.. not the phlegm thing again, but be assured, he dismisses it never to be heard again on the rest of the disk. This song sounds a lot like the type of song that was written for the purpose of live shows. Often what would happen with bands who put out great produced work is that they were faced with the chore of reproducing it live. I do not know if this was the case with WHITE WITCH . Sadly, I have never seen them live. However, we are 2 tracks into this LP and I am starting to think. yes... I close my eyes... I do see them performing live. As a matter of fact, I am at a rock fest all of a sudden... What was that Ronn just yelled? Lollapalooza!! OK , this is fun but I was expecting a space ride not a rock concert... but since when did WHITE WITCH give us what we expected? I do love the part of the song that breaks down to "Hey fine chimes won't you look at the times". The one thing you can expect from all of their songs... a great hook! Bill Peterson & Captain Ronn (3) WALK ON- THIS IS IT!!! No other band would mix these varied styles on one disk except the BEATLES,... and they had to earn that freedom by playing musical twister with the teeny bop cult. This song alone reveals, Ronn is not just a singer, he is tapped into the creative, universal consciousness and he is channeling like some mystic guru. His face takes on the form of Paul McCartney and transforms into Ray Davies without a hint of effort. Even if most vocalist can do this it must be pointed out, THEY DO NOT! I think Ronn had the rare ability to deliver a vast assortment of styles without ever sounding like a rip-off or a rock mime and in doing this , he paid the price by remaining a cult figure cloaked in obscurity and you know why? The record companies think you are an idiot! They do not think you will like something unless it can be categorized and guess what.? You can't comfortably categorize this band! This song ,against the rest of their work, is a fine example. I will tell you that the melody is McCARTNEY-ish, the keyboards get a bit PENNY LANE-ish, the breakdown is KINKS (Lola vs power man era) ....But truth be known, there are aspects of this song that are still unfolding. (4) CLASS OF 2000- The lights go down, Ronn G turns to face the crowd, his face glowing , sprinkled with moondust. Captain Ronn gives us a wink and a half smile and says.... OK friends, let's go to outer space, YES! I love any song that while taking you on a futuristic space ride, the Captain leans over to you and points out Uranus!! A comfortable humor is present in this one giving the listener/passenger the feeling that Captain Ronn is not only a Captain but an old friend. Now lets turn over and float through SIDE B of "A SPIRITUAL GREETING" (5) SHOWDOWN- OK, There may be a slight STYX sound on the keys but I am sure that its just the normally tasteful BUDDY PENDERGRASS trying to keep the boys in the ROCK N ROLL race. Charlie Souza Buddy P & Bobby Another sing along which again, lends to the live performance syndrome. The lyrics even leaned to the live syndrome, you know, the whole western thing running parallel to life on the road. example: "Traveling in a covered wagon" (Tour Bus or Van depending on their budget) ".Living is easy out on the plains" (Life on the road, hotels, fast food) "Black Bart and the boys are hot" (Ronn and the WITCH) you get the picture. Not one of my favorite pieces but definitely one of Axle's. SORRY! I am trying not to mention him on this one. (6) CRYSTALLIZE AND REALIZE- A MASTER PIECE!!! This may be the best song they ever wrote and it is without a question one of the greatest acoustic space songs ever written! Right up there with BOWIE'S "SPACE ODDITY". This is the reason you buy this LP. This is one of the reasons I put this page together, and if Ronn would put out an acoustic space lp, that was in this flavor, today! he would surpass & shock all of his peers once again and sweep a new generation of listeners under his wing and remain in flight where he belongs. (7) BLACK WIDOW LOVER- A catchy mid tempo song that is easily over looked upon first listen, dew only to the song that precedes it. Upon repeated listens however, it really starts to work its way into the echo chamber of the mind, one of those songs you sing to your self and it takes you a little while to identify its origins. I really got hooked on the "Hey Rufus I'm Calling Your #" part only to reveal that the # is 666. That part along with the title would have you thinking it was a dark metal piece but as you should know by now, WHITE WITCH do things their own way. (8) AUNTIE CHRISTY (Harlow)- I was 15, my bedroom lights were out , the head phones were on and the WITCH were keeping me company until this song came on... uh... I think I will turn on the lights now. Being raised to be a preacher in the bible belt, or even more accurately "THE BIBLE BELT BUCKLE", this song really put the chills on. The dark bible passages and the over all reference to the anti-christ ..whew, It caused nothing less than a manifestation of the horror images of the book of Revelations, of course looking back, so did GODZILLA. The fear seems silly now but I love the reminder of the power of perception. ------------------------------------------------- Oh yea, I love that part when Captain Ronn screams CHRIST!!!!!! All the stadium rockers of the late 70s - the late 80s took that very spirit and hammered it into a cliché'. This song descends into " Harlow", a catchy little '60s BEATLE back up to Captain Ronn signing off for his last time as A WITCH, still haunting the joint like he did when he first arrived. Ah , do not worry my friends, for there is more to come as we now move on to the post WHITE WITCH years. HEY! I KNOW YOU HAVE A SPIRITUAL GREETING ON VINYL, 8 TRACK & CASSETTE BUT DO YOU HAVE IT ON CD?!! CLICK ON THE PHOTOS BELOW AND MEET THE MEMBERS OF WHITE WITCH CHARLIE SOUZA'S HOME PAGE |
