Article published in 117 fanzine, Issue 02 – 1990
Leviathan | Untitled | (Forgotten Jewels) 1990 | LEVIATHAN: Untitled LP (Forgotten Jewels FJLP 004) About four months ago this album appeared in the UK via many of the best-known psych/prog/beat music outlets. The label hails from Bremen, Germany, and it is immediately obvious that FJ don’t know much about the band they have ‘scooped’ for this release. (Which incidentally is number 4; the previous three being Mandrake Paddle Steamer, Shakey Vick and Dharma Blues Band.
The odd thing is that the MPS appears to be a bootleg of the KOS label bootleg! God knows what the quality of the FJ label issue is like – the KOS release was pretty awful!) Anyway I’m straying from the point here: apart from listing the 12 tracks that make up this album, all that we are told by FJ is that ‘tracks 1 – 3 performed by The Shivering Span‘ (sic), ‘tracks 4 – 12 performed by Leviathan.’ (The compilers of this platter must have seen the ‘Psychedelic Dungeon’ boxed 7″ set which features two tracks by the Mike Stuart Span: the booklet which accompanies the package reproduces an old music paper article on the band’s appearance in the film “Better A Widow”.
It describes how the four musicians were performing a number in Hyde Park for the benefit of the cameras – in mid-December, wearing nothing warmer than their paisley shirts! The heading for it was simply ‘Shivering Span’ which gives you some idea of how much research was done for this LP!) But I’m wandering again: what the LP doesn’t tell you is that these tracks are culled from the band’s singles, a Radio 1 session and also some unreleased acetates.
Leviathan | Untitled | (Forgotten Jewels) 1990
Like the Mandrake Paddle Steamer LP, this one is again a shoddy affair; a little bit of care and effort could have turned it into a very nice release, but whoever did the cover (and pointless insert) should stick to painting by numbers.
All that aside, the music is excellent; the Span/Leviathan wrote and performed some of the most distinctive progressive/psych sounds of the era, and apart from one track on ‘Choc. Soup’ Volume 2 and the aforementioned box set, they’ve been sadly neglected.
It’s just a pity that their material is only available on unofficial releases . . . hopefully that will be rectified in the not-too-distant future. While we don’t condone the FJ issue, it’s not a bad showcase for a fine band, and anyone who has got a copy will no doubt have played it again and again. So, what better way of talking us through the contents of this LP can there be other than hearing it from someone who was there at the time?
Gary ‘Roscoe’ Murphy, the drummer with Mike Stuart Span/Leviathan, will now give us a guided tour of the vinyl now playing on the 117 turntable . . .
LEVIATHAN: Untitled LP: A track-by-track commentary by Gary Murphy . . .
TIME (John Peel session version): Not as strong as the single version, technically not so well engineered. Note: complete with Simon & Garfunkel ending! Simple. pleasant and melodic.
CHILDREN OF TOMORROW (John Peel version): Far superior to the ultra-rare 45 version on the Jewel label, however, perhaps lacks the raw excitement of the original.
MY WHITE BICYCLE (again from the Peel session): Pleasant, strong melody and a possible commercial re-release. Stands up well by modern standards, and one of my favourites from the LP.
REMEMBER THE TIMES*: Our first single as Leviathan: commercial, driving music, well engineered with good vocals. This is one that I enjoyed playing live immensely.
SECOND PRODUCTION*: One of the stranger songs – very ’60s lyrics and strange percussive rhythm. Almost ethereal quality guitar solo – far too short! The unreleased Decca version is far superior – the solo is out of this world, and it could be earmarked for private release. (We hope so! -Ed.)
WORLD IN MY HEAD: Fairly simple melody and lyrics, and builds to a good solo. This was good to play live, but doesn’t transfer to vinyl 100% successfully.
FLAMES: My own personal favourite of all time (from our own material that is) – well engineered and played: one of the most ‘theatrical’ numbers. Brian is at his best and shows excellent guitar skills. The faded ending, however, is not for effect and, sadly, shortened purely to fit on the album. There are several other versions of this and they’re all good.
SHADES OF AUTUMN (Peel version): The correct title of this should be “Through The Looking Glass”. More instrumental than vocal; some excellent guitar passages by Brian, with many rhythm and mood changes. Very enjoyable to play and to listen to.
Leviathan | Untitled | (Forgotten Jewels) 1990
BLUE DAY: As the title suggests, very blues-orientated. Whilst it features Roger on a brilliant bass solo, this is not overall the best version around. Musically somewhat mediocre – the alternative version has much more drive and harder wah-wah guitar throughout which strengthens the whole performance, and, while the bass solo is omitted, it reaches a much more professional climax.
TIME (Alternate version): Much nicer; better recorded and an altogether fuller sound. Still lacks, in my opinion, either brass or string accompaniment. Moving, sincere lyrics. Somewhat disappointing ending though.
THE WAR MACHINE*: Now we’re really talking; a very strong number. Very pleasing effect, drums superbly recorded (and played, I might add!), star vocal appearance by yours truly! A very satisfying production; unusually contrasting guitar solo which works admirably well. Probably the best recorded and most original song on the whole album.
EVIL WOMAN: This was an attempt at putting down a ‘live’ track, which doesn’t fully come off; what might work in a club or a concert venue loses something during the recording – probably atmosphere and a lack of an audience. Musically quite rewarding but just lacks that magic spark.
Leviathan | Untitled | (Forgotten Jewels) 1990
So there you have Gary’s feelings on each of the tracks on this bootleg, but what does he think of it as a whole?
GARY: Overall, the album is a good representation of Leviathan’s collective talents at songwriting and musical ability: where it fails is in presentation and poor quality recordings. By bootleg standards however, the cover is not too bad, but the insert is less pleasing and does nothing to enhance the finished product.
I’d liked to have seen some information and photos of the band included . . . the track listing hasn’t been well thought out either, and could have been divided almost equally into the singles and non-singles on sides A and B.
Rather than repeat a more obvious choice would have been “Concerto Of Thoughts” (B-side of the Jewel 45) or perhaps “Just Forget Tomorrow”, B-side of the last Leviathan single on Elektra, which is one of the best suited to Stuart’s vocals.
Summing up, the LP is not all bad, but could’ve been greatly improved using better quality recordings and other versions of the same tracks which were positively superior. However, if nothing else, it has made people aware of the band and that if enough interest is shown there are still some gems to be found locked in the ‘jewel’ casket . . . !
We’d like to thank Gary for his time and the enthusiasm for contributing to 117: we’ll certainly be chatting to him in future issues. To finish off, here’s a discography of MIKE STUART SPAN and LEVIATHAN official releases:
MIKE STUART SPAN:
Come On Over To Our Place/Still Nights (Columbia DB 8066) 1966
Dear/Invitation (Columbia DB 8206) 1967
Children Of Tomorrow/Concerto Of Thoughts (Jewel JL 01) 1968 You Can Understand Me/Baubles And Bangles (Fontana TF959) 1968
Remember The Times*/Second Production* (Elektra EKSN 45052) 1969
The War Machine*/Time (Elektra EKSN 45057) 1969
Flames/Just Forget Tomorrow (Elektra EKSN 45075) 1969
NB: Tracks marked* as featured on the bootleg L.P. The first two Elektra 45s were released simultaneously, and there was an Elektra folder which contained the two singles plus a press release . . . anyone out there got one?
Other Mike Stuart Span and Leviathan articles can be found on my blog. Follow the link.
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