Floating Bridge | LP Spotlight

“Floating Bridge” LP (Vault 124) January 1969

Floating Bridge | LP Spotlight | There is a tendency to believe that European bands alone dominated the great blues and rock revival that took place during the Sixties.

Where were the American bands?

This was the cry that went up as groups like The Yardbirds, Rolling Stones, Cream and Led Zeppelin dominated the globe. In America, home of blues and rock, it seemed the music scene had succumbed to a kind of paralysis.

After Elvis Presley was sent off to the army and came back remoulded as a family entertainer, there was nothing much happening on the US scene of interest, unless you were a fan of surf music and The Beach Boys.

If you wanted something meaty then you listened to the Stones and another tasty ensemble -The Beatles. But it wasn’t all Peter, Paul and Mary back home in the USA. Slowly America began to fight back as college kids began feverishly rehearsing in Pop’s garage and hooked up some neat guitar groups that could take on the invaders from overseas.

Breaking loose

Indeed the fair city of San Francisco became a hotbed of talent. Groups like Big Brother & The Holding Company, Quick Silver Messenger Service and of course Paul Butterfield’s Blues Band began making waves. New York and Chicago pitched in and soon all hell was breaking loose. Canned Heat were another fine all American blues outfit. Despite all this activity, when the potato chips were down, none of them were really a patch on The Animals or John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers with Eric Clapton.

The reason was simple. The British bands were mostly made up of impoverished ex-art students turned musos. They had the time to rehearse and the hunger to play as many gigs as possible. They had to pay for their board and lodging somehow. With a vast number of pubs and clubs to tour, these groups had a multi made working environment. Inspired by the original black artists like Muddy Waters and Howlin Wolf, whose records they treasured and cherished, they obtained both a high degree of authenticity and competence.

Floating Bridge | LP Spotlight

The American bands of the era, in contrast, were hot on style and wore all the right hats and fringed jackets, but tended to sound ramshackled. Jefferson Airplane were a typical example of a band with a strong image and reputation. Yet they sounded pretty lame when they came to England to tour in 1968.

Even the most humble local R&B pub band sounded more exciting in the flesh than the biggest, most hyped US names of the era, like Airplane, The Doors and The Byrds. All that would change when young American rock musicians became more competent and confident.

By the mid-Eighties the tables were turned to the extent that no new British rock bands were capable of breaking global markets, apart from Def Leppard and Iron Maiden. The entire post-R&B, rock and metal scene was dominated by supercharged US groups like Van Halen, Aerosmith and Bon Jovi.

Sub-pop

The first signs that something hot was finally coming out of America occurred when Seattle spawned a new band with the unlikely name of Floating Bridge. Seattle had previously only been known as the city that gave birth to Jimi Hendrix. This was in the days before Sub-Pop, Grunge, Microsoft and the Boeing 747.

But in 1969, Floating Bridge appeared with an intriguing debut album that has since become something of a rare collectors’ item. The band featured the exciting twin lead guitar sound of Rick Dangel and Joe Johansen, backed by the rhythm team of Joe Johnson [bass] and Michael Marinelli [drums].

‘Floating Bridge’ was the group’s sole album, although it was also known as `Brought Up Wrong’ when issued by Vault Records. The group featured a mixture of powerhouse original tunes as well as dynamic arrangements of rock standards. A good example of this was their rousing version of the Lennon & McCartney classic ‘Hey Jude’.

Floating Bridge | LP Spotlight

Another highlight of the album was a clever medley in which the Byrds’ ‘Eight Miles High’ was linked to the Rolling Stones’ stomping ‘Paint It Black’. This, incidentally, has got to be one of the most unusual songs ever penned by the old firm of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger.

Apart from these revamped cover versions, the four piece also tore into tunes mainly the work of guitarist Rick Dangel, like the snnappy opening number ‘Crackshot’. Then there’s ‘Watch Your Step’ and ‘Brought Up Wrong’, both performances liable to send euen the most sober and restrained rhythm fan into paroxysms of ecstasy.

But apart from their penchant for rocking out, the group could also dig into the blues with a skill that had once seemed the preserve of English dudes like Ten Years After and Stevie Winwood with the Spencer Davis Group. Just listen to ‘Three Minute & Ten Second Blues’. Quite apart from the fact it lasts for just three minutes and ten seconds, it has the kind of earthy appeal that only a true blues fan could appreciate. The same could be said for ‘Gonna Lay Down ‘n Die’, except that this one lasts for a full seuen minutes and 33 seconds, a feast for music lovers everywhere.

Obscurity

Together with ‘You’ve Got The Power’, another original from the Dangel quill, these tracks make up an album that caused something of a sensation when it was first unleashed on an unsuspecting world. The cause of Floating Bridge was swiftly taken up by a British DJ called Simon Stable, who enthused about the band on the sleeve notes to the original release. Alas even his assiduous promotion failed to help the group take off and this was their only known release, after which the group faded back into obscurity. Nevertheless, their work was done.

American rock was on the road to recovery and a within a few gears Seattle would become one of the keg music centres of the world.

There is some mystery about the name Floating Bridge. It does not appear to relate to a Floating Dock, for example, or a floating game of bridge. It may refer to the bridge between two pieces of music. In new of their policy of bringing together themes like ‘Eight Miles High’ and ‘Paint It Black’ this could make some sort of sense. Doubtless fans of the group will have their own explanation.

Floating Bridge | LP Spotlight

FLOATING BRIDGE Floating Bridge (Vault 124) 1969 | A satisfying collection of psych-influenced guitar rock. The album is shot through with impressive vocals and leads, with highlights including gritty opener ‘Trackshot’, an unorthodox instrumental take of ‘Hey Jude’ and tough rocker ‘Watch Your Step’.

Side two is more formulaic and bluesy, though a medley of ‘Eight Miles High’ and `Paint It Black’ is effective and they have a consistently engaging garage sound. Oddly, the UK issue of the LP (Liberty LBS 83271) omits the closing blues jam ‘Gonna Lay Down N’ Die (Slow Blues)’ in favour of two shorter cuts, ‘Hello Mr. Jaybird’ and ‘Don’t Mean A Thing’, which had appeared as a 45 in the US (Vault 953). (RMJ)