Results 1 to 17 of 17

Thread: Charlie Mariano/Osmosis

  1. #1
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Iowa City IA
    Posts
    2,438

    Charlie Mariano/Osmosis

    This obscurity just got its first official CD release. I had never heard it before this release. Definitely of its time but fantastic, IMHO. Mariano really puts this one over the top. No rock sax player would think of laying down lines like these, and yet they work 90% of the time.



    Any long-time fans? Opinions?

  2. #2
    Member FrippWire's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Dearborn, MI
    Posts
    623
    Good stuff. And not entirely surprising considering he's the guy behind the stunning "Helen 12 Trees" release. I'll be looking to secure a copy of "Osmosis".

  3. #3
    Member rcarlberg's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Seattle
    Posts
    7,765
    Woof. Them vocals. Yikes.

    Luckily this appears to be the only album Bobby Knox ever pretended to sing on.

  4. #4
    Listening to a lot of Mariano at the moment. This one I've only heard once so far, so can't really comment, but Mariano's career was definitely very interesting. A musician who only fully realized his potential past the age of 50, was known primarily as a Mingus and Kenton alumnus, and then was in all these great bands - Supersister, Pork Pie, Eberhard Weber's Colours etc. etc., plus his own projects and appearances on albums including Pierre Moerlen's Gong... His 1970s output, at the very least, is definitely worthy of extensive exploration !
    Calyx (Canterbury Scene) - http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr
    Legends In Their Own Lunchtime (blog) - https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/
    My latest books : "Yes" (2017) - https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/yes/ + "L'Ecole de Canterbury" (2016) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury/ + "King Crimson" (2012/updated 2018) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kingcrimson/
    Canterbury & prog interviews - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf...IUPxUMA/videos

  5. #5
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Southwest Florida
    Posts
    88
    Oh ya, grooving on it right now, thanks for the post!

  6. #6
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    Happy to see that there are still some CD reissues (Is Eclectic revived by Esoteric, or is it a diffetrent label?) of rare forgotten unearthed gems like this one

    Good stuff , though the vocals are a little too much, IMHO,... maybe too high in the mix. This is somewhere between Web/Samurai and Colosseum (with Farlowe on vocals)... Twice throughout the album, I thought about Magma as well.

    Aymeric, I think you forgot Embryo in that list of rock bands he worked with
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Aymeric, I think you forgot Embryo in that list of rock bands he worked with
    I did indeed, and probably others worthy of mention, too !
    Calyx (Canterbury Scene) - http://www.calyx-canterbury.fr
    Legends In Their Own Lunchtime (blog) - https://canterburyscene.wordpress.com/
    My latest books : "Yes" (2017) - https://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/yes/ + "L'Ecole de Canterbury" (2016) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/lecoledecanterbury/ + "King Crimson" (2012/updated 2018) - http://lemotetlereste.com/musiques/kingcrimson/
    Canterbury & prog interviews - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCdf...IUPxUMA/videos

  8. #8
    That's Mr. to you, Sir!! Trane's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2004
    Location
    in a cosmic jazzy-groove around Brussels
    Posts
    6,091
    BTW, it wasn't their first shot with a jazz dude, as Embryo had gained notice from Miles Davis, because Wal Walden had played with them (their very first album in 67).

    http://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=7902
    my music collection increased tenfolds when I switched from drug-addicts to complete nutcases.

  9. #9
    Quite an interesting listen!....

  10. #10
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Copenhagen, Denmark
    Posts
    7,264
    Interesting - not bad !

  11. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by FrippWire View Post
    And not entirely surprising considering he's the guy behind the stunning "Helen 12 Trees" release.
    That is a great album and at the moment my only Mariano solo album in addition to "Reflections" (1974). Have you heard his 1974 Keytone release called "Cascade"? It features John Lee and Gerry Brown as a rhythm section plus Philip Catherine on guitar and Jasper Van't Hoff on keyboards amongst others. Just ordered a used vinyl copy. Catherine's excellent "September Man" was done with almost same line-up, Mariano kills on it too. Not to mention Pork Pie's "Transitory" and "The Door Is Open" (also featuring Catherine and Van't Hoff...) and Eberhard Weber's Colours band albums.

  12. #12
    Member
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Portland, OR, USA
    Posts
    1,865
    Quote Originally Posted by rcarlberg View Post
    Woof. Them vocals. Yikes.

    Luckily this appears to be the only album Bobby Knox ever pretended to sing on.
    Quote Originally Posted by Trane View Post
    Good stuff , though the vocals are a little too much, IMHO,... maybe too high in the mix. This is [a bit like] Colosseum (with Farlowe on vocals)
    He's like Chris Farlowe doing a Peter Hammill impersonation; he doesn't really have a bad voice, but that expressiveness is totally over the top

  13. #13
    Member Zeuhlmate's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Copenhagen, Denmark
    Posts
    7,264
    I didn't mind his voice. The music is strange enough to make it sound natural
    No really I liked it.

  14. #14
    Never even heard of this, but I’ve been curious about Helen 12 Trees since I first heard Charlie on an Embryo album (to say nothing of a brief glance at the line-up on that album!). Considering the glowing review above, I need to hear it tout de suite.
    Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...

  15. #15
    This is interesting, but those vocals really put me off.

    However, this thread prompted me to check out Helen 12 Trees, and this is really cool stuff.

  16. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by aith01 View Post

    However, this thread prompted me to check out Helen 12 Trees, and this is really cool stuff.
    "Avoid The Year Of The Monkey" also appears on this album (along with John Marshall). Very recommended.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PiOR5p35d2Y

  17. #17
    Member nosebone's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2012
    Location
    Stamford, Ct.
    Posts
    1,528
    Nice!

    Mirrors & Reflections from the 70s are also very good.
    no tunes, no dynamics, no nosebone

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •