Frank Marino - Eye Of The Storm

[Vic2012]

I've been playing this album all weekend. I downloaded it from Emusic a few years ago and wasn't too impressed with it at first. After a few spins it really grew on me. Never been a fan of this guy (or even heard of him until he was brought up in threads here) but I really dig this album. The production isn't the best but most of the tracks are great. I love that jammy, Hendrixy style of his. Yeah I know the whole story about the Hendrix comparisons. There's definitley a strong Hendrix vibe. Frank's tone is nothing like Jimi's but his style and singing does have a strong Hendrix influence. Favorite tracks are:

Eye Of The Storm
Learned My Lesson Well
He's Calling
Avalon (instrumental)

[bobert]

I am a long time fan of Frank Marino, loved his music since the mid 70's. I always not only thought but knew that he had a bad rap with all of the Hendrix clone talk from back in the day, which was started off by the absurd article in Creem Magazine about him saying that he was Jimi Hendrix reincarnated, that the spirit of Hendrix came to him in a dream when he was in the hospital after a bad LSD trip, and all of a sudden he was playing guitar like Jimi. Never mind the fact that when the bad trip happened in 1968 , two years before Hendrix had died. The worst part about it for Frank was that people actually believed it.

Was he influenced by Hendrix, of course, but remember he was only 16 when he made the first Mahogany Rush album, and as we all can attest to, 16 year olds can be quite impressionable. And by the time Mahogany Rush lV came out he had gotten the Hendrix thing out of his system. I believe like Vic said that is was more his singing style than his guitar playing that sounded like Jimi, especially on the first album, Maxoom

I think he is a fantastic guitar player and an even better person, this guy has does not have a big ego , as a matter of fact one of the most self effacing people that I have ever met, and I have talked to him on numerous occasions.

For me Eye Of The Storm is probably his best album ever, some of the most stunning guitar playing that I have ever heard, although Strange Universe is my favorite album by Mahogany Rush, for sentimental reasons more that anything else, Eye Of The Storm is his best studio work ever.

Nice to see it and him getting some love.

[bobert]

A couple of songs from Eye Of The Storm.

[Vic2012]

Was he influenced by Hendrix, of course,

Everyone was influenced by Hendrix. I'd read that story about the bad acid trip years ago. There are a lot of urban legends connected to Jimi Hendrix. It's all part of the mysticism of the cult of Jimi.

The only other thing I've heard by Frank/Mahogany Rush is a live album I found for cheap and I downloaded a track from an album of his called "Full Circle" (which sounds very prog, by the way).

[ronmac]

Best guitarist alive, IMO. I don't think anyone can top his playing. He's absolutely amazing. I just wish he was touring.

HIGHLY recommend "Real Live."

[mozo-pg]

Best guitarist alive, IMO. I don't think anyone can top his playing. He's absolutely amazing. I just wish he was touring.

HIGHLY recommend "Real Live."

I've got my autographed copy that is made out to Mozo-pg!

Frank Marino and Mahagany Rush were staple diets of teenagers in the 70s where I grew up.

[Vic2012]

Is there really any difference between Frank solo and Mahogany Rush? Just curious because he does seem to have a solo discography.

[bobert]

HIGHLY recommend "Real Live."

I agree.

[bobert]

Is there really any difference between Frank solo and Mahogany Rush? Just curious because he does seem to have a solo discography.

No. Columbia wanted to push him for more commercial popularity and they talked him into dropping Mahogany Rush from the band name, which started out as Mahogany Rush, then after the 4th album they became Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush, Frank Marino followed that. Now since his comeback to the music biz in the late 90's they are Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush again.

[Banquo]

As soon as Paul Harwood and Jimmy Ayoub left is when they ceased to be Mahogany Rush proper, regardless of what they called it.

[Vic2012]

I just realized that I downloaded an album a few years ago titled "From The Hip" by Frank Marino. I'm gonna rip it to a CDr (I forgot I had the damn thing on my hard drive). Anyone ever heard his prog epic titled "Full Circle?" It's an 11-12 minute piece from 1982. I like it.

[rapidfirerob]

Saw him in the 70s in Burlington, Vermont while attending college. My friend was the arts and entertainment editor of University of Vermont's newspaper and got us
in the front row free. Great concert. My friend interviewed him before the concert and got the Hendrix coming to him in a dream story as well. Who cares? He can play!

[ronmac]

My friend interviewed him before the concert and got the Hendrix coming to him in a dream story as well. Who cares? He can play!

Do you know that for sure? Apparently, he never made such a statement.

[Trane]

Never heard this EotS album before now... Listening to the two YT links as I write (slow day on the job, so I can allow)... It's allright, but i can't help thinking more of High Tide's second album than Tales of the Unexpected

Anyone ever heard his prog epic titled "Full Circle?" It's an 11-12 minute piece from 1982. I like it.

Not 82 for sure... the album was from 87, I think

Can you post it, please??

As soon as Paul Harwood and Jimmy Ayoub left is when they ceased to be Mahogany Rush proper, regardless of what they called it.

Well Ayoub left around 82 and Harwood around 86... To me the last really worthy album is Juggernaut

I've got my autographed copy that is made out to Mozo-pg!

Frank Marino and Mahagany Rush were staple diets of teenagers in the 70s where I grew up.

I must say that I was nuts about FM&MR back then... Especially Tales and What's Next, which are their best era IMHO

Too bad they rarely showed up in Ont/Queb, though!!

[bobert]

Do you know that for sure? Apparently, he never made such a statement.

No, he never made such a statement, he tried to get a retraction for years and was never able to. The whole thing was absurd. Here is his answer when asked about it in an interview.

Ray Shasho: Frank, talk about how Jimi Hendrix visited you as an apparition and entered your body … urban legend?

Frank Marino: “This stuff was invented by Circus Magazine and Creem Magazine. I went to the hospital in 1968 and Jimi Hendrix didn’t die till 1970. I told them where are you getting this reincarnation thing, where was he if he was supposed to be in my body for two years. So this story filtered when we started to get known and every single show I went to …I’m telling you Ray… with the exception of two or three bands …I was completely shunned. No one would talk to me. I had the same management as Aerosmith and Nugent for seven years and those guys didn’t start talking to me for three years. In 1971, one year after the death of Hendrix, I played on a float, a parade to commemorate his death. I played for three hours on a float across the city doing nothing but his tunes. And it was almost like … how dare you? You can’t do that. I use to say this …I even got the old article… "You’re condemning me for doing this now, but one day this style of guitar will be the way that everyone will be judged by." And it is. It became true.”

[Trane]

^^^

Not sure he had nothing to do with that... If it was the case already early on in his career (Maxoom, or Child for ex), I'd have avoided doing Strange Universe (one ofmy fave album ever) where he does EVERTHING to sound like Hendrix

[Vic2012]

Frank Marino: “This stuff was invented by Circus Magazine and Creem Magazine. I went to the hospital in 1968 and Jimi Hendrix didn’t die till 1970. I told them where are you getting this reincarnation thing, where was he if he was supposed to be in my body for two years. So this story filtered when we started to get known and every single show I went to …I’m telling you Ray… with the exception of two or three bands …I was completely shunned. No one would talk to me. I had the same management as Aerosmith and Nugent for seven years and those guys didn’t start talking to me for three years. In 1971, one year after the death of Hendrix, I played on a float, a parade to commemorate his death. I played for three hours on a float across the city doing nothing but his tunes. And it was almost like … how dare you? You can’t do that. I use to say this …I even got the old article… "You’re condemning me for doing this now, but one day this style of guitar will be the way that everyone will be judged by." And it is. It became true.”

That's interesting. The mythology of Jimi is kinda fascinating. He was like this Guitar Messiah. There's even a well known story about Jimi being quoted as saying that Phil Keaggy taught him everything he (Jimi) knew about playing guitar. I think similar stories have been connected to Terry Kath as well. But Keaggy has kind of been mysterious about the whole thing too. Maybe Jimi was being sarcastic. Maybe Glass Harp opened for Jimi, or toured with Jimi and there was some mutual respect there. Then Jimi dies and all this mythology gets fabricated.

[Vic2012]

Trane, according to Wiki "Full Circle" is from 1986, so you got it about right.

Here's the song I was talking about. It sounds like full blown symphonic prog to me:

[bobert]

^^^

Not sure he had nothing to do with that...

I'm sure, I have heard him try to refute that nonsense for years. Here is another example of it from a different story about him.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The press following Frank Marino was loaded with misinformation; hype in circulation claimed he had professed to be Jimi Hendrix reincarnate. Sadly for Frank, this tag has been difficult to shake. As Frank states on his official website,

"The most often heard story is that I took an overdose and woke up from a coma in the hospital and somehow became the spirit of Hendrix, or that I met this spirit and it entered me, endowing me with this amazing ability to play a guitar and magically know everything about it... They never ask me the truth and when I told them, they wouldn't listen. The short truth about it is that I learned how to play guitar while recuperating from my trip. The guitar became a soothing help for me because of my great fear of letting my mind wander back into the trip if I wasn't occupied and besides it was the only thing in the hospital relaxation room. I never even thought about the guitar before since I played the drums quite well anyway. I had this trip while Hendrix was still alive and began to play his music because it matched perfectly to what I was going through at the time."

[Trane]

Trane, according to Wiki "Full Circle" is from 1986, so you got it about right.

Here's the song I was talking about. It sounds like full blown symphonic prog to me:

Yeah, I hadn'ty checked it oput, but I knew 82 was not possible....I followed them until Juggernaut (83)

Woooowwww!!! There is some piano on that track!!!

Yeah, I guess that's about as proggy as he got

I'm sure, I have heard him try to refute that nonsense for years. Here is another example of it from a different interview.

Yeah, for sure... I'm sure the medias didn't want to let go, and in the later 70's and early-80's, though I had read some denials of his, I'm sure they (medias) still repeated it just to discredit him as some kind of loser hippie (you know acid-trip and stuff like that weren't in vogue in 81 or 83, neither was his music)


But as IO said, Marino's early music didn't help brushing away that rumour (I'm glad he didn't do electro-pop to shake the Hendrix image )

[dgtlman]

Trane, according to Wiki "Full Circle" is from 1986, so you got it about right.

Here's the song I was talking about. It sounds like full blown symphonic prog to me:

'Bout as prog as it get right there.

[ronmac]

Yeah, that myth is right up there with the infamous Rod Stewart stomach pump story.

[rapidfirerob]

Do you know that for sure? Apparently, he never made such a statement.

That is what my friend told me Frank said to him. He also said Frank said he'd never played guitar until Hendrix came to him
in this dream. I know my friend. He'd never met Frank before nor read anything about him.

[bobert]

That is what my friend told me Frank said to him. He also said Frank said he'd never played guitar until Hendrix came to him
in this dream. I know my friend. He'd never met Frank before nor read anything about him.

It is hard for me to believe that in 2013 people are still repeating this nonsense, even though for the past 40 years Frank himself has said over and over again that it was not true.

[GuitarGeek]

^^^

Not sure he had nothing to do with that... If it was the case already early on in his career (Maxoom, or Child for ex), I'd have avoided doing Strange Universe (one ofmy fave album ever) where he does EVERTHING to sound like Hendrix

Yeah, there's some very Hendrix-y stuff on all of the first three albums. The first album, Maxoom, starts with a track that sounded like he was trying to do ...And The Gods Made Love Part Two or something. And certainly Strange Universe itself sounds like an attempt at a Third Stone From The Sun Revisited kind of thing, right down to the spoken word thing and the one chord "freak out" jam.

Also, he's regularly played Hendrix tunes throughout his career. Even his version of All Along The Watchtower seemed to be based on Jimi's (though I imagine a lot of people have based their versions of that song on Jimi's). In fact, I remember one article where he mentioned that he was doing Hendrix covers before anybody else, and even when other people did Hendrix covers, they tended to stick to Purple Haze and Foxy Lady, whereas Frank would do things like If Six Were Nine and Voodoo Chile. So perhaps it's no surprise that in 71-72, someone might say "Geez, what is this guy? Jimi reincarnated?"

I believe I read once where he said the story about him being "visited" by Jimi, whether in a dream or in a coma or whatever, was appeared in a satirical article that was written, specifically as a joke, by some music writer in Canada, I think he said. This article then was plagiarized by one of the big music magazines, either Creem or Rolling Stone, I think, only they left out the "this is a joke" aspect of the piece and tried to make it look like he was actually claiming to have had some supernatural experience with Jimi.

I do remember that in at least one edition of the Rolling Stone Record Guide, their entire piece on Frank hinges almost exclusively on them repeating the story, then saying that he later denied the story because of the adverse effects it had on his career. If I remember correctly they never actually comment on Frank's music or say anything which (if any) of his albums are worth owning. They just say "He claimed he was visited by Jimi, sometimes he said it was in a dream, other times he said it was while he was in the hospital, then later denied he ever said it", and that's pretty much it.