Consuming the Tangible

Out of the thousands (probably millions) of guitarists influenced by Jimi Hendrix, it’s a rare player that actually embodies Hendrix’s particular slippery vibe. Stevie Ray Vaughn was definitely one of them, and for my money Uli Jon Roth hits the same psychedelic fire highs. Frank Marino is another, and his early work with Mahogany Rush shows off just how indebted this muscular trio out of Canada was to that classic sound. I was unfamiliar with Marino and the band, but Child Of The Novelty hooked me at my local used shop with that killer cover art, so I took a chance on it. Slinky and funky, this is a killer early hard rock album that’s going to sit comfortably in my collection when I want to groove out to something like but not quite Hendrix.

That’s a good thing, in my book. Marino, along with Paul Harwood on bass and Jimmy Ayoub on drums churn out some righteous psychedelic rock and roll that in some moments blur the Hendrix line so much I would swear I was listening to some unreleased demo from the ’69-’70 period. Vocally Marino hews just as close, channeling Jimi’s lilting, sing-song delivery across an array of tracks that mirror different aspects and era of the legend’s career.

Opener “Look Outside” and follow-up “Thru The Milky Way” both embody the funky, late period electric swing songs like “Freedom” while “Talkin’ Bout A Feeling” and the title track absorb some heavy Are You Experienced? vibes. “Makin’ My Wave” nails the reaching, exploratory torch of Axis: Bold As Love (incidentally my favorite JHE album) and when the band take the final song “Chains of (S)pace” to stretch into pure psychedelia it’s maybe even better than Hendrix was leaning toward. It’s a great closer and maybe the best example of where Marino begins to really accentuate his unique style.

Great discovery aside, Child Of The Novelty isn’t perfect. “A New Rock And Roll” is so tepid and thin in its good-time southern rock imitation it’s practically an embarrassment to sequence it next to “Makin’ My Wave” and the Cream-inspired “Changing”. And the instrumental “Guit War” is an atonal mash of feedback and drone that feels all prelude with no payout. But goddamn if the rest of this album isn’t fantastic, even if I’ve heard it all before, and done better and with more innovation.

That’s okay – Mahogany Rush was never going to upset the throne of Jimi. But Frank Marino might as well be possessed he nails the spirit of the music so well. With that, I have zero issues playing Child Of The Novelty right alongside my copy of Electric Ladyland and First Rays Of The New Rising Sun.