The Beat Of The Earth - The Beat Of The Earth (1967) (2005)

Beat Of The Earth was assembled by Phil Pearlman, who had earlier released a surf/hot rod 45 Chrome Reversed Rails (shown as by Phil and The Flakes, on the Fink label). One of the earliest known electric experimental bands, The Beat Of The Earth sound very similar to their East-coast counterparts The Velvet Underground on albums (1) and (3) listed above. These two records were recorded live in the studio during the Summer of 1967 and consist of long, unstructured jams using a myriad of acoustic and electric instruments. This early incarnation of the band is the one most familiar to collectors and copies of the first album have been changing hands for hundred of dollars since the mid-eighties. The music the band produced during this period is not for everybody (compare to the long tracks on the first two Velvet Underground albums), but their debut remains an unusual and rare item of significance from the California rock scene. During 1968-9 the line-up of the band was in constant flux and Beat Of The Earth made no known "proper" recordings, but Pearlman continued to add to his own collection of demos using local studios in off-hours via his friendship with the engineer Joe Sidore. At the end of 1969, Pearlman assembled The Electronic Hole strictly for personal use - specifically, to draft musicians for his new band. Several names are listed on the sleeve but I believe this is actually very close to being a Phil Pearlman solo project. The album is entirely different stylistically from the earlier one in that it abandons the freeform improvisational approach in favour of 'compositions' including a wild cover of Zappa's Trouble Comin' Every Day. None of the tracks are given titles on the album which complicates singling any out for commentary, but there are real highlights and the raw, unpolished feel only serves to make it utterly magical. Pearlman plays sitar on one track to great effect, and another has the thickest wall of fuzz guitars imaginable - an effect he created by running his Fender amplifier into the amp circuit of a child's chord organ ("sounded great for about two weeks, then it blew up!"). There are few albums I known of that have such an eclectic yet appealing sound. Had the story ended here it would have been a real tragedy, as Pearlman's finest hour was yet to come. Six years later (with who knows what in between), recording commenced on the majestic Relatively Clean Rivers album with an entirely new band and musical vision.