Armageddon - Armageddon (1969) (2005)

A Los Angeles band, although Mark Creamer, Jim Parker and John Stark were earlier members of the Texan Kitchen Cinq. They did not release any 45s on this label but the album is now a very minor collectable. They sound influenced by Cream on a couple of tracks and also covered Tales Of Brave Ulysses. The album, which was produced by Tom Thacker, also contains a weird cover of The Magic Song (Bibbidi Bobbidi Boo), from Disney’s “Cinderella”.
Robert Ledger went on to play in Simon Stokes’ Nighthawks, whilst James Parker and John Stark also played on Them’s U.S.-only album In Reality. Marc Creamer played for his wife (Laura Creamer)’s band, Eve, on their Take It And Smile album, (LHI 3100) 1970 (also produced by Tom Thacker and featuring Ry Cooder, James Burton, Hal Blaine and Sneaky Pete). Finally, Skip Battyn played in The Evergreen Blueshoes and would later join The Byrds.

Not to be confused with Keith Relf’s far better known outfit (and also with the homophone German band), this Texas-to-the-West Coast obscurity.

Singer/lead guitarist Mark Creamer, rhythm guitarist James Parker, and drummer Johnny Stark had previously been members of the Texas-based The Kitchen Cinq. Following the band’s collapse the trio along with Kitchen Cinq bassist James Dallas Smith decamped for Los Angeles. Smith apparently decided to return to Texas in order to get a college degree and was quickly replaced by Skip Battin.

The quartet was quickly signed to Jimmy Bowen’s newly formed Amos label (Kitchen Cinq manager Tom Thacker and Bowen were longtime friends). As you probably guessed, the move to Southern California and a new label found the band ditching their earlier pop-psych roots in favor of a distinctively tougher, rock-oriented attack. Produced by Tom Thacker, 1969’s cleverly titled “Armageddon” marked a major step forward in terms of creativity.

Whereas The Kitchen Cinq LP and singles frequently followed prevailing musical trends, original tracks like ‘Armageddon Theme’, 'Water Lilly’ and 'Another Part Of Our Life’ offered up a first-rate set of fuzz guitar propelled hard rock, though much of the material was tempered by catchy melodies. The other big difference was found in the vocal performances. Whereas The Kitchen Cinq lacked a distinctive singer, this time out all four members came off as first-rate vocalists.

Virtually every one of the ten tracks was worth hearing (okay, any song based on a Tolkin character was of dubious worth ('Bilbo Baggins’ and the stoned cover of the Walt Disney class 'The Magic Song’ was simply a bad idea to start with). Personal favorites included the acid-tinged ballad 'Cave of the Winds’ and their Cream cover 'Tales of Brave Ulysses’. Not a major masterpiece, but easily on of the better albums I’ve stumbled across over the last couple of years.

Piece of needless trivia - Finishing the recording sessions Battin dropped out in order to join a late inning Byrds line up. He was replaced by Robert Ledger (Ledger’s face is on the album cover).