Mandrill - Mandrill (1971)

Mandrill's debut isn't half the album it could've been, since the band's talented musicianship and desire to experiment were often subverted – by ambitions of pop success as well as a dry, over-serious approach to music-making. The three Wilson brothers, though masters of over a dozen instruments, still hadn't mastered the added burden of songwriting; "Warning Blues" is perfunctory (as is the vocal performance) and "Symphonic Revolution" is a bland summer-day soul song with cloying strings. The group sounds much more confident getting into a good groove and allowing room for some great playing; the band's self-titled song, "Mandrill," is the best here, featuring great solos for flute and vibraphone. Mandrill also loved playing with different musical forms: "Rollin' On" moves from an average rock song to a torrid Latin jam and climaxes with a testifying gospel session. Most ambitious of all is the five-part, 14-minute suite "Peace and Love," but the intriguing concept is negated by a few bizarre pieces, one of which sounds like a parody of a Vincent Price reading over a Santana jam. The band would soon learn that experimentation and stylistic change-ups were a means, not an end.

by John Bush

Tracklist:

01. Mandrill (4:23)
02. Warning Blues (4:34)
03. Symphonic Revolution (5:19)
04. Rollin' On (7:39)
Peace and Love (Amani na Mapenzi)
05. Movement I (Birth) (1:50)
06. Movement II (Now) (1:44)
07. Movement III (Time) (2:16)
08. Movement IV (Encounter) (6:05)
09. Movement V (Beginning) (2:03)
10. Chutney (3:05)