THE FIREBIRDS — Light My Fire (review)

THE FIREBIRDS — Light My Fire album cover Album · 1969 · Heavy Psych Buy this album from MMA partners
2/5 ·
voila_la_scorie
This seems to be a session band of three musicians - guitar, bass, and drums - with one member handling the vocals. They recorded three albums for the Crown label between 1968 and '69, going by the names of The Firebirds, The 31 Flavors, and The Electric Firebirds. I bought the reissue double CD which includes "Light My Fire" and "Hair", which was recorded as The 31 Flavors. There is no information about the band members and I have searched the internet and found nothing. This is a mystery band who seem to have been very influenced by Jimi Hendrix and to some degree Blue Cheer. They have a fondness for lots of fuzz and a heavy, albeit very raw sound.

Here's a rundown of the songs in the running order on the reissue double CD which is different from the original album.

Light My Fire – The title track sounds like a guitar/bass/drum backing track for the famous Doors' song. It’s in a slightly different groove but you can sing the lyrics to the music. Maybe try a deep and smooth lounge singer vocal style and see how that works.

Delusions – This introduces the mega-fuzz guitar but needs some help. I can’t help think that this one was not well-rehearsed prior to recording.

Reflections – Takes on a very serious heavy psych/fuzz guitar journey, complete with Mitch Mitchel style drumming and a rudimentary attempt to blend Hendrix’s “Voodoo Chile” with Blue Cheer’s more doomy sound.

Bye Bye Baby – A blues effort of b-grade.

Gypsy Fire – Send in the Hendrix mimics. The vocal style here is a deliberate attempt to sound like the legendary JH.

Free Bass – A short instrumental that features a not-so-interesting bass solo. This track is actually part of an instrumental piece that also featured a drum solo and a guitar solo but those two would not appear until the “Hair” album. I listened to the three instrumentals back to back and clearly they are from the same session.

No Tomorrows – Ultra fuzz here as the band reach the apex of their proto-metal sensibilities. The sound is rather crappy and it reminds me of my best friend and I at the age of 16 and before we took any guitar lessons jamming in his bedroom. There are audible pops in the sound that suggest this CD release was taken straight from the vinyl. In spite of the sound quality and garage band sound, the song does attempt to push the boundaries of heavy rock. The guitar solo and accompanying drums, however, sound unfocused and could have used more work.

Warm Up – The opening track on the original album, this song has left me with little impression. It seems I already removed it from my iPhone!

For collectors of heavy psych and those tolerant or appreciative of a garage lo-fi music.
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