Arthur Brown/Kingdom Come: Galactic Zoo Dossier (1971)

I’m sure a few of you know who Arthur Brown is. He had a hit in 1968 with “Fire”. While he might be thought of as a one-hit wonder, all the albums he’s done up to 1973 are well worth having. 1971’s Galactic Zoo Dossier is that prime example. By this time, The Crazy World of Arthur Brown was history, the psychedelic scene was over, in place of the new, burgeoning prog rock scene, and Brown was in a new band called Kingdom Come (nothing to do with the ’80s Led Zep clone band with the same name). This band, as it turns out, was a fixture in the British free festival scene, just like Gong, Hawkwind and (more than a decade later) Ozric Tentacles. I can only imagine how a Kingdom Come show might’ve been, but judging from the pictures included on the poster that comes with the original LP of Galactic Zoo Dossier, it looked like it was a sight to behold. Believe me when I tell you that Galactic Zoo Dossier is simply one of the most twisted albums you’ll ever hear. Forget The Crazy World of Arthur Brown (actually don’t, as that 1968 album is actually quite good), this album is WAY more demented, twisted, and out there! Just listen to cuts like “Internal Messenger”, “Metal Monster”, “Night of the Pigs”, “Creep” and “Creation”. “Creep” features some spoken dialog that sounds like it came off Hawkwind’s Space Ritual. “Creation” is so far out there, it gives many Krautrock bands of the time a run for their money. Other goodies here include the mellow “Simply Man”, the instrumental “Gypsy Escape”, and “Sunrise”. If you own the Supernatural Fairy Tales CD box set that was issued by Rhino Records (the box set is devoted entirely to progressive rock, with artwork by famed Yes, Asia, and Uriah Heep cover artist Roger Dean), you’re already familiar with one of the songs off Galactic Zoo Dossier, and that is “Sunrise”. The only reject cut on Galactic Zoo is “Trouble”. That song was apparently sung by guitarist Andy Dalby, and was definately written by him. Pretty cheesy number with some really badly written lyrics (“I would like to write a song/To tell the world what is wrong with it today/I would like to write a book/If that were all it took, To make its troubles go away”), you can tell right away that Arthur Brown wouldn’t dare write anything that bad. Luckily the song doesn’t last very long, as the rest of the album is simply incredible. Totally strange to say the least, and if you want music that doesn’t play it safe, then this album is for you.
– Arthur Brown: vocals
– Julian Brown: VCS-3 synthesizer
– Andy Dalby: guitar
– Desmond Fisher: bass
– Michael Harris: organ
– Martin Steer: drums