MiNsTeR HiLL
Howard Herrick
Independent
1999
14 tracks
Listening to Howard Herrick's music is an interesting and unique experience. Herrick's largely lyric-based songs echo the vision and sound of a major segment of sixties and early seventies pop, yet manage to sound uniquely his own.
These are long songs, cram-packed with words. They are long and breathless, the words riding a wave of psychedelic instrumentation. The effect is like nothing so much as Jimmy Webb's "MacArthur Park" in the Richard Harris version. The impact can be numbing. There are so many words flowing so smooth and quick that they become not story but background, part of the instrumentation, only occasionally rising to the surface to grab the listener's attention.
Musically, these songs have a lot of "Strawberry Fields" and "Crimson and Clover" in them. There are echoes of The Monkees in their "Auntie Grizelda" mode. Even more so, there are strong echoes of the sonic experiments of Todd Rundgren and Alan Parsons throughout these pieces.
It's not hard to imagine this recording being played in a smoke filled atmosphere of black light and strobes with psychedelic shapes and colours bathing the room. Shut your eyes and the music carries you off to a party of thirty years ago, fraught with acid and politics. This release is like an old movie, warm and comfortable, like you've been there before.
I said these songs are lyric-based, and they do seem to be. Herrick has clearly spent a great deal of time writing these lyrics, and the words pack the music to overflowing. Sometimes, though, bigger is not necessarily better. While Herrick seems to have no problem writing, editing seems to be his downfall. Most of these songs could benefit from removal of cliches and redundant bits. Unlike their sixties models, these lyrics also seem singularly bereft of strong or original imagery.
While the overall sound of this release is actually quite good, and it works well as background music, none of these songs are hit material. This cake might well have benefited from being left out in the rain.
If you're interested in exploring a modern experiment in psychedelia, then Minster Hill might make an intriguing addition to your collection. For me, well it's just not quite my cup of tea.
If you want to learn more about Howard Herrick or his music, visit Minster Hill.
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Review Written: April 12, 2000
Page Last modified: February 14, 2004
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