LOST TREASURES – Edge

Posted on 18 August 2016

Lost Treasures

EDGE

“Edge”

Edge

Many, many bands privately press singles, EPs and albums to be sold at shows, on-line or, in previous generations, by mail order. Such albums are, by their nature, destined to become rarities and, if the band meets with later success, often highly collectible and occasionally even a “holy grail.” But in all my years of record collecting, I have never known a private pressing to be heavily promoted and distributed through mainstream record stores. This is, in part, what makes the self-titled debut album by Edge such a fascinating curiosity.

 

When I was in junior high―and especially susceptible to music hype―I remember hearing dozens of radio ads on KRLA (which at the time was one of the biggest AM rock stations in Los Angeles) for an album by a band that I had never heard of, with snippets of songs that were entirely unfamiliar to me. The ads made the album seem so cool, so necessary, that I hopped on my Schwinn ten-speed, rode up to A&H Records and laid down my $1.98. To my twelve-year-old ears, the album sounded really good, but I could not make sense of the whole experience. I never heard an Edge song on the radio, had never seen them mentioned in the pop and rock press, had never seen a show promoted or reviewed, but the ads I had heard made them seem like they were the hottest band in the world. Why wasn’t everyone talking about them? It was, quite frankly, like a dream, as though Edge occupied some alternative universe that had somehow slipped into ours. If I wasn’t holding a copy of the album in my own hands, I might have doubted whether or not there even was a band called Edge. The “Paul is Dead” rumor seemed mundane by comparison.

Edge 2

Even today, the album is a bit of a mystery. I have concluded that the album and the ad campaign were an audacious attempt to circumvent the entire record and radio industry and sell directly to the kids. Though the record was not pressed by the band per se, it was nonetheless a private pressing, done in this case by the “executive producer” (a title nearly never seen in pop music). The purported record company was “Nose Records,” its logo was a graphic of a large, well, nose and the label on the record included perimeter text that proudly hailed “A Paul Massaad Production.” As far as my research can take me, the entire discography for Nose Records consists of four records: two singles by other artists (Aneece and Joseph, Russ Volt), the album by Edge and a final single pulled from the album. I have no idea whether the ad campaign and distribution was a local or regional affair or how many records were pressed or sold, though the pressing must have been fairly large—I had no problem getting a copy in 1970 and I occasionally come across copies in used record stores.

Edge

I do know a little about the band’s story, however. Two of the members of Edge—guitarist Richard Barcellona and bassist/organist John Keith—had been playing together in bands since the mid-’60s. First, Scotty and the Tissues and then The Band with No Name (with former Beach Boy David Marks). Shortly after Marks left for greener pastures, the band signed a management deal with Casey Kasem and was re-named The American Revolution. After providing a few songs for the soundtracks of American International Pictures, the band was signed to Flick Disc Records (an MGM subsidiary) and, in 1968, released a self-titled debut. Just after the record’s release, the band’s drummer departed and was replaced by David Novogroski, who had previously played in The Boston Tea Party and who would soon be the drummer for Edge. In 1969, Barcellona, Keith and Novogroski teamed up with producer Norm Malkin and recorded a single, one side of which appears on Volume 9 of the Pebbles CD compilation series (“Scene Thru the Eyes,” credited to The Edge). Enter Paul Massaad, who signed the band—now simply Edge—to his own Nose Records label, bringing bassist Gallen Murphy into the fold. An album was recorded, the marketing scheme was hatched and Edge hit the streets in 1970.

EDge inside

The music on the album is an amalgam of hard rock, blues, psych and folk not unlike that purveyed by Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly. The material is, in my view, generally hookier than most of that type of stuff and the record as a whole displays a pop sensibility not far from that of the Guess Who’s harder material. The album opens with “Calling Out,” an organ-driven, vaguely political potboiler that features start-and-stop verses straight out of the Steppenwolf playbook (along with terrific solos taken by Keith and Barcellona in turn). “Sing Your Song” is one of the highlights, a pretty folk-blues ballad with another great guitar solo. “A New Breed of Man” is also vaguely political, with bluesy verses sung aggressively and a preachy but effective chorus—not to mention an earnest recitation as a tag. “Movin’ On” and “Lady of Darkness” are both straight blues, all heavy guitar riffs and vocal histrionics, through “Movin’ On” does have a clever, catchy chorus. “Starvin’ Man” is a hard rock sob story built around a simple but catchy guitar riff and some strong chording in the verses, though it is interrupted by a rather indulgent drum solo. “Ribbon and Bow” is a moralistic fairy tale (think “One Tin Soldier” by Coven) that transcends its pretentions with its strong melody and an effective flute arrangement. “Money Slave” is another bluesy hard rocker, but slips into a chaos somewhere between psych and punk at places. The vocal is nearly unhinged.

 

As noted above, one single was released from Edge: “Sing Your Song” b/w “Ribbon and Bow.” Neither the album nor the single generated any airplay or chart action. As far as I can tell, that was the end of the band. Barcellona went on to play with an early ’70s incarnation of Sky Saxon’s Seeds while Keith moved to Central California and took a job with the United States Postal Service. Starting around 2000, he released a series of solo blues albums on Charade Records. What became of Novogroski and Murphy remains a mystery, perhaps appropriately.

 

Edge was reissued on CD in 2009 by Tone Arm Records—it’s currently out of print, but copies are readily available on amazon Marketplace. The original vinyl typically goes for about half the price of the CD reissue, though: about $10 versus $20. And while the album is not available in the legit digital domain, needledrops are easily found on various file-sharing sites and blogspots. Fans of late ’60s/early ’70s hard rock and psych will be surprised how cool this record is!

=================================================

Pop Pioneer and “Lost Treasures” writer, Peter Marston is the leader of long-running power pop band, Shplang, whose most recent album, “My Big Three Wheeler” has been described as “the Beatles meet Zappa in pop-psych Sumo match.”  Peter has a new project in 2015 under the name MARSTON.   Marston have a track on the latest “Power Pop Planet – Volume 5” compilation just out now and available at:  www.PopGeekHeavenStore.com.

CHECK OUT SHPLANG out at this link:  http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/shplang

==================================================

LINKS:

Discogs:  https://www.discogs.com/Edge-Edge/release/4735695

Blog Post:  http://collectorsfrenzy.com/details/230588714717

Blog Post:  http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/EDGE.htm

The American Revolution

Info on previous band, The American Revolution:

http://badcatrecords.com/BadCat/AMERICANrevolution.htm

http://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the_american_revolution/the_american_revolution.p/

VIDEO:

CALLIN’ OUT

LADY OF DARKNESS

“Sing Your Song” & “The Story of Angelique”

Comments are closed.