CAULDRON

FIFTY FOOT HOSE were this experimental, psychedelic band from San Francisco who formed in 1967. They released "Cauldron" the following year in 1968. I find it pretty funny that they broke up in 1969 because most of the band joined the musical "Hair". They apparently played some gigs, but the audiences were left stunned and confused by the wall of sound they would create, including these annoying electronic sounds. And yes they used sirens, audio generators, oscillators, theremins and a home made electronic device.

So in some ways this band was a pioneer in electronics, but more in the sense of what not to do. Yes some of these late sixties bands were so "out there" it's crazy. And being explorers of these new sounds a lot of the music just didn't work. Like here, where they come across as amateurs at times, but they are exploring new territories to be fair. That's why I love the first half of the seventies because while there were no rules per se, the bands saw and heard what worked and what didn't. There was more of a focus it seemed.

While there is a lot of experimental music here, we also get commercial sounding stuff and the vocals of Nancy Blossom. There's four short tracks of 2 minutes or less, that are electronic based. Surprisingly this includes the opener. Might as well hit them with it early I guess. The other three are under 30 seconds. "The Things That Concern You" is commercial sounding with male vocals and I'm not a fan. "God Bless The Child" is another commercial sounding piece with female vocals and electronics over top that just doesn't work. "Cauldron" is annoying with a female moaning and crying in the background.

The positives are "If Not This Time", "Red The Sign Post", "Rose" and "Fantasy" which is by far the longest song a 10 minutes. These four are not enough to salvage this record for me. This album has a reputation and it's not good. 3 stars.