SNAFU

Once in a while, just when you think you have heard all of the gems from the 70s, something comes along that takes you by surprise. The band East of Eden with their 2nd album "Snafu" is just one such album. I ran across this album while searching through this site way back at the beginning of the decade, found a bargain bin copy of it, bought it, and forgot about it. Shame on me. This album is one of the most amazing new things (well, it's new to me) that I have heard from that amazing musical decade for a long, long time. How could I have avoided this for so long?

Most of the music on this album is instrumental with a few vocal embellishments thrown in here and there. From what I have read, this sophomore released from this band is quite different from their first album, which supposedly is more of a psychedelic affair. This album is world's away from psychedelic, leaning more towards a peppy, jazz fusion album which is so full of fun that you just can't help but smile when you listen to it. And the best part is, you can tell the band is having a good time playing it.

So, what exactly is this? The closest way to describe it is fusion music that doesn't take itself seriously. But that is not all you get here. The music can go from avant-garde to jewish dance music in the space of a couple of seconds. Just listen to the 2nd track "Leaping Beauties for Rudy / Marcus Junior" and you'll know what I'm talking about. Then go to the next track "Xhorkhom / Ramadhan / In The Snow For A Blow" and experience a backwards track that introduces you to a mid- Eastern rocker and then whirls you away in a jazz/rock festival that is full of horns, woodwinds, guitars, drums and lots of "sing-a-long" (?) fun. "Gum Arabic / Confucius" brings in a psychedelic flair by poking fun at the bands first album (which was way too serious) with a spoken word section while the flute goes wildly off kilter, and then returns again bringing a sax along with it. Oh, and don't forget that there is a violin in there too, or would you call it a fiddle? Think of "Kansas" with the "I-don't-give-a-damn" attitude. Make sure that you don't ignore the track "Nymphenburger" which allows the violin and the guitar to go wild with each other.

It is quite difficult to explain just what you are getting into here, just think that if Secret Chiefs 3 had a musical mentor, then this band must have been one of their inspirations. The music is quirky, fun, carefree, unpredictable, and totally not serious enough to just be considered plain old Jazz/ rock fusion, which is why it must be considered Eclectic. It's not all fun and games however, as "Habibi Baby / Beast of Sweden / Boehm Constrictor" is a more psychedelic mish-mash of Arabic styles and traditional folk instruments, but done with a more avant-garde style.

The unfortunate thing is that apparently the band had a big European hit with a single that came out shortly after this album, called "Jig a Jig" which is actually a bonus track on the 2004 reissue. After that hit, the band started to concentrate on that silly country-folk sound, and this would end up being really their best album. But, let me say that it is definitely an album you will want to look for. So with that, I will let you go search for this album so that you can experience it for yourself. Most of the few reviews that have been done on this album express surprise and admiration for this album, but it looks like I am not the only one that has missed this album because there really aren't as many reviews or people that have heard this than there should be. Now go find this hidden masterpiece especially if you love your music quirky and eclectic. It's so hard to believe this was released in 1970.