WE WERE ALL VERY WORRIED (AS ACID RAIN)

Before there was Sleepytime Gorilla Museum there was Idiot Flesh but before Idiot Flesh there was ACID RAIN, the first collaborative effort of Nils Frydahl (vocals, guitar, tin whistle) and Dan Rathbun (bass, vocals, acoustic piccolo bass) who spanned all three band incarnations to woo and bedazzle cult audiences around the world with some of the most bizarre experimental weirdness that the world of rock music had to offer. This first rendition of the classic SGM style was already underway as early as 1985 in Oakland, CA where these guys along with David Shamrock (drums) who would skip the Idiot Flesh party and rejoin as one of the curators of the Sleepytime Gorilla Museum.

WE WERE ALL VERY WORRIED was the very first official release of the ACID RAIN / Idiot Flesh / Sleepytime Gorilla Museum continuum although in demo form. The band started out as the mere trio of Frydahl, Rathbun and Shamrock and this first offering was nothing more than a rare cassette-only promotional demo that sounded more like the post-death metal offerings of Mr Bungle than anything that would emerge in the very near future. Supposedly a prior demo called "Drip" was unleashed but it seems nobody has heard it therefore we'll count this one as the official debut of the ingenious collaborative efforts of Frydahl and Rathbun.

At this point ACID RAIN was going for broke and getting the total playing time that a cassette release had to offer at the time. Featuring 14 tracks, WE WERE ALL VERY WORRIED will swallow up nearly 76 minutes of your precious life span but guess what. It's all so very worth it! Yeah early demos by artists can vary in terms of quality with the vast majority sucking big time but in the case of ACID RAIN, this is simply amazing! It was clear from the getgo that the experimental antics of Frydahl and Rathbun were like an alchemic reaction that turned lead into gold. The chemistry these partners in crime have maintained for nearly 40 years is nothing less than miraculous.

While nowhere as developed as the future releases, WE WERE ALL VERY WORRIED was as close to a "normal" release that ACID RAIN / Idiot Flesh / SGM continuum would release with the second "The Rite of Spring" demo quickly advancing. Sounding somewhat like an experimental avant-garde version of 80s Red Hot Chili Peppers, these early recordings range from somewhat standard funk rock and metal to full on avant-prog attacks. Many of the tracks simply start out as an 80s funk rock standard and then morph bizarrely into avant-prog juggernauts. There are many hairpin turns and occasional unexpected references to pop songs from the past. There are even a few moments of the avant-prog splendor that would fully gel on the trilogy of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum albums that would haunt the early 2000s. Add some folk, jig music and whatever and the party's one!

This demo is kinda all over the place with even a live track called "Stinking Hippie" inserted in the middle sounding a bit like a funky Grateful Dead and then the track "Acid Rain" sounding like a future SGM styled composition. Some of these were most likely reworked big time for the future projects. There are also moments where a violin appears from nowhere as well as other small inklings of where ACID RAIN would end up 15 years down the road. This is really a potpourri of experimental rock and avant-prog that will please any fans of Idiot Flesh and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum. While not as polished or dramatic as the future incarnations, this debut ACID RAIN makes up for it in sheer audacity and youthful exploration. This is so much better than i ever couldn't imagined. It's as fun as the most zany Frank Zappa album and as musically competent as anything Gentle Giant cranked out albeit in scattered doses.