QUOTES & REVIEWS OF JERUSALEM BAND
& PUSSY BAND
"Sledgehammer-heavy masterpiece of underground British rock"
Classic Rock Magazine
"A holy relic among proto-metal fans, Jerusalem’s self-titled 1972 debut album was produced by none other than Deep Purple’s own Ian Gillan. A masterpiece of early bludgeon-rock, this doom laden bruiser predates NWOBHM by half a decade, but sounds just as heavy – From Classic Rock Mag #129 (Jerusalem is featured on the free sampler CD included with the magazine)"
Classic Rock Magazine #129 July 14, 2012
It’s easy to see why Ian Gillan was inspired to work with this ragged and raw, incendiary gang. At their best, they managed the compelling riff-mania of Purple, fused with some serious blues licks and the pulverizing heaviness of Sabbath. But on further listen, there’s something else to the band, something much more sinister and malevolent than that simple description puts forth. Yes, Sabbathy, doom-laden riffs abound, but whereas Sabbath played their game like a B-rated horror movie from the House of Hammer come to life, Jerusalem infuse their death-blues with a true sense of the ominous. Fired by the ragged-endothelial celled larynx of Lynden Williams, and I.V. fed with a hefty does of fuzz and spit, there’s something intensely subversive lurking under the at-first-glance straight ahead protometal on this disc.
Produced by Gillan with a brief intro by the Purple man himself -- where he said, "not many bands really excite me. But this one's so raw and completely unpretentious"-- it’s still shocking to this day that Jerusalem didn’t follow in the footpath of their benefactor. Heavy, bluesy, yet melodic, memorable hooks combined with inventive song structures, inspired playing and the gutsy neo-Nazareth vocals, all the components seemed to be there for a long run of success. But is wasn’t meant to be. After this one platter, the band departed into the murky halls of rock and roll’s past.
Thankfully, Rockadrome (as they so often seem to do) weren’t content to let this mini-masterpiece of angst-protometal drift away. Lovingly remastered with the aid of original bass player, Paul Dean, Jerusalem has once again been given the room to spread it’s dark and ugly wings, unleashing a sonic force of near-crazed, ploddingly heavy proto-doom onto a once again unsuspecting world.
In many ways, Jerusalemwere entirely of their time. As each song unfolds, all that is fantastic about the protometal period is revealed in stunning clarity. The mutation of blues based rock, a la Cream, into it’s much angrier, disenchanted brother. The dying twinges of psychedelia’s optimism bleeding into an ugly and snarling beast, bleeding and drooling from it’s gaping, tooth-filled maw. Traces of fuzz and wah fighting to survive amongst the downtuned bass and the pummeling low end of the drum kit. But again, listen hard and you’ll find something more. At times, I swear you can hear the amped up, stuttering attack of early Stooges. In the lyrics, hints of horror movie purple prose are replaced with the serious darkness of a funeral epitaph. In other words, Jerusalem were the real deal. What ever it was they were feeling, it was dark and consuming, and needed to be released like the beast mentioned above.
Songs like “She Came Like a Bat from Hell,” and “Midnight Steamer,” pound with a funky, staggering oppressiveness. “Murderer’s Lament,” positively punishes with its discordant attack, stop-start drumming, and descent into a darkened, cold and haunting prison. “Frustration,” brims with protometal energy with it’s fuzzed out rumbling riff and massively mutated blues structure. Throughout, the guitars are a stunning assault, a textbook of early protometal ferocity, while Williams’ vocals, always on the brink of their last functioning cell, add a frenzied, near psychotic velocity to the air.
“Hooded Eagle,” descends into massive Sabbathisms, rumbling and destroying everything in it’s path like a marauding army descending upon a defenseless Saxon camp. “Beyond the Grave,” teases with a jaunty, lute-like intro before laying waste to small villages with a two-pronged, Ozzy-inspired assault of early-Sabbath intensity. And when I mean cloak-laden darkness, I mean it. “Someday we shall meet again/Death is only a minutes pain” Williams spits out, fully convincing in his intent. But perhaps the albums greatest/darkest, most sinister moment is the magna-opus to fuzzed out heaviness that is “Primitive Man.” Williams is barely able to hold his voice together for the entire length of this massive death dirge of pummeling intensity. This has to be the grand epic of heavy, stoner doom for its time. Not one to be missed for the inclined.
But light does emerge from the vast cloak of darkness. Don’t go looking for it in the inappropriately titled “I See the Light,” which drips out of the speakers at funeral procession pace, sounding much more like a crazed man’s moment of complete loss of sanity than a moment of optimism. No, the light peeks through during “When the Wolf Sits,” which denies none of its blackened heritage, but is graced with a meaty, twisted blues riff and melody that would’ve made Nazareth proud. A true toe-tapping, sing along moment amongst the punishing wave of despair.
Rightly so, Jerusalem is hailed as one of the lost hallmark albums of protometal, easily held in the same high regard as Leafhound or Pentagram. In truth, the album is deserving of that praise and so much more. Like the recently Rockadrome resurrection of Iron Claw, Jerusalem produced some of the heaviest, darkest, most punishingly heavy and doom-laden metal to be unleashed during those halcyon days. And they were way ahead of their time. If anything, the album still sounds stunningly frightening today and I can only imagine how it must have terrified the public back then.
A true classic, and deservedly so.
--Racer http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2009/12/jerusalem-st.html
"Brit proto-metallers Jerusalem killed it on that one album..........https://www.decibelmagazine.com/2018/02/15/primitive-origins-jerusalems-jerusalem/
"Devoid of the showy theatrics of the day (72) the band has a stripped down rough-hewn majesty that gives them a timelessness lacking in many of their contemporaries."
Shindig! Mag (UK)
Jerusalem were ahead of their time in so many ways, they were un-polished, raw with dark, sinister riffing .......
The album boils over with proto-metal energy as in “Frustration” with its fuzzy blues riffing or “Hooded Eagle” that is about as crushing as anything ever recorded in the 70’s. They were right up there with Sabbath in the darkness department too with the song “Primitive Man”, the fuzz drenched intensity of this tune is hard to match for 1972, the vocals are spewed out rather than sung, it literally sounds like vocalist Lynden Williams voice is about to break completely during this tune. “Midnight Steamer” and “She Came Like A Bat from Hell” are like early versions of dirty Stoner Metal blended with a gritty funky attitude and are both timeless songs that still sound fresh despite the production that while this new version sounds better than the original, still sounds like total vintage 1970’s. “When The Wolf Sits” is dark and yet has a incredibly infectious melody and “I See The Light is soaked in old-school prog-doom atmosphere.
The Jerusalem album is a golden nugget of early metal from 1972 and while it may not have the sheer heaviness of Black Sabbath or the polish of Deep Purple or Zeppelin, it has a songwriting quality that was ahead of its time. This album has a sound and style that many bands today strive more and still don’t come close to obtaining.
Doommantia.wordpress.com
JERUSALEM's self-titled LP, an ahead-of-its-time, heavy-as-hell hard rock album from 1972 produced by Ian Gillan of DEEP PURPLE.
Blabbermouth.net
With one word, and considering the music scene at the time, Jerusalem is heavy....
One thing that is hit or miss about this album is its raw and unpolished sound even by the standards of the era.
Jerusalem with this album delivered some bone-crushing heavy rock with proto-doom influences and early NWOBHM tendencies so it’s highly recommended to those of you who wish to experience that sound. For every Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin there’s a Jerusalem to make us wonder how they didn’t become bigger but pleased at the same time to discover their music.
Sputnikmusic.com
New Spanish Review 2018
https://www.mentesdeacido.es/discos-1/j/jerusalem/
Stoner rock as a style, saw a reef when it began to bring closer to its sound groups from the underground of the seventies, which really had little to do. Captain Beyond, Sir Lord Baltimore, Buffalo, Randy Holden, Leaf Hound or these same ones that we are dealing with here today. They were constantly named as influence or inspiration when there was little closeness in a style, where mediocrity abounded. As an attempt to gain importance and give court to your group was great. But it was very unfair that these groups were categorized as stoner rock, when they were only young formations from the beginning of the 70s that made hard rock and at the same time experimented with the rawness of sound. The case of Jerusalemes doubly unjust, since its historical merit lies more in the effect patron of Ian Gillan, which finally is what has lasted through the decades.
Coming from Salisbury, three of its members were friends since their school years. When in 1966 a close acquaintance bought a disc of John Mayall with the Bluesbreakers, something clicked them in the brain when they heard that music. Listening to that was opening them to a special and unique sound. The fact that John Mayall came to his town to play in a local pub was great news. They did not think twice and went to see him. The direct one of Mayall was totally revealing, the following day between class and class they decided to form a band. Each of them was acquiring its particular role in the group. All quite spontaneously. From the beginning, the decision was made to avoid playing versions, and to acquire their own abilities without being subjected to direct influences. They began to create their own music within their limitations and abilities. Although some ideas would be used in the near future. The explosion of the blues was gradually diminishing and other new styles began to have more space, such as psychedelia or freak beat. New members joined the formation and ended up becoming a great quintet. From here, it is when the true history of Jerusalem begins. They collected in local and pubs of the zone, without leaving of side the creation of subjects. The sister of one of them, called Zoe. She worked in London, within the music industry and television. So I knew a lot of people who could help the young band. And, when Zoe listened to her brother Paul's group, she was totally impressed. Thanks to Micky Dallon, they were able to access the Pye studios to record a series of demos. Zoe knew many musicians with some popularity at the time. One of them was Gillan, who agreed to meet her brother's group. He was able to witness the power of Jerusalem live, when they accompanied Uriah Heep in a concert at the Salisbury College. Along with Roger Glover, Gillan decided to record more demos of Jerusalem by setting up a small home studio. Zoe and Gillan finally became the managers of Jerusalem. They decided to find a singer with a voice that adjusted to the quality of the band. They put up advertisements and after several auditions, one Lynden Williams joined the cause. Gillan urged them to record an album at the De Lane Lea Sound Center in Wembley. They were signed by Deram, and the album was published in 1972. They made extensive tours around that time and were included also in numerous European festivals of the time. Back in London, Deram asked them for a new song to be edited on a single. This was called "Kamikaze Moth" and was the main theme of the single next to "Frustation". Unfortunately, after a short time and the intellectual clash among its own members, it caused Jerusalem to separate. From here, the birth of Pussy was born. Those who recorded an album that was never published until today. Again, Gillan did the work of manager and producer. Numerous record companies have released the Jerusalem album unofficially until Rockadrome arrived. Lion Records also joined for the edition in luxurious vinyl, editing this in 2016.
Jerusalem is formed by Bob Cooke and Bill Hinde on guitars, Lynden Williams on vocals, Ray Sparrow on drums and Paul Dean on bass. The unique disc of Jerusalem is a tremendous compendium of hard rock seventies crude and visceral. Little Gillan had to do in the production in my opinion, when it sounds natural and so heartbreaking. This magnanimous work looks face to face at the debut of Black Sabbath, in terms of originality and risk. Clearly, Gillan's intention regarding patronage to Jerusalem was good. But with the passage of time it has taken away a lot of contextual prestige to an album, which should be a classic of the genre. The album begins with "Frustation", a chaotic rock and roll where the main premise is the intensity of the sound of the guitars. "Hooded Eagle" is an epic cut, where Williams voices sounds heartbreaking. They turn towards the blues with "I See The Light", amazing hallucinatory sound. Containing also an intermediate part, which veers a bit towards progressive rock. "Murderer's Lament" begins as a spectral tuning, becoming truly a half-time deep sound. Some pieces of guitar are wonderful. Finish the first face with "When The Wolf Sits", of tremendous sound is one of the best compositions. Hard rock in its maximum degree of expression. "Midnight Steamer" maintains the powerful rhythm with some guitar contributions that will not leave you indifferent. Another fabulous cut, without a doubt. They get even closer to the Sabbath sound with "Primitive Man". With a thick bass sound, the intermediate rhythm makes us think of the doom rock that would emerge decades later, visionaries. "Beyond The Grave" begins as a feral cut, to be modifying its sound to an amazing section where the electric guitar takes control, sublime. Ends with "She Came Like A Bat From Hell." Great title for a cut of hard rock of histrionic sound and totally uncontrolled with homage to Hendrix included. The CD edition of Rockadrome, contains some extra tracks such as demos and the single "Kamikaze Moth". Battered for years with unofficial reissues, Jerusalem finally finds a dignified and official reissue. Amen.
Reseña de Germán Ramírez
The album’s a little monochromatic I guess, but that’s because there’s raw, heavy rockin’ excitement plastered wall-to-wall, no room for too much subtlety or ‘tastefulness’, and it doesn’t really sound the same as any other group, but ploughs its own furrow like a record cutter the size of agricultural machinery.
They left one hell of an album behind for us to enjoy.
Headheritage.co.uk
The music is a menacing combination of over-the-top vocals and screaming lead guitars that could easily pass for something from the early British heavy metal scene—or something from the emotional hard core scene of the mid-1990's ('Primitive Man').
Music_emporium
"All the songs are written by Jerusalem, and for a group so young they're quite astounding."
NME (1972)
"This is the first album by Jerusalem, a band which excites me very much; they are rough, raw and doomy with their own strong identity. As they are young and a bit green, they don't follow many rules, so their material is almost crude - but still immensely powerful in content.
I believe that, whenever possible, the work of writers and players in their formative stages should be recorded; before inhibition and self-consciousness set in, before fire and aggression die down, and while they are still absorbing influences and doing things which others might consider 'uncool'. Most important though, before they might develop that self-imposed rigidity which afflicts so many. I hope none of these things happen to Jerusalem, we'll have to wait and see, this album is just in case.
I hope you like it as much as I do"
Ian Gillan (Deep Purple)
"Excellent brittish heavyrock from 1972, production guidance from Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan. The album is definitely a hardrocker in the same vein as Stray, Steamhammer and Samuel Prody also some of the more heavier german acts like NightSun, Message and Hairy Chapter, rough doomy and very dynamic. " -
GL Productions (http://hem.passagen.se/lillie/)
Jerusalem was a band that was not only ahead of its time, they were largely unrecognized in their own generation.......they never really caught on outside of the United Kingdom, where both promoters and concert-goers recognized Jerusalem were flat out good (but, like I said, almost too good for the times, as Ian Gillian hinted in his liner notes)......Gratefully, Jerusalem is not as unknown today, and still gaining a strong following on the sheer power and raw emotion of the music they composed 40-pluse years ago. First and foremost, this is stoner rock - loud and heavy enough for the current scene.........It would be decades before bands like Jerusalem would be appreciated for its musical value........so enduring, so exciting, today is the raw, doomy energy and almost punk-like aggression pouring through each song...........putting 'Jerusalem’ (1972) in the upper echelon of classic heavy albums........Every song is great there is not one weak track. Pity that the band just recorded one record together..........Take some time to get to know this classic of yesteryear. It’s like a time capsule that was virtually made to blossom today.
By “Papa” Paul Rote, with Billy Goate - http://doomedandstoned.com
Of all the proto-metal albums I have been exploring recently, Jerusalem’s debut and only album released before they broke up is one of the best I have procured. ........The album alternates between guitar-driven heavy rock with shifting rhythm and tempo and heavy hitters with pounding drums and lots of fuzz on the guitar. There are moments when they seem to spend a decent amount of time approaching the progressive rock game while at other times it seems the band just wants you to crash your head into the table........The music is at times complex and polyrhythmic and at other times more straightforward and aggressive. One wonders what they might have achieved had they reached the elusive but milestone second album.
By 'Proto-Metal’ - http://www.metalmusicarchives.com
I was alive in 1972. I wasn’t much more than a tiny slobbering pup in a heavy diaper, but I was alive. I obviously don’t recall a lot about what was happening in my environment back then, but I do know that my folks – hardcore music addicts just like myself – were spinning stuff like Roberta Flack’s “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face,” Don McClean’s “American Pie,” and Cat Stevens’ “Morning Has Broken,” which was extremely typical of the time. Many of the artists of that era were either continuing to ride the hippie wave of the 60s, or doing their damnedest to get something – ANYthing – onto mainstream radio. This is precisely what made the handful of bands that were fed up with the music world’s sweeping tranquility all the more vital.
With that in mind, check out what Ian Gillan (Deep Purple, Black Sabbath/Born Again) had to say with regard to Jerusalem:
“I believe that, whenever possible, the work of writers and players in their formative stages should be recorded; before inhibition and self-consciousness set in, before fire and aggression die down, and while they are still absorbing influences and doing things which others might consider ‘uncool’. Most important though, before they might develop that self-imposed rigidity which afflicts so many. I hope none of these things happen to Jerusalem. We’ll have to wait and see. This album is just in case.”
A beautiful pile of words written years ago that perfectly encapsulates why so many of us in the metal community jump through hoops to gobble down demos. To capture a band at its rawest, most unalloyed state encompasses a huge portion of what’s to love about heavy metal. Unprocessed raw energy unhindered by years spent toiling in the industry’s gears is key. That, in a nutshell, is the crux reason why Jerusalem’s debut (and only long-player) remains so significant today. Two friends from school cobble together a band after having their faces melted by the heavy-handed work of John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, and, after months of laboring through the basics in seclusion, finally decide to start blistering ears in pubs and halls of their hometown with their own crude 12-bar-blues representation. What helped set Jerusalem apart from a good portion of their peers, however, was the fact that they cut their teeth by pushing original tunes only, and the fact that principle songwriter Paul Dean approached the construction from a bassist’s point of view – something that’s best represented by the heaviest tune on the record, the amazing “Primitive Man.”
After a fair stretch of time spent mostly kicking around their immediate neighborhood, Jerusalem’s full impact was finally achieved once the aforementioned Ian Gillan caught wind of them and decided to produce this blistering debut. He described their overall sound as “…rough, raw and doomy, with their own strong identity,” which is precisely the sort of thing that should call out louder than a bomb to anyone interested in proto-metal’s big bangers.
Sadly, Jerusalem co-founders Paul Dean (bass) and Ray Sparrow (drums) decided to shutter the doors shortly after this release because the remaining members had prospective hopes for a more commercial, polished route (my GOD, I wish more bands would learn from this band’s example), but they ended up teaming up with guitarist Bob Cooke under the name Pussy, whose collected work is also available through Rockadrome.
[Michael Wuensch]
https://yourlastrites.com/2014/03/10/protoplasm-2-more-goodies-from-the-grave/
(Translated from French)
There are some bands that dump you riffs stunning, blows with frenzied truncheons to the head. Jerusalem is clearly in favor. It's kind of the effect of a hut filled with dynamite that suddenly explodes on you face. And if only the riffs. The battery takes you and turns you like a pancake. The heartbreaking voice plunges us into hysteria and then anguish, sending us into demented dimensions made of bats from hell or from unspeakable pre-human creatures. It does not matter. It is the whole group that keeps your throat and throws you the equivalent of an eternal damnation in the mouth. There is a great urgency, no complex, there is going raw stripping and no matter how many heads fall in passing. A strange, tortured pocket that invites you to the land of nightmarish delirium and other mental tortures.
By Louis Hauguel
http://louis-hauguel.blogspot.com/2014/06/interview-with-paul-dean-bassist-of-70s.html
One of the best records in the early seventies, I think the only and eponymous album of Jerusalem in 1972. A somewhat obscure band that stood out in terms of reputation seriously in the shadow of their producer Ian Gillan, but in terms of decibels Ian and his band at least just put so serious in their shadow. 'Jerusalem' was a hard bang super heavy album with an impact of five 'Speed King' and four 'Highway Stars. It is one of the many mysteries in music why such a world record has never gotten the success that shows it deserved, are a decent successor.
Jerusalem's album is a real favorite of mine and I was thrilled to find out that they gave birth to Pussy.
Jerusalem's self titled album was released in 1972 and produced by Ian Gillan. That's all it took for me to pick up a copy of Rockadrome's reissue of it. Thankfully the music was just as primitively heavy as I had hoped but I must have forgotten that the band later morphed into Pussy. So when this showed up I rushed straight to the stereo to get a taste of this Pussy. It did not disappoint. This is some fine, fine Pussy indeed! While not as heavy, Pussy's Invasion is a definite growth from Jerusalem and reminds me a lot of the band Hard Stuff, another band associated with Deep Purple. Bassist/vocalist Paul Dean was the main songwriter for both bands and there's a definite refinement in the material and the playing. He's joined by Jerusalem drummer Ray Sparrow. Guitar duties were originally handled by Bob Cooke who was later replaced by Brian Goff. Tracks 1- 10 were recorded for an album that was never released with Brian and the bonus tracks from their original single and outtakes are played by Bob. Both guitarists are nothing fancy, but solid British blues-rock players. Everything was produced by Ian Gillan, who also throws in some backing vocals and percussion.
70's rock freaks will definitely want to get ahold of this. There's tons of flange on all the instruments, bluesy guitar solos and plenty of mid-tempo heavy rocking beats. Plus, you gotta love a band called Pussy that wrote a risqué song like "Feline Woman." As George Clinton once said, "more power to the Pussy!"
Woody - http://ripplemusic.blogspot.com/2012/04/pussy-invasion.html
Rockadrome unearths another lost early 70's gem! Pussy were formed out of the ashes of Jerusalem, this one has a completely different sound. Glammy vocal (it's from 72, the peak of the glam era), but musically it's straight forward hard rock. Tight, locked in drumming, Gibson guitars and some really catchy riffs make this an A list lost classic.
The music reminds me a bit of the First Daze era Pentagram stuff minus the doom elements. Some cool leads and even a slide guitar solo thrown in. The first track sounds a lot like Three Man Army but after that these guys really have their own sound.
Produced by Ian Gillan, he does a much better job than he did on the Jerusalem record. That one sounded like it was recorded in a garage. This one sounds good turned up, in no small part due to the great remastering job. Really cool packaging too.
The first 10 songs are the original album, after that there are some re-recorded demo versions of most of the songs with a different guitar player from a year later. The bonus stuff is pretty useless except for the 2 tracks that aren't part of the original album. Too bad the band didn't continue, they were really onto something with this album.
I would say if you like early Pentagram, Hard Stuff's first album, Budgie, or early Sweet, you can't go wrong picking up a copy. I hope Dennis digs up more of this kind of stuff!
Rob Haldy (Edited)
“Impact was the aim when they chose the name Pussy and you've got to admit it's bold. The feline creature purred into life as a 3 piece off shoot of the 5 piece legend Jerusalem.Paul Dean and Ray Sparrow were the nucleus of Jerusalem and now Pussy. Pussy has already come to the attention of the business, they are produced and managed by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple. 'I mixed the band at their first gig, it was half full and then more people started drifting in, at the end they had to do 2 encores, which is very rare for that sort of gig.....”
Ray Hammond - Sounds music paper
“While their songs are full of throbbing rhythms and crunching distorted guitar riffs, Pussy don't come across quite so doomy and dark as did their previous incarnation. Pussy sounding something like a heavier T.Rex at times! Slade and The Sweet could be other influences/comparisons. Some songs remind us of Stray ("I Keep Remembering You"), others of early UFO ("Moonshine"), and one ("Pig Mansion") even hints at a proto-metal version of early Brian Eno. These rollicking tracks are all energetic and fuzzed out, with lots of bouncy, rubbery riffing. Definitely a good time, and thus getting played in heavy rotation here at the store ever since it showed up! 16 tracks on this cd, including a 7" single from 1972, the great "Feline Woman" All produced (as was Jerusalem) by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, who also sings some backup. So cool that this long lost gem is finally available! The 20 page cd booklet includes lyrics, photos, and detailed liner notes about the Pussy story”
“Choice UK hard rock that's just on the edge of glam, but still plenty heavy with big furry guitars everywhere. Band was previously Jerusalem. Ian Gillan from Deep Purple was their producer & manager, but the band shyed away from overdone production & basically just used Gillan for his access to cool guitar pedals & big name. If you're cool with Vanilla Fudge & just wish they'd be a leetle teensy bit more badass, this is your band. Also an especially good one to always have handy in a physical format, as you don't really ever want to be caught googling 'pussy invasion'.”
I LOVE PUSSY! I LOVE THIS BAND TOO. Very classic and groovy. I'm a child of the 70s, so this is totally my vibe. Tym Deal. This is amazing stuff, solid, classic rock. Dialectic Wishing the best to you and your great compositions. Best luck and millions of fans. A&P, I&SON. badass!!! White Knuckle Grip This is awesome. I love pussy! The band too! It's really cool to make something like this available. Eric Morris ooohhh.... Really inspiring me what you've got here... Good oldies rock! Robby Ramdhani Good old rock music will never die! Murky Red ”
Various
We know a LOT of you are familiar with the band Jerusalem, one of three ultimate holy grails of '70s proto-metal, thankfully reissued by Vintage/Rockadrome a couple years ago. We made it our Record Of The Week at the time, and still sell 'em steadily, every week!! And this list, you'll also find the vinyl version of that reissue, repressed. One of the heaviest, doomiest proto-metal finds ever, coming closer to the gods Black Sabbath than most, but with their own primitive, almost punk charm!
Jerusalem (1972)
Produced by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple, this is one of the more well known 70's gems full of great 70's Hard Rock like in 'Frustration' and 'Hooded Eagle'' with a vicious metal edge often likened to the NWOBHM. Some of the tracks veer into heavy psyche territory. Perhaps the most notable track is the crushing raw proto- Doom Metal of ''Primitive Man'. It's a great album.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem (1972)
45 years after its initial release, a couple points continue to be proved by Jerusalem‘s Jerusalem. First point: riffs are timeless. Put on “Hooded Eagle” and “I See the Light” or “Murderer’s Lament” and “Primitive Man” and they hit as hard today as they did when Deram Records put them out as part of the 1969-1973 onslaught of what we now call proto-metal and the roots of modern heavy rock and roll. If anything, the intervening years and influence of the movement/moment in which Jerusalem took part — “the heavy ’70s” — only makes these songs and others on the album more relevant even than they were in 1972, when rather than a tome waiting to be discovered by adventurous listeners, they were part of a pastiche and genre where countryman UK outfits like Peter French-fronted Leaf Hound or Atomic Rooster had already covered most of the territory they would. The appeal has only grown, in other words. Long for an LP of its era with nine songs and 44 minutes, Jerusalem‘s self-titled remains decided un-prog with the shuffle of opener “Frustration” and the swing behind “When the Wolf Sits,” but in the six-minute “Beyond the Grave” there’s nuance of technique and style drawing from psychedelia and Eastern-style circulations, and so there’s more than just raw power on display here as well.
Second point? You can’t beat the value of a good endorsement. Comprised at the time of bassist/songwriter Paul Dean, guitarists Bill Hinde and Bob Cooke (lead), vocalist Lynden Williams and drummer Ray Sparrow, Jerusalem worked with producer Ian Gillan on their debut, and the back cover even featured a note from the Deep Purple frontman sort of blurbing the band the way one author might help promote another on the back of a novel. Gillan called them raw and rough and powerful. They still have his note on their website, and here it is in full:
“This is the first album by Jerusalem, a band which excites me very much; they are rough, raw and doomy with their own strong identity. As they are young and a bit green, they don’t follow many rules, so their material is almost crude — but still immensely powerful in content.
I believe that, whenever possible, the work of writers and players in their formative stages should be recorded; before inhibition and self-consciousness set in, before fire and aggression die down, and while they are still absorbing influences and doing things which others might consider ‘uncool.’ Most important though, before they might develop that self-imposed rigidity which afflicts so many. I hope none of these things happen to Jerusalem, we’ll have to wait and see, this album is just in case. I hope you like it as much as I do.”
Not too bad. Gillan could say that about my work any day of the week and I’d still be reprinting it 45 years later too. The album, of course, lives up to his assessment of it — and Gillan was hardly the only personality out of the heavy rock A-list to dabble in producing at the time; Tony Iommi helmed Necromandus‘ Orexis of Death in 1973 — whether in the bluesy stomp of “I See the Light” or the fuller-sounding bounce of “Midnight Steamer.” Dark and violent themes pervade early cuts like “Hooded Eagle” and “Murderer’s Lament,” which is a distinguishing factor, but the closing trio of “Primitive Man,” “Beyond the Grave” and the catchy “She Came Like a Bat from Hell” transpose that scorch onto more varied lyrical imagery while staying consistent with the noted raw and bluesy overarching vibe, the latter finishing the album with a jammed-out-feeling solo and big rock finish that one can imagine tearing the roof off any number of pubs and other small venues around Britain.
It’s definitely of its era, and I think maybe in calling the band “raw” and “green,” Gillan might have been covering for himself as well as producer, but one can’t deny the natural feel Jerusalem are able to evoke in these tracks, or the impressive span of years they’ve managed to endure while continuing to sound vital. Jerusalem would be the only full-length Jerusalem would release, and like so many others they popped up, presaged the rise of punk in the middle part of the decade and the NWOBHM at its end and into the early ’80s, and were gone. Dean, Cooke and Sparrow formed the subsequent group Pussy, who resulted in a single (“Feline Woman”) and a number of tracks also produced by Gillan later compiled into the Invasion long-player in 2011.
That later platter was backed by respected purveyor Rockadrome Records, which has also seen to reissues of Jerusalem‘s Jerusalem and, last year, a replica 7″ version of Jerusalem‘s Kamikaze Moth single, which was their only other official offering.
http://theobelisk.net 15th Sept 2017
http://www.metalfan.ro/albume/jerusalem-4923.html
2018
English translation:
One night in 1971, Zoe Dean, from Salisbury, UK, returned home from a concert with Ian Gillan himself. It was not a one-night stand, between a God rock and a groupie, because the two remained together for about 13 years and Gillan produced the debut album of Zoe's brother band.
It's about Jerusalem, whose 1972 homonymous album is always mentioned as "Obscure 70`s, alongside Captain Beyond, Granicus, Leafhoud, Dust, etc." In a recent interview, bassist Paul Dean says he formed the band in 1967, along with four other school friends, when neither of them knew how to play an instrument. They decided to make their band after seeing a concert with John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers - one of the first concerts backed by Rolling Stone's future Mick Taylor, who had just replaced Peter Green, who, in turn, replaced Eric Clapton in this real British blues-rock factory.
In the notes accompanying the disc, Ian Gillan says that Jerusalem is "rough, raw and doomy," and they are glad to see some artists in training before they become inhibited and rigid. After 45 years, I can only give him justice. Jerusalem (1972) is an exuberant rock album, set on unexpectedly dark lyrics and appeared out of the blue in a year dominated by glam and prog. You find garage rock tracks like Frustation or She Came Like a Bat from Hell - which talks about the ideal woman, what can bring you to destruction. Other pieces are inspired by the rock of the late '60s, such as Murderer's Lament (one for Jack the Ripper) and Beyond the Grave; in fact, the guitar solos on most tracks take you to that period. But there are also proto-metal moments, such as Hooded Eagle / I see the light, which talks about frustration, loneliness and depression, and reminds me of some less-bred NWOBHM bands like Hollocaust kind. And it's my favorite piece, When the Wolf Sits, also air 60`s, about being stuck in the past. But if you only want to play a piece on Jerusalem (1972), that's Primitive Man, which sums up all the musical influences described above. I was going to forget: the subject is revolt against the destruction of the environment-does it sound familiar to you?
At the end of the interview quoted above, Paul Dean recognizes that Jerusalem music is relevant to that moment of time and for that time in the life of those who composed it. Indeed, Jerusalem expressed, with a special energy, the rock's standards of that period. They have no innocence with anything like their contemporaries. That's why this album is not, at all, a mandatory audition for an ordinary rock fan. It is, however, a precious time capsule for those who want to know more.