Saturday, May 24, 2014

Bobby Brown - Discography

No, not THAT Bobby Brown...

This is a bizarro one-man-band from Hawaii who recorded during the mid-seventies. I don't know why this guy's stuff is slowly disappearing from the internet, because it is quite exceptional. It kind of bridges the (albeit large) gap between spaced-out new age drone and psych-folk, with a lot of laid-back Hawaiian influence as well.

The story goes that this loner surfer-type guy built this giant....instrument?? I guess?? out of whatever he had laying around. So he literally plays all the sounds you're hearing at once, at least on most of the tracks. You can kind of see his gadget on the cover of his first LP, 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda,' and it looks basically fucked. He and his dog would travel around in an old van wherever the surfing was good, giving impromptu performances of these strange, mellow songs. I've read his voice described as similar to Tim Buckley, which I guess is kind of true.

The first album is very odd, sounding kind of like a gamelan orchestra playing 70's folk rock. The second album, 'Bobby Brown Live,' is not quite so strange, but the story behind it is definitely weird. Supposedly, he was picked to open for Fleetwood Mac (which, to me, sounds like a big deal) and recorded the performance for this album. Brown, however, was unsatisfied with the crowd sounds(!), feeling they distracted from the music, and re-recorded the entire thing in his van AFTER the show. Whatever the case, it doesn't really sound like a 'live' record or anything.

A few years later, he did a much more pop-oriented album called 'Prayers of a One Man Band.' Well...it's HIS interpretation of pop music, which is still pretty odd. It's got a lot of vintage synths and drum machines, and a lot of people seem to feel it's his best release. I dunno about that, but it is very good. The songs are also MUCH shorter, which might appeal to some listeners.

Anyhow, here are all three albums for ya to check out:

Bobby Brown - 'The Enlightening Beam of Axonda'
Tracklist:

1. I Must Be Born
2. My Hawaiian Home
3. Oneness with the Forest
4. Tiny Wind of Shandl

DOWNLOAD

Bobby Brown - 'Bobby Brown Live'
Tracklist:

1. Hawaii
2. In Search of a Dream
3. Let Me on Board
4. My Dog is Every Bit as Good as Me
5. The Waterfall of Love
6. Lonely Boy No More
7. Mother Nature We're Guilty/I Don't Wanna Be No Macho Joe
8. Motherless Child

DOWNLOAD

Bobby Brown - 'Prayers of a One Man Band'
Tracklist:

1. The Boy a Sailor
2. Steamboat Mama
3. Sail On
4. Lady Tennessee
5. Jungle Cowboy
6. Hawaii Nei I'll Miss You
7. The Peaceful Ko 'Olaus
8. My Dog the Outlaw
9. If the Angels Cry
10. Sweet Clean Air
11. I'm Bolieve
12. The Cry of the Wild

DOWNLOAD

8 comments:

Zach Fletcher said...

Have been looking for these! Thanks for posting!

gabriel said...

Muchas gracias por el post y los discos.

Mr Fab said...

Found 'Live' in a thrift store for a buck! thanks for saving me the trouble of digitizing it.

Cbastian said...

i've seen him live the other day, in Brussels on the Ultra Eczema Birthday Party ...
he's so far out n wond'rfull ...
bought the two discs for a free contribution on cdr's that he's selling n signing ...
if you can check him out live, make sure you make it ...
hughely inspiring ...

Feather said...

Hey Pied Piper

Feather said...

I was one of a group of people that formed a tight semi-circle around him and his instrument. He requested we do so to improve the accoustics. We all were from different walks of life. All the children danced, or were mesmorized. Ice cream melted in their hands. Cried if forced to leave. Princess Kaiulani smiled.

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the saucer people said...

Six years on and the files are still live! That is one good thing about MF, they do not close accounts unlike pretty much every other file hosting site that used to be the go-to sites for file hosting (I guess it now shows your age if you mention Rapidshare or Megaupload!)

Anyway thanks for the Bobby Brown - I lost my copies of the rips in an inevitable hard drive crash so I'm uploading these to Mega!

Excellent music isn't it...