06.10.08
Manchu Shaman Reincarnated as Brit Pop Star?
Sometimes you just can’t explain things.
I have a friend who likes to send me YouTube links of bands, and sometimes I send some back. I had been trying to think of songs that I liked when I was growing up. Somehow, David Essex’s 1973 hit Rock On came into my mind, so on April 9th of this year, I sent it to him, wondering if he liked it too. It’s really a one-of-a-kind thing. The drums are sparse with no snare or cymbals — only hi-hat, toms and bass drum, and the hi-hat and some of the drums have a single echo (not a repeating echo), as strong as the original signal, slapping back one sixteenth note later. The bass is very unusual as well, being stronger than the drums and having a very muddy sound. It too has the same echo on it. There is no guitar at all, which may be the strangest thing about the whole song; pop songs of that time were dominated by guitars. The song’s production is extremely complex, with a wide variety of vocal and percussive effects, and a striking string ensemble “solo” featuring glissandi. It left a big impression on me as a child. I guess I was seven or eight years old when I first heard it.
Yes, this does in fact have something to do with Manchu. Keep reading.
