Audio Reviews

Popular Music and Society Volume 21.4 Winter 1997 Audio Reviews Turn On the Music Machine.The Music Machine.Compact disc. Performance PERF 397CD(P.O. Box 156, New Brunswick NJ 08903-0156), 1993. Recorded 1966. Produced by Brian Ross. Reissue produced by Stephen Kaplan and Arthur Marko.

Beyond The Garage. The Bonniwell Music Machine. Compact disc. Sundazed SC 11030 (P.O. Box 85, Coxsackie NY 12054), 1995 Recorded 1967-1968. Produced by Brian Ross and Sean Bonniwell. Reissue produced by Bob Irwin and Sean Bonniwell.

The Music Machine's "Talk Talk" was probably the most uncompromising single heard on Top 40 radio in 1966. Lead singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell growls like a misfit from Mars. The chord change leading into the bridge is audacious and unheard-of. The entire song is pure, ugly wallop. Unfortunately, "Talk Talk" was only a minor hit nationally. Worse still, the Music Machine became a one hit wonder, which means that relatively few people have heard the marvelous body of work that fleshes out the promise of "Talk Talk."

That is a situation that can now be remedied, thanks to the release of these two CDs, which comprise almost the entire Music Machine catalogue (only a few are missing, and these oversights are avenged by the release of several previously unissued tracks). What is revealed in these recordings is the genius of Sean Bonniwell - a true American original.

Bonniwell has an amazing voice. The closest points of comparison are Eric Burdon, Tom Jones, and Scott McKenzie - as bizarre as that combination may seem. Bonniwell shifts effortlessly from punk screaming to smooth ballad stylings. His pitch range is incredible. He is a brilliant singer.

On top of that, he has a unique personal vision, which guides his songwriting. Beyond The Garage consists entirely of original material and is full of should-have-been hits. "The Eagle Never The Fly" a favorite of mine, is both chaotic and tightly structured. The arrangement is noisy and unrelenting, but richly textured in it's own way. The words are about ecology, predation, and (probably) love, mixed together angrily and sarcastically. This is a frightening devastating record.

Popular Music and Society

Turn On unfortunately includes five cover versions, which are adequate but much less interesting than Bonniwell's original songs. "Taxman," "See See Rider," and "Hey Joe" are the worthiest covers, with the latter being both slow (a half year before Jimi Hendrix) and operatic (!). Turn On also features "Talk Talk" and it's excellent follow-up, "The People In Me."

"Punk" that he is, Bonniwell is no snot-nosed sniveler. His approach is entirely adult, and his songs are for adults. This may be why commercial success mostly eluded him. You hear that Vox/Farfisa organ sound and expect bubblegum. What you get instead is mature psychodrama. Expecting a nasal, tenor "Come on down to my boat, baby," you get a throaty baritone, singing: "Come on in and show the world the soul you've never had, and tear away from the dreams unborn. Shed the cage that makes you sad. Come on in. Don't cry no more. Come on in…and close the door." (Another interesting comparison is the Monkees' curiously upbeat protest song "Pleasant Valley Sunday" vs. Bonniwell's much darker "In My Neighborhood," which covers the same subject.) The Music Machine had a commercial "sound" but were not juvenile or trivial enough for their own good at the time. That 1960's misfortune makes their work all the more listenable now.

Excellent musicians rounded out the Music Machine, and arrangement and production also shine in these recordings. (except that the stereo mixes are generally primitive and often annoying). One odd fact that strikes me as I listen to the Music Machine now is that they knew exactly how to use a tambourine. But that is only the least of their charms. More importantly, the Music Machine pioneered punk rock while remaining a multidimensional band that also excelled at ballads, blue-eyed soul, and even dixieland flavorings. Bonniwell's visions and dreams took him far "beyond the garage to create a panorama of American music. His songs deserve to be heard.

The packaging of Beyond The Garage lives up to the usual high standards of Sundazed Records, with the original liner notes plus several additional pages (including reflections by Bonniwell). Turn On is a bare bones reissue with no new songs or liner notes - too bad it was not a Sundazed project.

Bonniwell has also written a touching and fascinating "autobiographical novel," called Talk Talk. It is available from Christian Vision Publishing, P.O. Box 409, Porterville CA 93258