Ceremony

Ceremony Artist: Spooky Tooth with Pierre Henry
Label: Edsel Records UK
Category: Music


Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Format: Import
Media: Audio CD
Number Of Discs: 1


UPC: 740155156527
EAN: 0740155156527
ASIN: B000007S2Z


Release Date: 1998-07-14

Ceremony


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Blues Rock Blues Rock
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Tracks:

  1. Have Mercy
  2. Jubilation
  3. Confession
  4. Prayer
  5. Offering
  6. Hosanna

Similar Items:

  1. Mike Harrison
  2. Smokestack Lightning
  3. Witness
  4. The Last Puff
  5. The Mirror

Album Description

1998 reissue on Edsel of collaboration album by prog legendsSpooky Tooth with avant-garde French composer Henry, originally released in the U.S. on A&M in 1969. 'Ceremony', a fusion of electronic music & blues rock, remains a true curio of the progressive rock age. Six tracks.

Album Details

Keyboardist Gary Wright Convinced the Rest of the Band to Create an Opus Similar to that of Deep Purple's "Concerto for Group and Orchestra" and Invited his French Friend Pierre Henry to Help Write It. The Results Are a Somewhat a Mixed Bag, but Generations Since It's Release Keep Coming Back to Study it as a Period Piece.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars An electronic mass in 45 minutes, less than one hour.......2003-03-03

Gary Wright et Pierre Henry se sont rencontrés. Pierre Henry, en plein trip "Apocalypse de Saint-Jean" se dit qu'il va reprendre la liturgie catholique et en faire une messe à lui. Vous avez aimé sa "Messe pour le temps présent" illustrée par les ballets de Maurice Béjart, alors vous laisserez votre cerveau faire l'effort de pousser la porte -grinçante- de cette Eglise où il vous sera beaucoup pardonné si vous y venez avec vos indulgences pleinières.

Le rituel est assez grimaçant et l'image que vous renvoie la pochette illustre assez bien la torture à laquelle il n'est pas illusoire de comparer le "Metal Machine Music" de Lou Reed pour lequel vous aurez une pensée fugitive, tant la guitare du New-Yorkais vous semblera certes répétitive, voire agaçante, mais en aucun cas cauchemardesque.

Mais puisque vous êtes entré, sachez que vous ne sortirez pas avant d'avoir imploré le pardon d'un dieu qui n'a sûrement pas le visage angélique d'un puits de sagesse. Gary Wright se démène comme un beau diable dans le bénitier, la guitare de Luther Grosvenor s'englue dans les jurons électroniques de Frère Pierre-Henry et c'est à un mariage du Ciel et de l'Enfer auquel vous êtes convié ! Déluge sonore, et surtout symphonie en bruit bémol majeur. C'est promis-craché-par-terre, à la sortie de la messe, vous vous ruerez sur le standard de France Musique et vous demanderez où vous allez bien pouvoir trouver l'intégrale de Jean-Sébastien Bach afin de trouver la quiétude qui sied à celui qui veut quitter ce monde heureux, sans pour autant être pressé...

Je ne sais pas qui est cette Béatrice à qui cette "Ceremony" est dédiée, mais elle devait avoir une bonne migraine et s'être refusée ainsi à lui, Maître Pierre, pour qu'il lui infligeât pareil supplice. Mais quel est ce dieu qui pourrait adorer se faire adorer par un tel "Credo" ? Pour sûr qu'il envisagerait plutôt les vers si sataniques d'"Highway to Hell" ou "And when we went on down the road" chanté par un pécheur cuité au pastis pur avec grande mansuétude après avoir entendu pareille célébration.

"Cachez ces saints que je ne saurais voir", aurait écrit Paul VI après avoir écouté ce disque. "Quel culte, non mais t'as vu ce culte !", aurait rétorqué Soeur Marie-Clotilde de Saint-François-Xavier dans son couvent des Ursulines en guise de "Benedici Te". Le clergé tout entier était divisé. "Après tout, cela ne dure que 45 minutes 33. Songez que Notre Seigneur a subi cela pendant 20 heures ! Souvenons-nous que c'est de là que vient l'expression "la Grand'Messe du 20 heures" et priez Dieu que tous nous veuille absoudre.", disait en chaire le Père Isidore de La Madeleine.

On vous cloue ici une main sur la nuque et vous finissez par prier le Ciel et tous les Damnés que ce soit la vôtre. En effet, si c'était celle d'un autre, ça vous ferait une sacrée croix à porter (demain ?), isn't it ?

5 out of 5 stars Buy this now ........2002-12-19

A great collection of sounds . A classic . WGAF who intended what etc ....... This album sings , decades later .
Also get Troutmask Replica , Shut Up 'N Play Yer Guitar , Rock Of Ages and Into The Purple Valley .

4 out of 5 stars The Misunderstanding of "Ceremony".......2001-10-02

This album has had more bad said about it than it truly deserves, one must have no bias or contrived expectations of what was previously and not be critical based upon history rather than the appraisal of the new. This kind of view has damaged many careers. A short-sightedness based upon what is familiar and comfortable, rather than allowing for the exapansion of ideas and artistic musings.

Regardless of whatever will be said negatively, it cannot be denied that the band are still rocking out. This is the third installation in the "Spooky Tooth" catalog (regardless of what others may have you believe, it does say 'Spooky Tooth' on the spine of both the album and the CD versions I have), it was released in December of 1969 in the UK and February of 1970 in the US.

The British music press actually rated the album highly upon initial release. The US press it recieved was nothing more than a historical footnote and with more attention given to the departure of 'Gary Wright'("Dream Weaver") than to the actual album, while original bassist Greg Ridley/bass/vocals, had left previously in the spring of '69 for the more commercially succesful 'Humble Pie' with Peter Frampton and Steve Marriot. He was replaced for this album by Andy Leigh/bass.

Gary Wright was not replaced but did return later. At the time of the US release a press interview in England had Mike Harrison/vocals/piano and Mike Kellie/drums/vocals, commenting upon the recent shift in personnel and how "they" didn't care for the "Ceremony" sessions and resulting album which really whatever sales momentum the album had and what momentum the band may have had as well since the band had ground to a halt. They had to regroup rather than gain income and exposure from a supporting tour.

The album has six tracks that are presented as a whole rather than individually packaged singles, not that I'm implying that this was a 'singles' band, but the feel of the album is more in terms of a complete picture versus several different unrelated pictures as on 'It's All About' and 'Spooky Two' which were not conceptually linked or cohesive. This is an electronic mass.

The music played by the band is dark and menacing, loud and heavy, which is what they were all about. The overdubbed electronics supplied by Pierre Henry, I find to be visionary in terms of musical growth. This is prototypical music, many later bands would use oblique electronics within their song structures, early 'Roxy Music/Eno','Pere Ubu', 'Moby' and 'The Orb'.

The strongest songs from the set are the lead track 'Have Mercy' a hard rocker, 'Prayer' with a great vocal by Gary Wright singing 'The Lords Prayer', the percussive 'Offering', and 'Hosanna' with a blistering lead solo from Luther Grosvenor. The strangest song on the album is 'Jubilation'. The third track-'Confession' also rocks but the lead-in electronic hammering is a bit to get past but is worth the effort.

This is not the first pick in their catalog but I would not pass it up if you really like the band and if you want something more than 'The Last Puff' and 'Spooky Two' which are first picks in the bands catalog still in print, only a few though are remastered. The Edsel reissue comes with a great 10 page insert with clippings and interviews of the time.

2 out of 5 stars Spooky Tooth should have stayed home from church........1999-10-07

Anyone familiar with this album knows that Spooky Tooth's involvement was originally in the context of "session work." In other words, Ceremony was never meant to be an official Spooky Tooth album, let alone the follow-up to the superb Spooky Two. The band recorded the tracks for Henry in a matter of days and moved on. Little did they know that their record label would market the LP as a Spooky Tooth album. Evidently, this fiasco was one of the main reasons the band decided to break up in '70. They thankfully reformed later on with help from their pals in Joe Cocker's Grease Band, and were able to create the excellent Last Puff album (which is highly recommended over this mess).

4 out of 5 stars

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