(2020) Rhinoceros - The Elektra Albums 1968-1970


Review:
When one thinks of bands assembled by audition, The Monkees usually spring to mind. Davy, Micky, Peter, and Michael had been assembled by Screen Gems for the purposes of starring in a new television sitcom, and by sheer force of will became a “real” band making some of the era’s most intoxicating music. But The Monkees were far from the only group to come together in a less-than-organic fashion. Cherry Red’s Esoteric Recordings imprint has recently celebrated another such band, Rhinoceros, with the release of the 3-CD collection The Elektra Albums 1968-1970. Producers Paul Rothchild (The Doors, Love) and Frazier Mohawk (Kaleidoscope, Nico) hit upon the notion of a made-to-order band for their label home of Elektra Records. They held auditions and ended up with a versatile seven-piece combo initially consisting of Canadian band Jon & Lee & The Checkmates’ John Finley (vocals), Alan Gerber (piano/vocals), Iron Butterfly’s Danny Weis (guitar/piano), ex-Buffalo Springfield replacement member Doug Hastings (guitar), The Checkmates and Electric Flag’s Michael Fonfara (organ), Iron Butterfly’s Jerry Penrod (bass), and The Mothers of Invention’s Billy Mundi (drums/percussion). (Mundi was a last-minute fill-in for Jon Keliehor.) The supergroup – with some personnel shifts – recorded three albums for Elektra before breaking up.  Esoteric has collected all three of those on The Elektra Albums: Rhinoceros (1968), Satin Chickens (1969), and Better Times Are Coming (1970). Rhinoceros introduced the band’s big and heavy yet R&B-infused sound on a slate of original songs and two Little Richard covers (“I Need Love” and “You’re My Girl (I Don’t Want to Discuss It).”  Yet it was only met with moderate success; Weis and Fonfara’s high-octane, organ-and-guitar-driven instrumental “Apricot Brandy” just peaked within the top 50 of the Hot 100.  (It did have an extended life when BBC Radio One picked it up as the theme for two programs.)  “I Will Serenade You” only achieved hit status when Three Dog Night recorded a slightly reworked version as “Let Me Serenade You.” Jerry Penrod departed the ranks following the debut album, with Peter Hodgson stepping in on bass for sophomore album Satin Chickens.  (Hodgson, Finley’s cousin and another ex-Checkmate, had originally been approached before Penrod joined the band.)  The band opted not to work with Paul Rothchild and so Elektra A&R chief David Anderle, with whom they’d worked backing David Ackles, was selected to produce.  The album – which opened with a brief instrumental rendition of Duke Ellington’s “Satin Doll” in suitably jazzy fashion – fared only slightly better than its predecessor but its original songs found the bandmates leaning even more heavily into a soul-based sound which would find fullest flower on Album # 3.  They even acknowledged that other “manufactured” group with “Monkee Man.” Behind the scenes, Rhinoceros was in disarray, compounded by the fact that their management had fumbled an opportunity to play Woodstock.  Billy Mundi, Alan Gerber, and Doug Hastings all jumped ship after Satin Chickens.  Duke Edwards and Larry Leishman came in on drums and guitars, respectively, while the piano slot was left unfilled.  The six-piece unit pressed on for one more LP: Better Times Are Coming, with Guy Draper producing at Phil Ramone’s A&R Studios.  (Ramone engineered some of the sessions himself.)  Draper, with whom the band didn’t get along, did help them shape a funky, groove-based soul sound indebted to Sly and the Family Stone or The Chambers Brothers.  The songs were uniformly fine, too, including the period statement of “It’s a Groovy World.” Friction among the members led to Rhinoceros’ breakup.  But before they said their farewells, Finley, Weis, Fonfara, Hodgson, and Leishman joined with Zeke Sheppard and Richard Steinberg reteamed with Paul Rothchild as Blackstone.  Their lone LP appeared on the GRP label in 1973, adhering to the concept Rothchild had proposed to them at Elektra of half-covers, half-originals.  Blackstone covered The Neville Brothers, Sam Cooke, Dr. John, and others, but the album didn’t make much noise.  Rhinoceros didn’t reunite until 2009 when Finley, Gerber, Weis, Fonfara, and Hodgson took the stage at the Kitchener Blues Festival in Ontario, Canada.





Tracklist:

CD One: Rhinoceros
01. When You Say You're Sorry
02. Same Old Way
03. Apricot Brandy
04. That Time Of The Year
05. You're My Girl (I Don't Want To Discuss It)
06. I Need Love
07. I've Been There
08. Belbuekus
09. Along Comes Tomorrow
10. I Will Serenade You

CD Two: Satin Chickens
01. Satin Doll
02. Monkee Man
03. Find My Hand
04. Top Of The Ladder
05. Sugar Foot Rag
06. Don't Come Crying
07. Chicken
08. It's The Same Thing
09. In A Little Room
10. Funk Butt
11. Back Door

CD Three: Better Times Are Coming
01. Better Times
02. Old Age
03. Sweet, Nice 'N' High
04. Just Me
05. Happiness
06. Somewhere
07. It's A Groovy World
08. Insanity
09. Lady Of Fortune
10. Let's Party
11. Rain Child


Media Report:
Genre: rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits