Genre: psych
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: One Man's Queen is Another Man's Sweat Hot
Company: AVCO Embassy
Catalog: 33010
Year: 1970
Country/State: New York
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: minor ring wear
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 4941
Price: $100.00
I'm guessing this one's value is largely a result of it's relative rarity (particularly for a major label release), as opposed to it's musical quality. That's not to say 1970's "One Man's Queen is Another Man's Sweat Hot" is without its share of charm.
Unfortunately there's next to no bibliographical information to be found on the band on the web. One of the few reference indicates they were from New York, which is supported by the fact the album was recorded at the Hempstead, NY based Ultra-Sonic Recording Studios and the fact the liner notes make reference to The Fillmore East. On the other hand their drug bust song 'The Night the Pig Got Loose' makes reference to the Carrabbassett Valley police department. I think Carrabbassett Valley is located in Maine ... Who knows?
Credited
with penning all seven tracks, lead singer Peter Masi had an interesting
voice. Technically he wasn't the most accomplished performer you've
ever heard, but his dry, craggy delivery was well suited for the band's mix
of blues-rock and lite psych sounds. At least to my ears nothing
here was particularly ground shaking or even artistically original,
though the individual performances were quite good throughout with much of
the credit due to the band's rhythm section (Brian and Noel Cassidy).
It's also one of those albums that seems to get better with repeated spins,
tracks like 'I'm Sure We're Gonna Die',
'Overhead Ego' and 'Open Your Gate' revealing some surprisingly complex
structures and arrangements that were initially overlooked. Highlights for
me included the blazing 'Overhead Ego' and the atypically commercial
'Disillusion # 1'.
"One
Man's Queen is Another Man's Sweat Hot" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) The Night the Pig Got Loose (Peter Masi) - 4:33
2.) Mr. M, Mr. N. and Mr. C (with Help from Mr. D) (Peter Masi) - 4:28
3.) I'm Sure We're
Gonna Die (Peter Masi) - 8:52
(side
2)
1.) Overhead Ego (Peter Masi) - 3:53
2.) Disillusion # 1 (Peter Masi) - 3:07
3.) Open Up Your Gate (Peter Masi) - 3:51
4.) The Reason Why We're Here (Peter Masi) - 5:32
As far as I can tell this is the extent of the band's recording career, though Masi reappeared in the mid-1970s supporting Mason Bricke.