Flashbacks to 1965 Beatles plus a touch of the spirit of ‘70s punky pop led at least one magazine to declare this the first Christian new wave lp. Yeah I can buy that sort of. ‘Birthsong’ for example has a smackerel of a homogenized Knack and ‘Don’t Look Now’ has that spunky ska organ routine that typified the genre. Perhaps more aptly called a retrospective pop lp - and a fun one at that, kind of like Phil Keaggy and Sunday’s Child. Several ballads, sometimes with a flash of Everly Brothers. And of course the obligatory ccm picks. Al Perkins produced. (Ken Scott – The Archivist).
Tracks:
01. Hold Me Tonight
02. Birthsong
03. For All You Know
04. A Place For Love
05. Hungry World
06. Don't Look Now
07. All To Pieces
08. Standing At The Door
09. Arms Of The Lord
10. Why?
Members: Dave Kelly, Derek Jeffery, James Kehn, David MacKay, Al Perkins
Biterate: VBR Download
"And now we'd like to do ' 'Ark, the angels come' " said John Lennon sarcastically before the Beatles launched into the track 'Let it be' on the album of the same name (it may be that producer Phil Spector just interjected that bit from the numerous pieces of studio banter as the LP was meant to be their warts and all return to their roots).
ReplyDeleteSo from the very title of the album and the bandname, there is a Beatle thread running through this work. Although chronicler Mark Allan Powell sees the vocal style as a cross between the Hollies and the Byrds (and Crosby/Nash), it is so beatlesque that it's quite amusing in parts. It's also worth pointing out for trivia buffs that in '63/'64 the Hollies were the Beatles chief competitors (along with the Dave Clark 5 ! ) in the UK while the Byrds were their first significant American rivals, come '65, even before Dylan in a way.
But enough of all that, what of 'Ark ? They are rather Beatlesque, even more so than the Joystrings on "Well seasoned". Apart from shamelessly plundering the riff from George Harrison's " I need you" on one of the songs and indeed, on a few of them it's almost like George had become a christian, the vocal is that close, the album is a pretty good one that actually has more going for it after a few listens. It is somewhat polished and the band has the benefit of having a set of vocalists whose voices fit together beautifully. Sometimes, you get songs that are harmonised all the way through and it's impossible almost, to work out what the actual melodies are. Not so here. The melody is always 'in yer face' but the harmonies are pretty strong too.
It's not a deep album lyrically; in fact it's what I call 'standard fare' in that dept. But it's musically strong and not particularly predictable in total though it contains what went on to be soft rock cliches.
The band have recently been described as 'criminally unsuccessful' and this was apparently their only album. It's relatively varied but like a number of albums that pop up on this blog and Heavenly grooves, it has a retrospective worth that makes it far more important than it would've been at the time of it's release.
I have always wanted this in digital format. I have the album and cassette. For some of us who go way back in the old Jesus music days this is a classic example of a work that should have gotten more attention than it did.
ReplyDeleteI've just come across an album from 1980 by one of the members of this band, Dave Kelly, called "Crowning of a simple man". I'm re-listening to it as I type this now. It is a really good Lp, kind of part two of this one by 'Ark. In fact, the two LPs could easilly have made a double album, although it would've been a double album with little variation. Still good though. Much of the line up on the album is the one Bob Dylan used for the "Saved" or "Slow Train" sessions {Kelly was working for Dylan at the time}though the music is absolutely nothing like the music on either of those two LPs. If you go to the Parchment website, you'll find info on the man and the circumstances of the album - they're fascinating and tragic.And if you type in "index of MP3/ One way.org" or something like that, you'll come across a veritable treasure trove of free out of print albums for download - of which Dave Kelly's is one {grimtraveller}.
ReplyDeleteIs there any chance you could re-post the 'Ark album, at least the last cut, "Why?" It sounds like the needle on your turntable got pretty dusted by that time. "Why" is almost unlistenable. Thanks all the same for helping me re-discovder one of my fave CCM albums.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was playing in a duo, "Humblewood" in the nineties, I got to hear about this album from my partner. (R.I.P.) According to him it was the only album worth having.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Brian. The quality of the vinyl to digital transfer seems a little frayed near the end. I have so many recordings like that but hey it comes shining through.
I was thinking about the title and it might not have been a holler back to the Beatles, but instead a hint of 'one of the Great Four Anglican Hymns' 'Hark The Herald Angels Sing' ;)
Christian 'Badfinger' ? Awesome!
ReplyDeleteI would like to inform anyone interested in the Ark album, that I am close to completing my agreement with Dave Kelly, the leader of Ark to release the Ark album plus his solo album on iTunes. If it is okay with you, please let me add a few comments to what has been written here based on my recent conversations with Dave Kelly. Firstly, well done Grimtraveller for noticing the tongue-in-cheek but affectionate nod to the Lads (Beatles)In spite of what has been written elsewhere, Dave Kelly and his songwriting partner, Derek Jeffery were the only two members of Ark that were from the UK (Scotland to be precise). The other band members were American and were friends of Al Perkins. The Beatlish flavor to their music is not surprising once you know that they won a national Battle of the Bands contest in England in 1969 where the prize was a record contract with Apple Records. This is where these two singer/songwriters began their musical career, alongside artists like Badfinger, who were then called The Iveys. Ironically years later Dave Kelly was invited to join Badfinger as a replacement for lead singer Pete Ham, but declined due to prevalent drug culture of bands in that day. After the Beatles broke up, Dave and Derek were signed to Warner Brothers Records in London, the same day as the group America joined the label. They toured Europe as the opening act for Pink Floyd, Genesis, Yes and ELO, among others.
ReplyDeleteAfter coming to America and becoming Christians, they met Al Perkins, a renowned session guitarist who had recorded with everyone from the Beach Boys, Crosby Stills and Nash, to the Eagles. He loved the obvious Beatle influence and decided to not only produce the duo but join the band as the lead guitarist. This shocked many of Al's superstar friends and caused Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Bernie Leadon of the Eagles to come out to see Ark perform in Los Angeles. The group was actually called ARK not 'ARK, but the record company screwed up the graphics on the album cover. The phrase taken from Let it Be was in fact "And now we'd like to sing 'Ark the Angels Come" which was Lennon parodying the old English hymn Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It's interesting that someone mentioned The Knack, because they were a band that was signed to RCA at the time the Ark record came out, and RCA offered to release the Ark album worldwide as a pop album if Dave would remove the line for the song Hungry World "Jesus is the only way". Needless to say that wasn't going to happen. Surprisingly every major Christian label refused to sign them because they sounded too much like the British New Wave that was on the radio at the time. The only rock type of music that was available in the CCM world back then was Larry Norman, Sweet Comfort Band, Keith Green and DeGarmo & Key. Ark were way more mainstream than any of those guys as they were in fact a UK mainstream band. But after being turned away by Word, Sparrow, Benson, Myrrh etc they considered themselves very lucky that a small indie start-up by the name of Spirit, took a chance on them. Unfortunately the label folded shortly after due to lack of investors. Someone else said that the band was criminally unsuccessful, but what many don't realize was that the album won the Album of the Year Award for 1979 from Campus Life Magazine, which was the most popular Christian magazine at the time. After their record label went out of business, Derek went back to live in England. Dave decided to stay in Christian music and recorded a solo album, which contained many of the songs that he had planned for the second Ark album. He produced the album himself, and the Beatles connection continued when Jim Keltner offered to play the drums for his album. Jim Keltner had been the drummer on all of George Harrison's solo albums as well as a number of John Lennon albums. Additionally, Dave was able to record a couple of songs in ELO's studio, using their string arranger and string players to enhance the tracks. Unfortunately Dave Dave's wife died on Christmas morning 1980 and his newborn son died a week later on New Years Eve. Tragically, Dave had been booked the following month to tour the country promoting his solo album. That, of course, never came to pass and his music slipped into Christian rock history. One other note for those who keep comparing his music to the Byrds and the Hollies, I have to agree but both of these bands tried to sound like the Beatles. George Harrison even wrote a song for the Hollies, and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds tried to sound like George Harrison by playing a Rickenbcker 12 string guitar. Dave Kelly also played either a Rickenbacker 6 string or 12 string as well, so no surprise in the similarity of sound. The big difference here, I think everyone needs to take into consideration when delegating these guys to cheap copycats is that the Byrds and the Hollies both admired the Beatles and wanted to sound like them, but the Beatles themselves thought Dave Kelly and Derek Jeffery were good enough to offer them a record contract with Apple Records. This is a major accomplishment in my opinion, and that's why I think they are special and why I want to make sure their music is made available on iTunes.
ReplyDeleteAfter coming to America and becoming Christians, they met Al Perkins, a renowned session guitarist who had recorded with everyone from the Beach Boys, Crosby Stills and Nash, to the Eagles. He loved the obvious Beatle influence and decided to not only produce the duo but join the band as the lead guitarist. This shocked many of Al's superstar friends and caused Roger McGuinn of the Byrds and Bernie Leadon of the Eagles to come out to see Ark perform in Los Angeles. The group was actually called ARK not 'ARK, but the record company screwed up the graphics on the album cover. The phrase taken from Let it Be was in fact "And now we'd like to sing 'Ark the Angels Come" which was Lennon parodying the old English hymn Hark the Herald Angels Sing. It's interesting that someone mentioned The Knack, because they were a band that was signed to RCA at the time the Ark record came out, and RCA offered to release the Ark album worldwide as a pop album if Dave would remove the line for the song Hungry World "Jesus is the only way". Needless to say that wasn't going to happen. Surprisingly every major Christian label refused to sign them because they sounded too much like the British New Wave that was on the radio at the time. The only rock type of music that was available in the CCM world back then was Larry Norman, Sweet Comfort Band, Keith Green and DeGarmo & Key. Ark were way more mainstream than any of those guys as they were in fact a UK mainstream band. But after being turned away by Word, Sparrow, Benson, Myrrh etc they considered themselves very lucky that a small indie start-up by the name of Spirit, took a chance on them. Unfortunately the label folded shortly after due to lack of investors.
ReplyDeleteSomeone else said that the band was criminally unsuccessful, but what many don't realize was that the album won the Album of the Year Award for 1979 from Campus Life Magazine, which was the most popular Christian magazine at the time. After their record label went out of business, Derek went back to live in England. Dave decided to stay in Christian music and recorded a solo album, which contained many of the songs that he had planned for the second Ark album. He produced the album himself, and the Beatles connection continued when Jim Keltner offered to play the drums for his album. Jim Keltner had been the drummer on all of George Harrison's solo albums as well as a number of John Lennon albums. Additionally, Dave was able to record a couple of songs in ELO's studio, using their string arranger and string players to enhance the tracks. Unfortunately Dave Dave's wife died on Christmas morning 1980 and his newborn son died a week later on New Years Eve. Tragically, Dave had been booked the following month to tour the country promoting his solo album. That, of course, never came to pass and his music slipped into Christian rock history. One other note for those who keep comparing his music to the Byrds and the Hollies, I have to agree but both of these bands tried to sound like the Beatles. George Harrison even wrote a song for the Hollies, and Roger McGuinn of the Byrds tried to sound like George Harrison by playing a Rickenbcker 12 string guitar. Dave Kelly also played either a Rickenbacker 6 string or 12 string as well, so no surprise in the similarity of sound. The big difference here, I think everyone needs to take into consideration when delegating these guys to cheap copycats is that the Byrds and the Hollies both admired the Beatles and wanted to sound like them, but the Beatles themselves thought Dave Kelly and Derek Jeffery were good enough to offer them a record contract with Apple Records. This is a major accomplishment in my opinion, and that's why I think they are special and why I want to make sure their music is made available on iTunes.
ReplyDelete