Sunday, November 13, 2011

WAYNE THE HARP

Aum was discovered by photographer Jim Marshall when the band performed at Swiss Village in San Francisco in 1968. Marshall brought Aum to Bill Graham's attention and to the "Sounds of the City" auditions at the Fillmore West where the band wowed the audience. The blues-rock group featured Wayne Ceballos, Kenneth Newell, and Larry Martin. The trio lasted through 1970 and released two albums.
Led by singer/multi-instrumentalist Wayne Ceballos, the little know Aum stand as also-rans in the lexicon of '60s San Francisco bands. With drummer Larry Martin and bassist Ken Newell rounding out the trio, the group's initial reputation stemmed from their jam-oriented concerts.

Initially signed by the London-affiliated Sire label, as one would expect from the title, the group's 1969's "Bluesvibes" found them working in a distinctively blues-vein. Reflecting the band's live act, the Richard Gotthrer produced debut featured a series of seven extended jams, (the shortest song clocking in at 4 minutes). With Ceballos writing the majority of the material, in spite of period excesses , originals such as "Mississippi Mud" and "Chilli Woman" weren't half bad. Moreover, Ceballos proved a decent singer, injecting considerable energy into his performances. Among the few missteps, the band's ponderous cover of John Loudermilk's "Tobacco Road" would've been suitable for Vanilla Fudge. Commercially the set proved a non-entity; quickly vanishing into cutout bins.


1.) Tobacco Road (John Loundermilk) - 6:54
2.) Mississippi Mud (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 4:03
3.) My Bridge Blues (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 5:41
4.) Chilli Woman (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 4:34

5.) Little Help from You (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 6:54
6.) Movin' Man (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 7:48
7.) You Can't Hide (Wayne the Harp Ceballos) - 7:24





1 comments:

Lanzarishi said...

I cannot believe Aum never recorded again nor did Wayne Cabellos. The 2nd album was far better than this and in the blink of an eye they were gone never to be heard from again. Quite bizarre.

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