In a way, it was predictable that a country as set on the Anglo rock culture as Israel would produce a few solid acts. There were few of those, and it’s a shame that JERICHO JONES didn’t make it big. Still, were they any different from many a band on the thriving British scene of the early ’70s? GUN, anyone?
School friends THE CHURCHILLS went to London, changed their name to JERICHO JONES and at the time of the second – and last – album, to JERICHO, toured Europe yet weren’t destines for success, so they broke up to return to Israel and became famous there. That’s the story – and here’s the music, progressive heavy rock deeply rooted in the previous decade.Swaying from madrigal of Triangulum to No School Today with its three-guitars unison, this innocence beams from Mare Tranqilitatas until Man In The Crowd churns with “wha-wha” of CREAM-period Clapton (check the Freedom riff, eh?) with singing from gentle to cutting.
A kind of acid romanticism, the drift may be haunting like spaced-out title track, although there’s hardly a catchy melody on offer. All drawn from blues, countrified in There Is Always A Train and drenched in orchestra for Yellow And Blue full of lulling harmonies. Time Is Now is an exception – sharp and beautiful, the best vocals performance of all and a chorus to be hooked on, three minutes aren’t enough.
And sure, bonus track Mama’s Gonna Take You Home sounds like a cross between Strange Kind Of Woman and Dead End Street, while Hey Man and So Come On could have been sung by SLADE – all hits uncharted.
Origin thing, then? Well, fantastic What Have We Got To Lose owes more to the Fabs’ Rishikesh trip than to real Jericho. Charming Champs comes closer but Mona Mona could have broken those wall again. An opportunity missed.
SETLIST:
01. Mare Tranquilitatas
02. Man in the Crowd
03. There Is Always a Train
04. Yellow and Blue
05. Freedom
06. Trangulum
07. No School To-Day
08. Junkies Monkeys & Donkeys
09. Time Is Now
10. What Have We Got to Lose
CD bonus tracks /1990/:
11. Mama‘s Gonna Take You Home
12. So Come On
13. Mona Mona
14. Champs
15. Hey Man
MUSICIANS:
Robb Huxley – guitar, vocals
Miki Gavrielov – bass
Haim Romano – guitar
Dani Shoshan – lead vocals
Ami Traibetch – drums
Originally published: DME – LET IT ROCK
Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys
Hard Rock
1971
LP
10
CD Repertoire Records – RR 4101-WZ /1990/
Fantázia, rovnako tak aj pokračovanie pod názvom JERICHO…
Dmitry, díky!
I really like this group, the next album Jericho is a masterpiece. But this one pleases me too. Thanks for this post.