The Flock – The Flock

“The Flock” is an excellent album from 1969, the boom year of brass bands and is the debut album of the group of the same name, whose sound includes guitar, bass, drums, backed by trumpet, two tenor saxophones, with the second to take the place usually occupied by the trombone in the typical wind instruments of the time, and a violin.
This resulted in Flock sounding completely different from other similar bands. The audience connecting the sound of their tracks is an exciting, inspiring and manic energy. Their sound was a bit too experimental and avant-garde to make a pop career, and to like it one simply has to learn to appreciate the slightly off-kilter vocals of the group’s guitarist Fred Glickstein.

What really stands out on the album is Fred Glickstein’s electric guitar, but also the band’s secret weapon, which is Jerry Goodman’s violin. The tracks on the album generally add quite a dose of jazz to the mix of an unconventional, as we mentioned above, horn section.

In “Introduction” we have violinist Jerry Goodman’s solo (who later played with John McLaughlin) in a beautiful, yet unsettling sound. The track is what defines the bold fusion of classical and rock.

“Clown” next is the best, most inspired song on the album and one the favorite rock songs of all time. It starts with fast driving beats and lyrics of sick humor. Jerry’s violin solo, then backed with the same tempo bass used by the Beatles in “Hey Bulldog”. This song alone makes the album a highlight and Flock an important band.

“I Am The Tall Tree” is a beautiful song, starring Jerry Goodman’s fiddle, sounding quiet and reflective, punctuated in the middle by a suddenly hard charge and another brilliant burst of brass.

“Tired Of Waiting” is a cover of the Kinks hit.

“Store Bought, Store Thought” is a fearless hard rock track about a mechanical man, with a quiet sequence of sounds until its climax.

“Truth” finally is a 15-minute extravaganza, dominated by a bluesy song with wild lyrics.

This album is a rare and overlooked treasure. An analyst once said of this, “You’ll like it, but your wife won’t.”

From this excellent album I choose the track “Clown”.

Tracklist

1. Introduction 4:50
2. Clown 7:42
3. I Am The Tall Tree 5:37
4. Tired Of Waiting 4:35
5. Store Bought – Store Thought 7:00
6. Truth 15:25