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- UNRELEASED BOWIE
His unissued back catalogue remains hideously unexplored by EMI – we tell you what they should do - ISAAC HAYES
The baaad mother opens his mouth in this unpublished 1995 interview; we pay our respects - CLIFF RICHARD
In 1958 he rocked the world and left behind a slew of collectables, the Top 50 of which we present to you now
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Mars Bonfire - Faster Than The Speed Of Life
Born To Be Wild man’s cool ’69 solo
The story of Mars Bonfire and this casually iconic West Coast set is a strange inversion of the usual “lost folk/psych-rock classic” trajectory of briefly burning talent and hope, frustration and failure. It just so happens that Mars was an early member of Canadian LA rock legends Steppenwolf, quitting the band just before they cut his Born To Be Wild, which 10 minutes’ work provided him with a tidy annual income in perpetuity.
Continuing as a session man for Steppenwolf, Kim Fowley, The Seeds and even the Modern Lovers, Mars referred to his solo outing as “a publisher’s demo with artwork”, but it’s much better than that. Apart from Born To Be Wild, many of these tracks ended up on Steppenwolf LPs (Ride With Me, Baby and Lady Moon Walker are top cuts) but here they reflect a strong personal Warhol influence to end up sounding very Loaded, or like a less showy, laidback Doors. I’m sure he wouldn’t agree, but it’s a shame Mars didn’t need to work again beyond the mid 70s.
Rev-Ola | CR REV 225
Reviewed by Derek Hammond
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