| Ira
Robbins Reviews Armand's Carrer Thus Far
To
describe Armand Schaubroeck as over the top hardly does him
justice. This incredible independent-recording oddball began
his musical career in the mid-'60s, after a prison stay (he
was convicted of grand larceny). Although his subsequent livelihood
has resulted from a well-known music store he owns and operates
in upstate New York, he has found time to make a large oeuvre
of albums and singles that spring from his bitterness and
cynicism. Yet Schaubroeck is no raving looney--his records
are intense but they're sane, and ambitiously conceived and
executed. And while his musical and songwriting skills have
grown by leaps and bounds over the years, he has never mellowed--his
fifth album is more intense and gritty than any of his others,
save the first.
A
Lot of People Would Like to See Armand Schaubroeck...DEAD,
the cover of which pictures the artist with a bullet hole
in his forehead, is a three-record extravaganza in quadraphonic
sound (!) that, in 22 scenes combining songs and dialogue,
tells the story of Schaubroeck's teenaged incarceration. While
powerful and impressive, the subject and treatment is far
too personal to be of general interest, and the length makes
complete listening a real challenge. This catharsis may have
been necessary for him, but it's more an accomplishment than
an entertainment.
Religion
is the general subject of Schaubroeck's second effort. His
vicious cover picture and many of the record's lyrics criticize
various aspects of the church, but he couches it all in subdued,
sophisticated music that's superficially attractive. While
cleverly sardonic, the laconic treatment wants for more unleashed
aggression.
Live
at the Holiday Inn features six songs on two discs. Armed
with an eight-piece band and facing a seemingly enthusiastic
audience, Schaubroeck performs selections from his first LP,
giving the songs (written, actually, in the late '60s) the
benefit of improved singing and stronger musical backing.
The band hits a repetitive groove while Armand improvises
and draws out the vocal portions ad infinitum. A powerful
document.
Shakin'
Shakin' adds a rockabilly twinge for several tunes; lyrics
about winning and losing at love make the record's stance
almost appealing. There's still bitterness, but Armand sounds
more upbeat than usual. Unfortunately, despite great sound
quality and solid playing, the album's bland.
With
Ratfucker, Schaubroeck created the masterpiece he'd been building
toward. Were it not for the indelicate title and similarly
strong language throughout, this concept album about death
and depravity might have finally found him a major audience.
Schaubroeck--as Lou Reed has also done, especially on The
Blue Mask--posits himself as an assortment of wretched characters--a
flesh peddler, a hired killer, an abuser of women--and sneers
his way to disconcerting believability against a musical backdrop
of excellent uptempo rock and funk. Cinematic and convincing,
obscuring the line between art and life, Ratfucker uses horns
and a background chorus to complement the characters' singing,
talking and growling. In painting images of villains who wear
their sickness like a badge, Schaubroeck delivers a rough,
stunning tour de force.
J
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The
Gibson "Armand Schaubroeck Blues Guitar" is a guitar
that was designed by Armand Schaubroeck to fuse the original
Mississippi Delta Blues resonator sounds of the 1920s and
30s with the Chicago Electric Blues of the 1950s and 60s.
The guitar was built by Gibson master luthier Ren Ferguson
and boasts a highly flamed maple body and neck, ebony fingerboard
with deluxe inlays and binding, gold hardware and Bigsby tailpiece.
The guitar also features a Dobro spider resonator with a Fishman
acoustic transducer pickup, active electronics and a single
Gibson humbucker in the neck position with coil-tapping capability
(accessible through the push-pull tone control). Wired for
stereo, the guitar offers separate outputs for acoustic and
electric pickups or a blend of both, stereo or mono.--Edward
Tywoniak
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