'SANDS of TIME/ AUTOMATIC PILOT ' 45 ' 73
the name was taken from KEITH RICHARD's favorite drink, the lp is called 'TOKYO/NEW YORK'...'72...it's sound is very influenced by T.REX, BOWIE, and the STONES...the lp begins with an organ intro...and then you can hear japanese vocals on the beginning of 'automatic pilot'...a bopper in the style of BOLAN...'BILLY MARS' a hard glam song, super guitar work, has lyrics such as ' i lost my lover to billy mars ' and sounds a LOT like BOWIE and the spiders...'terminal city' is a bit slower, and this one also has a strong BOWIE influenced sound, like the part pronounced 'METROPLOITAN MADNESS' !.... ...allthough most songs are in english 'SANDS OF TIME' with lyrics in japanese is another standout, perhaps the epic of side 1...and that side ends with another BOLAN styled gem called 'PONTIAC PAN', with some fine glam guitars shining *
VODKA COLLINS lp ' TOKYO-NEW YORK ' '73 ,
side 2 is equally as good...'DIAMOND TO DUNGAREES 'has the basic STONES guitar sound...both 'monitor', and 'vacuum girl' sound like songs with a very strong 'ELECTRIC WARRIOR'sound.....and the finale 'SCRATCHIN' is a great closing with electric guitar thrashing against an irrestible beat,hypnotic in parts, the band achieve a perfect plastic sound here ...
the whole lp has very good vocals from ALAN MERRILL , and HIROSHI OHGUCHI, these 2 are the main instrumentalists, while TAKE YOGUCHI does a GREAT job on the bass guitar...well this lp is a must for ARROWS fans , as it was a precursor of sounds to come...and a great lost rock lp of the 70's.....in japan VODKA COLLINS have a large fan base, ...whereas in the states not many people know about this band...
vodka collins have released 3 lp's in the 90's....on the '98 lp 'boy's life' there are some good tunes along the lines of the STONES, especially KEITH RICHARD's solo work, among the highlights are 'passion and emotion' 'foreign prince of tokyo' where he sings that was a long time ago, i was the foreign prince of tokyo'...the best number is a live version of 'knife' with the lyrics, 'and the knife cuts both ways'...the lp suffers from overblown songs.....
The golden opportunity you are seeking is in yourself. It is not in your environment; it is not in luck or chance, or the help of others; it is in yourself alone. --Orison Swett Marden
ARROWS demos featuring ALAN MERILL , reviews on page 14 *
Accept the things to which fate binds you, and love the people with whom fate brings you together, but do so with all your heart. --Marcus Aurelius
please see our reviews of ARROWS singles on page 4, the lp on page 5 along with a special section there on many writeups MERRILL sent to us about his early days of VODKA COLLINS - STREAK - ARROWS - RUNNER, SOLO WORK, etc.
