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BIGELF – MONEY MACHINE
KNAC
by S. L. Duff
 f you call some music "retro," the musicians get angry and snarl about being misunderstood. I'm reasonably confident if you flung that handle at the players in Bigelf, they'd slap you on the back and buy you a beer. As their website states, they "navigate the narrow passage between Boston and Spinal Tap," (They said it, not me). Retro might not even be truly accurate for these guys; "historical revisionists" might be closer to the mark. It's almost as if they were frozen along with Austin Powers and came back to rescue rock from the corporate bloating that ensued in the '70s and everything dopey that happened after that. While some bands replicated the 60's garage style (this was particularly popular in the '80s, the biggest decade for retro), or rehashed the bible according to AC/DC or the history of Aerosmith, Bigelf gets even more specific than that. It's as if they put their time machine down in the middle of Picadilly (Psychedeli) Square, a few blocks from King's Road, sometime in the summer of 1969. King Crimson is debuting in Hyde Park at the Brian Jones Memorial headlined by the Stones, Procol Harum has been tinkering with bigger orchestral settings, and word down at the Marquee is that the New Yardbirds are going to go play Sweden. Bigelf are an L.A. trio whose music has largely been met with apathy stateside, though in Europe they seem to be getting a foothold with Record Heaven, a Swedish label. The nine impressive jams that make up this collection are a perfect fit to this recreated summer and locale, and Bigelf seem to enjoy nothing quite so much as their own authenticity. Some of the piecing together of parts is uncanny. The King Crimson parts (there's really nothing else to call these sections) are something, but you'd have to be a certified Crimson nut (like me, I admit it) to recognize them. The beginning of the lengthy crescendo in the title track is straight from the middle section of "Pictures of a City" from Crimson's second. "Neuropsychopathic Eye" is basically a re-write of "21st Century Schizoid Man," all the way down to distorted vocal breaks. If you're scratching your head wondering what these references are all about, you were either not born yet in 1969, or you missed this music the first time around. Hey, it might seem fresh to you, check it out! In that case, (without using other groups as reference), Bigelf blend sophisticated hard pop songwriting with progressive rock band instrumental flourishes. If you were around then, try this: Imagine John Lennon (isn't hard to do- ha!) singing lead for King Crimson and wrangling his share of the writing duties from taskmaster Robert Fripp. Now, if I hadn't heard the record myself, and I read that, I'd go get the damn thing, because to think of two cooler, more skilled exemplars of high-end rock action than Lennon and Fripp is almost not possible. Getting back to the authenticity thing, these guys bash it out on equipment from the day. They are not fucking around. Hammond organ (try moving one, that, my friends, is dedication!), a Chamberlin (the main competitor to the Mellotron, also about as cumbersome as a Hammond), Orange tube amps, and vintage stomp boxes all make the tones as real as the playing. They even do a cover song from a band that was popular the same week we are talkin' about in '69: Atomic Rooster. Never heard of 'em? The late Vincent Crane was maybe the first genuine rock organist to really take the lead over the guitar, especially when he led the guitar-less Crazy World of Arthur Brown. (No doubt he was a major inspiration to Damon Fox of Bigelf.) Never heard of these bands? Sigh, how tragic. Well, it's a little late for a history lesson right now, buckaroo, but all of this music is still in print (thank God). Stop by my place late some night (bring some beer and nachos, you freeloading bastard) and we'll pull out the original version of the Rooster's "Death Walks Behind You" and we'll run a comparison make on it. I might even get out my Arthur Brown collection if you're really nice. Then again, maybe the best thing would just be to do the time warp and go catch a Bigelf show.
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BIGELF – MONEY MACHINE
Sweet Suffering
by The Damnator
've never been much of a fan of music described as "progressive" - actually, I've avoided it like the plague (what, me narrow-minded?)! But then, something happened. I was standing at the festival area of this year's Sweden Rock Festival, enjoying a beer, talking to some people on my way to the exit and back to the tent. But something made me stop. Something made me stop and think to myself: "what the hell is this"? What I heard was some heavy guitars sliding away into long, down-tuned Sabbath-reminding solos backed up by an even heavier Hammond organ. I felt drawn towards this weird yet compelling sound and suddenly I found myself standing in the crowd, shaking my head to these hypnotic rhythms and on the stage there were three men, all wearing long hair and beards, looking like black-dressed mad prophets. Jesus on acid. Sadly, I had to return to the tent to conduct some personal business (don't ask) so I didn't get to catch the whole concert, but I was impressed with what I had heard. Bigelf, I thought to myself, I gotta remember that name. And I did and when the opportunity came to get my hands on their latest album, "Money Machine", I didn't hesitate. The press release describes the music as "the way The Beatles would have sounded with Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath on guitar and Jon Lord from Deep Purple on organ", and I gotta admit, they really hit the spot with that one! Imagine Beatles during their cannabis-back-to-India era and with a little bit of desperation thrown into their sound, mixed with fat guitars and a corresponding organ. Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking: don't mix this and don't mix that, it'll all get too chaotic, but trust me: it doesn't! Bigelf are very talented musicians, performing a music that could be described as very technical, still the melodies are clean and very catchy! It takes a certain amount of creativity and genius to make these parts blend together well and these guys are not only pulling it off, but also they do it terrific! The lyrics are pretty simple, yet effective when put to the music. The two first tracks, "Money Machine" and "Sellout" are, for those of you who didn't get that from the titles, a big black boot in the face of the entire music industry - well, the greedy, money-rule part of it, anyway! Corporate assholes, beware! "Neuropsychopathic Eye" (which kicks off with some distorted Ozzy-like vocals) could easily have passed as a song from any Beatles album during their rawer period and has some great baby grand handling from keyboardist Damon Fox. "Side effects" begins with some really down-tuned guitars and turns out to be the most outstanding track of the album - the chorus is so simple, yet it's remarkable! Even your parents will appreciate this! Or at least they should. "Death Walks Behind You" is creepy and atmospheric (once again with some brilliant organ usage and groovy guitars) and the closing track "The Bitter End" is slow-paced with calm vocals, soothing keyboards and long, spiraling guitar solos. Really laid-back and relaxing - a great completion of a great album. If you haven't heard of LA band Bigelf yet, I urge you to check 'em out! It didn't actually convert me to start liking progressive music, but it made me love a band within a genre I had earlier tried to keep away from and that, my friends, requires a certain quality!
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BIGELF – MONEY MACHINE
AOR-Europe.com
by Urban "Wally" Wallstrom
 ave you ever asked yourself how The Beatles would have sounded with Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath on guitar & Jon Lord from Deep Purple on organ? Then the answer is Bigelf! Yeah… that's how the record company wants us to think that Bigelf sounds like and guess what? I must say that I "almost" agree! This is Beatles meets 70's "prog" music. This is the second release from the L.A. based Bigelf and after some minor setbacks due to the fact that 2 of the original band members are no longer with the band (don't worry… both Damon Fox & A.H.M. Butler-Jones are still in the band) are they now back with a bang! If you liked their first album "Closer to doom" you're going to LOVE this one! Maybe this is how The Beatles would have sounded like if they had played in the early 70's prog scene??? Who knows, but the songs by Fox/Butler-Jones are filled with lovely melodies, vocal harmonies, complex chords and not to forget a FAT, MEAN Hammond organ over it all. Opener "Money Machine" is a superb song a-la Sgt. Pepper or why not some influences from King Crimson but with a more 70's Hardrock sound, it's 7 minutes of pure joy. "Sellout" is a more direct song with a good chorus and superb "Jon Lord" solo by Damon Fox. Same goes with "Side Effects" this is also a more straight ahead Beatles rocker with a good chorus. These guys are as much the progressive/art rock's answer to The Beatles as Enuff Z' Nuff are for glam rockers and they really should be more famous! Just listen to the last track "The Bitter End", a superb sentimental ballad with great lyrics and a guitar solo that keeps going on to the bitter end! This is a cd that I would recommend to ALL fans of The Beatles & early 70's prog!
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BIGELF – MONEY MACHINE
Ballbuster Magazine
by Paul Autry
 here will only ever be one band called The Beatles. No matter how talented you are, you will never be able to accomplish what they did and, if you choose to play that style of music… better yet… if you even attempt to play that style of music, all you'll ever be is second best. But, if you stop and think about it, that's not really a bad place to be, now, is it? Think of it… you have The Beatles… top of the mountain, king of the hill, more popular than Jesus Christ. Then you have…your band. I'd say you're in pretty good company. Now, with that said, I'd like to introduce you to Bigelf, a band that is taking the sound/musical style of The Beatles into the future. While it's true, they'll never be as good as the original, they have managed to create a mighty fine album, one that's obviously rich with The Beatles influence. Now, some people might look at this release as nothing more than a Beatle rip off. Honestly, I don't see it that way. I see three men (yes, this is a trio) that were greatly influenced by The Fab Four and when they decided to make music, they decided to go with a sound that was an influence to them. And, I must say, this is about as close as you'll ever get to the original. God, I love this album. It's a great release that takes you back to a time when music actually meant something, when it was magical. If you're gonna buy a copy of "Money Machine," it would be wise to purchase two or three copies for yourself because you'll play this one so many times, you'll wear it out rather quickly.
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