Detroit’s history of rock and roll is studded with icons. You know the names, I won’t list them for you. While many of generation Y’s music enthusiasts have begun to rediscover how to kick out jams and be your dog, a less familiar name strikes my fancy as damn near the greatest fucking thing Detroit Rock City ever produced: Black Merda, an all-black psych-rock outfit playing divisive political tunes in the immediate post-rebellion landscape of early 70′s Detroit. The balls. Also, they used to be the Temptations’ backing band before that.
Black Merda’s compilation record, The Folks From Mother’s Mixer, collects every track from their self-titled Black Merda and follow-up Long Burn the Fire. The self-proclaimed “First Black Rock Band” managed to synthesize psychedelia, gospel, classic rock, and funk, into a streamlined aesthetic that recalls the influence of Sly & The Family Stone, Parliament, Jimi Hendrix, Cream, The Band, and both Motown and Stax Records. They manage, somehow, to sound fresh and vital to this day. I do think that Arthur Lee might take issue with that self-appointed label.
One of the first moments that truly grabs you can be found in the instrumental “Over and Over.” You can feel the summer sun of Detroit beating down on you as guitarists Anthony and Charlie Hawkins create a drugged-out, delay-pedal-dripping soundscape to get lost in. As soon as you’re lulled into a steamy coma, you’re snapped back with the sass and bite of political funk. The track “Ashamed” is the grooviest admonishment of indifference to suffering I’ve ever heard. This tension between sending a brutal message (their name does a good job of this, no?) while inspiring head nods is achieved through the cinematography of their songs. They were a patient band that knew how to pace a song, how to crescendo and break it down, showing you a story even when they aren’t telling it.
Sometimes Black Merda wails, moans and funks – but sometimes they craft a melancholic, mournful pop sweetness that is clearly informed by the towering history of the Motown Sound, observable in tracks like “For You” “My Mistake,” and “Reality.” The track “Reality,” is clearly an example of this, but always the innovators, there’s a bit of The Band in there too. It is catchy, danceable, stays in you, and is incredibly sad. “Reality / Will cause your fantasy / to die.” I imagine I’d share a similar outlook if I bore witness to the National Guard opening fire on housing projects in my own city.
With a nod toward history, Black Merda will throw in a few straight up gospel tunes and interludes decorated with soulful harmonies and slide guitar. In a musical culture where the acknowledgment of commercial rock music’s indebtedness to black traditions is scant, this choice is downright brazen. Especially in Detroit. In the early 70′s. This cannot be overstated.
Black Merda is one of those hidden gems that is gaining relevance in recent times. Here’s hoping that the rediscovery of their catalog provides a refreshing reminder that giving a shit about what you send into the world as an artist – musicianship, songwriting, message, all of it – may be rewarded in another life, if not this one.
Overall Rating: 9.6
I surely agree with everything said.
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