Tuesday 28 February 2012

From the Top Drawer XXXIV - Wooden Baby


I believe that 'Forbidden Pastures' is the second tape released in 1988 by the prolific Wooden Baby, which as described in my post of 'Stuck In The Mind-Cage' here, was originally a home recording outfit showcasing the talents of Merv Pepler and his friend Charlie. Later a change in personnel and musical style turned the project into Eat Static with Charlie leaving and Joie Hinton and occasional third member Steve Everitt coming on board.

The music here has more varied influences than a purely dance-orientated style so don't expect anything much like the later Static trademark sound.


'In its later guise, Wooden Baby produced some of the most incredible music of the late 1980's, hinting at and fusing elements of goth, punk, techno, acid house, ambient, industrial and space rock. However, not only did they hint at these genres, they excelled at them. 'Exorcism of Anu' could easily be a Sisters of Mercy track; 'Impossible Maze' sounds like the Sex Pistols with an electronic backing track; Hawkwind would be proud of tracks like 'The Birds' and 'Execution', while 'Bath Scum' sounds like an improved version of 'Theme from S-Express', and is an early example of the dance music themes that Eat Static would explore in the 1990s.

Despite Pepler's prowess as a drummer, Wooden Baby employed a drum machine which immediately gave their sound the feel of electronic music rather than that of a conventional band set-up. Many of the tracks featured vocals, from either Pepler's goth-tinged singing or the at-times-crazed wailing and shouting of Daniel (sic). The lyrical themes were often dark and ominous, lending an extra "edge" to what was already very darkly psychedelic music.'
     (taken from http://encycl.opentopia.com/term/Wooden_Baby - thanks to the author)


  SIDE ONE: Gestation Of A Koala Bear/The Sound Of One Hand/Wasps Feet/Pump-Face/Exorcism Of Anu/Gollet-Ache/The Eyes of Tammuz
  SIDE TWO: The Painted Smile/Wedding Garnets/Table Of Existence/Treading Air/Bombay Mix/A Warm Sponge

 Ripped @320kbps as two side-long tracks, grab a copy HERE
 

6 comments:

  1. Thank you, sounds great! Wooden Baby certainly were an odd and interesting project.

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  2. Beechwoods/pOoTer, thanks for your kind words, you're very welcome.

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  3. Thank you for this - really looking forward to listening to this. You have great and interesting site.

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  4. Thanks a lot, vish.
    Come again.

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  5. Hi Gobbledygook,

    One of my favorite WB albums. I have had a copy of this tape since the early 90s and haven't listened to it or many of my other tapes for a long time because I was worried about the longevity of my old tapes. Thank you for creating such an excellent site. BTW I have Embalment if you don't have it?

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