Hurdy Gurdy

Hurdy Gurdy's early-'70s self-titled album is period hard rock with substantial blues-rock influence and some hangover from the psychedelic era. Although Claus Bohling was a virtuosic guitarist (he also plays harmonica and sitar on the record), there's not too much to the songs, which are mostly vehicles for the power trio to spin off riffs owing much to the high-volume wattage of late-'60s Cream, British blues-rock, and particularly Jimi Hendrix…

This collection of baroque hurdy-gurdy music represents, in a way, that instrument's comeback after a century of neglect and scorn (although, one presumes, that back then the scorn was at least being heaped upon the actual hurdy-gurdy, and not the glorified music box that has usurped its name in the current popular imagination). In the medieval period, the hurdy-gurdy was depicted as being played by angels as the appropriate accompaniment to the singing of the Psalms. However, its association with peasants (not to mention the limited range of the instrument in the pre-baroque era) tainted its musical reputation considerably. Relegated to an attention-getting device of blind beggars, the hurdy-gurdy was a solidly lower class instrument.

Butthole Surfers - The Hurdy Gurdy Man EP
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 95 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Rough Trade # RTT 240CD | Country/Year: UK 1990
Genre: Alternative Rock | Style: Psychedelic, Punk

The Hurdy Gurdy Man is the fourth studio EP by American alternative rock band Butthole Surfers, released in 1990. The EP was named after its title track, "The Hurdy Gurdy Man," written by '60s pop star Donovan. All versions also included one original Surfers song, "Barking Dogs," and most versions also included a remix of "The Hurdy Gurdy Man."

This collection of baroque hurdy-gurdy music represents, in a way, that instrument's comeback after a century of neglect and scorn (although, one presumes, that back then the scorn was at least being heaped upon the actual hurdy-gurdy, and not the glorified music box that has usurped its name in the current popular imagination). In the medieval period, the hurdy-gurdy was depicted as being played by angels as the appropriate accompaniment to the singing of the Psalms. However, its association with peasants (not to mention the limited range of the instrument in the pre-baroque era) tainted its musical reputation considerably. Relegated to an attention-getting device of blind beggars, the hurdy-gurdy was a solidly lower class instrument.

Having Mickie Most as producer could be a double-edged sword. On The Hurdy Gurdy Man, his over-ambitious nature and scattershot production sense occasionally sabotaged Donovan's songs rather than emphasizing their strengths…

Having Mickie Most as producer could be a double-edged sword. On The Hurdy Gurdy Man, his over-ambitious nature and scattershot production sense occasionally sabotaged Donovan's songs rather than emphasizing their strengths. (The credits shamelessly list "Produced by Mickie Most" and "A Mickie Most Production," right next to each other.) As with the last few LPs, the program began with the hit title track (one of Donovan's best singles), a dim, dark song balancing psychedelia with the heavier, earthier rock championed during 1968 by Dylan and the Beatles. Though the next two tracks - an eerie, trance-like "Peregrine" and the endearing acoustic number "The Entertaining of a Shy Girl" - are excellent performances, any sense of mood is soon shattered by a hopelessly overblown music-hall showtune, "As I Recall It"…