Released: 1993
Tracks: Kazango; Off White; Sweet Rita
Best track: Kazango
Track to skip: none
I usually like to do these things in order of their release, but I didn’t re-acquire a record player until recently, so I had to skip this release. I’m actually listening to a vinyl>CD transfer I did of this. The less I have to play the actual vinyl the better. This was 47 Indians first release, and the only one to feature the original lineup of Brent Gorrell – vocals/guitar, Oliver Giraud – guitar, Kevin Smith – bass & Lisa Pankratz – drums. Good luck in finding this though; it’s a 45rpm record that was only released in Finland. FYI, it’s on Goofin’ Records #GOOFY 535. Kazango and Off White are written by Olivier Giraud with Sweet Rita written by Brent Gorrell. Kazango later appeared on
8 ½ Souvenirs’ Happy Feet, Off White was on their 2nd album, Souvonica & Sweet Rita again popped up on the 47 Indians
demo the following year.
So that’s all the background. I got this from my Aunt (Lisa’s mom); I guess she just had an extra copy lying around. So yes, this is quite a treasure for me, especially since 47 Indians was the first band I ever saw live. I think this was maybe when I was in 8th grade, maybe 9th grade? Somewhere in there. It was cool for a 14 year old kid to get to go to a club and see his cousin’s band play. And I love having Lisa’s stuff in my collection since besides being my cousin, she’s a fantastic drummer. Of course she doesn’t disappoint on this release.
It’s interesting to me to hear how huge of a presence Olivier is on here. His guitar sound really shaped this band, just as it did for 8 ½ Souvenirs. He gets such a wonderful sound out of his hollow-body Gretsch. His solos are great here. This record is definitely tame compared to how electric their live shows were around this time. But that’s OK. It’s more than good enough of a representation of the band to here how talented they were. It’s hard to pick a favorite song on here since I really like all 3. Well, I’ll go ahead and go with Kazango, the instrumental. Nothing against Brent’s voice (which I love), but Kazango is probably the best composition on here. The sound quality isn’t the greatest on here, but coming out of an indie label from Finland (and on vinyl, which is very often a noise-fest anyway) it’s good enough to tell what’s going on. I wish that the band had stayed around long enough to record a full-length studio album, but at least I have something other than my memory. I think the next release with a new band is better, as a whole entity, but I still really enjoy this.
Rating: 87
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