Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit
Col. Bruce Hampton & the Aquarium Rescue Unit (Capricorn) (STAR)(STAR)
What to make of what is one of this still new year`s strangest records?
From its surrealistic cover art to the equally surrealistic music inside, Atlanta`s Col. Bruce Hampton and his Aquarium Rescue Unit are some strange puppies indeed, playing an anarchistic mixture of jazz, rock and blues in this live album recorded in Athens, Ga., before a worshipful audience. Singer-guitarist Hampton is a Southern cult figure dating back to his Hampton Grease Band days in the late `60s. With his current aggregation, Hampton ranges from a gospel Allman Brothers sound on ”Yield Not to Temptation” to a stream-of- consciousness approach on ”Davy Crockett” that employs a jazz mandolin solo. Sounding like Bob Seger after gargling with razor blades, Hampton is at his most lyrically enigmatic on ”Basically Frightened” and
”Jazz Bank.” There`s some fine instrumental work on the album, but this chaotic curiosity is not for the faint of heart.
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