Frank Marino

For my money, Frank Marino was the best rock guitar player that came from the 70s and made some classic and trippy rock and roll for 20th Century and later Columbia Records to which Frank considered that to be one of the darkest periods of his music career.  I first heard Frank on California Jam 2, to which they showed him doing an edited version of Johnny B Goode but left off the electric reflections of war segment.  Frank never cared for that either and what you didn't hear on the LP was his final song a version of the Mickey Mouse Club Theme.  An outsider even in rock and roll.

The comparisons to Jimi Hendrix has been a touchy subject to Frank and even though he cites him as a influence, his other influence was Johnny Cipolina of Quicksilver Messenger Service. The first album Maxoom is Frank's tribute to Jimi Hendrix and it shows by his guitar playing and song delivery.  The next album Child Of The Novelty, Frank begin to distanced himself from the Hendrix myth as he begin to sing about a New Rock And Roll. His band Mahogany Rush had wild man James Ayoub on drums and Paul Harwood on bass and they complimented his guitar player quite well.  The next album Strange Universe got a bit more heavier  Land Of 1000 Nights, Frank has said was written from the after effects of a bad acid trip.  I love it as well as failed hit single Satisfy Your Soul.  Although the record was underpromoted by 20th Century, Frank took his act over to Columbia for the classic years.  And years of distain.

Mahogany Rush IV sometimes I think is their best studio album.  There's more confidence in Frank's vocals but his guitar work was nothing short of awesome.  Frank was migrating toward a jazzier and progressive rock sound on Dragonfly or The Answer but Little Sexy Annie is pure rock fun. The World Anthem continued more into Prog rock with Requiem For A Sinner and the title track but like Little Sexy Annie, Hey Little Lover is back to rock but a bit more complex on the beat.

As the ad proclaimed it takes other bands to make a 2 record set whereas it takes Frank to make one album, basically it was Columbia not springing for the full two record set so Live! was kept to a one LP set. But  this was the live record that I played all the time in my Senior year and got my best friend hooked on Frank as well. Beginning with plenty of fireworks, Frank leads off with a killer start of The Answer and Dragonfly before bringing on the blues with a killer I'm A King Bee and showstoppers A New Rock And Roll and more stripped down Johnny B Goode from the Cal Jam 2 version.  The medley of Talkin About A Feeling/Who Do You Love/War/New World Anthem is so over the top at the end one has to hear it to believe it.  And then the usual Jimi Hendrix tribute with Purple Haze.  This is the legend of Frank Marino from start to finish.

Tales Of The Unexpected (1979) continues the Hendrix love with Sister Change and All Along The Watchtower before going into Norwegian Wood  and the jazz/prog rock of Tales Of The Unexpected. The inclusion of live versions of new songs Down Down Down, Door Of Illusion, Woman and Bottom Of The Barrel kinda deflated the momentum of the first side and pales to the Live album.  Reviews were mixed but it's really not that bad.  A subpar Frank Marino could outrock Ted Nugent on his best any night (with the exception of Ted's S/T Epic album)  but for some reason the buying public that bought the Live album got off the bus on Tales

What's Next (1980) was a more return to form  but again radio only played Roadhouse Blues, the Doors cover and Rock Me Baby to which Frank's version was more Robin Trower than BB King or Jimi.  In fact, What's Next was Marino moving away from the sound of Hendrix to a more signature sound and it's very heavy sounding on You Got Livin and the 8 minute Loved By You.  The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame/Mona medley is throwaway.  The biggest selling album for Columbia has never seen CD release in the US (Black Rose issued a poorly mastered CD).

With that Frank retired the  Mahogany Rush name and made perhaps his more heaviest albums with The Power Of Rock And Roll and Juggernaut.  Both sold well but Columbia never promoted them very well. The former album's powerful title track should have made it to rock radio. Other fine rockers include Ain't Dead Yet and the jazz fusion that is Go Strange.  Juggernaut, his final CBS platter contained his only hit single  Strange Dreams to which I never heard on KRNA nor KKRQ but have on XM radio. Juggernaut had the searing title track, the crash and bash Free and Stories Of A Hero which actually harkens back to World Anthem.  It sold enough but by then Frank, tired of dealing with a corporate label clueless how to market him walked away.

When he disappeared from the rock and roll world, I kind of forgotten him till I pulled out Live or Strange Universe  and the CBS albums that he did.  Full Circle, while rocking, was venturing toward new age, a honest effort but it didn't do much for me.  In 1993 Frank retired from music only to be brought back by the fans who continued to support his back catalog and of course it may have something to do with Razor and Tie cherry picking some cuts into a best of Dragonfly, a big mess since it includes nothing from the 20th Century albums and ends up putting the wrong songs off Power Of Rock And Roll.  Buyer Beware.  Sony Music issued in the states Live and Tales only, the rest are import only.  However, the 20th Century albums have been reissued a few times on CD and although Maxoom still remains Frank's I Love Jimi album, the rest does show a more conventional and blues hard rock sound that I still think they have all have their moments.  However, Frank in a interview has mentioned that the original tapes of what he did at Tempo Studios in Canada got taped over by other bands which is a bummer, although I'm sure Sony Music still has the masters of the finished albums on CD somewhere.  But still Frank remains his own man and not owned by the labels whatsoever, when he plays live, he says he plays it for fun and when it's not fun he doesn't go on tour.  But when he does play, he still plays with the rude tenacity that blew Ted Nugent off the stage in 1978.

In a perfect world, The Rock N Roll Hall Of Fame would have Frank Marino in there.  And still, to me, Frank remains the best unheard guitarist that classic rock radio has forgotten.  Which is as bad as having Jann Wanner being head of the RnRHOF dictating who gets in.  Up his ass if he can deal with real rock and roll.

The Frank Marino Anthology (Incomplete)

Maxoom 1972 (20th Century/Just A Minute) B-
Child Of The Novelty  (20th Century/Just A Minute 1974) B+
Strange Universe (20th Century/Just A Minute 1975) A-
Mahogany Rush IV (Columbia/Pilot 1976) A-
World Anthem (Columbia 1977) B+
Live (Columbia/Silver Cloud 1978) A
Tales Of The Unexpected (Columbia 1979) B+
What's Next (Columbia 1980) B+
The Power Of Rock And Roll (Columbia 1981) B+
Juggernaut (Columbia 1982) A-
Dragonfly-The Best Of Frank Marino/Mahogany Rush (Razor And Tie 1996) B-