Saturday, March 14, 2009

Kid Dynamite - Kid Dynamite (Cream 1976)



Funny band Kid Dynamite. They released two albums in 1976, both called Kid Dynamite. Well, thanks a lot. They got me confused. And there's so little known about these guys, that I couldn't tell you whether this is the first or the last. But anyway, it's very pleasant to the ears. So who's complaining. Thanks to Bigfootkit for rescuing this from the Robots For Ronnie blog (and thanks to Herr Richter for posting it). Both albums are great, though I prefer the other. Maybe it's because it's a better rip, without too much editing (using preset filters). This is the text used on Robots For Ronnie:
KID DYNAMITE is another one of those ultra mysterious bands whose story is murky at best. It is known that the band emerged in 1975 when two former members (bassist Dicky Thompson and drummer John King) of the STEVE MILLER BAND decided it was time to strike out on their own. Vocalist Val Garcia and guitarist Michael Mallen were later added and Kid Dynamite was born. Opting for a label who would allow the band total control over their direction, the band signed with Alvin Bennett's Cream Records in late 1975 and began working on their self-titled debut with producer Hal Winn at the helm. "Kid Dynamite" was released in January of 1976, but flagging sales and little label support abruptly killed the band at the conclusion of the year.
*Confusingly, Flightstream Records also released an album by Kid Dynamite that same year. Also entitled "Kid Dynamite", this 9 song album had a black & white sleeve featuring a design incorporating boxing gloves, and although it duplicated two songs from the other record, these were different versions.*
Very little is known about the members post-split activities, though Michael Mallen is rumoured to be teaching guitar in California.
This elusive gem is one that is often discussed in collector circles, but rarely ever recognized as a musically viable effort. I beg to differ. "Kid Dynamite" is a dynamic exercise in genre splicing which works effectively from start to finish. Blending blues, hard rock, soul and funk, the band shows off their musical chops throughout, with a notably scorching effort from Dicky Thompson in particular. Sounding quite similar to Joey Newman's hard soul act, BANDIT, the band merges the groove and conviction of classic funk with the forcefulness of 70's hard rock. The outcome is pretty spectacular and it's a real travesty that Kid Dynamite were merely a blip on the radar. Though this band is undoubtedly anonymous in all respects, some listeners may recognize the track "Uphill Peace of Mind", which was sampled and used by Dr. DRE (Nuttin But a G Thang) and ULTRAMAGNETIC MC's (Feelin' It) almost twenty years ago.
This one comes highly recommended for fans of soulful hard rock. This tweaked and cleaned vinyl transfer should satisfy ardent lovers of obscure 70's rock. Dig it...
Review by J. Richter
http://robotsforronnie.blogspot.com/
*Amended by Bigfootkit
http://guntherspaps.blogspot.com/

And here it is...

5 comments:

Rayvee said...

Awesome! Thanks for this!

Anonymous said...

Please repost... Megaupload's been nabbed!

Anonymous said...

Any chance of getting a re-up on II? Thanks!

Skydogg said...

Funny. This link is still very much alive. The other, however, over here: http://skydogselysium.blogspot.nl/search/label/Kid%20Dynamite, was not. So I fixed that.

Anonymous said...

Thanks a mil for this!!!!