Esoteric (label)
26 July 2024 (released)
03 July 2024
Esoteric are stretching the concept a little thinly here, pulling all sorts of music and squeezing them into a ‘banner’. Rock music has always trodden slightly on the dark side or at least the shady side of the street, and this collection definitely includes many items that could definitely be considered ’off-the-mainstream’. However, some are here because of the title only and some because they definitely achieve the ‘devilish’ points.
As usual with collections like this, the selection of artists is wide and the musical styles even wider.
Opening disc 1 with Atomic Rooster’s ‘Death Walks Behind You’, a truly chilling piece, the collection ranges from tracks that are Devilish or Magickal or have occult imagery in the lyrics. Stylistically it runs from rock, through Blues and pop, even Jazz.
There are some completely off the wall selections included – Sandie Shaw covering the Rolling Stones ‘Sympathy For The Devil’, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Titch ‘the Sun Goes Down’, Man ‘Erotica’. In the main though, it fits the brief.
Some of the songs are clearly from bands trying to show their ‘darker’ side but there are some absolute gems as well.
Some inevitable tracks such as Black Widow ‘Come To the Sabbat’, or Jo Jo Gunne ‘Ride With The Devil’, the Crazy World Of Arthur Brown ‘Devil’s Grip’ (not ‘Fire’!), Jethro Tull ‘The Witches Promise’, Blodwyn Pig is a pure jazz/rocker instrumental ‘The Modern Alchemist’.
A lot of numbers I haven’t heard before – Jacula ‘Long Black Magic Night’ is a stunning piece of theatricality, Jade ‘Bad Magic’ is a jazzy delight, Tintern Abbey ‘Witchcraft’ is pure garage band.
Enthusiastic and celebratory in places, damaged and cautionary in others, these artists offered a counter balance to the thread of Christian and Eastern spirituality also working its way into rock and pop at that time.
As with all these compilations, there are some great tracks and some that you will learn to skip over, but it is well curated and worth a punt for an album that is very different to the mainstream.
