Bonniwell Music Machine [Big Beat]

Tributee: Thomas Bonniwell.
Personnel: Thomas Bonniwell (guitar, flute, woodwinds, horns); Joe Bruley, Buddy Rummel, Alan Wisdom, Mark Landon (guitar); Reuben Marcus, Alfred Wohl (strings); Doug Rhodes (flute, woodwinds, horns, keyboards); Maurie Bercov (flute, woodwinds, horns); Harry Garfield , Brian Ross, Carl Manfredi (keyboards); Ron Edgar, Jerry Harris (drums).
Liner Note Author: Alec Palao.
Photographers: Alan Wisdom; Mark Landon; Jerry Harris; Eddie Jones .
The Music Machine were one of the most fascinating one-hit wonders to emerge from the garage rock movement of the '60s. Led by singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell, the Music Machine only scored one major chart success, 1966's "Talk Talk," but Bonniwell was a prolific songwriter whose tunes tackled the social and philosophical issues of the day in a style that was broad and contemplative at once, accompanied by sneering garage rock full off savage fuzztone guitars. The original lineup of the Music Machine broke up not long after "Talk Talk" fell off the charts, but Bonniwell landed a record deal with Warner Bros. and assembled a new version of the group, dubbed the Bonniwell Music Machine. The new edition of the band cut an album and a handful of singles, but they enjoyed no particular chart success, though years later garage rock obsessives would embrace Bonniwell's latter recordings as an ambitious step forward from the original band's sound, with more complex arrangements and tonal colors. The Bonniwell Music Machine is a comprehensive anthology that includes Bonniwell's complete Warner Bros. recordings, as well as plenty of demos, rehearsal recordings, and unreleased studio tracks, offering an in-depth appreciation of an often overlooked body of work. ~ Mark Deming