The MASQUE
“Who Are You”
There
was once a time when The Masque’s
rare, fiery $400+ single, ‘Lady Of
The Land’ b/w ‘Wake Up In The
Morning,’ was thought to be
unreleased material by Jim Morrison
and The Doors — listening to it,
it’s quite clear why. And
that’s a pretty good starting point
for appreciating the Masque. After
all, what more could you ask
for c. 1970?
But wait, because there’s more. Here
is the only complete representation
of this fierce band, fronted by a
vocalist channeling Morrison
— sometimes in control of his
instrument, sometimes very
much not, such as on
the rough and tumble ‘Easy
Girl’, which has some distinctly
heavy metal chord changes and fiery
organ blazing away
throughout, underneath the
yowling and brooding
vocals. Some tracks, like
‘Forest Queen of the Night’ are
brooding reflections with (perhaps)
a sinister undertone. But The
Masque like to cut loose, as they do
on the seven+ minute rollicking
blast, ’House of Meat.’
The Masque recordings stem from
February, May and October
of 1970, a fertile time for
producer and music publisher Charlie
Booth. Booth honed his craft
working with BJ Thomas, and by the
mid-1960’s was working with
such stellar acts as
The Outcasts (‘1523 Blair’ b/w
‘Smokestack Lightning’); The Iguanas
(‘Black Suit’); and in 1970,
The Masque, Flower Power, and
Pure Jade Green (ie. The Jades Of El
Campo). The Masque’s rare
single, released on Booth’s Master
Record Co. label (which also
released the lone single
by Jade, and a handful of
others) was until now the only proof
— and at a cost of $400+ — that
The Masque truly existed. We
are glad to remedy that with a full
album’s worth of music by
The Masque, showcasing their
hard-rocking chops.
Limited edition of 300x
hand-numbered copies
(150x for sale via Lion Productions
outside of Canada; 150x
for sale via Return to Analog
Records in Montreal)
Track List:
Side A:
1. Lady of the Land (single version)
3:26
2. Wake Up In the Morning 3:15
3. Forest Queen of the Night 2:53
4. Who Are You? 3:09
5. House of Meat 7:25
Side B:
1. Easy Girl 4:08
2. Dead and Gone 3:43
3. Morning Sun 2:59
4. Has Anybody Seen My Girl? 2:21
5. Lady of the Land (alternate
version) 4:00
Catalogue number: LION-211
/ RTAI-031
UPC: 061297805761
Format: LP (black
vinyl)