Mashmakhan (album)

Mashmakhan
Studio album by Mashmakhan
Released	1970
Recorded	1970 at Columbia B Studios
Genre	Rock fusion, Pop
Label	Columbia (Canada) Epic Records (US) CBS (other regions)
Producer	Billy Jackson
Mashmakhan chronology
Mashmakhan (1970) The Family (1971)
Singles from Mashmakhan
"As the Years Go By" Released: 1970 "Gladwin" Released: 1970 "Days When We Are Free" Released: 1971

Mashmakhan is the self-titled debut album of rock fusion band Mashmakhan. Mashmakhan first debuted with the single "As the Years Go By" which became a major success selling millions of copies around the world. After three singles, Mashmakhan released their self-titled debut LP album. After the album was released the group released their second album entitled The Family. Later, tracks from the album were featured in several different '70s rock compilation albums as well as two were sampled in some rap tracks. The album was also well received by critics getting a four out of five star review from Allmusic and a favorable review from music website Soul Strut.

History

Mashmakhan debuted with the single "As the Years Go By" which became a smash hit and was released in an edited form. The single sold 100,000 copies in Canada, 500,000 copies in the United States, and over 1,000,000 copies in Japan. The single was followed by the other singles, "Days When We Are Free" and "Gladwin." The self-titled debut album was released in 1970 in Canada in LP format as Columbia records, catalog number ELS-365. US releases were on Epic Records number E 30235. After their debut album was released, the follow-up album The Family was released in 1971 and bombed. This was released in Canada on Columbia as ES-90000, and in the US as Epic E 30813. The group broke up shortly after.^[1] Several songs were later included in different compilation albums with the first being "As the Years Go By" which was included in Rock Artifacts, Vol. 1 in 1990.^[2] On November 9, 1995, Mashmakhan and its follow-up album, The Family, were included in the compilation album Mashmakhan/The Family.^[3][4] On April 24, 2001, "As the Years Go By" was also released on the Rock Treasures compilation by the Sony Music Entertainment.^[5] On July 1, 2003, the song "Days When We Are Free" was included as part of the compilation The Rubble Collection, Volumes 1-10.^[6] The song "Afraid of Losing You" was included in the David Holmes compilation Cherrystone: Hidden Charms on June 22, 2004.^[7] And lastly, "As the Years Go By" was used in the Japanese compilation The 70's, Vol. 3 by Universal Music Group of Japan on December 15, 2007.^[8] In 1991, the track "I Know I've Been Wrong" was sampled by rap duo Black Sheep, for the track "Gimme The Finga" from their album A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing.^[9] Also in 2004, the track "Happy You Should Be" was sampled by rapper MF Doom for the song "Vomitspit" from the album MM..Food.^[10]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Days When We Are Free"	6:11
2.	"I Know I've Been Wrong"	4:47
3.	"As the Years Go By"	3:03
4.	"Shades of Loneliness"	4:46
5.	"Afraid of Losing You"	4:07
6.	"Gladwin"	4:23
7.	"If I Tried"	4:33
8.	"Happy You Should Be"	4:47
9.	"Nature's Love Song"	3:49
10.	"Letter From Zambia"	6:11

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[4]
Soul Strut	(favorable)[9]

Mashmakhan was generally well-received by critics. Allmusic critic Lindsay Planer stated that Mashmakhan blended "intricate progressive rock" and "resilient jazz fusion-inspired rhythms" and that Mashmakhan "consistently came up with brilliant material, rivalling many of their American contemporaries." Lindsay stated that "Days When We Are Free" kicks off Mashmakhan with a "rousing and assertive groove" steeped in "percussive funk, showing off just what they are capable of." Lindsay also stated that "I Know I've Been Wrong" begins with a "moody introduction, dominated by Senecal's punctuating organ inflections" as they shore up the "mid-tempo backbeat" and that "As the Years Go By" not only became their biggest hit but it also became "a million-seller in (of all places) Japan" and that the lyrics "are undeniably puerile," and texturally the "connotations of the word 'love' remain eternal."^[4] A Soul Strut reviewer nicknamed "Motown67" stated that the singing "isn't what you're going to remember" but instead said that the album brings "some great instrumental parts on the first side" and pointed to the track "Days When We Are Free." Motown67 wrote that "Days When We Are Free," starts of as "a fast rocker before going into a real heavy breakdown in the middle." Motown stated that the second side is more "traditional Sixties sounding rock" but that "Happy You Should Be" has a decent intro.^[9]

Personnel

• Rayburn Blake – guitar, vocals
• Pierre Senecal – guitar, keyboards, saxophone, vocals, wind, woodwind
• Brian Edwards – bass, vocals
• Jerry Mercer – drums, vocals

References

1. ^ Pettipas, Keith. "Mashmakhan > Biography" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/artist/p19198. Retrieved August 10, 2009. 
2. ^ Thomas Erlewine, Stephen. "Rock Artifacts, Vol. 1 > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r23668. Retrieved August 11, 2009. 
3. ^ Pettipas, Keith. "Mashmakhan/The Family > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r444879. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 
4. ^ ^{a b c} Planer, Lindsay. "Mashmakhan > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r44195. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 
5. ^ "Rock Treasures (Sony) > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r528327. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 
6. ^ Jurek, Tom. "The Rubble Collection, Vol. 1-10 > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r649030. Retrieved August 11, 2009. 
7. ^ "Cherrystones: Hidden Charms > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r688802. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 
8. ^ "70's, Vol. 3 > Overview" (DLL). 1168 Oak Valley Drive, Ann Arbor, MI 48108, United States of America: Allmusic/All Media Guide. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r1311214. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 
9. ^ ^{a b c} Motown67. "MASHMAKHAN - Mashmakhan" (PHP). Sellersville, PA 18960, United States of America: SoulStrut.com. http://www.soulstrut.com/reviews/review.php?item_id=424. Retrieved August 14, 2009. 
10. ^ "Mashmakhan/MF Doom" (in French) (PHP). Ultragraphik. Saturday, February 17, 2007. http://www.ultragraphik.com/blog/index.php?2007/02/17. Retrieved August 12, 2009. 

External links

• Mashmakhan at Discogs