Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Artist: Mahogany Rush, Album: Maxoom, Song: Boardwalk Lady

"With plastic gnomes with wooden combs dressed in white patent leather lace, who showed us a shortcut to the boardwalk lady's place."  Mahogany Rush were a power trio from Montreal, Quebec.  They were Frank Marino, Paul Harwood and Jim Ayoub.  They formed as young teenagers in 1969 and got their name from a really bad acid trip that guitarist Frank Marino suffered which landed him in the hospital.  It is actually where he learned to play the guitar.  In 1972, the band cut their debut album, Maxoom.  Frank was a huge Hendrix fan and you can find numerous cover versions in their catalogue of music.  His playing was also very similar to Hendrix and due to the circumstances around Hendrix's death and Frank's own near fatal experience with drugs, there were sensational stories abound at the time suggesting that perhaps Hendrix took over his body!  Crazy stuff but the resemblance in musical style is astounding.  It's amazing actually that he was only 16 when the band released this album.  They would change their name during the eighties to Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush once Frank became the last original member in the band.   The band has shared stages with some of rock's greatest performers such as Aerosmith and Ted Nugent and to date, have 20 releases.  You can read about their legacy at http://www.mahoganyrush.com/.  One of my favourite tracks from their debut disc is this soulful number called, Boardwalk Lady.  It certainly wouldn't sound out of place in Hendrix's catalogue of music and you can check it out on You Tube (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8QjXT2MwaiE).  You can purchase Mahogany Rush's debut album on Itunes.  Thanks for reading and enjoy!