Rabbit - Dark Saloon/Broken Arrows (Reissue) (1973-74/2008)

This 2008 reissue -- appearing on the Ork branch of RPM -- combines John Rabbit Bundrick's two early-'70s albums, 1974's Dark Saloon and 1973's Broken Arrows, presenting them out of chronological order. This initially odd sequencing makes sense upon closer inspection: Dark Saloon is Rabbit's splashy studio record, Broken Arrows is a set of brushed-up demos, and for some reason, Ork's 2008 two-fer swaps the chronological order of these, opening up with the 1974 album. Dark Saloon sounds like a lot of the different projects Rabbit was involved in during the early '70s -- there are some loose, languid reggae jams, some fairly energetic boogie, some chugging muscular progressive rock, an Elton-esque ballad -- but it bears the imprint of its era more than the Who and Free records Bundrick graced, largely because of the heaping doses of synthesizers, strings, and sundry effects that mark this is a very, very 1974 LP. It's almost a sampler of sounds, but instead of playing as eclectic, it's scattered, never gelling but always offering some top-notch playing from Rabbit and his studio pros. Broken Arrows isn't as slick in its production as Dark Saloon, but it's hardly barebones -- Rabbit is a studio pro, so it follows that his records feel a bit like a studio-creation, built on plenty of overdubs and crackerjack sessionmen. Nevertheless, there's a bit more grit in the rhythms here -- most apparent in such churning rockers as "Broken Arrows" "and "Music Is the Answer," reminiscent of Joe Cocker's Mad Dogs & Englishmen at a peak -- which finds an odd counterpart with a bit of English eccentricity in the pop, and a lingering fascination with American country and blues. All this indicates Rabbit's range, even suggesting a strong personality, but it's a bit of a mess as a listening experience.