Rock Bottom sounds like it left the Morrison Hotel in 1970, got lost in Laurel Canyon, and finally found its way out onto Ventura Boulevard in 2017. It suggests Joni Mitchell's heady brew of imagery laden words and mystical melodies as easily as it evokes Hendrix, Arthur Lee and Love's Forever Changes, and Buffalo Springfield. It is, however, above all, an album with a singular voice of its own. Have you ever been experienced? Well, this album will get you where you're going.
Michael Landau: "I've been playing mostly instrumental music for the past 10 years, out of nowhere I woke up one morning with the strong urge to play some hard edged music with vocals… guess it makes sense because it's really the music I grew up on. So I reunited with my ole pal David Frazee from the Burning Water days, we wrote a lot of songs together, most of which ended up on this new 'Rock Bottom' record."
From the Sgt Pepper-esque warm-up intro to the mind-warping "Squirrels" to the late night jazz room sounds that haunt "Freedom", Landau and Frazee weave tale after tale that will have you wondering how you can be in two places at one time, but relax and enjoy the ride. These like-minded musical scientists have created Rock Bottom for your listening pleasure, a record which sits as comfortably in 2018 as it may have in 1967. The set closing "Speak Now Make your Peace" would have sounded great at Woodstock.
1. Squirrels
2. Bad Friend
3. Gettin Old
4. We All Feel The Same
5. We're Alright
6. One Tear Away
7. Poor Dear
8. Freedom
9. Heaven In The Alley
10. Speak Now, Make Your Peace
