Noble Records has been anticipating this release for a long, long time. What started well over a year ago took forever, it felt like, to come to fruition. RidingEasy Records took painstaking effort to capture the essence of the original album including the incredible cover with the red cellophane look that turns the black inner sleeve with the white moon into a moon of blood. A cool effect that adds to the excitement of the release. What is the release? It is from a band called Fraction whose album ‘Moon Blood’ is a holy grail for many heavy psych rock fans. If you want to find an original copy, expect to pay in the thousands of $ for it. Now, with this reissue you can get it for around $50 bucks. Well, that was if you bought it when it was first released. Limited to 1,000 copies, I believe Noble Records sold out in around 24 hours…insane. Luckily, I got one.
The band, Fraction, recorded this album in 3 hours or so. All the songs were done in one take with zero over-dubs. This was done with basically no budget, but what was captured was pure magic. The stellar band was the incredible Jim Beach on vocals, Don Swanson and Bob Meinel on guitar, Vic Hemme on bass and banging those skins was Curt Swanson. The band deliver an acid rock, wah-wah guitar filled album that will simply blow your mind. Only 5 songs, but what more do you need when they are this good.
SIDE 1:
The album opens with “Sanc-Divided”, a somber piece, dripping with melancholy that just gets nastier as it goes. Jim’s almost growl like vocals are ready to rip through your ears while Don and Bob’s distorted guitars reek of sadness as Vic and Curt lay down a wicked groove all combusting into what you would simply call a masterpiece.
The psychedelic destruction continues with wah-wah guitars, a sludgy almost Sabbath like sound as Jim’s growl gets more evil. And when he screams, it lifts the song to a whole other level of brilliance. “Come out of Her” has a massive chorus, that tears at your soul as Jim digs deep with those vocals and gives us everything that he has. He is bleeding this song and feeling every bit of it. It is nuts.
If you think those first two songs are nothing short of spectacular, then you haven’t heard anything yet as “Eye of the Hurricane” is the most epic song you might have ever hear. Coming in at around 9 minutes, you get taken on a journey like no other. There are moments of calm as if you are in the eye of the hurricane, and then there are moments that will blow off your speakers as the song is whipping around in a frenzied, yet well choreographed explosion of musicianship. Imagine the world is ending and you want to do nothing but jam. I don’t think I’ve heard too many singers feel a song and deliver a song with such intensity as Jim does with all of these. Hold on tight as the hurricane engulfs you and delivers its destructive blow.
SIDE 2:
Side 2 kicks off with “Sons Come to Birth” and is the only ballad on here, if you want to call it that. It is a trippy, psychedelic ride with moments of darkness, with bouts of erratic behavior all surrounded with by a dark cloud. There is a creepy guitar solo that matches the dreariness of Jim Beach’s vocal delivery and they even jam out a little. It is all so mesmerizing.
The final track is really a two-fer one deal. “This Bird (Blue Sky)” is two songs in one. This one is so hard to describe with all the changes throughout. You get gut-wrenching vocals from Jim, more psychedelic guitar work, grooving bass lines and tremendous drum fills. The song goes from frantic to somber and is all over the place and you are put in a trance the whole time, jaw dropped, awe-inspiring deliciousness. There is a spoken word poetic piece a la The Doors and then Jim reaches in to the depth of his soul and gives us some amazing rock & roll screaming vocals. It all ends in a pure rock & roll heaven jam. Turn it up to 11 and let the music devour you. You won’t be disappointed.
With only 5 songs, Fraction takes you on a psychedelic journey that will leave you dumbstruck in awe. It is a brilliant, masterpiece of artistry and I see why this has become a cult-classic and sought after piece to have in the collection. It was one of the highlights in my collection for 2024. There are not too many singers out there that can reach to their depths and deliver a vocal performance like Jim Beach does here. It is simply stunning. The guitar tones are great as I love the wah-wah and distortion sound. There is nothing on here I don’t like. My Overall Score is 5.0 out of 5.0 Stars. This might be one of my favorites out of all the Noble Records Exclusives I have obtained. When I first heard it, I didn’t know what to make of it, then I got in the car, turned the volume way up and then I felt every note and I got it. I understood all the fuss. If you can find a copy, grab it and enjoy! And if you stream it, you actually get 3 bonus tracks. Not on the vinyl though…but the 5 songs you get on that are really all you need.
