Monks – Black Monk Time
(Polydor Records; 1965)
Johnson&Jonson
It’s the mid-60s, four American soldiers stationed in Germany – far from the fighting in Vietnam – start a band. They’re discharged and, rather then going home, they start touring Europe, dressed as monks. In 1965 they released Black Monk Time, their only studio album.
Despite the date, nothing about The Monks, except the organ, sounds dated. Focusing more on rhythm than melody, The Monks draw from Chuck Berry and early rock “n’ roll, but take it in an entirely different direction.
Noisy and experimental, The Monks pioneered distortion and are allegedly the first to use feedback intentionally. But despite the descents into dirgy noise, and the boundary-pushing experimentation, the band retains a pop sensibility and accessibility, at times reminiscent of the Beach Boys. Lyrically, the band alternates between nonsensical and social commentary menacing and childlike, often within the same song (“Monk Time”).
Trial track: “Love Came Tumbling Down”