I've always felt that the best bands tend to have the best names. The choice of moniker says a lot about who a band is; not, as one might think, because of what it describes in the literal sense, but because of what it suggests about the group’s collective psyche, their sense (or lack) of self-realization, and, above all, their creativity. Some of the best names are those that manage to perfectly straddle the line between atrocity and genius, between cringeworthiness and precision. It is, as you may have guessed, right smack in the middle of this spectrum where we find Demon Fuzz.
Even now, at the height of the Google age, there is a dearth of obtainable information on the particulars of this mysterious group. What we do know is that they formed in England in the late 1960s, consisting of seven men with musical tastes informed by -- but certainly not limited to -- West African, Calypso, soul, jazz, and ska. Most sources credit the group as the brainchild of saxophonist Paddy Corea, a mainstay in the thriving London ska scene. It is clear upon listening to Demon Fuzz, however, that no one man could plausibly be responsible for such a holy mess of ideas. In these tunes, all the aforementioned genres come into play seemingly at once, mixed with a vigorous dose of that ubiquitous bastard genre itself, rock ’n’ roll, to create a heavy, vibrant, psychedelic sound that both encompasses and rejects all notions of what music can and should be. To put it bluntly, it grooves.
That groove comes on strong, starting Afreaka! in free-form fashion with “Past, Present and Future.” The track boasts a fuzzed-out bass line and some sparse, noodly guitar before settling into a repetitious space-island jam, complete with menacing horn harmonies and a long, psyched-out organ solo. Carrying on in this manner for nearly 10 minutes might seem like a drag, but halfway through the song, it becomes a different beast entirely. The rhythm changes abruptly, the horns return, and you’re in the middle of the best dub-soul tune you’ve never heard. "Past, Present and Future" is instrumental, but the interplay between guitar and horns, between organ and rhythm section, expresses more than words ever could.
“Disillusioned Man” begins with a single acoustic guitar and a hand drum, suggesting something tame and hippieish until the beat drops and, voila, it’s a mind-expanding soul journey from way beyond -- it’s also the first track on the record with vocals, which tell the tale of a man who “almost lost his mind,” who “thought he was a king,” but was in reality a “[puppet] on a string.” Demon Fuzz’s lyrics, like the band name, walk a fine line between clever and kitsch, and while one gets the impression these songs would be just as strong without words at all, the occasional lyrical gem does well to legitimize their inclusion. This occurs most notably on the standout “Another Country,” the song on Afreaka! most fit for the dance floor. “If I could lose/ All my troubles/ By running away/ I wouldn’t stay,” declares singer Selwyn “Smokey” Adams, later opining that “it just ain’t fair.” It is simplistic, almost childlike in its brevity, yet somehow profound.
Originally released as an EP alongside the album itself, the three bonus tracks included on this CD reissue, while not as indispensable as the rest of the album, nonetheless shed some light on the band and their musical machinations. A cover of Screamin’ Jay Hawkins’ “I Put a Spell on You” does the illustrious tune proud -- all of John Fogerty’s weirdo wails notwithstanding, there’s a truer sense of soul here than in other recorded versions. “Message to Mankind” is the requisite 1970s posi-funk seminar, with its warnings of death and destruction unless we all get together and love, man -- but it works, firstly because it’s a good goddamn tune, but mainly because it feels like the legitimate product of deep concern, not writer’s block.
The best of these songs, however, is “Fuzz Oriental Blues,” a seven-minute instrumental jam that lets the horns and Hammonds run amok, vamping slowly and expressively all over the place before skronking out into a free, churning ending. Although ostensibly an afterthought, it’s a wonderful and fitting way to end this lost gem of an album, one that runs the proverbial gamut of genres and styles but manages to fit them squarely and potently into a strange amalgam of funky, funky truth. That Demon Fuzz never achieved fame or stardom in their time makes some kind of paradoxical sense; as tight and pop-driven as they were at times, their jams ran a little too free and lasted a little too long for radio play. It is, above all, a true shame that we don’t have a whole lot more output from this exciting band to explore. Thank goodness we at least have Afreaka!
1. Past, Present and Future
2. Disillusioned Man
3. Another Country
4. Hymn to Mother Earth
5. Mercy (Variation No. 1)
6. I Put a Spell on You*
7. Message to Mankind*
8. Fuzz Oriental Blues*
* Reissue bonus tracks