Description

Brainwashed is the sophomore album by the American rock group All Saved Freak Band, independently released on Rock the World Enterprises in 1976. The album was recorded by Ken Hamann at Cleveland Recording Company in Cleveland, Ohio; with Rob Galbraith producing. Arranged by Larry Hill except strings arranged by Pam Massmann and Galbraith.

When you find an individual that refuses to be pushed into the same bag everyone else is struggling to get into, that’s unusual. When a whole group stands free, that’s phenomenal. There are still people that money and fame can’t buy. That pressure won’t change. A famous man once said, “The truth shall make you free.” [Note on the back of the LP sleeve]

Toughest to find of the four LPs and understandably so. If For Christians, Elves & Lovers is the mellower side of ASFB, Brainwashed is the flip sider of the coin. All those blues rockers they’d been saving up get released here full force. Plenty of heavy organ, harmonica, and of course Glenn Schwartz’s searing guitar fireworks. This album is non-stop sizzling stuff, beginning with the danceable hand-clappin’ opener «Ode To Glenn Schwartz» with its lean-‘n’-mean funky swamp groove. «Seek Him» kicks it up again for another fast-paced blues rocker, one that still finds room for the Massmann’s strings. «Don’t Look Back» rocks efficiently for seven minutes with some tempo changes, while «Lonely» slows the pace down with an organ/violin melody to close side one (sounds like skating rink music). Side two opens with «Frog Alley», a weird creepy piece of boogie-woogie with Larry Hill’s husky vocals singing about voodoo and whatnot, followed by the hilarious «Messed Up» in which Glenn rattles off his testimony at about 180 mph (while pickin’ out some sweet acoustic blues licks). Kim Massmann takes over lead vocals for the final three songs: «See The Flesh Fly» (a ghostly minor-key ballad), «Having A Ball At The Smiling Dog» (another high-powered slab of electric blues) and the baroque folk ballad «Our Answer (The 54th Psalm In Old English)». This in an incredible album folks. Several different vocalists and lots of new participants – it’s hard to tell from the credits who was in the band and who was just hanging around for the session. So much variety here, too – it never gets boring. Get your brain washed now! [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th Edition]

Now that the unexpected but hugely welcome return of vinyl is underway, all manner of music old and new is beginning to appear in the beloved format. America’s Old Bear Records have grabbed this opportunity to reissue, in a beautiful-looking release, one of the most sought after albums in the whole history of Jesus Music. The history of the All Saved Freak Band has been told more than once on the Cross Rhythms website – a Christian commune in Ohio, caught up in the Jesus Movement revival, recording and releasing low-budget independent albums in ’73 and ’76. They had in Glenn Schwartz a truly brilliant guitarist who, having played with The James Gang and Pacific Gas & Electric, could have continued on to rock and roll superstardom but chose instead to join a commune. In fact, the title of this album evolved from a bizarre incident when Glenn Schwartz was kidnapped by cult de-programmer Ted Patrick after his family had deemed Schwartz “brainwashed”. Understandably, Patrick’s de-programming efforts were a failure. Schwartz returned to the fold declaring, “The only difference between our detractors and ourselves is that we’ve chosen who washes our brains.” 50 years on, an original vinyl copy of ‘Brainwashed’ would have cost you, if you could find one, $700+, but now Old Bear are offering collectors and devotees this handsome reissue. Heavy organ harmonica and, of course, Glenn’s searing guitar fireworks all come together on the storming hand-clapping opener, «Peace, Love And Rock ‘N Roll», which is followed by a swamp rock groove, «Ode To Glenn Schwartz». Side two of the vinyl features «Messed Up», with Glenn rattling off his testimony at an absurd pace while playing some sweet acoustic blues licks. Kim Massmann handles the lead vocals for the final three tracks, ranging from a powerhouse piece of electric blues on «Smilin’ Dog» to a baroque folk ballad «Our Answer» (the 54th psalm in King James English). Very much of its age, but magnificent music now respectfully repackaged for collectors and Christian music connoisseurs. [Tony Cummings, Cross Rhythms, June 2019]

> Apple Music (https://music.apple.com/us/album/brainwashed/1404133305)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Peace Lovin Rock & Roll” – 3:37
A2. “Ode To Glenn Schwartz” – 4:04
A3. “Seek Him” – 3:02
A4. “Don’t Look Back” – 7:05
A5. “Lonely” – 2:50

Side Two
B1. “Frog Alley” – 4:55
B2. “Messed Up” – 2:27
B3. “See The Flesh Fly” – 3:34
B4. “Smilin Dog” – 3:27
B5. “Our Answer” (54th Psalm, English Verse) – 2:05

Note: Re-issued on CD by Hidden Vision Records in 2007. “Ode To Glenn Schwartz” (misspelled as “Ode For Glenn Schwartz”) was released as a 7-inch vinyl single by Rock the World Enterprise in 1975 (b/w “Seek Him”, both were album tracks). Re-issued on 12-inch vinyl LP by Old Bear Records in 2019 with distribution by Light In The Attic.