A face only a mummy could love....
It might be best for you to read (or re-read) my little blurb on FM at The Canuck Connection before proceeding. Just skip down to the second last paragraph of the post. Then join me back here.
Even though I'm not crazy about absolutely everything that Canadian progressive rock group FM recorded, I still cite them as among my favourite music artists of all time. Their Black Noise album is among the best I've ever heard. Ground-breaking, thrilling, eerie, brilliant. When I listen to Black Noise, I see the future.
The 70's were fertile ground for progressive music, springing out of the late 60's experimental work of bands like Yes and Pink Floyd. Those bands, plus others (mostly British, by the way) like Jethro Tull, Genesis, and King Crimson, created and developed a genre that was often perceived as snobbish and was often looked upon with disdain by many critics. And that only strengthened the bands' resolve to produce more and more challenging music for their audiences. Not Top 10 material (very often).
Psychedelic and folk rock of the 60's formed the roots of prog and I suppose we can thank artists like The Beatles and The Byrds for that early influence. Floyd, Yes, and others pulled heavily from the jazz and classical forms as they noodled on their instruments and composed more intelligent and virtuosic music.
After the European explosion of the style, curious and able musicians in pockets around the world began to dabble in progressive music. In 1976, FM formed - as a duo. Cameron Hawkins stood at the microphone while Nash the Slash lurked mysteriously in the shadows, both handling several electronic instruments (including electric violin and mandolin) during their performances. One rule, though: No guitars.
The line-up grew when Martin Deller joined the band in early '77. An accomplished drummer, he brought a highly technical jazz style to the mix, a perfect complement to the otherworldly sounds of FM. Nash didn't much like this change in sound, though, so he hit the road. His replacement was one Ben Mink, who shared Nash's penchant for odd instrumentation, including the electric violin and mandolin.
Even though FM did enter the studio, it took them a couple of years to land a proper record contract. And finally, their first album Black Noise was released to the public through stores (previously - and strangely - only available via mail order, thanks to CBC's oddball marketing and sales decision).The album sales reached gold status, thanks in part to the success of single Phasors on Stun.
1978's Direct to Disc was exactly that, an album that totally bypassed the recording tape medium, instead requiring live performance and mixing as the sound is transferred to the master disc - no overdubs! This sort of process dictated that only a limited run of records could be pressed from that master, so Direct to Disc was only released as a limited edition. The music is mostly instrumental, very challenging and forward-thinking, along the lines of Yes and King Crimson, though heavy on jazz in parts.
In '79, FM released Surveillance, and though it didn't exactly bowl me over like their debut, I did enjoy bits and pieces, including the cover of Shapes of Things by the Yardbirds. The band suffered through some record label woes, which resulted in album release delays and so on.
1980 brought us City of Fear, comprised of an inconsistent set of songs. Some I liked, some I didn't so much, but I did absolutely love Surface to Air, which I consider one of their best songs ever. Too bad it fell in the midst of a lot of average music.
The '85 album Con-Test saw the re-formation of the original band line-up of Hawkins, Deller, and Nash the Slash. This disc felt completely at home in the era of new wave music. All FM had to do was write simpler, shorter songs and suddenly they were "in vogue". Lead single Just Like You is a prime example. I can't remember if there was a TV music video for it, but I can totally picture a bandaged Nash twisting to this bouncy song. Just Like You even cracked the Canadian Top 50 charts. But that sort of success is one thing.... and what I valued from artists like FM was something else. Hit singles were not important to me. I wanted a lot of substance, beauty, and integrity here... not run-of-the-mill pop hits. For a band that was capable of so much more, this album disappointed me.
By the time 1987's Tonight hit the stores, I had forgotten about FM. Or at least I didn't care to follow their ongoing career anymore. Their music had become too bland and it was virtually indistinguishable from the other new wave-y pop out at the time. For me, they no longer sounded like the FM I knew and loved. And that was the end of the band's recording career, though they did a sort of live hits package in '95. They re-formed briefly in 2006.
I really missed the boat and never saw FM in concert. I'm positive it would have been an amazing experience, somewhere along the lines of Yes or Saga. I did, however, catch Nash the Slash playing at Toronto's outdoor amphitheatre Ontario Place sometime back in the mid-80's. I have no memory of the show, though... that time of my life was a bit of a blur, if you know what I mean. I was in my late teens at the time, living the dream.
And word has it that a newly remastered special edition of FM's debut Black Noise will be released in October. I'm salivating as I think about it.
Rest in peace, Nash (1948 - 2014)
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