The Master’s Apprentices’ 1967 debut album is a real hit-and-miss affair. The Australian band had some great high-energy freak-beat originals like “But One Day,” the absolutely menacing “Undecided,” and their best-known track, “War Or Hands Of Time.” So, why did they record five covers on a twelve-song album? Worse, why did they chose such ill-fitting material? Their Bo Diddley and Chuck Berry covers make perfect sense given the band’s blues roots – but covers of The Beatles’ “I Feel Fine,” The Temptations’ “My Girl,” and Wilson Pickett’s “Don’t Fight It” are all dead weight. With all the forward thinking music happening in 1967 (Sgt. Peppers, Piper At The Gates Of Dawn, Velvet Underground and Nico…etc.) it’s disappointing that these guys were still serving up blues/r&b covers that were out of fashion. Consider this album a missed opportunity, with moments of greatness.
This new 2-CD set from Aztec Music augments the original album with six post-album psychedelic-era singles, an alternate take of “I Feel Fine” (no thanks, fellas), a six-song demo from 1966, and a fifteen-song rehearsal from 1966 that suffers from both poor sound quality and cover songs that you’ve heard done a million times before. The package is rounded out by a large booklet that features a band history augmented with some great rare photos.
Tracklisting:
Midnight To Six 