Sam Gopal ● Escalator

Sam Gopal is apparently one of the world’s foremost tabla players (tabla: “a small drum or pair of drums of India tuned to different pitches and played with the hands”). How he found himself in a psychedelic hard rock band with a guitar player by the name of Ian Fraser Kilmister—Lemmy to those in the know—is probably a mystery best left to the sands of time. First released in 1969 on the ultra-rare Stable Records, Escalator was Gopal’s lone attempt at creating acid rock with a hint of Middle Eastern instrumentation. He called upon Lemmy to deliver the material, all of which was apparently written in one night of speed ball-induced mania. That’s not hard to believe. The material is aimless and the vocals fairly uninspired, but the guitar work is impressive and the use of the tabla is surprisingly effective. Although the title track and “Cold Embrace” are two bright if not entirely cheery slabs of guitar-driven psychedelia, “The Dark Lord” veers toward the sinister, Lemmy’s soaring guitar leads strewn over menacing, somewhat cryptic lyrics (“Black wings across the sky/bring the nightfall/winds whine around the stars/black riders call/light fading time’s wasting hell’s waiting/for the dark lord”). Creepy. Escalator is hardly required listening, but one could do worse when exploring the dark corners of British underground hard rock.

Notes: After a brief stint in Hawkwind, Lemmy formed Motorhead in 1975. Here is the title track to Escalator: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8lEOVVI5OrM&feature=related.