By the late '70s,
Mahogany Rush
were no longer simply
; they were billing themselves as
Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush
, which was appropriate given that frontman
Marino
had done so much to shape the power trio's sound. Not only was
's lead singer and guitarist, he was also the person who wrote all of the songs on studio albums like 1972's
Maxoom
, 1974's
Child of the Novelty
, and 1975's
Strange Universe
. So when
Tales of the Unexpected
came out in 1979, none of
's admirers complained about seeing the name
on the front cover. This is both a live album and a studio album; in its original vinyl LP configuration,
(which was reissued on CD in early 2008) consisted of four studio recordings on side one and four live performances on side two. Back in 1979, some fans wondered why the band was offering more live recordings after having just provided a live LP for
Columbia
in 1978; perhaps that was
's way of addressing fans who complained that their live album should have been a two-LP set instead of a single LP. At any rate,
has a lot going for it. The studio material, all of it solid, ranges from enjoyably psychedelic covers of
the Beatles
'
"Norwegian Wood"
and
Bob Dylan
's
"All Along the Watchtower"
to the funky
"Sister Change"
and the instrumental title track (which finds the hard rock/metal unit venturing into jazz fusion territory and indicates that
had been seriously checking out
Chick Corea
Return to Forever
John McLaughlin
Mahavishnu Orchestra
). The live tracks, meanwhile, include ballsy, inspired performances of
"Woman,"
"Down, Down, Down,"
"Door of Illusion,"
"Bottom of the Barrel."
Although not as essential as
,
was a respectable way for
and his colleagues to say goodbye to the '70s. ~ Alex Henderson