Frank Marino fans here?

"Poppy" is awesome. Perhaps my favorite song of his. "He's Calling" from REALLive is really great, too (with vocals). I pretty much agree with your entire post

 

So .. .based on all the recommendations here, the Mahogany Rush stuff isn't where to start? OK, thanks

 

The early Mahogany Rush stuff is VERY Hendrix influenced and, frankly, not that good. So, no, MH studio stuff is not essential. Go with the live stuff or if you really want to get a studio album of his I recommend Juggernaut or Eye of the Storm.

 

Frank Marino played two incredible songs on California Jam II album (Ontario Motor Speedway, 1978): "I´m the King Bee" and "Johnny B Goode". Absolutely recommended.

 

I agree 100% with this recommendation.

 

Seconded!

 

I wish they would release the whole Frank Marino performance from Cal Jam 2... They had a Cal Jam 2 TV special & at the end of Purple Haze he went into a wild version of the Mickey Mouse Club theme on guitar! Frank is great... I only seen him twice: Once around 1979 in Buffalo when he opened for Kansas...He only played about 30 minutes but did he ever Kick Ass! Then I seen him & Ronnie Montrose share a bill in a Buffalo club around 1990 & once again he put on a great show

 

Rock Candy is reissuing Frank's Mahogany Rush Live album on cd in April and adding these 2 tracks from California Jam as bonus tracks.

They are also reissuing Who's Next, The Power of Rock 'N' Roll and Juggernaut without bonus material.

They really need to reissue the live album as 2 cd Deluxe Edition with bonus material from those concerts and California Jam.

 

I might be in the minority but I actually like some of the earlier material even if it is Hendrix influenced. Some of the later stuff sounds like generic hard rock.

 

I'll stick up for the Mahogany Rush studio albums. OK, Maxoom and Child Of The Novelty are cool but not as strong as Strange Universe, IV and World Anthem. All interesting albums IMO, and worth picking up. Tales Of The Unexpected (half studio/half live) and What's Next are also good. YooToob is yours for the searching...

 

Saw him back in the day and I have some of his Mahogany Rush stuff , he didn't really have the songwriting talent to break into the mainstream. An excellent guitar player (unlike Ted Nugent) and far superior to the hack Ted Nugent. Dragonfly was his best shot at a commercial single. I see his hits collection is called, "Dragonfly: The Best of Frank Marino & Mahogany Rush". I remember when he was pushing the story of how he overdosed on drugs and when he woke up from the coma he could play like Jimi Hendrix.

 

At least he didn't claim he went to the crossroads at midnight
I think Frank Marino has tried to play down the Hendrix OD story the last couple or three decades. That sounded cool in 1975, not so much these days. Still a fan of his early stuff.

 

It was probably was the idea of management. He was managed by Leber Krebs.

 

Here's a link to a 2015 Guitar World story with some insight...

Frank Marino Sets the Record Straight About His Career, the Music Industry and How the Guitar Saved His Life

 

Love Marino.

Re a favorite album, I'd go with What's Next

 

Saw him in 1980 and he absolutely blew us away with his virtuosity and intensity.
I had no idea who he was until that show and I sure as hell knew who he was after that.
He played a solo in that show that morphed his guitar into a church organ like sound from his pedal board and proceeded to play "Little Town Of Bethlehem" with such beauty that I nearly teared up....amazing.

 

I've explored a bit of Mahogany Rush recently... listened to "Strange Universe" and "IV". Absolutely love the funky groove of "Dragonfly" and the 'exotic' quasi-prog of "Tales of the Spanish Warrior". However, nothing else really grabbed me on my one casual YouTube listen through these albums (I'll admit, I probably need to give them a second chance with a bit more concentration). Much of the material seemed rather weak and derivative in the songwriting department... with the notable exceptional of the aforementioned two songs.

From the discussion in this thread, I don't think I'd be interested in his later material at all. I have no need to hear another cover of "I'm a King Bee" or "Johnny B Goode".

If I had a nickel for every 1970s-era hard rock / metal band who protested that they weren't actually hard rock / metal... but 'rock n roll' or 'blues' or "Greatful Dead meets jazz" (a Marino description of MH)...

 

I took a brief look at some set lists and looks like he was including some of these tracks in his set list that were not included on the Live lp. I'm not sure if versions of these exist in the vaults or not.

Poppy
The Man At The Back Door
Strange Universe
Look At Me

 

I think that might be part of what he does in he song Poppy? I could be confused though. Seeing him live in recent years has been an exhausting experience. His playing is so intense and amazing (& he just keeps going and going and going) I get drained just watching. I probably already said some of this in the thread already (I 4get). A friend described one of the shows as "total guitar onslaught" and that doesn't even do it justice. I've seen hundreds and hundreds of guitarists and live shows and nothing compares to seeing Marino.

 

Here is their set list for Cal Jam.

01 The Answer
02 Dragonfly
03 I'm A King Bee
04 Johnny B. Goode
05 Electric Reflections Of War
06 The World Anthem
07 Purple Haze

 

Why you gotta bring brother Ted into this?

 

A soundboard version of that show exists/existed on bootleg back in the day, 6 CDs, featuring 10 of the acts. A friend of mine bought that and gave me a copy of Frank's set!

 

I mostly agree with this, early Frank Marino is VERY Hendrix influenced indeed, but never that good! That said, I do enjoy Mahogany Rush IV and World Anthem!

 

They locked me out of the Ted thread and then the KC & The Sunshine Band thread.

 

I agree and although I like Frank Marino, I prefer Robin Trower among the more Hendrix influenced guitarists.