CHOOSE YOUR MASQUES (1982)

One of Live 79's finest moments was "Silver Machine (Requiem)" in which the band lurched into their one big hit, then a minute into it ended with a tremendous explosion wiping out the latter half. A jolly good way of announcing that a door the past has been closed.

Why, then, less than four years later do we have a clean studio version of "Silver Machine" on this album? And why oh why, if they were REALLY intent on burying the past, do we have the return of Nik Turner on this disk?

Griffin's back full time on drums, but you don't really notice him very much. Choose Your Masques is definitely the best of the RCA studio albums (Sonic,Church, and Masque), but this is scant praise given the weak company.

In fact, after another refresher listen to decide if they were as weak as I remembered them, I must note that the only musician who really purports himself respectably through all three of these records is Bainbridge. Go Harvey Go!

BLANGA SCORE: 3.