Mandrake hailed from Houston TX and released just one album in 1978. Led by brothers Benny and Danny Valerio, the band operated as a power-trio during its brief existence, and found a home with a label called Crazy Cajun.
Mandrake offers a blend of hard rock, blues-rock and southern rock. The album contains three covers. “Money”, which opens the album, “That's All Right” and “Let it Roll” the rest of the songs are self-penned by band members. They sound somewhere between hard rock and Southern rock, “Cold Hearted Woman” is a compo driven by razor-sharp guitars and an incandescent solo that feels like it's about to explode. The creeping mid-tempo “Living In The World Alone”, the mid-tempo “I Got Loaded”, “Realize” is a lighter, more melodic compo, with clearer guitars and a warm, bluesy flavour, the singer's voice accessible, more haunting and the finale more attention-grabbing. In conclusion it is a pleasant album, with good riffs and screaming solos. 
Tracks
1. Money (Berry Gordy, Jr., Janie Bradford) - 4:04
2. Cold Hearted Woman - 3:36
3. All The Same - 5:15
4. That's All Right (Jimmy Rogers) - 5:18
5. Living In The World Alone - 3:28
6. I Got Loaded - 5:38
7. Realize - 6:14
8. Let It Roll (Paul Winley) - 4:12
9. Honey - 3:06
10.Mandrakes Wild Hair - 3:41
Songs written by Benny Valerio, Danny Valerio, Jimmy Arrechica unless as else noted
Mandrake
*Benny Valerio - Guitar
*Danny Valerio - Bass
*Jimmy Arrechica - Drums
Thanks very much, Marios.
ReplyDeleteGreat!. Thanks for posting it.
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