Sir Lord Baltimore

The Complete Recordings 1970-2006

HNE RECORDINGS/CHERRY RED

Gloriously untamed protometal unearthed.

Heavy metal was built on audacious sonic ejaculations that pushed hard rock to wild extremes. While the crazed thunder of Blue Cheer is well-documented, Brooklyn trio Sir Lord Baltimore flew totally below the radar, only noticed later by Julian Cope, who frothed over their “histrionic proto-Kiss, proto-David Lee Roth vocal acrobatics and enough Stooged-out proto metal to last a lifetime”.

Cope’s spot-on ravings provide notes for this box set gathering 1970’s Kingdom Come, 1971’s self-titled follow-up and 2006’s reunion III Raw. Produced by Eddie Kramer at Electric Lady, Kingdom Come sounds about to burst out of its skin as singerdrummer John Garner lays spectacularly frenetic vocal templates for future cock-rocking caterwaulers, while Louis Dambra multi-tracks car-crash fusillades of blistering guitar on onslaughts such as Master Heartache, Helium Head and Hell Hound, predicting Motörhead on Hard Rain Fallin’ and thrash by Ain’t Hung On You’s explosion-ina-snake-nest finale.

Adding second guitarist Joey Dambra, Sir Lord Baltimore soften the relentless attack and widen the sound, adding flute and presaging prog on 10-minute opener Man From Manhattan, before Where Are We Going pursues Mott-like raunch, and hilariously macho Woman Tamer mints big-riff slowies. Despite seat belts and subtleties, Garner’s cartoonmetal yelps frequently sound like someone has placed a sharp object on his drum stool.

Then they were gone. Until Garner and Bamra reconvened for 2006’s still-rambunctious III Raw, reflecting the former’s Christian conversion on Rising Son and Mission to complete this often revelatory, endlessly entertaining set in their inimitable style. ■■■■■■■■■■