Skull Mailbox

Simply put, Bob Drake is one of the most original, daring, and creative musical geniuses on the planet (he resides in France) and in my opinion this is his absolute masterpiece. Mr. Drake is a serious musician and engineer, and has worked with Ice Cube, Quincy Jones, Tina Turner and George Clinton, as well as a plethora of more musically diverse acts that most people have never heard of. It is no surprise that nobody has reviewed this album simply due to the fact that 99.7% of people do not know that Mr. Drake even exists, and beyond that, the music contained therein would alienate all but the very brave and open-minded individuals.

This is a very dark and disturbing journey into the mind of Mr. Drake, and most of the lyrics deal (in one way or another) with, well, you may as well just hear it from the horses mouth ([...]

"It's me playing and singing lots of short songs about hauntings, death, madness, shrieking statues, evil plants, doomed seances, accursed portraits, unmentionable entities and other things of that nature. Instrumentally centered around nylon stringed acoustic guitar and a cheap, air-powered electric organ, accompanied by electric guitar, bass, drums and violin. I recorded most of it in a big empty barn with just a few microphones to get a raw, naturally reverberant sound along with occasional noises from outside (birds, wind, dogs, farm machinery...)" - Bob Drake

Sounds morph from a broken guitar cord one moment into an insanely intricate guitar riff (that may be doubled and panned hard left/hard right) whilst a voice singing macabre/twisted/sometimes humorous lyrics changes texture right before your eyes. There is plenty of pump organ, nylon classical guitar, avant-garde bluegrass licks, impossibly tricky and disjunct time signatures (that remind me of Beefheart at times), and purposefully placed "wrong" notes, chords, and melodies that somehow all works to create a unique and whole statement. Although "The Skull Mailbox" has a predominately acoustic nature, there are some energetic tracks that contain stellar bass guitar playing and even drums, everything performed by Drake himself. A two-minute Drake tune can sometimes feel like ten due to the unbelievable sonic journey that the listener is taken on, and I mean this in a most complimentary manner. I could talk for hours about how great and original the music is here, but my words will never due the work justice - it simply has to be heard to be understood and believed.

Of special note is the production and engineering. On a fine stereo system, each song is an aural equivalent to a painting, and every single musical detail is placed just so, never leaving any sound or texture to chance. Drake is in total control of every aspect of the sonic picture, even in the most cacaphonous moments (of which there are many!). One of the most brilliant sonic production work I have ever heard, challenging even Zappa's "Lumpy Gravy" in it's scope.

If you are a brave soul, please give Drake's music a chance. His website is [...] where you can read plenty more about the man and his music (and art; he is a fine visual artist and photographer as well), and he would even be more than happy to answer an e-mail regarding his work. There are also four complete tracks from "The Skull Mailbox" in mp3 form at the site.

Although "The Skull Mailbox (and other horrors)" is my favorite BD album, all six of his are worth hearing, and the next step to explore after this album may be either his first album called "What Day is it?" or the banjo-heavy "The Shunned Country", the latter containing an astonishing 52 tracks in about 40 minutes (many tracks are 20 - 45 seconds, yet complete musical statements).