Sonic's Rendezvous Band - Recent Activity

Recent Activity

Recently, the band has enjoyed renewed interest, along with mainstream critical acclaim in the music press, with the September 2006, release of a six-disc box set eponymously titled, "Sonic's Rendezvous Band," by UK label Easy Action. The record was reviewed by Rolling Stone Magazine, October 19, 2006, by Senior Editor David Fricke, as one of "Fricke's Picks," saying of the band's 1978 single (included in the set), "City Slang" "5:15 of assault guitars, railroad drumming and Smith's determined-rebel call--has all you need to know why SRB were masters of their domain." That domain, as Fricke put it was "the Detroit Church of High Energy Rock," where Sonic's "holy rank" secured "forever." Said Fricke: "I just want as much of the best of this band as I can get, in good faith and quality. Right now, this is what I have. And I am playing it. Loud." Among other notable cuts in the set, Fricke, says, "a highlight is the sixteen-minute "American Boy," on which Smith plays a long, heated-raga solo on saxophone, evoking the MC5's earlier forays into the music of Sun Ra and Pharoah Sanders." Fricke repeatedly cites Scott Morgan's influence, describing the two concert discs from 1975 and 1976 as having that "manic-white-Motown streak that Morgan in particular brought to SRB."

Fricke mentioned that record "comes with its own controversy" over whether it was approved by all involved, but Easy Action asserts on its Web site that the release was approved by the surviving band members and by Fred Smith's children and wife, Patti Smith.

Also recently Scott Morgan has teamed up with Radio Birdman's Deniz Tek and has released a live Powertrane album.