History:

Brutus was a lounge / garage band from somewhere in Florida. It’s unknown who the musicians were, how old they were, or where they were performing. They recorded only one acetate. The acetate appears to be a live recording of a quartet (guitar, bass, drums, and organ) performing covers of pop, psychedelic rock, and garage rock hits of the late 60’s. It’s raw, filled with errors, but the sound is there. The cover is hand drawn and features some spoof Apple logos. I would love some information if anybody has any. Most likely recorded in 1968 or 1969.

Review:

Brutus Group (Not On Label / Transco Acetates, 1969?)

Rating: 4/10 

What caught my eye when I bid on this record at auction was the setlist. It featured a Buffalo Springfield single, a Bee Gees deepcut, two Cream covers, and an original. The acetate did not live up to hype though. It has its moments but it’s extremely inconsistent and horribly recorded. It has multiple recording gaffs, an unplayable track due to the volume of the cutting machine being too high, missed notes, and even some laughing on the flip side.

The best cover here is “Rock And Roll Woman” which features good vocals and organ work. “Easy To Be Hard”, even though the microphone appears to have been unplugged, has a great arrangement and the band is really tight on this one. “I’m So Glad” features a good fuzz solo and they perform “Light My Fire” in its eight minute entirety. The ten minute medley that closes the A-Side is probably the band’s best performance on the acetate. Terribly inconsistent but they were so close to achieving something great.