Review Summary: Coven's worst album, or maybe not ?
I miss the times when I thought Coven was this incredible satanic rock band that disappeared after one album because the 60s were not ready for them, and only got the respect they deserved when people realized that they had influenced the entire metal genre. The times before I heard their second album, where they went for a more conventional rock sound and even made some ballads, which naturally became their biggest hits.
Their second, self-titled album is kind of a blessing and a curse, one I’m never sure what to think about. It’s a pretty strange project that opens with the horns-and-piano ballad “Nightingale” and the folky tune “One Tin Soldier”, and in between, is filled with rockier songs but with none of the occult references. To give you an idea, songs here have titles like “Washroom Wonder” and “Lonely Lover”, rather than “Dignitaries of Hell”. It’s the odd one out in Coven’s discography, and honestly, I can’t think of too many albums by others that sound like that. Obviously, it’s a big disappointment if you were expecting a second “Witchcraft Destroys Mind and Reaps Souls”. You can definitely consider this a sell-out move, where Coven removed everything that made them unique and instead of proving that they were the precursors to Black Sabbath, try to sound like a second-rate Heart, or a very generic blues rock band. But if you judge this album for what it is, it’s still not great, but somewhat enjoyable, with some experimentations that were at least worth trying.
For example, while starting a rock album with a song like “Nightingale” is a disastrous idea, I wouldn’t consider it a bad song, it sounds rather pretty, and I like to think it’s a sort of proto-symphonic metal track. “Shooting Star” is a pretty good blues rock songs, with a lot of punch and catchy riffs. “Natural Love” is a sensual, rocking number. Jinx’s voice is as powerful and distinctive as ever, with her belting and yelling, especially those super-high notes on “Natural Love”.
“Lonely Lover” is very similar to “Natural Love”, because of its title and its catchy but generic blues rock sound. The riffs and keyboards on those songs sound like stuff you’ve heard a million times, even in the 70s. That’s a problem with the album in general: it re-uses similar riffs and melodies on many tracks, and those particular melodies have already been done before. Sometimes it works, but at other times, like on “I Guess it’s a Beautiful Day Today”, it’s just really forgettable. Luckily, other songs bring some variety to the album/
“What Can I Get of You” alternates between softer, melancholic part and more powerful ones, with some generic but entertaining blues rock riffs. There’s also a male vocalist, who also sings all of the unfortunately titled “Washroom Wonder”… but most importantly, shows up on “Dark Day in Chi Town”, one of the album’s heaviest tracks, with the meanest but catchiest riff. This is the album’s one song that feels really proto-metal. I also love the echo on Jinx’s vocalizing.
The album has two covers, “Jailhouse Rock” and “One Tin Soldier”. Their version of “Jailhouse Rock” is a pure fun, crazy fast, hard rocking track. It’s everything you could want in a hard rock version of a 50s rock’n roll hit. But now we must talk about “One Tin Soldier”. It’s the only Coven song that charted on the Billboard 100, and has overshadowed the first version recorded by The Original Caste. It’s the very example of a band’s biggest hit sounding nothing like what they usually make, and Coven’s fans must have despaired when they heard them sing a hippie folk song. Once again, it’s a transparent sell-out move. But… I’ve developed kind of a soft spot for this song. Yes, it’s incredibly cheesy, in a good way. The flute and horns, and Jinx’s singing sound really pretty. Add some electric guitars, and it’s basically a proto power/symphonic metal song. The lyrics can seem a little naïve or convoluted, but it’s essentially a fable put to music. The story about the Valley People going to war against the Mountain People to take their treasure, which was not a precious gemstone, but a rock carved with the words “Peace on Earth”, is somewhat vague but still evocative. You understand the commentary on greed and what some people would do to obtain things that are only precious because we’ve decided that they are. There’s also something profoundly sad about the song’s description of all this pointless destruction, and the last line on the chorus, “One tin soldier rides away”.
But you understand why it was a terrible idea for Coven to record something like that, right? It could only disappoint their old-time fans and give new fans the wrong idea of what their music is like. This album must have confused a lot of people when it came out, which may be why it’s less remembered and less respected than their debut. Even I am incredibly confused about it. If you don’t expect “Witchcraft Part 2”, it can be good. But just when I’m getting into it, it becomes repetitive and, well, just too generic, bland and average for trailblazers like Coven. They’re really not meant to be a band that follows trends and copies its contemporaries. The thing that always strikes me about Coven is how ahead of their time their music can feel. You don’t get enough of that in this album, except on its highlights like the proto-doom metal riff of “Dark Day” and the symphonic experimentations of “Nightingale” and “Tin Soldier”. And of course, Jinx Dawson proves she could sing anything and make it sound good.
This is why, in my opinion, this album could be considered the first flop in the metal and proto-metal scene. But it’s the good king of flop, the kind that you still find yourself drawn to even if you don’t love it because it’s a such a strange album. Coven never made anything like that again, this remains a unique, fascinating moment in their career that I don’t find all that great but can’t hate. As far as disappointing albums go, this was not that bad, and really fun to talk about.
