Eugene McDaniels - Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse & Outlaw (Atlantic, 1971 & 1970; 2002)

Based upon Gene McDaniels' early 1960s success as a pop singer (his hits "A Hundred Pounds of Clay," "Tower of Strength," and "Chip Chip" all made the Top Ten during the 1961-1962 period), the two albums he recorded for Atlantic (as "Eugene") a decade later must have been quite a surprise to an unsuspecting public. Not to take anything away from the man's earlier material, but Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse stand as remarkable achievements in their ability to tackle weighty issues such as racism, gender, religion, politics, and genocide and present them in an eminently listenable rock-funk-jazz context. Extremely controversial in their day, it is only within the last ten years or so that people are finally recognizing them as the masterpieces that they are.

McDANIELS (L) WITH SUSAN JANE (CENTER) AND THEN-WIFE RAMONA (R)

Outlaw, released in 1970 and featuring the singer in his "Left Rev. Mc D." persona along with two countercultural female militants in the cover photo, can be listened to as McDaniels' unique interpretation of the events and social changes that had occurred during the last few years of the preceding decade. Although any traces of 1960s idealism were absent from the LP's songs, the presence of stellar supporting musicians such as guitarists Eric Weisberg and Hugh McCracken in addition to bassist Ron Carter (an alumnus of Miles Davis' Second Great Quintet) keeps the material enjoyable even if the lyrics often concern themselves with serious and/or unpleasant subject matter. The title track deals with the newly-liberated American woman - be it a "nigger" or a "whitey" - and the consternation among the mainstream that her emergence was causing. Other reviewers have rightfully noted its Rolling Stones-like vibe. "Sagittarius Red" is a glorious work of mellow beauty, while the wry observations contained in the lyrics of "Welfare City" provide some of the most compelling commentary on urban living that you're likely to hear. My personal favorite on Outlaw is the hard-hitting "Silent Majority," which takes the term Richard Nixon had used so effectively in his infamous speech from 1969 and spits it right back in his face. In inquiring whether the views of this demographic were even morally defensible with lines like "Silent Majority is calling out loud to you and me from Arlington Cemetery," this piece earned McDaniels a place on Tricky Dick's shit list. "Love Letter to America" continues the Left Rev. Mc D.'s assault on everything that was (and still is) wrong with this country but places it in such a disarming musical framework that its full impact may take awhile to sink in. The funky if word-heavy "Unspoken Dreams of Light" offers further analysis of the human condition on planet Earth, and the ethereally jazzy "Cherrystones" offers a sneak preview of the sound that the singer would pursue more fully on his follow-up album. On the possibly autobiographical "Reverend Lee" (McDaniels' father was a preacher), he takes on the subject of religion in his own inimitable style. With its psychedelic intro and outro, this performance is the most mind-expanding track to be found on Outlaw. The album concludes with "Black Boy," a lovely acoustic ballad that is the result of McDaniels' adaptation of John Blair's original lyrics.


If Outlaw merely annoyed the tyrannical Nixon administration, McDaniels' next project, Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse, caused major outrage. Depending on which story you read, either the supremely despicable Vice President Spiro Agnew or the equally contemptible Chief of Staff Harry Haldeman contacted Atlantic Records and demanded that the label stop recording the singer after the album was released in 1971. Listening to these uncompromising performances, it's not surprising that the paranoid regime then occupying the White House was so offended. As with its predecessor, Headless Heroes features an outstanding group of backing musicians including bassist Miroslav Vitous, ace drummer Alphonse Mouzon, and unheralded guitarist Richie Resnikoff, whose collective contributions are simply outstanding. "The Lord Is Back" deals with a wrathful Jehovah, obviously incensed over the abundance of injustice that existed in the world during the early 1970s. (And to think that was the mess into which I was born.) "Jagger the Dagger" is an excellent tribute to the Rolling Stones' frontman and features some truly phenomenal guitar work from Resnikoff. "Lovin' Man" is an engaging Jesus parable, while the album's title track focuses on the futility of war - most memorably with the observation, "Jews and the Arabs...left wing and right wing...niggers and crackers...pawns in the master game. The player who controls the board sees them all as the same. Basically, cannon fodder." - all while keeping it real funky. "Susan Jane" covers some of the same territory as "Outlaw" and is apparently about one of McDaniels' real-life friends, who is the submachine gun-wielding hippie chick pictured on the cover of his first album. The singer displays some especially fine vocals on the message-laden "Freedom Death Dance," which sounds Gil Scott-Heronesque to my ears. Mouzon's performance on drums is nothing short of breathtaking. Intentionally or not, "Supermarket Blues" is a pretty hilarious take on racism - especially with its "God-DAMN!" refrain - told from the perspective of a black man who encounters nothing but trouble at the local grocery store. Finally, the bleak "Parasite" (dedicated to Buffy Sainte-Marie) tells the story of white settlement of America from the Native American perspective, seeing it accurately for the invasion it was. Although not entirely historically correct (e.g. not every white person who settled North America was a criminal), the song is still an eloquent reminder that one of the core issues of US hypocrisy is the the country's virtual extermination of its indigenous inhabitants.

Seldom does music with this much groove possess lyrical content with an equal amount of intelligence. There really aren't any other albums out there that are truly comparable to Outlaw and Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse. Unfortunately, due to the pressure from Washington DC, Atlantic did not release anything else by McDaniels, although he continued to have a successful career as a songwriter. Both of these LPs were heavily sampled by the hip-hop crowd over the years, and it's not hard to understand why. But you're better off sticking with the recordings from where the samples originally came and keeping things old school with the Left Rev. Mc D.


Headless Heroes of the Apocalypse (1971)
1. The Lord Is Back
2. Jagger the Dagger
3. Lovin' Man
4. Headless Heroes
5 Susan Jane
6. Freedom Death Dance
7. Supermarket Blues
8. The Parasite (For Buffy)

Outlaw (1970)
9. Outlaw
10. Sagittarius Red
11. Welfare City
12. Silent Majority
13. Love Letter to America
14. Unspoken Dreams of Light
15. Cherrystones
16. Reverend Lee
17. Black Boy