''Mashmakhan'' is the debut studio album by Canadian
rock
Rock most often refers to:
* Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids
* Rock music, a genre of popular music
Rock or Rocks may also refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...
band
Mashmakhan
Mashmakhan was a Canadian rock band formed in 1969 in L'Île-Perrot, Quebec. The band is best known for their 1970 hit single " As the Years Go By". The song reached No. 1 in Canada, and the Top 40 in the United States. The song was also a maj ...
. Mashmakhan debuted with the single "
As the Years Go By
"As the Years Go By" is the first single by rock fusion band Mashmakhan from their self-titled debut album. The single was recorded in Columbia B Studios and was released as the first single to Mashmakhan's self-titled debut album. The other sin ...
" which became a major success selling millions of copies around the world. After three singles, Mashmakhan released their self-titled debut
LP album
An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...
. After the album was released the group released their second album entitled ''
The Family''. Later, tracks from the album were featured in several different '70s rock compilation albums as well as two were sampled in some rap tracks. The album was also well received by critics getting a four out of five star review from
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
.
Release and promotion
Mashmakhan debuted with the
single
Single may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Single (music), a song release
Songs
* "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004
* "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008
* "Single" (William Wei song), 2016
* "Single", by ...
"
As the Years Go By
"As the Years Go By" is the first single by rock fusion band Mashmakhan from their self-titled debut album. The single was recorded in Columbia B Studios and was released as the first single to Mashmakhan's self-titled debut album. The other sin ...
" which became a smash hit and was released in an edited form. The single sold 100,000 copies in Canada, 500,000 copies in the United States, and over 1,000,000 copies in Japan. The single was followed by the other singles, "Days When We Are Free" and "Gladwin." The self-titled debut album was released in 1970 in Canada in
LP format as
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music, Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the North American division of Japanese Conglomerate (company), conglomerate Sony. It was founded on Janua ...
, catalog number ELS-365. US releases were on
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America
Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...
number E 30235. After their debut album was released, the follow-up album ''
The Family'' was released in 1971 and bombed. This was released in Canada on Columbia as ES-90000, and in the US as Epic E 30813. The group broke up shortly after.
Several songs were later included in different compilation albums with the first being "As the Years Go By" which was included in ''Rock Artifacts, Vol. 1'' in 1990. On November 9, 1995, ''Mashmakhan'' and its follow-up album, ''The Family'', were included in the compilation album ''
Mashmakhan/The Family''.
On April 24, 2001, "As the Years Go By" was released on the ''Rock Treasures'' compilation by the
Sony Music Entertainment
Sony Music Entertainment (SME), also known as simply Sony Music, is an American multinational music company. Being owned by the parent conglomerate Sony Group Corporation, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is owned by Sony Entertainment ...
. On July 1, "Days When We Are Free" was included as part of the compilation ''The Rubble Collection, Volumes 1-10''. The song "Afraid of Losing You" was included in the
David Holmes compilation ''Cherrystone: Hidden Charms'' on June 22, 2004. And lastly, "As the Years Go By" was used in the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
compilation ''The 70's, Vol. 3'' by
Universal Music Group
Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...
of Japan on December 15, 2007.
Critical reception
In a retrospective review,
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
critic Lindsay Planer stated that Mashmakhan blended "intricate progressive rock" and "resilient jazz fusion-inspired rhythms" and that Mashmakhan "consistently came up with brilliant material, rivalling many of their American contemporaries." Lindsay stated that "Days When We Are Free" kicks off Mashmakhan with a "rousing and assertive groove" steeped in "percussive funk, showing off just what they are capable of." Lindsay also stated that "I Know I've Been Wrong" begins with a "moody introduction, dominated by Senecal's punctuating organ inflections" as they shore up the "mid-tempo backbeat" and that "As the Years Go By" not only became their biggest hit but it also became "a million-seller in (of all places) Japan" and that the lyrics "are undeniably puerile," and texturally the "connotations of the word 'love' remain eternal."
Sampling in hip hop
Some songs from the album have been
sampled
Sample or samples may refer to:
Base meaning
* Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set
* Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal
* Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
by
hip hop musicians. In 1991, the track "I Know I've Been Wrong" was sampled by
rap
Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...
duo
Black Sheep
In the English language, black sheep is an idiom that describes a member of a group who is different from the rest, especially a family member who does not fit in. The term stems from sheep whose fleece is colored black rather than the more comm ...
, for the track "Gimme The Finga" from their album ''
A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing''. Also in 2004, the track "Happy You Should Be" was sampled by rapper
MF Doom
Daniel Dumile ( ; July 13, 1971October 31, 2020), best known by his stage name MF Doom or simply Doom (both stylized in all caps), was a British-American rapper and record producer. Noted for his intricate wordplay, signature metal mask, and ...
for the song "Vomitspit" from the album ''
Mm..Food''.
Track listing
Personnel
* Rayburn Blake –
guitar
The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected stri ...
s,
backing vocals
A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are use ...
* Pierre Senecal –
organ, backing vocals,
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...
,
flute
The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...
,
soprano saxophone
The soprano saxophone is a higher-register variety of the saxophone, a woodwind instrument invented in the 1840s. The soprano is the third-smallest member of the saxophone family, which consists (from smallest to largest) of the soprillo, sop ...
, arrangements
* Brian Edwards –
bass,
lead vocals
The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of t ...
*
Jerry Mercer
Gerald "Jerry" Mercer (born April 27, 1939) is a Canadian drummer, best known for his work with the rock groups Mashmakhan and April Wine.
Personal life
Mercer was born in Newfoundland. Prior to becoming a full-time musician, Mercer worked ...
–
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...
, backing vocals
References
External links
*
Mashmakhan' at
Discogs
Discogs (short for discographies) is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. While the site was originally created with a goal of becoming the la ...
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1970 debut albums
Mashmakhan albums
Columbia Records albums
Epic Records albums
CBS Records albums