Mother Superior

[Michael Baryshnikov]

Hello All!

Залит Mother_Superior/(1975)_Mother_Superior

Рок-археология.
Первый и единственный альбом девочковой прогрессив-рок-группы из 70-х. Также
известен под названием "Lady Madonna".
В принципе, интересно, немного попсово. Самая худшая вещь - вот как раз сама
Леди Мадонна.
Рекомендуется почти исключительно археологам.

===
(c) Mother Superior biography, PA

UK band MOTHER SUPERIOR was formed in the summer of 1974, when bassist Jackie
Badger turns up for an audition to join UK band Cosmetix and finds the main
members of that band in an almighty row that ends their history there and then.
She opts to hook up Jackie Crew and Audrey Swinburne now formerly of Cosmetix,
and through and ad in Melody Maker New Zealand musician Lesley Sly becomes the
final member of the new band, and following a long session involving
substantial amounts of alcohol they come up with the band name Mother Superior.

The band is actively gigging whenever and wherever they can, performing in
pubs, at air-force bases and later on a number of gigs in Central Europe
follows. While they do build up a regular fanbase, the UK record labels aren't
overly keen on signing this all girl band. As bassist Jackie Brewster revealed
in her blog: "One night at the Golden Lion, the place is rammed with an
audience of men and women, Sony have sent an A and R man down who says to us
after two encores, that he can't see who our market is, women would be jealous
of us and men wouldn't buy our records because their girlfriends wouldn't like
it. "

At that point in time this isn't a great concern for the band. They have
recorded their debut album in the usual manner of a new band their label
doesn't really think too much of - late night sessions handled by inexperienced
studio techs promising that "it will be all right in the mix". The album is
subsequently released on a small Swedish label attached to their own label
Polydor, which does give the band a good reason to tour Scandinavia the
following year. That their label chose to call the album "Lady Madonna" just
one more decision made that wasn't approved by the band members.

Following extensive gigging, a label not really believing in the band, the
usual on the road hassles and management problems, line-up alterations and day
to day problems became the order of the day for Mother Superior. They decided
to call it quits in 1977, their final gig performed on December 9th.
===

Mother Superior aka Lady Madonna
Mother Superior
Crossover Prog, 1975
(c) Review by siLLy puPPy, PA

Progressive rock has been traditionally deemed a male dominated music perhaps
for its emphasis on abstract lyrical content, technical workouts and let's not
forget the good ole boys network in the old music industry however women have
of course been included in the genre since it began albeit in subordinate
roles. What has been practically non-existent though is an exclusively all
female band in prog. Sure all girl groups were quite popular in 1960s pop and
soul music but in prog? I'd bet nobody can name very many examples. Well,
believe it or not there have been a handful of all female prog bands ranging
from Japan's OOIOO and Tricot in the modern world but it will come as a
surprise to many that MOTHER SUPERIOR existed as far back as 1974-77 and
existed as an all-female lineup long enough to record its only album LADY
MADONNA which emerged in 1975.

MOTHER SUPERIOR formed in London in 1974 and consisted of New Zealand native
Lesley Sly (vocals, keyboards), Audrey Swinburne (vocals, guitars), Jackie
Badger (bass, vocals) and Jackie Crew (drums, vocals). While a rare breed
indeed where a band consisted of four women who played their own instruments
and crafted a unique blend of British prog and standard rock with jazz
overtones was unheard of but the novelty managed to attract the attention of
Polydor Records which released its album. The album title LADY MADONNA was a
reference to The Beatles song of the same name and the album even includes an
interesting cover version that takes on a classic ragtime performance of the
track. Comparisons with Earth and Fire, Fusion Orchestra and Sandrose have been
made even regarding the musical style. Basically MOTHER SUPERIOR crated a
crossover style of prog and classic rock that added intricate keyboard runs and
subtle complexities to a more basic melodic rock approach.

While women in the 1970s were pretty much limited to the role of lead singer
with an occasional rhythm instrument thrown in for good measure, MOTHER
SUPERIOR not only wrote their music but performed it admirably as well. The
band toured England and Europe extensively during its short existence and if
you have any doubts that females couldn't be excellent musicians in prog rock
then just check out the excellent instrumental "Ticklish Allsorts" on this
album and you'll be set straight. Clearly from one spin of LADY MADONNA it
becomes clear that it wasn't talent that was the limiting factor but perhaps
image. Even though the feminist movement and women's rights were strong in the
cultural consciousness, the world of prog and music biz in general probably
wasn't quite ready for a group of strong women cranking out catchy yet
sophisticated music of their own making. LADY MADONNA is an instantly lovable
album that showcases not only some interesting prog chops but also a womanly
way of tackling prog with sensual interpretations of an oft knotty angular
music known for its abstractness.

With a typical LP run of just over 39 minutes, LADY MADONNA featured seven
tracks opening with the instantly infectious "No Time Toulouse Lautrec" which
starts things off with an eerie intro that keeps you in suspense until a funky
bass, clever keyboard use and rock guitar joins in. The harmonic vocal approach
adds a sensual touch to the hard rock and proggy breakdowns and keyboard runs
add the proper touches to elevate MOTHER SUPERIOR out of mere Heart territory.
BTW these gals emerged a year before Heart released its debut "Dreamboat
Annie." The following "Just One Look" continues the songwriting ingenuity with
a bouncy rocker that adds some moody atmospheric keyboards and excellent vocal
harmony engineering. Also notable is Lesley Sly's honky tonk piano attacks. By
the time "Mood Merchant" arrives as the third track, it's more than obvious
that MOTHER SUPERIOR was much more than a novelty as a token all-female prog
band. These girls were quite talented and to my ears reminds me more of
crossover bands like Argent with clever hook-laden riffs, excellent tight-knit
instrumental interplay and brilliant contrapuntal melodic tapestries.

Despite all efforts on the band's part, the record company didn't take MOTHER
SUPERIOR seriously enough and didn't promote them. In fact despite being from
the UK, a British release wasn't secured and unfortunately this band is
scarcely known even by modern prog stalwarts. True that MOTHER SUPERIOR was
very much in the crossover camp with instantly addictive melodies and a
standard classic rock approach augmented by proggy accoutrements but was
clearly talented in both the songwriting department as well as the musical
delivery. Personally i was quite surprised how good this one was. While the
album cover suggests a proto-version of the Runaways, MOTHER SUPERIOR was in a
league of its own as far as all-female bands are concerned for this era.
Unfortunately after this album appeared the lineup started to disintegrate and
even male members were recruited but unfortunately momentum was lost and the
band called it quits leaving this sole album as the woefully single example of
an entire female band that crossed over into prog in the 1970s. This is not to
be missed!
===

Enjoy!
WBR, Michael Baryshnikov.