Welcome to day three of our multi-day Canada Day music celebration which is combined with the 22nd edition of Long Song Tuesday. Today we highlight a Canadian group called Mahogany Rush.
Mahogany Rush was formed in 1970 by guitarist Frank Marino. I became familiar with them based on their 1975 Album named Strange Universe and it is the title song from this album that we are featuring today. Let’s listen….
I think you will agree with me that this is an amazing song. Clearly Frank’s guitar playing and songwriting were both significantly influenced by Jimi Hendrix. Let’s listen to another track from that album, Tales of a Spanish Warrior, that once again shows Jimi’s influence.
It seemed clear to me that Frank was “the band” and the other members of the group were basically just hired hands. This was made clear to everyone when the group was renamed Frank Marino’s Mahogany Rush before eventually evolving into just Frank Marino in the 1980s.
I bought, and greatly enjoyed, Strange Universe but lost track of the band after that. Their Hendrix inspired sound captured my interest for a moment but they did not have enough originality to hold my interest over the long haul.
thebestmusicyouhaveneverheard 