  
The Crazy world of Arthur Brown hit the UK charts in 1968 with a song that is still well known today - "Fire". His appearances with a flaming helmet made sure people remember his name, and the opening line "I am the god of hellfire" is still isntantly recognisable. Fast forward over 40 years and Arthur Brown is still making music and touring, even at the age of 72 (and his concerts show he's in better shape than many singers half his age).
Zim Zam Zim is Arthur Brown's latest album , and was produced following a Pledgemusic campaign to raise the funds. Fans who pledged got the album early this year, but it is now receiving a full release, so anyone who didn't get it through the pledge campaign now has a chance to buy it.
So, what can you expect from the album? Well Arthur Brown has never been accused of being boring. Crazy yes, or maybe eccentric, and this album certainly carries the signs of eccentricity - it's an album full of strange surprises - almost like a musical equivalent of Alice in Wonderland. Like Alice in Wonderland it may seem bizarre at times, but it's utterly captivating.
Arthur Brown's voice is still remarkably good - it's powerful, rich and has a wide range. There's a wide range of instruments used on the album, and as you'd expect from Arthur Brown they aren't just the standard rock band instruments. There are the usual guitars, bass, drums, a wide range of percussion instruments, violin, cello, tombone, helicon, clarinet, saxophone, viola, keyboards and even a chainsaw.
Brief comments on a few tracks....
Check out the title track of the album with the player below.
In "Want to love" his voice sounds quite similar to Tom Jones as he sings over music that starts with an oriental sound, and sticks mainly to percussion along with a regular bass beat.
"Jungle fever" opens with some jungle sounds - birds, monkeys and so on. Set to a different tune, the vocals would be a great blues song, but here you have more of a contrast between the simple tune and sound effects and Arthurs voice.
This is a superb album. It's innovative, bizarre, fascinating, and unique. It doesn't fall into any genre that reviewers like to use, but that's part of what makes this album so good. This album is highly recommended, and I definitely recommend that you see Arthur Brown in concert if you can as he's one hell of a showman.
"Zim Zam Zim" will be released on 28th July 2014
Track listing:
1. Zim zam zim
2. Want to love
3. Jungle fever
4. The unknown
5. Assun
6. Muscle of love
7. Junkyard king
8. Light your light
9. Touched by all
10. The formless depths
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