It's the cover art that immediately grabs one's attention, a photograph of a trio of flashy-dressed Afro-Americans crucified on flower-encrusted crosses. But Maximillian's defiant stance on the cover of their 1969 self-titled debut is pretty much the highlight of the album itself. Considering the date, it's no surprise the band was invariably compared to
Jimi Hendrix, usually by archivists who hadn't heard this previously impossible-to-find rarity. Unlike
Hendrix, frontman Maximillian had all the vocal talent of a third-rate punk singer, making up for his inability to carry a tune by just shouting louder. It's amazing this man inked a deal for anything beyond The Gong Show. The actual talent of the group was bassist Moby Maximillian, who plays a mean standup on the badass R&B "Kickin' 9 to 5," adding some pizzazz to the rollicking "Road Rat," and just about holding "Moby's House" together, an odd number that splices bits of all the other album tracks together. Which leaves guitarist Mojack Maximillian, an almost competent blues musician but a totally inept prog rocker. Unfortunately, he refused to stick with what he knew best, roaming far and wide across pointless, pathetic leads and smudging the set with unappetizing fuzz guitar. His wah-wah playing, in contrast, isn't half bad. Producer Teddy Vann only made matters worse, adding gruesomely irritating strings on "Naked Ape," highlighting all the worst aspects of the band, and burying any sparks of light in sludge. Buy it, if you must, for the artwork or perhaps the comic relief, but certainly for nothing else. ~ Jo-Ann Greene