Pampered Menial was the first album from
Pavlov's Dog, a band produced by
Murray Krugman and
Sandy Pearlman, the duo behind
Blue Oyster Cult. The seven men in this group are revealed in the gatefold holding "Horace," a dog, while three engravings from 1849 by artist Robert Vernon make up the front, back, and inside cover. Those paintings are striking, and though the music -- mostly written by vocalist
David Surkamp -- tries hard, it just isn't as captivating as the package that surrounds it. With song titles like "Theme from Subway Sue" and "Of Once and Future Kings," the identity that
Blue Oyster Cult maintained was missing here. The band itself isn't half bad. "Episode"'s Mellotron, courtesy of Doug Rayburn, and Siegfried Carver's violin provide more than adequate sounds. Carver's sole composition, "Preludin," comes off as one of the best tracks, perhaps because it is an instrumental version of progressive rock that
Triumvirat and early
Journey were exploring. Lead guitarist Steve Scorfina co-writes a beautiful piece with vocalist
Surkamp in "Late November, while drummer Michael Safron's "Song Dance" is another highly creative number.
Pavlov's Dog provide elegant rock, with majestic drums by Safron, additional keyboards by
David Hamilton augmenting Rayburn's Mellotron and flute, and solid '70s production from
Krugman and
Pearlman. ~ Joe Viglione