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
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.
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
Pearlman
. ~ Joe Viglione