While Frank Marino pushed his Hendrix acolyte credentials to the limit on his fourth and fifth outings, numerous other contemporary elements were thrown into the musical potboiler. The nine-song IV has numerous effects-laden guitar-led numbers, with Hendrix-esque vocals, overdriven keys, strings and harmonies, such as the opening I’m Going Anyway and The Answer. Then again, there’s an air of Utopia about the funk-rock A Man At The Back Door, while the porn flick-styled Jive Baby is followed by a sunny soul cut, It’s Begun To Rain – only with mellotron. Moonwalk is just plain weird jazz-fusion.
The eight-song World Anthem was Marino’s effort to bring the world together through music. At least there was more clarity in his delivery of psych-tinged rock, from Requiem For A Sinner to the closing 11-minute Try For Freedom. Between, the funky Broken Heart & Blues comes on like Ram Jam, and the title track is a majestic keyboard-led effort. But the world, sadly, didn’t pay much heed.
