(the) Max Demian Band - Take it to the Max

Name: Max Demian Band
Album: Take it to the Max
Year: 1979
Style: Rock/Pop
Simialr Bands: Ace, The Cars, J Geils Band
"One Word" Review: "Rock-Pop-Dictionary-Definition"
Based Out Of:(recording done in NYC), Miami, Fl
Label: RCA, Victor

Take it to the Max - Cover & Sleeve
Take it to the Max - Back & Lyric Sleeve
Take it to the Max - Record

Take it to the Max (1979)

1. Havin' Such A Good Day 3:32 [*]
2. See Me Comin' Down 3:55 [*]
3. Burnin' Up Inside 3:52 [*]
4. Still Hosed 4:40 [*]
5. High School Star 4:45 [*]/
6. Through the Eye of a Storm 3:34 [*]
7. Paradise 5:40 [*]
8. Lizard Song 5:10 [*]
9. Hear My Song 3:37 [*by request*]
   

Album Rating (1-10):8.5

Members & Other Bands:Dan Howe - Guitar, Keys, Vox
Jim LeFevre - Guitar, Keys, Vox
Kirt Pennebaker - Bass, Vox (Los Malos)
Paul Rose - Vox, Lead Guitar, Writer
Peter Siegel - Drums
Artie Kornfeld - Produced
Frank D'Augusta - Produced
Michael Schanzer - Art Direction & Concept
Anthony Loew - Photography
Greg Speirs - Illustration

Unknown-ness: I had never heard of the band. From the looks of the cover, it is going to be a generic prog album. Just the artwork: the band trapped in a mystical eyeball, crying football tears in a lizard and pyramid (not to mention goal post) desert, cried for an investigation into what this band sounds like. 1979 was a good, transitional year for music of this apparent style, so I wanted to hear more. I mistakenly filed this band under Demian, as if that were the last name of the band's leader. But apparently, their band name is taken from a character in the book "Demian" by Hermann Hesse. So from the start, they are a critique of and take their energy from a literary work. This is good to know before hearing any of the songs; that they are somewhat of a concept band, or perhaps even a novelty act.

Album review: Track one, “Havin Such a Good Day,” fades into an upbeat, catchy guitar hook, supported by strong, bouncy bass. Keyboards are added to parallel the melody, and the singing sounds somewhat mechanical, like Devo at first, but that is quickly abandoned and they hit their stride, sounding like Ace, or other pub rock bands. A guitar solo enters the mix early, and it follows right along with the melody, brining it home, rather than adding anything new. It is an interesting mix, where individual instruments take there turns surfacing and playing their little sections louder than the rest. And at times I feel like the song could transition cleanly into The English Beat's "Sugar & Stress." “See Me Comin’ Down” starts off like a Cars song. Short quick guitar riffs, and two melodies soldered together with guitars. Even the vocals sound like the Cars in this song, as it is just as nasally deep and extremely catchy. It is like this is their version of “Let the Good Times Roll.” “Burnin’ Up Inside” is a smooth middle-speed rock song. Their style contains a great mix of smooth 70 pop-rock, and somewhat eccentric vocals that accompany new-wave rock. The execution of the music in this song is particularly prog at times too. There is even a brief hint of honky-tonk piano ala Werewolves of London. “Still Hosed” is a straight forward pub-rock song. Short vocal sections packaged lovingly between repetitive guitar hooks. The set up also works for the chorus as well as verse. There is a short guitar solo section toward the end to fulfill the rock song format of verse/chorus 2x, solo, verse/chorus/chorus. The rocking pace picks up right at the end in time to fade out. “High School Star” has some great staggered guitar work in the beginning, reminding me of “Jesse’s Girl.” It is also similar to the Kinks in their Celluloid Heroes era. There is a fantastic swooping bridge section that dumps you back into the catchy guitar hooks of the beginning section. The lyrics are sung in a daze, seemingly uninspired, but they add to the charm of this song. There is also a great echoey, squeaky-liquid dripping sound effect in the chorus that reminds me of some effects M.K. of the Oingo Boingo used early on.

Side two picks up the pace with “Through the Eye of a Storm:” its momentum drives right through this typical rock standard. Loud guitars, higher, somewhat shrill-like vocals, short catchy melodies, all construct the perfect power pop recipe. Track two starts out acoustically with the lengthy “Paradise.” Slowly, quietly, other instruments are introduced, including synthesized keys, which then take over by the chorus. This song, predictably, has an island rock feel to it: a sedate, laid back groove. The song’s chorus reminds me of roller skating rock that Hail Social has taken and made their own style. They add lots of synthesized elements that try to create a care free, peaceful beach, but the tone of the instruments still comes across somewhat dark. The lyrics ask if this girl will ever find paradise with the singer, and this sentiment ends the song in fade out. “Lizard Song” is a bass driven sneaky, sly song, enjoying synthesized sounds that bring up the image of a large iguana (pictured on the cover?) slinking along. The song comes across as very progressive, if just for the instrumentation and musical structure. The synthesized, harmonized vocals do not negate the prog style either. The short 9 song album finishes with a ballad: “Hear My Song.” It is slow and piano driven. Musically it evokes the image of a dark stadium full of lighter brandishing mulleted couples.

The album is actually fantastic. I did not cringe at any points on it since I did with the cover art. But the music is a perfect slice of Rock-Pop blend. The songs represent different aspects of what makes the genre good, and it exceeds at all the aspects. I don’t see a market for this music anymore, as I’ve constantly thought and said that this music cannot be reproduced authentically, as it had its time and place, and can always be enjoyed, just never recreated. It is a shame that there is nothing on-line anywhere about these guys, because I'd really like to know more...if you know more...please drop me a comment!

Stand Out Track:
See Me Comin Down

Links:
MDB - allmusic