Tuesday, November 8, 2022

REPOST: Taste - Tickle Your Fancy (1976)

(Australian 1975-1977, Present)
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Taste were a magnificent heavy rock band from the mid '70s, which featured the dual guitar attack of Murdock and Amenta. They seemed to have had a pop image which now seems ridiculous - both LP's reached the top twenty in the Australian charts and are absolutely fantastic hard rock classics.
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At the peak of their career they played to crowds as large as 13,000 people and owned 7 Marshall stacks ! They appeared on every major concert and TV show including Countdown, Hey Hey its Saturday, The Don Lane show etc. and toured with Suzi Quatro, The Sweet, Skyhooks, Sherbet, TMG and Hush. They were much admired by English rockband Queen (who played Taste's "Boys will be Boys" every night on tour before they went on stage). Unfortunately, due to management problems and bad marketing Taste never achieved the success they deserved. They were asked to tour America with Queen and signed to Sire Records in USA but broke up before releasing anything.

.Released in 1976, The LP "Tickle Your Fancy" is a tight batch of quirky hard rock songs brimming with a unique melodic point of view. Considering the young age of the band, a lot of the material here is surprisingly accomplished, both in performance and songwriting. Though the hooks are very subtle, the entire album taken as a whole is a rewarding listening experience through and through.
Richard Guillianti reviewed the band in December's RAM #48 (1976) Taste - Tickling the Star's Fancy by writing: "Taste have been pulling some pretty neat reviews for their LP Tickle Your Fancy and for their new single 'Boys Will Be Boys'. But its not only yer hack club reporters who've been taking notice of 'em.

In Sydney, they performed at the Bondi Lifesaver with none other than Sherbet, the All-Stars, Rockell T James and Kevin Borich in attendance. Afterwards, (Sherbet's) Tony Mitchell congratulated the group on the 'tightest set he had seen from a band for years'. Adelaide was also good to them, there, they broke the attendance record for one of the dances they played".
.Taste have reformed recently and have completed a new album of 10 new originals. "Rock Is Dead" is now released and available on their website They have been playing the pub circuit in Melbourne, playing the more popular names such as the Prince of Whales, The Toorak Lion and The Corner Hotel in Richmond.
This unique hard rock effort deserves to be heard, so be sure to download this classic album and hear this offering from Down Under - it's bound to Tickle Your Fancy ! LOL
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Taste Today
In mid 2007, a young drummer with attitude and talent to burn was looking to make an impact on the rock scene. He found a lot of bands out there trying to re-create the big rock sound of the 70s. When Joel Witenberg heard that legendary rock band Taste were reforming and in need of a drummer he leapt at the chance to be a part of an authentic classic rock band with a history of playing live with the likes of Queen, AC/DC, Cold Chisel and Midnight Oil.

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Taste’s lead singer and songwriter Ken Murdoch says in a recent interview: "I started singing in shitholes when I was 15, By the time I was 17, I was a veteran of pub rock alongside Joey and Michael. We had been booed, spat upon, and ignored until we got it right and that’s something bands don’t have anymore. But once you get it right and that crowd love you something magical happens between the two of you. I don’t see that happen much anymore," Now back with a full band and a bigger sound than ever, Taste are promoting the release of their new album "Rock Is Dead".

Sickened by what seems to be a lack of real rock direction in music, Taste’s lyrics explore and destroy the media frenzied world that seems to accept its stars by the amount of exposure offered to them rather than by virtue of their talent. "People need heroes and singers and bands they can trust. That’s why U2 are still strong. Every so often a Sex Pistols or Nirvana come around. Its unstoppable," says Murdoch. Bridging the power chords and riffs of the late 70s with a contemporary sound and subjects, Rock Is Dead is a timeless classic that will empower anyone who listens to it to celebrate the true sound of rock. (Extract from Taste's Myspace)

Post was ripped from CD to FLACs (thanks to Stacky) and includes full album artwork.  IMPROVED RIP

Track Listing
01 Same Old Story
02 Degenerate Fool
03 Group "e"
04 Rock 'n' Roll Superstar
05 Tickle Your Fancy
06 Lady Of Love
07 Loose Lover
08 Lone Ranger
09 Love Ya Babe
10 Taste of Life
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Band Members:
Ken Murdoch ( Lead Vocals / Guitar)
Joey Amenta (Guitar / Vocals)
Michael Tortoni (Bass Guitar)
Virgil Donati (Drums)
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Taste Link (251Mb)  New Link 04/09/2023

9 comments:

  1. Thanks for posting this one. I'd never heard of the band, but I LOVE this album. And I bought their new one from LaLa.

    If you have their 2nd album ( which I gather is called "Nights Of Love" - it's REALLY hard to find info on these guys ) I'd love to get it.

    Thanks!

    ~ Scott P.
    Kansas City

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  2. Thanks for dropping by Scott - glad you like this Aussie blast from the past!

    You will find a posting for "Nights of Love" at Skids blog called 'Ausrock'. Another blog which dedicates a majority of its postings to Aussie Rock.
    The URL for the posting is http:\\ausrock.blogspot.com/2007/07/taste-nights-of-love-1977.html
    cheers mate

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  3. Actually, the post spurred me into contacting Ken Murdoch from the band. He's selling a CD ( CD-R, I assume ) of the first 2 albums, so I sent him the $$$. Blogs sell records ( in a roundabout way )!

    Thanks again for the education on these guys.

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  4. Thanks for the feedback Diggity-Dawg
    Nice to see our local artists are been supported in this way.
    Cheers

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  5. If you are interested in seeing Taste live then they are performing at the BackRoad Music Festival on Saturday 26 March 2011.
    www.backroadfestival.com.au
    While the recorded music is good Taste are a band that needs to be seen live to be appreciated.
    Ken is also playing at the Vines in Gisborne on a Thursday night.

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  6. Is ken still playing or even can be contacted somehow need have chat with him if possible

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  7. both albums are available as one remastered cd at www.taste-music.com

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