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

Taste - Knights Of Love (1977)

(Australian 1975-1977, Present)
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Every band has its influences but Taste 's current passion for hand-me-down silks from Queen, circa the Ogre's Battle and days of Queen I and Queen II albums, is astonishing.
Queen themselves were caught out throwing Led Zep and Yes into the milk blender on their first album, but Taste zip right between the cosmic thrill of Jon Anderson and the dinosaur bellow of Robert Plant to end up in the most twee reaches of Freddie Land. And really, it just doesn't suit them at all. As headed by Ken Murdoch they can be one hell of a snotnosed, hard edged, street rock band - capable of delivering a sneering rush of energy, better than most young bands around Oz.

So why they've gone all passionate for such pretentious moments as "Teenage Anthem" [riff sounds alot like Zep's Black Dog] and "Just As The Water Flows" and "Witches Brew" (the later replace with Uriah Heepish chorus trills) without ever once letting on the whole thing is just a joke is puzzling. I mean, it's gotta be a joke! These guys are a fighting little combo, who exist on youthful guitar pyrotechnics and one night knee-tremblers. Sure they try to dress up such moments in winsome melodies (eg. "Rebecca", "A Little Romance") but these guys are punks at heart, have been for years.

And it's truly awful to hear them waste good backing tracks on ornate, flim flam like "Long May Love Reign Over Me" and "Over The Glen (& Far Away)".
The best plan by far is to somehow blot out the lyrics and concentrate on the music, which is all second-generation Britrock riff-erama. But they play it very well.
On the credit side, "A Little Romance" does feature a most appealing, wistful melody, plus a top arrangement. It deserved better than the lowly chart placing it reached as a single. So what if it's a schmuck - it's still better schmuck than most of what's on the hit parade these days.
Same goes for "Boys Will Be Boys" and "Rebecca"
And guitarist Joey Amenta does throw off his satin cloak for just a moment to deliver a blast of chunky, frantic blues guitar in "Mainstreet". [Review by Anthony Grady, RAM magazine #66, Sept 9, 1977]
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.
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Rip taken from Vinyl at 192kps and includes limited artwork. RIP Source Unknown (Thanks to WoodyNet for Artwork).
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Track Listing
01 - Teenage Anthem
02 - Rebecca
03 - Mainstreet

3XY April 8th 1977

04 - Long May Love Reign
05 - A Little Romance
06 - Boys Will Be Boys
07 - Just As the Water Flows
08 - Witches Brew
09 - Over the Glen
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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 (51Mb)  New Link 16/10/2023
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