Each week on ‘Throwback Thursday’ we dust off a crucial but underrated album, without which heavy metal’s evolution would have turned out quite differently.
This week there’s even more dust involved than usual: as in Dust, the band, whose fingerprints are spread all over heavy metal’s formative past, difficult as it may be at first to see them, , thanks to their epic eponymous 1971 debut.
Band Name: Dust
Origins: Brooklyn, New York
Album Title: Dust
Release Date: 1971
Why is it so damn important?
Countless American bands took it upon themselves to facilitate heavy metal’s transatlantic journey from England at the dawn of he 1970s, but precious few went beyond copying what they were hearing and enhanced the formula with, not just memorable songs, but a few unique ideas, as well. Brooklyn trio, Dust, was one of these rare examples, and their self-titled first album stood head and shoulders above second-rate metallic wannabes of the period on both counts, thanks to the as yet barely fulfilled talents of vocalist/guitarist Richie Wise, bassist Kenny Aaronson and drummer Marc Bell – not to mention their secret weapon in lyricist, producer and manager, Kenny Kerner.
So what does it sound like, exactly?
Always loud, often fast, surprisingly eclectic, and instrumentally awe-inspiring. All three members of Dust were, first and foremost, supremely proficient on their instruments, and when firing in unison on all cylinders, few bands could match their firepower, no matter the style of song they were undertaking. Speaking to that, you can hear them melting Marshall stacks with the sheer riffing fury of “Love Me Hard,” easing into melodious psychedelics on “Often Shadows Felt,” getting all bluesy on “Goin’ Easy,” infiltrating country-ish guitar twang into “Stone Woman,” taking the Cream muso rock template to its logical conclusion on the irresistible “Chasin’ Ladies,” and simply going for broke on the turbo-jazzed instrumental “Loose Goose.”’ And then there’s the album’s nine-minute centerpiece, “From a Dry Camel,” where Dust stretched into quasi-progressive realms, moving the song from hypnotic, bass-driven doom towards a thrilling metallic Bolero – tripping balls all the way!
In other words…
Ironically, it was precisely Dust’s remarkable composite talents that led to their undoing, as each went on to achieve legendary status individually in the years that followed. Wise joined Kerner in the studio and, together, they produced numerous hit records and discovered none other than Kiss. Aaronson became one of the most in-demand session bassists in the business, backing up the likes of Bob Dylan, Edgar Winter, Joan Jett, Billy Squier, Brian Setzer, Hall & Oates, and many more. And Marc Bell subsequently played with Wayne County, Richard Hell & The Voidoids and others before becoming Marky Ramone in 1978 and a rock and roll hall of famer in 2001.
Key Song: “From a Dry Camel”
You obviously can’t go wrong with an album as diverse and inspired as this, but, for our money, Dust’s must-hear track is the incomparable “From A Dry Camel,”' which, incidentally, was named one of the Top Ten Heavy Metal songs ever in the original Rock Book of Lists.
Final Thoughts:
Had they stuck together a little longer instead of pursuing their individual roads to success (and who could blame them for doing so, in retrospect), Dust could have obviously been a ‘70s heavy metal contender; but the April 16 reissue of their first and second album, Hard Attack, on vinyl and CD, will do just fine.
