Parable

Description

Parable is the sole album by the British rock band White Light, independently released by the band on Scotia in 1974. The album was recorded in one day in a garage in Paisley, Scotland; 1974, with Peter May producing (who also did the artwork).

Guitarist Doug McRoberts formed the band in Glasgow in the early 70s with his brother, Dave, a bass player, drummer Alex Smith and keyboardist David Murdoch. White Light were not an ordinary Christian rock band: influenced by the explosive sound of The Who, the hard blues of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers and even Black Sabbath, their live performances across the country featured heavy rock sounds, feedback howling round, phased lighting effects and commitment to the real enjoyment of Rock Music. They weren’t formed to play in churches – but to take The Message to the rock generation in loud clubs, halls and big rock venues.

In 1972, they were finalists in a national rock competition organized by Melody Maker magazine. This event encouraged the band to enter the studio for the recording of their first album. Parable was released as a private pressing in 1974 (only 2,000 copies were made). Housed in a mysterious looking cover, the music is Xian hard psych straight from the garage with lot of raw fuzz guitar and Vox Continental organ. Combining hard-rock with heavy blues and dreamy moments, it features the monster sidelong track “Prodigal”, which has to be heard to be believed.

Scotland would seem to be the breeding ground for some of the most daring and groundbreaking Christian bands. Groups like The Gospelfolk, Living Stones, and Caedmon. Well add the male four-piece White Light to the Big Kahuna list with this super scarce high-powered bluesy garage/psych hard-rock beast, packed to the gills with cheesy organ, jubilant fuzz guitar, and frenzied drumming. The entire side one is taken up with a classic Who-like conceptual piece entitled «Prodigal», “a rock opera embracing the parable of the Prodigal Son in a modern context”. The son asserts his independence via an explosive cover of The Who’s «Anyway, Anyhow, Anywhere». Soon he’s off to “make it out” with Susan and buy rounds of drinks for his friends, eventually tripping out on acid as the music turns to dissonant downer psychedelia. A few screams of anguish follow before a good Samaritan type hauls the dejected lad off to a church service. The organ and band switch over to a hymn, softening to a whisper while a preacher delivers the word of God in his affectionate Scottish accent (reminds me of Eric Liddell in Chariots Of Fire). The son repents and runs home to see his daddy, the mood shiftingalo to fast fired-up boogie rock-n-roll ala Ten Years After where the beat cooks, the fuzz flies and even dad gets into the groove (“I see ya comin’… Yeah… so good…”). Side two works in covers of John Mayall’s «Where Did I Belong» and George Harrison’s «Awaiting On You All» (“just call on the name of the Lord and you’ll be free”), along with a couple originals «Now I Realise» and another boogie-blues track «Mighty Big God». The organ is traded in for a piano on the final track, a jammin’ cover of Edwin Hawkins’ «In My Father’s House». All this bursts forth with a very homemade yet endearing sound that echoes that of the Vindication album. Cover is an intensely cool b&w negative-image photo of a guy’s head, with one of the lenses of his glasses bearing the verse “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you”. File proudly with the best of the monsters. [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]

In the mid-’70s, this Scottish band were finalists in a competition run by music paper The Melody Maker to unearth new talent. Their album ‘Parable’ was unashamedly Christian and completely rock. It’s a concept album, verging on the progness of the era and audiences hadn’t seen a Christian band rock this hard since the hey day of Out Of Darkness. Recently the album has caught the attention of vinyl collectors as a much sought out item, selling for hundreds of quid! 40 years after the original release, it’s now available again, this time on CD. The original first side of the vinyl album featured a suite of songs that retold the story of the prodigal son with original material but also included covers of The Who and Ten Years After that helped the story along. The rhythms section of bassist Dave McRoberts and drummer Alex Smith really propels the band along especially on «Now I Realise». The band’s original material stands up well from writing and performance and singer/guitarist Dougie McRoberts acquits himself well. I wish I had seen them live in the ’70s because although this captures a flavour of the band, the cheapness of the production (it was recorded in a garage! – original garage band!) cannot be overlooked. At times it all sounds musically proficient but very thin. Covers of John Mayall’s blues and Walter Hawkins’ gospel songs are well chosen and well executed and like a great deal of ’70s underground Christian rock recordings on both sides of the pond, the artefact continues to be interesting, if not perfectly formed. [Mike Rimmer, Cross Rhythms, February 2016]

> iTunes (https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/parable/id1062576576)

LP tracklist:

Side One
A1. “Prodigal” – 18:54

Side Two
B1. “Mighty Big God” – 2:21
B2. “Where Did I Belong” – 5:24
B3. “Awaiting On You All” – 2:47
B4. “Now I Realise” – 5:42
B5. “In My Father’s House” – 3:27

Note: Remastered and re-issued on 12-inch vinyl LP and CD in January 2016 by the Spanish label Sommor, a sub-label of Guerssen, featuring insert with liner notes and photos.

---

[youtube_sc url=”b-inJ7U8PI4″ title=”White Light – Parable (1974) (SCOTLAND, Christian Prog Rock)” autohide=”1″ rel=”0″]