Description
The Problem is Sin: Live & Unreleased is a (partly) live album the hippie-era American psychedelic hard rock act Agape, released on Hidden Vision in 1996.
This band’s two LPs from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s are well loved by secular and Christian collectors alike and for good reason! This is why any live or unreleased stuff’ would be welcomed from Agape. On this CD the two are intermixed, live then unreleased. The four live tracks are from a concert at Mt. San Antonio College in Walnut, CA in 1973. The four tracks were found on an 8 track that was hand delivered as a promo piece to area radio stations! The sounds include both lengthy jams and shorter songwriter’s vehicles. This should be called “preach and roll” because these songs are lyrically loaded with impassioned preaching. And have no fear, there is tons of Caban’s great guitar work and typical-of-the-time drum and bass solos, the latter actually quite amazing on «Wouldn’t Be a Drag?». You get the overall sound of the band from the earlier hard rockin’ first LP to the jammier, jazzier Victims of Tradition. The restored sound is quite good with a few drop-outs. You can also hear when the 8-track switched tracks, but there is no fading of the tracks like the commercial 8-tracks of the time. The unreleased material is from 1977 to 1993 and features an entirely new rhythm section on most of the songs. All the new material seems to have a Latin flare to it with the rhythm and beat of the song out front – a bit like Santana in more ways than one. Highlights include «The Servant Song» showing Caban solo with an acoustic 12 string guitar and «Die Before You Die», a Benatar type rocker that sports a decent melody and features Caban in great voice. BF 72:27 [Ken Scott, The Archivist, 4th edition]
This is one for the Jesus Rock generation. Agape were originally formed in 1968 as a vehicle for rock guitarist and singer Fred Caban, one of the hosts of disillusioned hippies who were turning to Christ. Fred wanted to express his faith in a way that would he relevant both to himself and to his contemporaries (surely the ethos behind almost every Christian band) and so formed Agape with a few friends, one of the earliest Christian hard rock bands. Musically, the band arc reminiscent of other American bands of the era. Iron Butterfly are a prime example of where Agape are coming from, whilst British Christian rockers Out Of Darkness are also in the same arena, indeed this album will appeal lo the same crowd who bought Plankton’s limited edition CD two years ago. The unreleased studio tracks are from later sessions, mostly late ’70s and feature varying line ups. There’s even a 1993 cut. «Standing Still», proving that Fred is still out there somewhere. The live material is from a rare eight-track recording of a college gig in Walnut, California and is probably more representative of the band’s true sound. «Wouldn’t It Be A Drag» features the obligatory drum solo as well as some improvisational rambling from Fred. The unfortunate truth is that Fred was no great shakes as a guitarist had live this is painfully evident. Like Red Dwarf’s Lister, the man thinks he is an axe hero when everybody else knows he should never have been let loose with anything more than a tennis racket Bit harsh maybe, but there you are. If you are a collector of CCM rarities (like me) or bit of an anorak when it comes to the history of Jesus rock (like me) then you’ll want to buy this CD, from that point of view it’s worth having. But don’t buy it as an example of classic musicianship. [Andy Long, Cross Rhythms, April 1997]
CD tracklist:
01. The Problem Is Sin (Live) – 6:46
02. Die Before You Die – 4:17
03. Wouldn’t It Be A Drag (Live) – 13:10
04. Love Creates Pain – 4:24
05. Change Of Heart (Live) – 4:26
06. Still Standing – 16:56
07. The Servant Song – 4:23
08. Babylon – 3:14
09. Rejoice (Live) – 14:58
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