Talisman
Humanimal

A gorilla with a puzzled look introduces a remarkable album of melodic funky metal, played by Swedish musicians and sung by an American. The work is the third (1994) of a career sadly cut short at the seventh chapter with the suicide, over fifteen years ago now, of the leader of the titular quartet, virtuoso bassist Marcel Jacob.

Talisman was a band that played with conviction and executed flurries of notes, to the delight of those who love music that wants to race, but they did it in a manner far from obtuse like so many others, often more fortunate than them. The repertoire was not infrequently accompanied by good choruses, effective riffs, tight funky guitars (played by Jacob... guitarist colleague Fredrick Akesson handled the hard/metal parts and blistering solos); all without resorting at all to attitudes, poses, costumes, and glam pretenses or in any way flashy: hard rock (or, if you prefer, melodic metal) engaging, not at all pompous, truly straightforward and lively. They deserved more.

The story of the album's setlist is curious: the guys had prepared in the studio a whopping 22 tracks and then, not knowing which to choose, they tasked the Japanese record label (where they had more success and market) with selecting the more than a dozen tracks to place on the record. However, they were dissatisfied with the label's choices and decided to release a different version of “Humanimal” in the rest of the world... Everything was finally settled in a Solomonic manner with the release six months later of a “Humanimal part II,” which featured the roughly ten songs initially left out.

I have always been fond of and attracted to these Talisman: for the sorrowful story of the poor, talented Jacob, of course, but also for the excellent vocal quality of his buddy Jeff Scott Soto, a fine stage animal with a spirited and powerful funky hard delivery, assisted by the necessary soul warmth.

My favorite episodes: the opening track “Colour My XTC” immediately showcases Talisman's typical dimension: an elusive bass, with a particular "knobby" distortion, at the center of the action, with the others entering and exiting to bring dynamics to the whole. Often and willingly, an additional super funky guitar in the mix, even better than Prince... The changing “Fabricated War” features a wrapping bass solo at a slowed pace and also a great lyric. The funky hard “Tainted Pages” chooses, as often happens elsewhere, for the guitar to drop the rhythmic accompaniment when it solos, a’la Cream... enough said, Jacob's tireless bass holds the fort.

“TV Reality” flows by normally, but finds its strengths and character in how it starts and even how it ends... In two very different ways, I won't tell you which. “Seasons” is the funkiest of all, lyrical and at the same time just dusted with soulful charm: listen to how Soto's crisp vocals manage to "pull" the piece forward: a sort of Michael Jackson of metal, the good JST. The album concludes with a brilliant soul joke in pure Wilson Pickett/James Brown style titled “Doin’ Time Wit’ My Baby,” complete with doo woop choruses and Akesson's VanHalen-esque guitar stepping aside, for once.

The album also features more ordinary, repetitive, filler episodes but all in all... I like almost the entire album! In fact, I consider it the best of Talisman, a band responsible for one of the not so many glimpses of serenity in the compromised hard rock scene of the nineties, and the two-thousands.