Automatic Man-Automatic Man (1976)

This is one of those albums that always ended up in the bargain bin at record stores, and I still don't understand why, considering its enormous quality and the lineup of musicians involved. The truth is, we barely paid any attention to it, yet everyone was drawn to its alien and seductive cover, which somehow hinted at the progressive and spacey concept of its musical themes. Automatic Man was a short-lived band from San Francisco, which only released two interesting albums in 1976 and 1977. It was formed by several former members of Stomu Yamashta Go's band: former Santana drummer Michael Shrieve, guitarist Pat Thrall, and vocalist and bassist Doni Harvey, with keyboardist Todd Cochrane completing the lineup. They had no trouble getting a record label interested in their project immediately, given the professional background of its members, and that's how Island Records signed them to release several albums. On their self-titled debut album, the band follows a similar path to Go, with progressive sounds, funk, jazz, space rock, and a commercial style close to pop rock. The album is somewhat defined as a concept album with mythological references, and features standout tracks such as the synthesizer-driven intro "Atlantis Rising Fanfare", which leads into the spectacular jazz-rock track "Comin' Through". Other equally noteworthy tracks include the psychedelic "My Pearl", the atmospheric "Newspapers", the space-rock "One and One", the hard-rock "Newspapers", and the monumental and progressive "Intersteller Tracking Devices" and "Atlantis Rising Theme". Later, with the same hypnotic cover, this time in a reddish hue instead of the bluish one of the debut album, a second album was released. Shrieve and Harvey no longer appeared on this album, replaced by drummer Glen Symmonds and bassist Jerome Rimson. This album, with its more predictable funk and pop-rock sound, and less room for avant-garde, progressive, and jazz influences, ultimately led to the band's demise. After the band's final breakup, Pat Thrall enjoyed a fruitful career, participating in numerous projects and bands such as the Pat Travers Band, Meat Loaf, Asia, Glenn Hughes, and Joe Satriani, among others. Todd Cochrane contributed to hundreds of recordings by artists such as Peter Gabriel, Brand X, Jim Capaldi, and PM, and drummer Shrieve followed a similar path, collaborating on dozens of recordings by countless artists.