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Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Fraternity featuring Bon Scott ... Livestock 1971



Once over-hyped as potential superstars of Aussie progressive rock, early-'70s hippie collective Fraternity utterly failed to live up to expectations and might have been entirely forgotten to history had their singer not been one Ronald Belford "Bon" Scott -- future legendary front man for AC/DC. Formed in 1970 by bassist and de facto bandleader Bruce Howe, guitarist Mick Jurd, keyboardist John Bisset, and drummer Tony Buettel, all of the recently disbanded Levi Smith's Clefs, Fraternity were conceived to be Australia's answer to the Band, and, as such, they initially didn't even feel the need to draft a true lead singer for their first trip into the studio to record a single ("Why Did It Have to Be Me?") financed by local independent label Sweet Peach. But they soon changed their minds when Bon Scott became available following the demise of his popular bubblegum group, the Valentines, inviting him to join them at their communal house in Sydney, along with drummer John Freeman (another Levi Smith's Clefs alum), who replaced Buettel. 

Interestingly, although their lineup was just coalescing at home and on-stage, Fraternity were already seen as a hot commodity based solely on the reputation and experience of the band members, and as they shifted out of blues-rock into art rock, under the influence of groundbreaking foreign bands like King Crimson, the Moody Blues and Deep Purple, their shows drew rave reviews from the excitable Aussie press.

Their first album, Livestock, was released in 1971

1. The Race Part One (Non-Album Single) 2:57
2. Seasons of Change (Single Version) 3:37
3. Livestock 3:40
4. Summerville 4:22
5. Raglan's Folly 6:02
6. Cool Spot 4:54
7. Grand Canyon Suites 4:54
8. Jupiter's Landscape 2:47
9. You Have a God 2:26
10. It 8:23
11. The Race Part Two (B-Side of track 1) 4:13







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