The Eyes -

The Eyes was an American psych-rock band behind the 1977 album New Gods: Aardvark Through Zymurgy, produced and largely played by multi-instrumentalist Todd Tamanend Clark.

Members: Todd Tamanend Clark (vocals, keyboards), Tim Rimer (guitar), Keef Morabito (bass), Mark Cosco (drums)

For the contemporary Cleveland pop-rock band, click here.

Background

The Eyes formed in 1977 in Butler, Pennsylvania, when singer–synthesist Todd Tamanend Clark assembled guitarist Tim Rimer, bassist Keefe Morabito, and drummer Mark Cosco. Clark was born on August 10, 1952, in Greensboro, Pennsylvania. Neighbor Wanita Shipley introduced him to organ at age nine, and Waynesburg High School teacher Marilyn Hughes taught him musical notation at twelve.

At Waynesburg High School, Clark designed graphics and operated lights for Velvet Myst, sometimes joining the group onstage. He led The Stars in 1975–76 and released the DeathGuard single “Flame Over Africa” (b/w “Two Thousand Light Years From Home”). Clark followed in 1976 with the eight-track-only A Deathguard Sampler. In August 1977, The Eyes entered a Butler recording setup with a four-channel reel-to-reel machine.

New Gods: Aardvark Thru Zymurgy

The Eyes released their singular album, New Gods: Aardvark Thru Zymurgy, in 1977 on World Theatre.

New Gods expands the quartet recordings with keyboard overdubs, spoken poetry, theremin, and electronic effects. Clark layers those elements over guitar by Rimer, bass by Morabito, and drums by Cosco, while organist Chris Lagoe and electric pianist Dennis Kovach supply the principal guest parts. Synthesist Lyric Winona Clark, backing singer Donna Shaner, and effects operator Dan Stewart appear in secondary roles.

“Origin” lurches through stop-start clatter into an effects-saturated electronic melee beneath Clark’s slurred declamation. “Visions of My World” drifts through murky four-track haze as a portentous baritone projects catastrophic lines. “Strange Forces” glides through sustained organ figures before bass enters beneath Clark’s dark declamation. “Core” convulses under treated piano and abrupt rhythmic shifts that partially erase surrounding parts.

“Phosphorescent Is the Chamber” descends through funereal electronics before an electronic-and-drum solo throws Clark’s recitation into disarray. “Within the Zodiac Zone” stomps across a nursery-rhyme pattern as female replies fall behind Clark’s declamation and saturated effects close around each phrase. “Last Day as a Whole Person” coils around concrete poetry and reversed Moog figures, compressing dread into a brief electronic spiral.

“A Dozen Eggs” crawls from a theremin entrance into dense electronics that obscure Clark’s cosmic recitation. “Brain and Spinal Column” hammers a nightmare poem across a heavy guitar riff as Clark shifts into a rasped theatrical howl.

A1. “Origin” (7:22)
A2. “Visions of My World” (2:26)
A3. “Strange Forces” (3:01)
A4. “Core” (2:34)
A5. “Phosphorescent Is the Chamber” (6:39)

B1. “Within the Zodiac Zone” (4:32)
B2. “Last Day as a Whole Person” (2:27)
B3. “A Dozen Eggs” (4:28)
B4. “Brain and Spinal Column” (8:02)

Sessions occurred in August 1977 in Butler, Pennsylvania, where Clark produced the album on a four-channel reel-to-reel machine. The quartet recorded the live-band parts before Clark added keyboard overdubs and poetry. Cosco remained with Clark when The Eyes became Todd Clark Group for the 1979 album We’re Not Safe!.

The original World Theatre pressing appeared in a monochrome illustrated sleeve that places a singer at a microphone before classical columns and clustered figures. Anopheles included the complete album on the 2005 two-CD anthology Nova Psychedelia (1975–1985). Burka for Everybody restored the LP in July 2013 as a 300-copy edition with new artwork by comic artist and Twinkeyz leader Don Marquez.

Later Activity

The Eyes changed guitarist and bassist in 1978 and became Todd Clark Group. Cosco returned for We’re Not Safe!, released in 1979 on DeathGuard. Clark later issued the solo album Into the Vision in 1984 and continued recording under the Todd Tamanend Clark name.

Discography: