Velvert Turner Group -

The Velvert Turner Group was an American post-psychedelic hard-rock band that released a 1972 album on Family Productions.

Members: Velvert Turner (lead guitar, vocals), Tim McGovern (drums), Prescott Niles (bass), Chris Robinson (keyboards), Bob Lenox (organ), Bob Hogans (organ)

Background

The Velvert Turner Group took shape in 1970 after singer-guitarist Velvert Turner recruited bassist Prescott Niles, a Brooklyn contact who had moved to California at the start of the summer. Turner came from Brooklyn, where he met Jimi Hendrix in the late 1960s and took guitar lessons at the legend’s Manhattan apartment. Niles came from New York City and played bass in a Brooklyn blues group that auditioned Turner before the two musicians stayed in contact.

Turner phoned Niles in California after Hendrix died in September 1970 and told him a record deal might follow if he joined the band. Niles returned to New York, where the group cut a demo at Record Plant. Michael Lang signed the group to Sunshine Records in Woodstock after the demo.

The group resumed work at Record Plant West with producer Tom Wilson. After two Los Angeles shows, Turner and Niles added keyboardist Chris Robison, a former touring member of Steam and one-time Elephant’s Memory player. They signed with Family Productions, the short-lived label of controversial industry figure Artie Ripp.

Velvert Turner Group

Velvert Turner Group released their self-titled debut album in July 1972 on Family Productions.

The album presents a hard-rock and soul-funk set performed by Turner, Niles, Robinson, and drummer Tim McGovern. They added organist Bob Hogans on “(Love Rides…) The Slow Swirling Seas” and fellow organist Bob Lenox on “Freedom,” a Hendrix cover.

“Country Chicken” sets clucked group responses against harmonica breaks and loose, jokey vocals. “Strangely Neww” runs cutting leads and rapidfire snare across a thunderous stretch with battlefield aplomb. “Scarlet Warrior” marches forth with organ-laden nursery couplets and martial snare, soon overwhelmed with sonic haze.

“Three O’Clock Train” careens with dense riffs beneath Turner’s forceful vocal and harmonized refrains. “Just Look and See” depressurizes with click-strut and wah-licks, intensifying midway. “Freedom” resurrects with rough vocal inflections, pummeling rhythmic churn, and fiery guitar breaks.

A1. “Madonna (of the Seven Moons)” (3:35) – Turner
A2. “Talkin’ ’Bout My Baby” (4:00) – Turner
A3. “Country Chicken” (2:56) – Robinson
A4. “Strangely Neww” (6:05) – Robinson, Niles
A5. “Scarlet Warrior” (3:32) – Niles, McGovern

B1. “Three O’Clock Train” (5:05) – Turner
B2. “Just Look and See” (4:15) – Niles, Turner
B3. “’Xcuse Me, Gentlemen (The Fall of Atlantis)” (4:32) – Turner
B4. “(Love Rides…) The Slow Swirling Seas” (3:50) – Turner
B5. “Freedom” (6:17) – originated as a mid-1970 Hendrix concert piece, recorded that June and released on his posthumous 1971 album The Cry of Love.

Velvert Turner produced the album with engineer Phil Schier and mixer Kerry McNabb. Family Productions issued the LP with separate rock and soul mixes, identified by different matrix numbers on original pressings.

Postlude

The Velvert Turner Group dissolved after its self-titled Family Productions album. Turner played scattered live and studio dates after the group ended and appeared on three tracks from Arthur Lee’s self-titled Rhino album. He later hosted a Hal Leonard instructional DVD for songs from Are You Experienced, with Andy Aledort supplying the guitar demonstrations. Turner died on December 11, 2000, in Brooklyn.

Bassist Prescott Niles worked in Boston and England before he returned to Los Angeles. He joined the Knack one week before its first Whisky a Go Go show on June 1, 1978, and entered Capitol with the group that cut Get the Knack. Former Turner Group drummer Tim McGovern played with Randy California, Arthur Lee, and Love, then joined The Motels as lead guitarist for their 1980 second album Careful. After his Motels exit, McGovern formed Burning Sensations, who released a 1983 EP and covered the Modern Lovers chestnut “Pablo Picasso” for the 1984 Repo Man soundtrack.

Keyboardist Chris Robison joined a later New York Dolls lineup for the 1975 Japan tour documented on Tokyo Dolls Live. Turner resurfaced posthumously on “Going Home,” a brief entry on Power of Soul: A Tribute to Jimi Hendrix. Richard Lloyd (ex-Television) dedicated The Jamie Neverts Story to Turner and Hendrix in 2009; its title used the private name that Lloyd and Turner had applied to Hendrix in their youth.

Discography: