Like a Duck to Water

• Artist: Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.
• Rating:
• Release Date: 1976
• Genre: Classical

Review

A reissue of Mother Mallard's second LP on their independent Earthquack Records, this CD presents music from the latter stages of their work as a group, after they had been playing and rehearsing together for five or six years and shortly before David Borden began devoting his full attention to his monumental 12-part Continuing Story of Counterpoint series. During these sessions, the group was a trio (as they generally had been from the beginning), with Borden and colleague Steve Drews as the constants and Judy Borsher replacing Linda Fisher, who had been the third member on earlier recordings. Instrumentation varied somewhat within the group, but since members were actively collaborating with inventor Robert Moog throughout most of the group's life, various sizes and styles of Moog synthesizers were always the primary instruments, supplemented by an electric piano, which was usually played by Borsher (or Fisher before her). Borden had first envisioned Mother Mallard as a performance group who would disseminate and interpret the musical gospel of Glass, Reich, Riley, and other proponents of the new minimalism, and also feature original compositions by himself and his colleague, Steve Drews. Gradually, the original compositions took over, at least as indicated in the group's recorded work. However, the influence of the big-name minimalists is relatively strong here, and the seven pieces on this CD all exhibit elements of the rhythmic-pattern minimalism of Glass and Reich, with touches, also, of Riley's softer, drone-based mysticism. Consequently, although Mother Mallard is capable of the occasional funky ostinato riff, and notes are discreetly bent here and there, one will hear none of the variable pitch weirdness and timbral extremes which characterized prog rock's early appropriation of Moogs, and which Borden and company dabbled with a bit themselves during the early '70s. On this CD, Drews receives composer credits on five pieces to Borden's two, although one of Borden's two pieces is the lengthy and ambitious "C-A-G-E Part II," which clocks in at over 20 minutes. Somewhat surprisingly, there's really not much to chose between Drews and Borden as composers, and although Borden went on to achieve the greater reputation, a piece such as Drews' "Oleo Strut" could be easily mistaken for one of Borden's early "Counterpoint" pieces. Drews' "Waterwheel" is also very appealing, with patterns of different lengths moving in and out of phase with each other, producing some interesting auditory disorientation. Borden's feature piece is conceptually based, derived from the four musical notes which make up composer John Cage's last name. The musicians play their parts for prearranged lengths of time, coming together only at the end of the piece. In spite of its logical premises, "C-A-G-E Part II" is a serene, meditative, and even hypnotic musical experience, at times suggesting both Riley's "In C" and his "Rainbow in Curved Air." Borden's sophisticated knowledge of Baroque counterpoint is also evident in this piece, and he would use such elements to an even greater advantage a few years later in the Continuing Story of Counterpoint series. ~ Bill Tilland, All Music Guide

Tracks

Track Title	Composers	Performers	Time
Oleo Strut	Steve Drews	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(10:54)
All Set	David Borden	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(7:32)
Theme from After the Fall	Steve Drews	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(4:51)
Waterwheel	Steve Drews	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(10:03)
C-A-G-E, Pt. 2	David Borden	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(20:35)
Downtown	Steve Drews	Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(6:47)
Harpsichord Truck		Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co.	(4:02)

Credits

David Borden (Liner Notes), David Borden (Mixing), Alex Perialas (Digital Mastering), Alex Perialas (Remastering), Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. (Producer), Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. (Main Performer), Mother Mallard's Portable Masterpiece Co. (Mixing), Barney Cole (Engineer)