Based on a record of the same name released in 1977, The Music Machine puts a religious spin on Kaboom! and was sold only in Christian bookstores. Players must maneuver Steve and Nancy along the bottom of the screen as they try to catch symbols in their basket that represent character-building qualities called "The Fruit of the Spirit." These qualities include love, patience, gentleness, faith, joy, peace, kindness, goodness, and self-control, and are represented by harps, lambs, angels, and hearts. The villainous Mr. Pims will try and stop Steve and Nancy by hurling creatures called "Pudgeons" toward their basket. Catching a Pudgeon or missing a heart will remove one basket, but bonus baskets can be earned every 10,000 points.
Representative Albums: "Turn On: The Best of the Music Machine," "Beyond the Garage," "The Best of the Music Machine"
Representative Songs: "Talk Talk," "The Eagle Never Hunts the Fly," "Double Yellow Line"
Biography
Most famous for "Talk Talk", a Top 20 single from 1966 that was one of the most manic '60s garage-punk hits, the Music Machine had much more depth and songwriting talent than the typical one-hit wonders of the day. Lead singer and songwriter Sean Bonniwell's strangled lyrics and dark, verbose vision paced the group's wiry psychedelic guitar lines and ominous, minor-key Farfisa organ. The San Jose, California-born Bonniwell had been inspired to form his first group in high school in the late 1950's, after hearing "Only You" by the Platters. He later moved into folk music, and was a guitarist with such early 1960's folk outfits as the Noblemen and the Wayfarers (who'd enjoyed a recording contract with RCA Victor).But by the mid-1960's, with the folk revival boom over (along with the Wayfarers Trio}, the British invasion cresting, and folk-rock on the edge of exploding around him, Bonniwell formed the Ragemuffins, in tandem with bassist Keith Olsen, and drummer Ron Edgar (late of the folk-pop combo the Goldebriars). The trio later expanded to a quintet with organist/pianist Doug Rhodes, and second guitarist Mark Landon joining. By 1966, they'd taken on the somewhat more extreme versions of the requisite Beatles haircut, topping an image dominated by black outfits (and Bonniwell's trademarked single black leather glove), and renamed themselves far more distinctively as the Music Machine. Bonniwell was the dominant personality in the group, as a songwriter of exceptional ability and also a serious taskmaster -- he'd been very serious about his playing, and also about the recording process, coming off of three LPs with the Wayfarers, and in contrast to most of their rivals of the period, pushed the group into many hours of rehearsals. Even more important, he got them to perfect their sound without going stale in the process, and the playing by all of the members was first-rate; Rhodes' farfisa organ and Olsen's attack on the bass were perfectly matched to Bonniwell's intense, brooding vocals. The result was a sound -- as demonstrated on their best singles and the best moments of their one and only LP -- that combined an edgy garage-punk attack with playing that was studio-friendly and radio-friendly. They were signed up by producer Brian Ross, who got their debut single, "Talk Talk", released on Original Sound. That record, a piercing one minute-and-fifty-six second garage-punk explosion released at the end of 1966, made it to number 15 on the charts and propelled the Music Machine to national prominence (including upward of a dozen appearances on American Bandstand. according to Bonniwell). They were never able to follow it up adequately -- only one album was released with the original lineup, and the group's ferocious energy was diluted on subsequent recordings. Despite chalking up only one more minor hit single ("The People in Me"), the Music Machine recorded quite a few excellent, imaginatively produced singles and album tracks that found them exploring the darker side of psychedelia with compelling intensity and imagination. Poor management and some incredibly bad decision-making led to their dissolution at the time, but Bonniwell is still something of a musical legend in the twenty-first century, and "Talk Talk" is regarded as a garage-punk classic. Keith Olsen subsequently moved into production, and worked in that capacity with Emitt Rhodes and others before striking a multi-platinum vein with the mid-1970's incarnation (or reincarnation) of Fleetwood Mac on their self-titled 1975 album. Mark Landon seems to have vanished from music after working with Bonniwell and company, but Doug Rhodes and Ron Edgar both moved in and out of the orbit of renowned producer Curt Boettcher (also an ex-member of the Goldebriars}) through groups such as Sagittarius and the Millennium, and Edgar also played drums with Bread on their self-titled album. ~ Richie Unterberger & Bruce Eder, All Music Guide
The Music Machine (1965–1969) was an American garage rock and psychedelic (sometimes referred to as garage punk) band from the late 1960s, headed by singer-songwriter Sean Bonniwell and based in Los Angeles. The band sound was often defined by fuzzy guitars and a Farfisaorgan. Their original look consisted of all-black clothing and black moptop hairstyles. Bonniwell was known to wear a single black glove.
History
The group came together as The Ragamuffins in 1965, but became The Music Machine in 1966. In addition to Bonniwell, the original line-up consisted of Ron Edgar (drums), Mark Landon (guitar), Keith Olsen (bass), and Doug Rhodes (organ).
Their debut album, (Turn On) The Music Machine, was released in 1966 on the Original Sound label. Seven of the twelve tracks were originals, written by Bonniwell. One of these, "Talk Talk", became a Top 20 hit[citation needed] in the U.S. The follow-up single, "The People In Me", peaked at #66.[citation needed] Bonniwell blamed the weak showing of this single on a supposed feud between the band's manager and a top record executive. Four cover songs were included on this release, due to record company pressure.
After a promotional tour of the U.S., the rest of the original line-up (Edgar, Landon, Olsen, and Rhodes), left Bonniwell, due to internal conflicts. In 1967, Music Machine (essentially only Bonniwell at this point) were signed to Warner Bros. and re-named The Bonniwell Music Machine. The name was changed to give more prominence to the band's core member, songwriter and vocalist. A self-titled LP was released that year, made up mostly of previously recorded singles with the original line-up. The recording spawned no big hits, despite the inclusion of a few more pop-oriented songs.
A third album was recorded but never released. In 2000, a Bonniwell Music Machine album called Ignition was released on Sundazed Records. This is a collection of songs from the unreleased 1969 album, as well as demo tracks from the band's Raggamuffin days in 1965.
In 2000, Bonniwell wrote about his life and The Music Machine in a biography called "Beyond The Garage", published by the small press publisher Christian Vision.
