Calm Before – THE RISING STORM**

Don’t Look Back/To LN-Who Doesn’t Know/I’m Coming Home/A Message To Pretty/In The Midnight Hour/Frozen Laughter/She Loved Me/Mr Wind/Big Boss Man/Bright Lit Blue Skies/The Rain Falls Down/Baby Please Don’t Go

Calm Before was the debut album from Massachusetts garage band The Rising Storm. Comprises a mixture of band originals plus some soul and R & B covers.

“This is one of the great, pure garage rock records that actually lives up to its reputation. The soul covers are the only downside to this album but even these songs are solid and quite respectable. Mr. Wind, Frozen Laughter, A Message To Pretty and To L.N. are excellent folk rock songs with a garage touch. Frozen Laughter in particular is the album's standout being a sublime slice of folk-psychedelia.”

“I would not recommend this to the casual listener, but I believe that anyone with a devout interest in 60s garage would find this LP to be attractive from both a musical and historical perspective.”

“The music is quality garage, of the early 'frat-rock' style frequently found on many garage albums of the time. Typically, most of the material consists of covers, though these are more obscure than most, and they do an admirable job on them.”

“Really good garage rock with some folk influences thrown in on the original tracks. Don't Look Back is a good, if not solid cover. To L.N./Who Doesn't Know is a soothing, almost folk song with great acoustic guitar. The Love cover is excellent while In The Midnight Hour is a good version. Frozen Laughter is probably the best on the album, with spooky organ and great druggy lyrics. She Loved Me is another original with a real catchy guitar riff, while Baby Please Don't Go is a solid rocker. Another major highlight is the atmospheric The Rain Falls Down."

“Roughly half of the songs on Calm Before are originals, and they're surprisingly subtle and ambitious stuff, moody folk-rock that often suggests the influence of the psychedelic revolution that was looming on the musical horizon. If The Rising Storm weren't exactly virtuosos, they were a tight and energetic band with enough musical smarts to make the most of songs.”