Breakin’ Through The Doors

The 1990 CD-only Breakin' Through The Doors (subtitled In The Beginning) by Sunlight Sky Saxon [sic] and the Dragonslayers features Sky and his concurrent band covering several old Seeds songs, plus a couple non-Seeds nuggets. It was released by Elephant Records and has been out of print for ages, though copies can often be found for sale.

Behind Sky are his longtime musical partner Mars Bonfire (whose name is rendered as ‘Mars Bon Fire’) on keyboards, Gary Stern on bass, Paul Schofield on drums, and Tom Azevedo — under the pseudonym Magician Atomic — on guitar.

The sound of the Dragonslayers on Breakin' Through The Doors is 1960s-garage with a slightly modern sophistication; the lead guitar is very distorted but mixed low while Mr. Bon Fire’s prominent day-glo keyboards dance loopily. The rhythm section of Gary and Paul is especially tight, and Gary’s bass is both melodic and understated. Sky Saxon sounds generally very excited throughout. (Rumors and tales of the psychonaut’s manic drug intake of this period don’t seem all that unbelievable.)

“Updates” to Seeds songs

A glance at the song listing shows that most of the Seeds songs have been renamed. Most of these ‘new’ titles are based on improvised spoken pieces by Sky during the outros on Breakin' Through The Doors that probably don’t really deserve such attention. But endless renaming of Seeds songs was already by this time a long-established habit of Sky’s though it is unclear whether this was for legal or artistic reasons. One thing’s for sure: it was inconsistent.

And so "Stay Away Trip Maker/Orange, Green & White Powders" is merely a remake of the Seeds’ "Tripmaker", at the end of which Sky fleetingly confesses that he wants to love you. Musically the track sets the tone for the Breakin' Through The Doors; Atomic’s fast fingers solo throughout and the arrangement overall is fairly faithful to the original, albeit with a more modern rock sound. Most appealing, perhaps, are Sky’s clattering tambourine and his weary vocals.

On "Born To Be Wild/I Want To Love You", organist Mars Bonfire, who wrote this song for Steppenwolf, shines while Sky enthusiastically preaches the vocals. Magic Atomic again adds a blistering guitar solo. The latter half of the title refers to some ad-libbing Sky does over the solo. Bassist Gary Stern is reliable and melodic. (Sky and Mars first recorded this song for a 1986 EP with the band SS-20, a version which also appeared on the 1987 album Takes & Glories.)

"Don't Push Your Wars On Me" is a rerecording of "Pushin' Too Hard" but now its lyrics are "Pushin' Too Fast", similar to the live version from the CD pressing of Bad Part Of Town (“Pushing Too Hard Too Far“) and the studio take on Takes & Glories (“Pushin’ Too Far Too Hard“). Sky’s tambourine comes and goes at random, and there is a phased guitar whorl underneath it all. An extra verse, replete with a lengthy extemporized rant, chastises first the FBI and CIA, then war in general, as Sky forgets about pushin’ too fast and returns to pushin’ too hard.

Over a familiar, convincingly Daryl Hooper-esque organ melody from Mars Bonfire, Sky passionately performs one of his very favorite Seeds classics as "Mr. Farmer 1990"; this is the second Dragonslayers album in a row to feature the song. The bass bubbles with panache in time with the drums, and there are some dramatic guitar chords emphasizing the descending sounds of the “Mr. Farmer, let me water your crops” section. Then, beginning with a funky drum intro, a version of the Seeds nugget "Up In Her Room", much shorter than the original, is a little more laid-back, with some bluesy guitar ringing out beside Sky’s infamous, directionless tale of sex and drugs up in her room. (The title isn’t changed on this one.) Mars Bonfire’s cheesy organ tone ties the whole thing together.

For the elaborately-rechristened "Pictures & Designs/I Need Your Love Tonite/Ignite Your Fire" (really just "Pictures And Designs"), a nice, grungy guitar cranks out the song’s main, ultra-simplistic riff and the groovy swingin’ 1960s keyboards decorate the choruses impressively. Sky, well used to the material, holds up his end of the bargain with an improvised middle section that gives the title its second and third clauses. Despite the third part of the title and a Sky-penned non-sequitur in the liner notes about once seeing Jim Morrison eating lamb, this performance is unrelated to the Doors’ “Light My Fire”.

Next, Sky and the ‘slayers turn Roky Erickson’s "Don't Slander Me" into "Don't Slander Me/Right Down The Nile", presenting it as a heavy, phased garage rock bomb while Sky goes out of his way to incorporate his beloved canines. “Don’t slander me… and my dog!” Mars’ organ chords underscore the rhythm rather than soloing around. Despite the title, nothing in this performance suggests the epic title track that would be a centerpiece of the 1994 Down The Nile album by Fast Planet.

The dog-worship carries over to "Love Dog Always", Breakin' Through The Doors‘s pointlessly retitled remake of the audacious "Love Dog" which first appeared on 1986’s ...A Groovy Thing (a.k.a. World Fantastic) by Sky Sunlight Saxon and Fire Wall. This Dragonslayers version is very similar to Fire Wall’s, except the guitar is more pinched and distorted here, and the rhythm section is tighter. Sky fearlessly invites ridicule by barking and panting like a pooch during this fun tune.

One of the Seeds’ best snotty punk songs, "No Escape" is infused with the Dragonslayers’ usual sensibilities on "No Escape/In The Burning Cities": reliable rhythm section, circus-y organ, twisty guitar buried unobtrusively deep in one speaker. After singing the main part of the track, Sky tells a brief story of driving through America and feeling like he couldn’t escape the concrete of modern cities — a reappearance of a concern first voiced on his whacked-out Yodship sessions in the early 1970s — before, unless I’m hearing incorrectly, threatening to take someone’s aspirin bottle from them. (If there’s one thing our hero refused to brook it was ingestion of pharmaceuticals. Ahem.)

Breakin' Through The Doors ends with "To Make You Mine/King Charming Life With You", a version of the Seeds’ classic first single "Can't Seem To Make You Mine". This time, the ode to a girl flying around “like a hornet”, just out of reach, sports one of Sky’s best vocal performances on the album. He hits every high-pitched “oh!” and the band copies the original very faithfully, at least until Sky’s improv in the outro.

Whither Brontosaurus?

Sunlight Sky Saxon mentions, both in text and in a drawing, a new project called Brontosaurus (or possibly SSS Brontosaurus) in the liner notes of Breakin' Through The Doors; however, nothing seems to have come of this. In fact, Sky’s next release would be the unexpected drum machine and synthesizer-led CD Flashback in 1991.

What was Brontosaurus meant to be? Perhaps it was an idea that just didn’t make it — a drug vision that vanished quickly — or maybe even an early name of the Flashback project. Whatever the case, SSS Brontosaurus is destined to be relegated to the already-towering pile of Sky Saxon mysteries for some time.

Track listing

1. "Stay Away Trip Maker/Orange, Green & White Powders"
2. "Born To Be Wild/I Want To Love You"
3. "Don't Push Your Wars On Me"
4. "Mr. Farmer 1990"
5. "Up In Her Room"
6. "Pictures & Designs/I Need Your Love Tonite/Ignite Your Fire"
7. "Don't Slander Me/Right Down The Nile"
8. "Love Dog Always"
9. "No Escape/In The Burning Cities"
10. "To Make You Mine/King Charming Life With You"

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