The 1980 Listening Post - Bobb Trimble - Iron Curtain Experience

Bobb Trimble - Iron Curtain Experience 

#495

By David Jackson

December 9 1980
Bobb Trimble
Album: Iron Curtain Innocence 

Genre: Experimental Rock 

Allen’s Rating: 4.5 out of 5

David’s Rating: 2.5 out of 5.0 

Highlights: 

When the Raven Calls

One Mile from Heaven

Fun fact according to Wikipedia: Nothing really specific for this album, but during the early 1980s, when he would have been in his early to mid-20s, Bobb had two backing bands: The Kidds, where the average age of the band members was 12 years old, and The Crippled Dog Band, where the average age was 15 years old, however, "suspicious parents" apparently pulled the plug on both bands for, well, obvious reasons.

 

Maybe it isn’t a fair place to begin with an album review, but the cover art for this record is noteworthy. It features the artist, Mr. Bobb Trimble, sitting alone in front of the same background used for my third-grade school picture that was taken during the same year. No words are on the cover, just Bobb sitting there holding a guitar (of course) on his lap while his right hand is holding up a machine gun. 

A fair amount of the music here is as disturbing as the cover art, but interesting enough to warrant more than a casual listen. In fact, I don’t imagine it is even possible to give the chilling “Night at the Asylum” even a casual listen without feeling at least a little bit creeped out. That track along with the folky-psychedelic “When the Raven Calls” would make for nice conversation starters if included on your Halloween Party playlist. 

 

Side B of the record signals a notable transition to a bit softer sounds while some of the weirdness persists as evidenced by some of the track titles (i.e., “Killed by the Hands of an Unknown Rock Star”). While arguably less interesting than the songs on Side A, these songs tend to be a little more melodic and showcase Trimble’s vocal ability. “One Mile from Heaven,” in particular, shines as a strikingly beautiful song amidst all the peculiarities going on throughout this album. Bobb himself must have thought quite highly of this one as the album features both a short (about four minutes) and closes with a long (nearly six minutes) version of the song. 

https://open.spotify.com/album/5AWGhGT2Xohl0kyTTyJZGg?si=7FD-lnh2S0KsuznoSJKSlA