THE VULTURES FEED THE VULTURES

The lo-fi rock band Prestige Arabians have just hit the sophomore slump. Rumors spread throughout every highbrow music magazine that singer Perry St. Croix locked band members in the studios of Empty Mansions, only letting them out for occasional restroom breaks, keeping them unfed until they’d produced an album equivalent to the brilliance of their chart-topping debut, "Farfisa." St. Croix denies these allegations, claiming that he also let them out for smoke breaks and that the marathon recording sessions were catered, but that he did keep a revolver perched on the soundboard for motivation. By the middle of the so-called "Lock-In Sessions," bass player Julia Tory and drummer Eugene Harper had escaped, having only put down the rhythm tracks on about five songs. Guitarist/organist Gil Klose later recounted the events in an exclusive interview with the UK magazine, Sound Gate. "It was like Hitler recording an album with Mengele sitting in as producer," he said.

St. Croix finished the album himself, acting as producer. He scrapped the tracks that the other band members had played on and re-recorded the entire album from scratch by himself. Although it could be considered a St. Croix solo album, it clearly displayed the name Prestige Arabians on its cover, along with the album title, "The Vultures Feed The Vultures."

It’s a brilliant album, if only taking into account the way it was recorded. However, it’s uneven. "Vultures" has all of the lo-fi muddiness of "Farfisa," but none of the heart. It almost sounds like a suicide note at times, trying to explain why the inevitable end has happened. It never charted, there’s no plans for a single and sales are almost non-existent due to the effect the rumors had on fans.

St. Croix’s only comment on the album’s direction was released to the press this week. It was a simple, two-line soundbite:

"The vultures feed the vultures. If that doesn’t explain it all, I don’t know what will."




-SLL