Marcus - Salmon Ball

The self titled 1976 album was the only release by this hard hitting monster of a band from Detroit! The group took their name from lead vocalist Marcus Malone. This 'Marcus' has no relation whatsoever to the other 'Marcus' who took their name from their lead vocalist Marcus McDonald. That band released a very rare indie LP titled 'From the House of Trax' in 1978. They were from Indiana. I recall seeing this album in stores back in the late 70's, the cover depicted Marcus Malone (lead singer)decked out in a Rick James Disco outfit, with all kinds of lights and crap around him. Back then this screamed the dreaded 'D' word. And since this was released during disco's magic year of 1976, I avoided this album for about a year until I heard it at a party. I was really getting into this music that I'd never heard. I walked over to the stereo system, and on top of the speaker I saw this album cover. I said to my buddy, "who brought this disco s**t in here"? He said "Its the same album you've been playing air guitar to for the last 15 minutes man"! I freaked, partially because I felt really stupid, and partially because I'd been missing out on this great album for four years! I went to my local record store a couple days later, and they had none in stock, so I had to order it. Had the front cover not looked so disco-ish, I might have turned it over and read the back cover credits, and there I would have found my hero, bass player Tim Bogert (Vanilla Fudge, Cactus) guesting on three tracks, and producing! This is one of my favorite heavy rock albums from the mid 70s. It's comparable in style to maybe mixing 'Automatic Man's first album, and John Nitzinger's 'Live Better Electrically'. But 'Marcus' is far better than either of those LPs put together. It's a must have album for any fan of 70s hard rock/metal, and with three guitarists trading riff's, what more could you ask for?

Added 19 Aug 2026