Aorta – Aorta 2

In the wake of marginal sales of their debut album and a disastorous showcase performance at New York's Fillmore East, Aorta was dropped by Columbia Records. Drummer Billy Harman and bassist Bobby Jones quickly left. Jim Donlinger and Jim Nyeholt hired Jim's brother Tom Donlinger as the replacement drummer. At that point the three joined Chicago's Rotary Connection.  

The three participated in recording sessions for Rotary Connection's 1968 album "Peace", but were gone before the album was released. Recruiting former The Troys bass player Michael Been, Aorta was reactivated. Picked up by the small Southern California-based Happy Tiger label, 1970 saw the revamped band release "Aorta 2". With Bill Traut and Jim Donlingher again handling production, the second album also saw the band undergoing a major change in musical direction. All but abandoning their earlier psych leanings, track such as 'Willie Jean', 'Little Bonnie' and 'Sandcastles' offered up a mix of lighter pop and country-rock sounds. Curiously, several of the compositions including 'Beg For His Forgiveness', 'His Faith In Man' and 'Devil, Maggot & Son' featured Christian-oriented lyrics. "Aorta 2" wasn't a non-secular album, but it was certainly more thought provoking than the debut. Taken on their own the performances weren't half bad, full of of nice harmony vocals and engaging melodies, but when compared to the debut the results just didn't come close. This time around it was the atypical numbers that provided the highlights. A nice rocker 'Beg for His Forgiveness' probably came the closest to recapturing the debut's meltdown sound, while 'Pickin' Blues' was an okay boogie/blues number. Most band stick with their patented sound for years on end, eventually beating it into the ground. Like The Colour and Michael McDonald-era Doobie Brothers, Aorta was clearly one of the exceptions to the rule. I still prefer the debut, but have to admit that the follow-up has continued to grow on me over time.

"Aorta" 2" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Willie Jean (traditional) - 3:03 rating: **** stars
For anyone expecting to hear a continuation of the first Aorta album's mix of hard rock and psych influences, 'Willie Jean' was going to come as a massive shock. An Allman Brothers-styled blues-rocker, over the years the song had been recorded by a slew of bands including The Blues Magoos, The Byrds, Gram Parsons, The Shadows of the Knight and The Sunshine Company. None were as good as Aorta's version - particularly when Jim Dolinger and Mike Been harmonized on the chorus. Breathtaking.
2.) Little Bonnie (Jim Donlinger - Mike Been) - 4:18 rating: *** stars
Did I put on a Black Oak Arkansas album by mistake? Kicked along by Jim Nyeholt's keyboards, Tom Donlinger's relentless drums and Jim Donlinger's sweet guitar solo, 'Little Bonnie' had more in common with The Marshall Tucker Band than anything in their past history. Donlinger's guitar solo sure reminded me of Tucker lead guitarist Toy Caldwell whjile his voice recalled Tucker lead vocalist Doug Gray. For goodness sakes, the lyrics include "it's another quarter of whiskey to kill".
3.) Blythe Spirit - 2:49 rating: **** stars
Powered by some light Latin percussion and a lovely Mike Been bass line, the fragile ballad 'Blythe Spirit' was one of the prettiest songs in their catalog.  
4.) Beg For His Forgiveness - 4:55 rating: **** stars
The lyrics were somewhat non-secular, but 'Beg For His Forgiveness' was wrapped in a great rockin' melody arrangement which gave Jim Donlinger some room to show off his chops. That made it easy to overlook anything that struck you as preachy. Personally I didn't find the lyrics to be problematic.  
5.) Egypt (instrumental) - 4:05 rating: * star
The first real disappointment, the instrumental 'Egypt' didn't have much of a melody and quickly degenerated into what sounded like an in studio jam session focusing on Tom Donlinger's drumming and percussion work before shifting into bland jazz-rock territory. Geez, not another standard early 1970s drum spotlight. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

(side 2)
1.) His Faith In Man - 5:09 rating: *** stars
'His Faith In Man' was quite heavy on religious imagery. I'm not sure who handled the vocals, but they both had nice Americana-styled voices and the first half of the song was framed in a decent melody. The second half allowed Jim Donlinger to spend some time showing off his jazzy guitar chops.
2.) Devil, Maggot & Son - 2:48 rating: **** stars
'Devil, Maggot & Son' (what a great song title), sounded like it had been pulled off a Robbie Robertson and the Band album. This thing just dripped Americana and I loved the combination of Jim Nyeholt's piano and the group vocals on the glistening chorus.
3.) Sandcastles - 2:55 rating: ** stars
The album's contractually required "big ballad", 'Sandcastles' started out as a pretty acoustic ballad, before picking up a little speed and energy. It wasn't bad, but you've heard dozens of similar tunes that were equally good. Why Happy Tiger tapped it as a single is a mystery to me.
- 1970's 'Sandcastles' b/w 'Willie Jean' was released as an instantly obscure single (Happy Tiger catalog number 567). 
4.) Pickin' Blues - 3:12 rating: *** stars
Kicked along by Jim Donlinger's snarling voice, Been's driving bass and Nyeholt's keyboards, 'Pickin' Blues' was a decent boogie-blues number, but again you've heard plenty of similar tunes.
5.) Fallin' Behind - 3:25 rating: *** stars
With an unexpected Flamenco feel, it took a couple of spins for me to warm up to 'Fallin' Behind.' Nice showcase for the Jim DOnlinger's acoustic and electric guitar work, as well as the band's vocal prowess.  

Following the band's collapse Been reappeared in Fine Wine followed by membership in The Call.

Jim Donlinger and Jim Nyeholt reappeared as members of Lovecraft. 

Tom Donlinger became an in-demand sessions player, eventually recorded a series of solo albums under the name James Vincent..

the second Aorta LP SUCKS! avoid this record as it's nothing
like their excellent self titled 1st LP.

Recorded in Studio B at Universal Recording, Chicago. Engineer: Jerry DeClercq