Nuggets II: The Train to Disaster by The Voice

The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA.

Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001. It features music from countries such as Iceland, Uruguay, and Japan. I’m profiling and rating each of the 109 tracks, working backwards.

Track 76—The Train to Disaster by The Voice

From: London, England

8

Credits

3/22. THE TRAIN TO DISASTER – The Voice (U.K.)
(Eddie Hammill/Miller Anderson)

PERSONNEL/MILLER ANDERSON: guitar * DAVE DUFORT: drums * [plus others unknown]
Producer(s) unknown
Recorded in London, England
Mercury single #154279 (1966)

The Voice

There’s very little information online about The Voice. The Nuggets II liner notes didn’t manage to list all the members. The two most famous members of The Voice are the guitarists. Blues guitarist Miller Anderson has played with Ian Hunter, the Spencer Davis Group, and the Keef Hartley Band. When he left, he was replaced by Mick Ronson, who later became Bowie’s right-hand man in the Spiders From Mars.

Facts are scarce on this London group, originally known as Karl Stuart & The Profiles. Signed to Mercury, they released two singles as The Profile, before changing their name to The Voice in time for this April 1966 release. Reportedly The Voice were involved with a religious cult called the Church of the Process, which may explain this single’s ominous apocalyptic message.

Mick Ronson was in the group only a few months before the other members suddenly fled to the Bahamas under mysterious circumstances, leaving their bewildered guitarist behind.

Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes

According to Wikipedia, The Process Church of the Final Judgement opened a library and an all-night coffee shop known as Satan’s Cavern. On 23 June 1966, around 30 Church members—accompanied by their six Alsatian dogs—moved to Nassau in the Bahamas.

The Train to Disaster

‘The Train to Disaster’ opens with a fuzzy, chaotic guitar line that sounds like something Joey Santiago would play in the Pixies.

And it doesn’t let up. The group’s preoccupation with end times only adds to the chaos. The vocals are ragged, but effective.

The Aftermath

The Voice only recorded one single. Most of the band vanished from the music scene after moving to the Bahamas. Miller Anderson, the guitarist on ‘The Train to Disaster’, went on to a wide-ranging career, playing with Mountain and Chicken Shack in the 1980s.

Mick Ronson didn’t record with The Voice, but he’s their most famous alumnus. As well as Bowie, he played with Ian Hunter and Bob Dylan, before passing away at 46 from liver cancer.

Read More

• Nuggets II Song by Song
• 1960s Album Reviews

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