Silver Apples

Silver Apples
@ The Grog Shop, Cleveland, June 20
by Andrew Clayman
Published in The Cleveland Scene (Village Voice), June 2008

The experimental electro-psych sound of Silver Apples was so ahead of its time in the late 1960s, the band actually had to go into hiding for 25 years to let everyone else catch up.

New York musicians Simeon (vocals, synthesizer) and Danny Taylor (drums) released only two records as Silver Apples before vanishing into the ether in 1970. Recorded with a series of old fashioned audio oscillators, these albums featured a spooky, pulsating electronic sound that would later influence everyone from Kraftwerk to modern acts like Portishead, Spritiualized, and Stereolab.

It was during the emergence of the latter acts in the mid ‘90s that Simeon finally returned to Earth from whatever dimension he’d been living in the past quarter century. Eventually, Danny Taylor was tracked down, as well, and Silver Apples took to the road to enjoy their long overdue kudos.

Today’s Silver Apples has overcome considerable tragedy. Taylor passed away in 2005, and Simeon is still recovering from a serious bus accident in 1999—one which has forced him to simplify his keyboard playing style. Still, the re-launched solo version of Silver Apples has drawn rave reviews, as Simeon continues to show the kids how it’s done.