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Soma


Soma - Train / Welcome Love - 7

Train / Welcome Love - 7"
Aquarius - 1971


Michael Panontin
Soma were formed in 1969 by former Stitch in Tyme keyboardist Bob Murphy after his return from Toronto to the East Coast. There, Murphy switched to rhythm guitar and took on a host of musicians including his erstwhile bandmates Donnie Morris on bass and Bruce Wheaton on percussion. The sprawling rock/soul outfit were eleven strong for their first gig, and seemingly hit the ground running with a sold-out show at Delmar's Barn in Truro, NS.

The group went through several personnel changes and along the way even managed a recording session in Detroit, which at the time led to rumours - untrue, but no doubt helpful - that the guys were actually based in the Motor City. (There are even some tapes of those sessions, which are said to be in the possession of an ex-roadie.). By 1971, Soma had solidified as a sextet of Murphy and Morris, along with Frank MacKay (vocals), Ritchie Oakley (lead guitar), Donnie Muir (keyboards) and Jack Harris (drums).

That same year, the band released a couple of singles for the Aquarius label. The rollicking, organ-driven 'Train' was issued in April and by June had edged its way up to a respectable #54 on the RPM national chart, thanks in part to some encouraging words from CKGM Montreal's John MacKey ("Great two-sided effort") and journalist Ritchie Yorke ("Predictably outstanding - very skilled"). RPM announced in a spring issue that the group were headed out on a national tour and that Aquarius, with the help of their distributor London Records, was setting up "an impressive promotion that should see SOMA crack the international scene before too long".

That unfortunately never happened. The group issued a follow-up disc in November to little fanfare and broke up for a spell early the following year. They reformed as a five-piece and managed to keep the train on the tracks right through to 1976. And though Soma never made another record, they did manage to find themselves on some pretty impressive bills, opening for the likes of Chicago, Sly and the Family Stone, the J Geils Band, Santana and Rod Stewart.
         
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