SoundCan Magazine, December 92

If The Tea Party and Lowest Of The Low aren't signed soon, then A&R reps are the most puzzling creatures in the music biz next to wardrobe valets.

On the eponymous debut from Windsor, Ontario's The Tea Party, there is a bit of fantasy and majesty tied up in their two-taste brew of trippy acoustic rock and fiery hard rock blues. Singer/guitarist Jeff Martin, bassist Stuart Chatwood, and drummer Jeff Burrows
have dropped something other than sugarcubes into the cups, something to take you far far away, through the past darkly, to the psychedelia of the '60s. Conjuring up ghosts of Hendrix and Morrison, they plow ahead a decade to Zeppelinesque experimentalism.
They infuse levitating middle eastern sounds and minstrelsy strums on 'Sun Going Down', 'Winter Solstice' and 'Watching What The Rain Blows In', and spirits fly through the funked metallic blaze of 'Let Me Show You The Door' and 'Little Miss Heaven' (Hendrix).

But The Tea Party is more than a tribute. It's a new experience.

CMJ Online

The mere mention of a tea party conjures up images of the Mad Hatter and Alice, or nibbling cucumber sandwiches under overcast skies on the Buckingham Palace grounds. And with the debut from Windsor, Ontario's the Tea Party, there is a bit of fantasy and majesty tied up in their two-taste brew of trippy acoustic rock and fiery hard-rock blues.

Singer/guitarist Jeff Martin, bassist Stuart Chatwood and drummer Jeff Burrows have dropped something other than sugarcubes into the cups, something to take you far, far away, through the past darkly to the psychedelia of the '60s.

The Tea Party takes place in Hades (home of the dead), where the band has a seance to conjure up the spirits of Hendrix and Morrison. It works, but because of the time warp their sound takes on something all its own.

They infuse levitating middle-Eastern sounds and minstrel-like strums on "Sun Going Down," "Winter Solstice" and "Watching What The Rain Blows In." And sure the spirit of Morrison might be tribal dancing to the percussive "Save Me" or "Midsummer Day," and Jimi might be taking the match to this guitar for the funked metallic blaze of "Let Me Show You The Door'' and "Little Miss Heaven,'' and smiling as Martin sings, "I have to kiss the sky'' on "Fallen Angel," but they both know the Tea Party is more than a tribute.

It's an experience and a compulsion for teetotalers to indulge in.

All Music Guide

Windsor's The Tea Party is either a totally retro music experience or, if you subscribe to the theory that everything that goes around comes around, leading edge. The power trio derives its inspiration from the late 60s and early 70s era of acid-tinged rock. Led Zeppelin is the most obvious forefather but, unlike the myriad of fellow acolytes, it's the acoustic, pseudo-mystical elements of Zep's work that most color this release. The Tea Room is more often a letdown on the heavy rocking material. Guitarist Jeff Martin doesn't have Jimmy Page's electric chops no matter how much he would like to. Things work better for The Tea Party when it drops the second-hand Zep stance in favor of other influences from the period. If your local music emporium doesn't carry this independent release, write directly to Eternal Discs at P.O. Box 7436, Windsor, Ont., N9C 4T1. ~ Roch Parisien, All Music Guide