Masters Apprentices

Arguments could readily support viewing the Masters Apprentices as Australia’s finest rock outfit of the 1960s. Fronted by vocalist Jim Keays and driven by songwriter and rhythm guitarist Mick Bower, the group’s first recordings fused the raw R&B and rock drive of British bands such as the Pretty Things with the shadowy melodic sensibility of the Yardbirds. Both the striking “Wars or Hands of Time” and the ethereal psychedelic drift of “Living in a Child’s Dream” counted among overlooked gems, even though the latter reached the Australian Top Ten. After Mick Bower departed following a nervous breakdown in late 1967, the Masters steadily lost momentum, passing from flower pop and hard rock into progressive and acoustic territory. Repeated personnel upheaval—eight changes between 1966 and 1968—preceded the band’s relocation to England in the early 1970s, where progressive rock albums earned a modest cult following before the group disbanded in 1972.