THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
873) Serpent Power — “Up and Down”
This “gorgeous” (Alec Paleo, liner notes to the CD comp Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets: 1965-1970) and “winsome . . . lost [folk rock] classic” (David Fricke and Robert Christgau, https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-essential-albums-of-1967-198515/the-beach-boys-smiley-smile-199475/) comes from the pen of San Fran Beat poet David Meltzer and the voice of his wife Tina.
David Fricke and Robert Christgau tell us to:
Think of the Serpent Power as the Bay Area’s version of the Velvet Underground. Led by poet David Meltzer, with Meltzer on untutored post-folk guitar, Meltzer and his wife, Tina, singing his songs . . . their music was minimalist folk rock with noise . . . . Some songs began as poems, others didn’t, but all feature notable lyrics – some romantic, some gruff, some both. And all but a few are graced by excellent tunes . . . .
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/50-essential-albums-of-1967-198515/the-beach-boys-smiley-smile-199475/
Alex Stimmel expands:
Fronted by San Franciscan poet David Meltzer, the Serpent Power was a sunshiny folk-rock group, whose songs were musical translations of Meltzer’s poetry. They were first noticed by Ed Denton, manager of Country Joe and the Fish, when he saw them perform at their first-ever gig, a benefit for the Telegraph Neighborhood Center. This was in November of 1966 — Denton recommended them to Vanguard Records (Country Joe’s label) and by 1967 the band was signed and had released their first and only album. The Serpent Power was formed by Meltzer and his wife Tina (who sang both lead and harmony vocals). . . . The album . . . received a somewhat limited pressing and, despite featuring some excellent examples of folk-rock, the band never got that big, known mostly within the San Francisco area. . . . Although they continued reaching in ever-more exploratory directions, the band didn’t record another album, and disbanded in 1968. David and Tina Meltzer went on to record another album, Poet’s Song, under their own names.
The Serpent Power is a good example of the ways in which the “San Francisco sound” had coalesced into a recognizable trend by 1967: music set to beat poetry, a combination of bluesier rockers and wispy, folk-influenced tunes with male and female harmonies, and meditations about drugs all date the album somewhat, but the songs themselves are quite good, with excellent band interplay and nice electric guitar work. The heavier songs pack a good punch, while the lighter songs set a very airy, flowing mood, the epitome of what was then becoming known as “flower power”.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/serpent-power-mn0000504303, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-serpent-power-mw0000091533
Alec Palao adds:
An interesting link with San Francisco’s bohemian past, David Meltzer was a published beat poet, boasting a rare spoken word/jazz album recorded . . . in 1959. In addition, he and his wife Tina had exposure to the North Beach folk scene of the early 1960s. A distinct folkish quality was therefore audible within Meltzer’s compositions, prompting the formation of an electric band, The Serpent Power — after the yogic concept of Kundalini — in the fall of 1966. . . . The Serpent Power was around long enough to record an [album] for Vanguard . . . . The group had a strong melodic sensibility, showcased especially on those tracks sung by Tina . . . . Not longer after the album came out in July 1967, however, the personnel that had recorded it broke up, and with 1969’s Poet Song the Meltzers reappeared as a duo only.
liner notes to the CD comp Love Is the Song We Sing: San Francisco Nuggets: 1965-1970
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