THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,141) Poet and the One Man Band/Heads, Hands and Feet — “Bringing It All on My Own Head
Our resident Poet (see #710, 855, 993) gave us a riveting “Santana-esque” (Michael Heatley, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/home-from-home-themissing-album) song in ’68 that “sounds like SANTANA before SANTANA” (Dmitry M. Epstein, https://dmme.net/interviews/interview-with-albert-lee). We all just had to wait a few decades to hear it!
The band must have been named after the line from Simon & Garfunkel’s “Homeward Bound”. It doesn’t get nearly the respect it deserves, even from its CD reissue label. The liner notes I got with the reissue of their first CD state:
Poet & the One Man Band try a bunch of approaches vaguely related to late-’60s trends in folk-rock, singer/songwriter-oriented, and psychedelic music on their sole and obscure LP. None of them are embarrassing, but none of them are noteworthy or exciting, either. . . . [S]ome of the stronger tracks are those that get into the moodiest territory . . . . [but it] sure would sound better as sung by Colin Blunstone and Rod Argent of the Zombies, though.
liner notes to the CD reissue of Poet and the One Man Band
What kind of marketing is that?! This is Richie Unterberger talking, though the liner notes are uncredited, since the notes are identical to Unterberger’s discussion of the album on All Music Guide (https://www.allmusic.com/album/poet-the-one-man-band-mw0000843418). Anyway, Unterberger goes on to add that it is “a fairly average psychedelic-era album with some slight resemblance to the late-period Zombies, though there’s some typical, and unmemorable, songs in a more straightforward, harder-rocking late-’60s British style.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)
And for some background, Unterberger notes that “Jerry Donahue and Pat Donaldson would soon move on to Fotheringay, the British folk-rock group fronted by Sandy Denny, and play on their sole album; guitarist Albert Lee, Tony Colton, Ray Smith, and Pete Gavin would form Heads, Hands & Feet.” (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/poet-the-one-man-band-mn0001060807)
Derek Watts tells us that:
[The band was] essentially a vehicle for the song-writing talents of Colton and Smith. . . . At that time Poet was merely a recording enterprise: there was no band as such, about which Albert was professionally realistic. “Poet was really their album. We were just session players.”
Derek Watts, Country Boy: A Biography of Albert Lee
Today’s song comes from Poet’s second album, which was recorded in late ’68 but wasn’t released till the 90’s as a “missing” Heads, Hands & Feet album. WTF? Robin Dunn & Chrissie van Varik explain:
After a change in the line-up, Poet & The One Man Band became Heads Hands & Feet in 1971. They were a very hot band set for stardom with lucrative recording contract offers, but despite great recordings and live shows, frictions set in and at the end of 1972, when Albert Lee left, the band had effectively split. . . . [A] full album had been recorded as early as December 1968, and is by many believed to be the original debut album of Heads Hands & Feet. However, as Ray Smith told us, this was really intended to be the second Poet & The One Man Band album. The recording sessions took place between October and December 1968 under extraordinary circumstances and at the time were referred to as the “Pirate Sessions” as much of it was done late at night after official (i.e. paying) recording sessions had finished for the day. Many musicians and singers got involved for little or no money and/or for fun. By April 1969 Tony and Ray had the second album ready. However, the first album had come out in March and six weeks later they were told by Ian Ralfini, musical director of MGM, “Sorry Ray, I’m taking everybody to WEA. You can have the rights to the second album but don’t release it in England for five years.” They weren’t happy about it but did as told. Danny Secunda, their manager, later tried to convince Tony Colton to issue it as the Heads Hands & Feet debut album but by then Pat Donaldson had left and been replaced by Chas Hodges. Tony Colton, altruistically, felt that the first album should reflect the new line-up (with Chas), and consequently the album was kept in the can until it finally saw the light in 1995 as Home From Home (The Missing Album). The reason it was attributed to Heads Hands & Feet and not Poet & The One Man Band, is that Heads Hands & Feet had by then earned a cult status – and thus would sell better. Tony Colton had told Ray Smith: “We won’t call it Poet 2. We’ll call it Heads Hands And Feet: The Missing Album.” (Quotes: Ian Ralfini and Tony Colton from the Albert Lee biography Country Boy by Derek Watts.)
https://robindunnmusic.wordpress.com/heads-hands-and-feet/
Finally, Michael Heatley:
Heads, Hands & Feet operated in that unique post-Sgt Pepper late 60s era when The Beatles had opened doors for bands to pass through and explore a new artistic freedom. This, HH&F’s first album from 1968, mixes any number of American influences – country, funk, soul and more – in carefree fashion. It’s little wonder that singer and mainman Tony Colton ended up in Nashville as a songwriter. They had Albert Lee, still one of our top guitarists, in their ranks, but this album was fated to remain unreleased when the line-up changed and Colton insisted on starting again from scratch – a decision he now regrets. Quality tracks such as the Santana-esque opener Bringing It All On My Own Head and the countrified Friend Of A Friend show it certainly wasn’t shelved through quality considerations.
https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/home-from-home-themissing-album
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New on me, only recognized Albert Lee and the song seems typical of the time and the critiques are a bit curious.
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