Sun Dragon — “Far Away Mountain”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — March 20, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,150) Sun Dragon — “Far Away Mountain”

This absolutely gorgeous and “achingly beautiful” ’68 UK B-side “is melodic, orchestrated pop of the highest order” (Stefan Granados, liner notes to the CD comp Listen to the Sky: The Others/Sands/Sun Dragon: The Collected Recordings 1964-73) from an album of “attractive summery pop-psych in the vein of the first Bee Gees album”. (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)

Of the Dragons, Mark Deming writes:

Rob Freeman and Ian McLintock and never quite achieved rock stardom, but it wasn’t for a lack of talent or effort . . . . [They] first worked together in the Others, an R&B combo from Southwest London whose lone single, a cover of Bo Diddley’s “Oh Yeah,” was a well crafted rave-up . . . . [B]y 1966 the Others had split and [they] had formed a new band, the more pop-oriented Sands. There was more than a bit of nascent psychedelia in Sands’ music, especially their cover of the Bee Gees’ “Mrs. Gillespie’s Refrigerator” and “Listen to the Sky[]” [see #1,066] . . . . After [that] single Sands fell apart . . . but Freeman and McLintock . . . but soldiered on with . . . Sun Dragon, which scored an almost-hit with their cover of the Lemon Pipers’ “Green Tambourine” in 1968 . . . . Sun Dragon’s music was more polished and calculatingly commercial . . . . [T]he group’s first and only album . . . is well-crafted U.K. pop . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/listen-to-the-sky-the-complete-recordings-1964-1969-mw0001050306

45cat.com adds:

Sands had imploded due to the death of their manager Brian Epstein and Epstein’s partner Robert Stigwood focussing his time on attempting to assume management control of The Beatles. This had resulted in Sands being unable to work since no live bookings were being secured for them. Freeman and McLintock began a song writing partnership and secured a contract with B Feldman & Sons Music Publishing where they recorded demos for Feldman. The duo christened themselves Sun Dragon and McLintock assumed the name Anthony James (his two middle names and song writing identity) while Freeman simply became Robb. Feldman secured a record deal with MGM Records for Sun Dragon and insisted a cover of The Lemon Pipers’ “Green Tambourine” be recorded as a first release . . . since Feldman owned the UK rights to the song. The Lemon Pipers version had not yet been released in the UK and television and radio exposure helped the single to enter the charts but the EMI pressing plant (who pressed records for MGM) went on strike the week that Sun Dragon’s version hit the chart. The Lemon Pipers’ version . . . was rush released by Pye on their Pye International label and the Lemon Pipers’ single went to number 7 in the UK [while the Sun Dragon’s version reached #50]. . . . [A] second single was released, again a cover of a Lemon Pipers’ song, “Blueberry Blue” . . . . The single received little radio play and had poor sales. . . . [but] an album was proposed for release . . . . [with] Ritchie Blackmore on lead guitar, Ian Paice on drums and Jon Lord on keyboards to back the duo . . . . The album sold few copies . . . . Freeman and McLintock subsequently released singles on CBS as High Noon, on on EMI as The Cruisers . . . and as McLintock before going their separate ways. Rob Freeman rejoined former Sands vocalist Paul Stewart . . . to form Plain Sailing who recorded three singles and an album for Chrysalis.

https://www.45cat.com/biography/sun-dragon

I have added a Facebook page for Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock! If you like what you read and hear and feel so inclined, please visit and “like” my Facebook page by clicking here.

Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise

Please consider helping to support my website/blog by contributing $6 a month for access to the Off the Charts Spotify Playlist. Using a term familiar to denizens of Capitol Hill, you pay to play! (“relating to or denoting an unethical or illicit arrangement in which payment is made by those who want certain privileges or advantages in such arenas as business, politics, sports, and entertainment” — dictionary.com).

The playlist includes all the “greatest songs of the 1960’s that no one has ever heard” that are available on Spotify — now over 750 songs. The playlist will expand each time I feature an available song.

All new subscribers will receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock magnet. New subscribers who sign up for a year will also receive a Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock t-shirt or baseball cap. See pictures on the Pay to Play page.

When subscribing, please send me an e-mail (GMFtma1@gmail.com) or a comment on this site letting me know an e-mail address/phone number/Facebook address, etc. to which I can send instructions on accessing the playlist and a physical address to which I can sent a magnet/t-shirt/baseball cap. If choosing a t-shirt, please let me know the gender and size you prefer.

Just click on the first blue block for a month to month subscription or the second blue block for a yearly subscription.