THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,269) Dantalian’s Chariot — “The Madman Running Through the Fields”
Dantalian’s Chariot (see #727, 1,106) of the gods gave the human race “[o]ne of the most brilliant obscure psychedelic singles of the late ’60s — indeed, one of the most brilliant obscure rock singles of any kind from the era . . . British pop-psych at its zenith, strongly reminiscent of (and as good as) the classic early sides by Syd Barrett’s Pink Floyd.” [see #13] (https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dantalians-chariot-mn0000679042) “Madman”, written by Zoot Money [see #726] and Andy Somers (to be Policeman Andy Summers) “employed many of the stylistic devices that conspired to make English acid pop such a mesmerising beast — schizoid lyrics, tempo shifts, in-jokes, fade-ins, fade-outs, backward tapes, dream sequences, non-sequitur guitar runs, extraneous sound effects but remembered to add a magnificent song to the rampant studio trickery to create a psychedelic potpourri of monstrous proportions.” (David Wells, Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era)
Nick James:
[It was] a song that not only won them the adulation of the beautiful flower children of the time, but is today regarded as one of the finest examples of the psych-pop movement . . . . “Madman was a description of our personal experiences,” says Money of their one and only single, “and the subsequent self-revelations brought about by hallucinogenics. It was based around the observations we made once we had returned to ‘normal’, so to speak. The verse is the voice of the taker, the one who’s dropped the acid, and the chorus is him being observed by a second party – ‘Isn’t that the madman running through the fields?’ A puzzled onlooker, much like the audiences at the time.” Madman is a schizophrenic slice of psychedelic pop . . . . It was picked as Record Of The Week by original Animals’ keyboardist Alan Price, guest reviewing for the influential Disc & Music Echo, and scored a direct hit with the underground. The record-buying public at large were less accommodating and [it] failed to make its mark upon the charts. Nowadays, the record is rightly regarded as one of the essential works of the era.
https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/m-a-d-m-e-n-running-through-the-fields
Yet this “critically acclaimed [songs] inexplicably failed to make an impression on the UK charts despite chiming in well nigh perfectly with the prevailing psych-ascendant late-’67 mood of successful singles by the likes of Pink Floyd and The Pretty Things”. (David Kidman, https://www.fatea-records.co.uk/magazine/reviews/DantaliansChariot/) “[I]ts commercial failure, coupled with EMI’s wariness of Zoot Money’s venture into the leftfield when the Big Roll Band was ticking along just nicely thank you, saw Dantalian’s Chariot dropped.” (Nick James, https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/m-a-d-m-e-n-running-through-the-fields)
Of DC, Len tells us:
Like other established acts . . . these experienced Beat-era musicians drastically changed tack to embrace the new counterculture, yet no others did it so publicly, nor with such apparent commitment, nor did they fail so spectacularly in spite of critical acclaim and huge hype. Keyboardist/vocalist George Zoot Money had helmed his Big Roll Band since 1961, playing fiery R’n’B to enthusiastic Soho Mod club dancers whilst selling precious few records. Seeing the psychedelic scene suddenly burgeon around them, Money, guitarist Andy Somers and drummer Colin Allen threw themselves bodily on to the bandwagon, announcing abruptly in July 1967 that the Big Roll Band no longer existed and that henceforth they would be Dantalian’s Chariot[,] Dantalian being a Duke of Hell, referred to in The Key of Solomon.* To emphasise the point they kitted themselves out completely in white “kaftans, guitars, amps, even a white Hammond” and put together a light show so sophisticated that the Pink Floyd hired it on occasions. From their first self-penned recording sessions EMI released a single, Madman Running Through The Fields. . . . [A] subsequent attempt to release an album, appropriately titled Transition, on CBS subsidiary Direction also stalled when the label insisted that its psychedelic elements be diluted with more familiar Money fare and the release credited to the Big Roll Band. This too sank without trace, and a miffed Money finally junked the Chariot in April 1968.
http://therisingstorm.net/dantalians-chariot-chariot-rising/
As David Wells explains:
Zoot and Andy [Summers] were becoming increasingly immersed in the psychedelic experience, regularly attending . . . various subterranean love-ins and happenings . . . . Increasingly weary of being promoted by EMI as the white James Brown, Zoot announced in late July 1967 that the Big Roll Band were not more. “We had been working very hard for a long time and felt we were getting stale”, Zoot told reporters.
liner notes to the CD comp Dantalian’s Chariot: Chariot Rising
Zoot recalls “We just wanted to do something new. It was a chance to be more creative, to move on to writing our own material and try out new things.” (Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era)
Richie Unterberger adds:
Such was the impact of psychedelic music in 1967, however, that by the middle of the year, Money had decided to totally revamp his sound. R&B/jazz/soul had become passe; now it was important to write your own material, and reflect the mind-expanding experience. . . . [The band] became Dantalian’s Chariot. The music, written primarily by Money and Summers, changed as radically as the name, with airy melodies, spacy lyrics, and guitar/organ-driven arrangements. The band hit the London underground circuit inhabited by such acts as Pink Floyd and Soft Machine, and made their debut recording as Dantalian’s Chariot . . . in the summer of 1967.. . . Although they were a respected live act, their new direction wasn’t supported by EMI, which dropped the band. A psychedelic-minded LP was worked on, but not released. Some of the material appeared on an early 1968 record, which the Direction label assembled from various tunes cut over the past year. . . . Dantalian’s Chariot came to an end in the spring of 1968, with Summers joining the Soft Machine (and subsequently Eric Burdon’s Animals); Money would also join Eric Burdon’s Animals around the same time.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/dantalians-chariot-mn0000679042
But what a trip it was. David Wells notes that DC became “the darlings of the London underground set” and “one of the most fondly remembered British Psychedelic groups”. (liner notes to Dantalian’s Chariot: Chariot Rising) Vernon Joynson adds that:
[They] performed frequently at London’s Middle Earth and UFO clubs. . . . Their live appearances were amazing. They took to the stage in white robes and had what was generally regarded as the best light show in town. The only problem was this ensured they made heavy financial losses with every appearance.
The Tapestry of Delights Revisited
* Wikipedia tells us that: The Key of Solomon . . . also known as The Greater Key of Solomon, is a pseudepigraphical [falsely attributed] grimoire [textbook on magic] attributed to King Solomon. It probably dates back to the 14th or 15th century Italian Renaissance. It presents a typical example of Renaissance magic.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Key_of_Solomon)
Here are Eric Burdon and the Animals (with Zoot and Andy):
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Wow. Very cool song for that time.
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