THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,355) Timebox — “A Woman That’s Waiting”
This ’68 B-side by Timebox (see #1,285) is the sweetest UK pop psych confection that I know. That woman that’s waiting? “She doesn’t have to worry I’ll soon be coming by”. Aww! The song is “wonderful” and “more psych flavoured” than the A-side (happening45, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBCOhHiLYdg), “the real gem . . . more like the real Timebox” (ZebedyZak, https://www.45cat.com/record/dm194), “[e]asily one of my favorite Deram releases of all time”. (Wilthomer, https://anorakthing.blogspot.com/2011/06/beggin.html)
Wilthomer claims that it “bears more than passing resemblances to ‘I Am The Walrus’ from its sawing string section and plodding beat and even it’s regal trumpets, but before it can become and act of overt plagiarism [Pete ‘Ollie’] Halsall’s vibes kick in a jazzy little break that takes it back to swirling strings and [Mike] Patto’s blue eyed soul vocals.” (Wilthomer, https://anorakthing.blogspot.com/2011/06/beggin.html The Walrus was Mike Patto?
As to Timebox, Jon “Mojo” Mills tells us:
[The band] turned professional and headed towards London. . . . [T]hey were soon working on package tours . . . as well as striking up a residency at the legendary the Whiskey a Go Go. With two singers leaving . . . U.S. singer John Henry was drafted in and the band changed their name to Timebox — an American term for a prison cell. Signed to Piccadilly in February 1967, their debut single, “I’ll Always Love You” . . . was released and displayed an early jazz-tinged, soulful talent. . . . [E]x-G.I. Henry [was] whipped back off to the U.S.A by officials . . . . Mike Patto . . . after a few illustrious jams and took on a prominent role as vocalist and songwriter. . . . Timebox soon became a hot live act. . . . claimed Timebox to be one of the first rock bands in London to really explore jazz in a rock context. A wonderful performance at the Windsor Jazz Festival on August 12, 1967, caught the eye of Decca producer Gus Dudgeon, who immediately signed them to the label’s subsidiary Deram. The first 45, a fantastic version of Tim Hardin’s “Don’t Make Promises,” was backed by the even better Ollie original “Walking Through the Streets of My Mind,” which combined sharp blue-eyed soul harmonies with a psychedelic arrangement. The follow-up — again a classic example of British soul — was a cover of the Four Seasons’ “Beggin” and reached number 38 in the charts [with today’s song being the B-side]. . . . Deram viewed Timebox as a pop band, and so the more experimental songs were left in the can while the silly sing-a-long tune “Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye,” written for fun when the band members were drunk, was the next release in March 1969. It’s styling was a little too late for the era of novelty psychedelia, and of no interest to the more rock-oriented record buyer . . . . By the summer of 1969, things were turning sour. The final release, “Yellow Van,” was a great record . . . but was banned due to the nature of the lyrics. This really was the end of the road . . . . The nucleus of the band merged into Patto, who released three albums in the 1970s.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/timebox-mn0000602690#biography
Barry Monks adds:
They worked solidly on package tours with The Kinks, The Small Faces, Tommy Quickly, Lou Christie etc. and landed a Wednesday night residency at London’s Whisky a Go Go, a trendy and prestigious venue . . . . [Vocalist Frank] Dixon contracted tuberculosis . . . . In November 1966, a replacement vocalist was found in US singer John Henry . . . . who, as a GI deserter, was shortly to be unceremoniously carted off by two large military policemen! . . . [Mike] Patto . . . had begun to carve a promising solo career with a single . . . on Columbia in December 1966. After fronting the final version of the Bo Street Runners . . . Mike formed Patto’s People (later The Chicago Blues Line) . . . . After a late-night jam at The Playboy Club, Mike agreed to join Timebox . . . . A prestigious gig at The Windsor Jazz Festival on 12 August 1967 caught the eye and ear of ace Decca Records producer Gus Dudgeon who immediately signed them to their new subsidiary Deram. In October 1967, they released a splendidly raga-esque cover of Tim Hardin’s ‘Don’t Make Promises’ . . . . [The next A-side was] a finely crafted cover of The Four Seasons ‘Beggin’ . . . . The B-side, ‘A Woman That’s Waiting’, was penned by Mike Patto and guitarist Ivan Zagni from the Chicago Blues Line days. . . . The February/March 1968 sessions which produced the ‘hit’ also spawned . . . Patto/Halsall collaborations for a projected album provisionally titled Moose on the Loose . . . . Ollie’s ‘psychedelic’ masterpiece “Gone is the Sad Man” [see #1,285] remains an icon of it’s time . . . . [A] cult following developed around their Marquee Club residency . . . . The self-penned A-side was finally achieved in March 1969 with the rather silly but, nevertheless, endearing “Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye” . . . . Having finally begun to establish their own material, it seemed that Timebox had, effectively, run its course.
https://www.pattofan.com/Timebox/tb_deramcd.htm (liner notes to the CD comp Timebox: The Deram Anthology)
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