THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,551) Jason Crest — “A Place in the Sun”
Killer UK pop psych that deserves a place in the spotlight! The band’s fifth and final A-side is “[o]utrageous great pop psych – wonderful melotron, superbly crafted, ……and [was] a total flop. Crazy.” (mahatmacote, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3C7Gf4slb-U&pp=ygUeSmFzb24gY3JlYXQgYSBwbGFjZSBpbiB0aGUgc3Vu) The “delicate track, bring[s] to mind The Moody Blues . . . . [The] song has all the elements of a hit, yet missed the mark.” (Kevin Rathert, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2020/11/jason-crest-a-place-in-the-sun-the-complete-jason-crest-2020.html) “Am I the only “head’ listening to this lost masterpiece ???? Cannot fathom it, really….truly :(:(” (sammy-wi8pi, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WPuNbuUyA6U&pp=ygUeSmFzb24gY3JlYXQgYSBwbGFjZSBpbiB0aGUgc3Vu)
David Wells tells us of Jason Crest:
[P]sychedelic popsters Jason Crest had actually first come together as R&B/beat act the Spurlyweeves. In early 1967 the group went with the flow to become The Good Thing Brigade: out went the regulation blue suits, matching shirts and neatly groomed hairstyles, replaced by the full flower power regalia of beads, bells and floral kaftans as well as a more hirsute appearance. . . . [F]aithful covers of British white pop and American black soul material gave way to the burgeoning songwriting partnership of vocalist Terry Clark and organist Terry Dobson. Signing with a London agent, [they] began to support the likes of the Who and the Moody Blues, and their increased public profile led to EMI A&R man Tim Rice offering them a recording test in November 1967. Before they could keep that appointment, however, the group received a less tentative approach from new Philips staff producer and former Four Pennies member David ‘Fritz’ Fryer. Less than a week after Fryer had chanced upon the band playing in a club, The Good Thing Brigade were recording their first single. . . . [They] decided to change their name to Jason Crest, inspired by a typically oddball . . . tribute . . . to an imaginary composer.
Record Collector 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era
Richie Unterberger adds:
Jason Crest were one of many, many British groups who got to record a few psychedelic rock tracks in the late ’60s without having much sales or renown to show for it. . . . While not nearly as good or special as top-flight British psych bands like Procol Harum, whom they occasionally resembled, they were one of the better acts among the little-known U.K. psych groups who recorded a few rare releases. In Jason Crest’s case, these were limited to five non-hit singles, released on Philips in 1968 and 1969. . . . Part of Jason Crest’s problems commercially might have been that their style wasn’t easy to describe, nor especially well-suited to the singles market of the time. While it had much in common with the storytelling/fairytale whimsy of late-’60s British pop-psychedelia, it was moodier and more meditative than most such music, and often put hymnal organ to the fore.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jason-crest-mn0000530991#biography
Was Procol Harum a psych band? Well, anyway, “A Place in the Sun” shines on brightly, indeed!
Pay to Play! The Off the Charts Spotify Playlist! + Brace for the Obscure 60s Rock Merchandise
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