THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,624) The Majority — “Wait by the Fire”
This B-side, co-written by Chip “Wild Thing” Taylor (and Al Gorgoni), is an “[a]mazing find of PURE MAGIC”. (liner notes to the CD comp Fading Yellow: Volume 4: Timeless UK 60’s Popsike & Other Delights) It was “[a]rranged to maximize The Majority’s (see #1,440) vocal abilities and with the group’s line-up augmented with subtle orchestration and vibes, the band turned [it] into a haunting, minor key pop classic that compares favorably with similar efforts by the Zombies.” (Stefan Granados, liner notes to the CD comp The Majority: The Decca Years 1965-68)
Incidentally, the Majority itself considered the A-side “so horrible that they kept it off their compilation CD. Stefan Granados writes that:
[The Majority] kicked off 1967 with their first major mis-step, a horrific cover of the old pop standard “I Hear a Rhapsody[]” . . . . Decca had presumably hoped that pairing the group with hit making producer Ivor Raymonde might reward The Majority . . . . [It] had no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
liner notes to the CD comp The Majority: The Decca Years 1965-68
As to the Majority, Richie Unterberger tells us:
The Majority issued eight U.K. singles on Decca between 1965 and 1968 without reaching the British charts, though they were a reasonably accomplished band, especially in the vocal harmony department. . . . [It] sounded more American than the typical British Invasion band, with harmonies and, usually, material more in line with U.S. pop/rock acts like the Beach Boys and sunshine pop groups than most of their U.K. peers. While it’s fairly enjoyable stuff, it’s easy to hear why they became a sort of “in-between” group, with too much going for them to get dropped from their label, but not enough going for them to score hit records. One reason is that they didn’t establish much of an identity, their arrangements veering from mild British Invasion sounds to quasi-Walker Brothers productions and late-’60s British orchestrated pop with the slightest of psychedelic touches. Another is that none of their material, most of it supplied by outside writers, was particularly great, though it was usually pleasant (if not much more). They did do songs by some outstanding composers, including Chip Taylor, who co-wrote “Wait by the Fire,” and the Bee Gees, whose “All Our Christmases” [see #1,440] was never issued by the Bee Gees themselves. . . .
Of the many British Invasion-era bands that never had a hit . . . the Majority had more staying power than most . . . . They never quite found a consistent stylistic direction or great material, however, before changing their name to Majority One in the late ’60s. Formed in Hull, England, as the Mustangs in the early ’60s, they changed their name to the Majority around the time they moved to London in 1965. . . . [T]hey tried their hand at a variety of material over the next few years, most of it coming from outside songwriters. As a minor coup of sorts, for their second single, 1965’s “A Little Bit of Sunlight,” they managed to gain access to a Ray Davies composition that never found a place on a 1960s Kinks record . . . . In search of chart material, the Majority also tried compositions written or co-written by such luminaries as John Carter [see #1,201, 1,304], Twice as Much, and Chip Taylor. But they never hit a commercial or artistic gold mine, the production varying from the lush to straightforward mod-ish rock. . . . After some major lineup shuffles and work backing singer Barry Ryan in concert and in the studio, the Majority relocated to France, where they renamed themselves Majority One in 1969 and continued their recording career with a similar but more sophisticated musical approach.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-decca-years-1965-68-mw0000824899, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-majority-mn0000058153#biography
By the way, Taylor and Gorgoni had originally recorded “Wait by the Fire” on their I Can’t Grow Peaches on a Cherry Tree LP (as Just Us). Richie Unterberger writes of the LP that:
[It] isn’t folk-rock; it’s polite pop-folk, and more easy listening pop than folk. . . . The songs — most of them original . . . are mildly pleasant but unmemorably milquetoast, occasionally pushed even more toward easy listening territory with string arrangements. . . . [A] few of the more haunting numbers have a melodramatic cast that might have made them more suitable for theatrical musicals than pop records.
https://www.allmusic.com/album/i-cant-grow-peaches-on-a-cherry-tree-mw0001368653
Here is Just Us:
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