THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,688) The Master’s Apprentices — “Brigette”
This pop psych/baroque pop masterwork by Australia’s Master’s Apprentices (see #297) reached #27 in Melbourne. It was “the first [Doug] Ford/[Jim] Keays collaboration and it was a[] pleasant dose of flowerpop with a Beatlesque melody line, wafting lyrics, and extravagant string arrangement and lively female backing vocals.” (Ian McFarlane, liner notes to the CD reissue of The Master’s Apprentices)
The definitive Milesago: Australasian Music & Popular Culture 1964-1975 says of the song that “Keays reckons the song was partly inspired by [his] love of Donovan’s ‘Mellow Yellow’, although it bears a suspicious resemblance to some of The Move’s earlier singles, particularly ‘Night Of Fear’. The chintzy, go-for-baroque arrangement included a string section scored by The Strangers’ [see #1,675] John Farrar . . . .” (http://www.milesago.com/MainFrame.htm)
Richie Unterberger writes of the Masters:
One could easily make the case for designating the Masters Apprentices as the best Australian rock band of the ’60s. Featuring singer Jim Keats and songwriter/ rhythm guitarist Mick Bower, the band’s earliest recordings combined the gritty R&B/rock of Brits like the Pretty Things with the minor-key melodies of the Yardbirds. . . . Bower left the group after suffering a nervous breakdown in late 1967, and the Masters grew steadily less interesting, moving from flower pop and hard rock to progressive and acoustic sounds. Plagued by instability (undergoing eight personnel changes between 1966 and 1968), the group moved to England in the early ’70s, achieving some cult success with progressive rock albums before breaking up in 1972.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-masters-apprentices-mn0000399622#biography
Milesago:
If The Easybeats were “Australia’s Beatles”, then there is no doubt that, as Stan Rofe said, The Masters Apprentices were Australia’s Rolling Stones. . . . Along with the Easybeats and the Twilights, they were one of the “could-have-been” bands, who tried valiantly to break into the British and international charts. Like both those bands they were ultimately unsuccessful in their attempts . . . . The Masters were hugely popular throughout Australia, releasing hit after hit in their seven-year career, and they were consistently hailed as one of Australia’s best live and recording acts. Their career encompassed all the changes in Australian music from 1965 to 1972; they started out as an instrumental band, rose to prominence during the beat boom, moved through psychedelia and “bubblegum’ pop, finally became one the first and best progressive hard rock groups of the early Seventies.
Kimbo gives some history:
The Mustangs were a surf music instrumental/dance band formed in Adelaide in 1964 with Mick Bower on rhythm guitar, Rick Morrison on lead guitar, Brian Vaughton on drums and Gavin Webb on bass guitar. Initially they played covers of The Shadows and The Ventures songs. The Mustangs changed style and took on a lead singer, Scottish immigrant, Jim Keays. The Mustangs established themselves on the thriving Adelaide dance circuit by playing in suburban halls and migrant hostels. They built a following with local teenagers, including migrants from the UK, which were an early influence on the band as they were directly in touch with current mod fashions, not as widely known in Australia. In late 1965, The Mustangs renamed themselves as The Masters Apprentices . . . . By early 1966 they were one of the most popular beat bands in Adelaide, later in 1966, The Masters Apprentices shared a gig with pop star Bobby Bright of Melbourne duo Bobby & Laurie, who was impressed and recommended them to his label, Astor Records. A few weeks later, they were contacted by Astor, which requested a four-track demo. The band went to a local two-track studio to record it but realised that they had only three suitable songs to record. Needing a fourth track, guitarists Bower and Morrison wrote a new song, “Undecided”. The band relocated to Melbourne in February 1967 . . . . “Undecided” raced up the Melbourne charts to peak at #9 locally. In May 1967 “Buried and Dead” was released as their second single . . . . In June, Astor released the group’s self-titled debut LP, The Master’s Apprentices . . . . Their next single, Bower’s “Living in a Child’s Dream”, is regarded as an early example of Australian psychedelic rock and one of their greatest pop songs. . . . Released in August at the peak of the Summer of Love, it reached Top Ten in most Australian capitals and peaked at #9 on Go-Set’s Top 40. . . . The loss of Bower was a blow that threatened to end the band’s career as it was taking off. Bower . . . ha[d] written (or co-written) all their singles and all original tracks on their debut album. His forced departure left the group floundering, and they continued with de facto leadership passing to Keays. At the end of September, Keays and Webb chose Bower’s replacement, guitarist Rick Harrison . . . from Adelaide. Harrison quit soon after and they recruited another lead guitarist, Peter Tilbrook from Adelaide . . . . As 1967 ended the band’s career reached a critical juncture. In Sydney, Keays met two brothers, bass guitarist and singer Denny Burgess . . . and drummer Colin Burgess, both had played in a support band, The Haze, at a gig in suburban Ashfield. Keays was impressed and considered them for possible new members. Keays then approached Doug Ford, an innovative electric guitarist from the second line-up of Sydney garage rock band The Missing Links [see #1,328, 1,684] . . . . The new recruits revitalised the band’s career. Ford was a strong songwriter, a good singer and an accomplished electric guitarist who brought a new depth to the band’s sound. He and Keays began working as a writing team. Ford’s arrival filled the gap left by Bowers’ departure and made possible their transition from pop band to rock group. “Elevator Driver”—written for them by Brian Cadd of The Grooop . . . went #27. In April 1968 bassist Gavin Webb . . . was forced to quit, suffering from stomach ulcers. Tilbrook switched to bass guitar for a few months before Glenn Wheatley . . . joined them on bass and Tilbrook reverted back to guitar. In December 1968, Tilbrook left . . . . 1969 began with The Masters Apprentices signing with record giant EMI, settling their new line-up and the Ford/Keays writing team hitting its stride. The band now moved to its best-remembered and most successful phase. The long-awaited first EMI single was moderately successful . . . [but] was something of a false start artistically, “Linda Linda[“] . . . . Their next single, the rocky “5:10 Man” . . . peaked at #16 on the Go-Set Singles Chart. In 1969 the band left for the UK by ship. They entered the studio at Abbey Road studios in London in September 1970 to record the album Choice Cuts. . . . The songs they brought to the sessions—many written during the voyage—were original and distinctive, distilling their recent musical influences. . . . . includ[ing] the heavier sounds of Hendrix, King Crimson and Free, as well as the acoustic styles of Donovan, the Small Faces and Van Morrison . . . . [T]he first single . . . “Because I Love You” . . . became a popular and enduring recording. In January 1972, EMI issued the new album, A Toast to Panama Red, and . . . they lifted a single from it, the anthemic “Love Is” . . . . Without adequate support, both LP and single sank without trace in Australia, in spite of their high quality. . . . The band] finally split[] in mid-1972.
https://historyofaussiemusic.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-masters-apprentices.html
As to Ford and Keays, Glenn Baker writes that “the partnership, formed out of sheer necessity, went on to become one of the most acclaimed Australian writing teams ever.” (liner notes to the CD comp Hands of Time: The Masters Apprentices 1965-72)
Milesago adds:
Doug Ford . . . . [was] already recognised as one of the strongest and most innovative electric guitarists on the scene. . . . His recruitment helped to revitalise the Masters in many ways: he was a proficient songwriter, a good singer, his mastery of the guitar brought a new breadth to the band’s sound and — most importantly for Keays — he was “keen as mustard”. . . . [O]nce in the band, Doug and Jim worked on developing as a writing team. Ford’s presence was crucial to filling the gap left by Mick Bowers’ departure and making the transition from pop band to rock group. As the partnership developed, Keays and Ford created a repertoire of memorable songs which balanced heavy guitar rock with lyrical acoustic touches. . . . [When] the Ford/Keays writing team hitting its stride, the band now moved into its best-remembered and most successful phase.
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