THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,809) The Glass Sun — “Silence of the Morning”
Two Michigan brothers restart/rename their band after coming home from Vietnam and crank out an “out of sight [’71] single[] . . . [a] garage-fuzz classic” (Klemen Breznikar, https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2017/09/glass-sun-interview-with-rick-ro.html), “simply amazing heavy psych” (Vinylmusicfan1999, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/glass_sun/silence_of_the_morning___oh_sandy/), “absolutely undeniable killer music” (sloanwolf, https://www.discogs.com/es/release/12417370-The-Glass-Sun-Band-Cyclonic-Review?srsltid=AfmBOooGghPCB1eNzDvQw35EEUlSK_FYiFFPq9VlfbVdfQONjMoxvItA), a “[p]sychedelic fuzzed up killer” (liner notes to the CD comp Incredible Sound Show Stories Vol. 1: The Technicolour Milkshake), “one of the best in the US panorama of the early seventies”, “[g]aragey but very solid US heavy psych/acid rock” (roquecolor, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/single/glass_sun/silence_of_the_morning___oh_sandy/) Francis Ford Coppola should have put this in Apocalypse Now.
Klemen Breznikar interviewed bassist Rick Roll for It’s Psychedelic Baby Magazine:
[RR] Originally at the age of 16 a few of my friends and I formed a band I called Rick Roll and the Auroras. We recorded a couple of tunes, and played at the local WMCA before the band broke up. At that point I joined up with my brother Bruce Roll and our friend Danny Sills to form a new band. We originally called ourselves the Cyclones up until my brother and I came back from the Vietnam war service we then changed our name to the Glass Sun. We played several local venues over the years which included The Walled Lake Casino, and the Westland Army Navy Union Hall. In later years we played our own local jam session, at the VFW Halls and on our own properties.
. . . .
[KB] You released your singles on Sound Patterns Record. What can you tell us about “Silence Of The Morning” . . . ?
[RR] “Silence Of The Morning”[] first started as a fuzz guitar lick, but became a monster of song concerned personal loss. It’s put together to be a thought about any kind of a situation. . . .
[KB] “Silence Of The Morning” is one of the fuzziest songs. What’s the story behind it?
[RR] Simply, my brother Bruce’s special guitar sound, with the extended notes, you can feel the guitar strokes and licks as he transfers his feelings upon the frets.
[KB] Did the single garner any radio airplay?
[RR] Not back in the the 70’s or 80’s. Now later with the Internet and Garage band shows on the radio it is being played all over the world!
[KB] What influenced the band’s sound?
[RR] Once we reunited after the Vietnam war, I guess we had all these feelings pent up in us, and we had all learned so much more playing with other musicians during that time we were apart. We came back loud and strong, ready to play again, after listening to the great[]s like Iron Butterfly [see #1,040, 1,543], Led Zeppelin [see #110, 589] and Cream.
. . . .
[KB] Can you tell us when were those singles recorded?
[RR] . . . . “Silence Of The Morning” . . . [was] written in 1968 while I was stationed in Vietnam and Japan. [It was] recorded in 1971. The second single was recorded in 1972.
Only 300 copies were pressed. (CeeJay, https://loudhorizon.com/2023/11/05/glass-sun/)
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