THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,112) Nirvana — “Melanie Blue”
This “transcendant” (Flight_Sensations (cortesy of Google Translate), https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/nirvana/all-of-us/) song is nirvana — a “great example[] of tasteful melding of mildly progressive pop and real orchestral strings” (ClemofNazareth, https://www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=14717), “us[ing] rippling harp and a cerise chorus to light . . . . [a] touching glimpse into post-hip domesticity”. (Andrew Darlington, https://andrewdarlington.blogspot.com/2017/03/nirvana-original-rainbow-chasers.html?m=1)
David Wells writes that “Nirvana’s [see #287, 391, 457, 1,238, 1,525, 1,712] sound involves “mystical, gently romantic lyrics . . . [with a] breathy falsetto and a gorgeous combination of soft psych/pop melodic flair and baroque-flavoured arrangements that incorporated the use of cello and French horn.” (Record Collector: 100 Greatest Psychedelic Records: High Times and Strange Tales from Rock’s Most Mind-Blowing Era)
Steven McDonald sketches the band’s early history:
Nirvana appeared in 1967, starting as a six-piece led by Patgrick Campbell-Lyon from Ireland, and Alex Spyropoulos from Greece. They were quickly signed to the fledgling Island label, which had formed out of Chris Blackwell’s street-level R&B and rocksteady label operations, when Blackwell recognized a need to hook into the exploding psychedelic genre of the time. The first LP to emerge was the science-fiction concept album, The Story of Simon Simopath, which yielded their second single, “Pentecost Hotel” [see #287] (their first and third singles appeared on the follow-up, All of Us). The band’s early performances yielded something of an audience, but this did not translate into explosive sales in England or America, though the band achieved some success in Europe. Winnowing down to the core duo of Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos, Nirvana continued to release singles from All of Us, with the title track [see #1,525] going on to be selected as the theme song for The Touchables, while “Rainbow Chaser,” [see #1,238] an almost-hit, came to be considered a classic psychedelic outing.
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/nirvana-mn0000355142#biography
Let me sprinkle some Oregano:
Nirvana, the nonchalantly enigmatic duo of Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos . . . . releas[ed] a brace of the most airily accessible and mercilessly hooky albums to have floated into being in the culturally charged domain of 1967 and ’68, without sacrificing a neutrino of integrity. . . . [We must] ponder anew why Nirvana didn’t make a deeper impression on the malleable hearts of the record-buying public. They fared rather better in mainland Europe, admittedly, where their billowing, romantic, sumptuously arranged and gracefully baroque compositions were tailor-made for trailing fingers in petal-strewn lakes on warm nights and contemplating Greco-Roman statuary. Nevertheless, their comparatively brief entry in the historical record remains mystifying when they were the perfect panacea for intense times. [A]n ambrosial, benevolent air blew over them and lightly draped a paisley pattern over most everything they recorded. Theirs was a sonic picture unassailed by acid horrors . . . . For the most part, this was sweet-natured, serenely uplifting mood music for the watering of ferns and the lighting of joss sticks; and even in the hard light of 1968, when the compass-overboard hedonism of the previous year had tipped over into revolution, riots and a return to rock, you still had the option of sinking into Nirvana’s plushly-upholstered sound cave of incense, patchouli, silks and satins after a hard day at the barricades.
Was that a bit tongue-in-cheek? Who knows, but don’t bogart the patchouli.
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