THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
2,127) Clouds — “Make No Bones About It”
This early non-album A-side by the Scottish band that essentially created UK prog rock is “one of the behemoths of UK folky pop-sike dancers in my world” (oscarowski, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHaMzp87w1w), “melancholy, winsome but fast beat, groove”. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHaMzp87w1w) Alan Clayson writes that:
[I]t’d be 1969 before an attempt was made to bottle th[eir] onstage verve on disc. . . . [A]n exploratory Clouds single, “Make No Bones About It”, with composer [and organist Billy] Ritchie on lead vocals, in March . . . . Despite (or because of) a catchy chorus, critiques were disappointing and it made what would be a depressingly familiar journey to the deletion rack.
“I don’t doubt it that a dog would have a better life”
Bruce Eder tells us of Clouds:
Clouds were a promising psychedelic-cum-prog-rock band who never found the commercial success to match their critical raves. . . . [T]he trio’s roots were in Scotland and trailed back to the mid-’60s. Ian Ellis (vocals) and Harry Hughes (drums) originally teamed up as part of a Brit-beat band called the Premiers, formed in Edinburg in 1964. . . . It was decided that an organ would help the sound of the band, and Billy Ritchie joined. Bandleader/producer Cyril Stapleton recorded a few sides with the group in London but was unable to interest any record companies in their work, and it was at that point that the band disintegrated, leaving Ellis, Ritchie, and Hughes, who decided to go it alone as a trio, with Ellis taking over on bass in addition to his singing. They also took on a new name, 1-2-3, and began writing their own material, all in a decidedly psychedelic mode — coupled with their new sound, they soon found themselves lacking an audience in Edinburg, and headed for London, believing (correctly) that they’d get a better hearing there. They began building a cult audience among general listeners and a respectful following among their fellow musicians after a series of shows at the Marquee Club. . . . Ritchie’s playing and their overall sound began to attract serious critical attention. And they were signed up by Brian Epstein’s NEMS management company in the spring of 1967 . . . . died with Epstein that summer, however, and it was back to the London clubs for the trio. Lightning struck a second time when Terry Ellis, a young, aspiring manager and producer, saw them at a gig and signed them up. . . . [T]he group — now rechristened Clouds — was signed to Island Records. They also got to tour America, where the critical reception was more than enthusiastic . . . . Their debut album on Island, entitled Scrapbook, was a quasi-concept album, with beginning and end pieces and an array of songs that ranged from psychedelic pop to spaced-out, highly progressive and experimental art rock. Island put their work out in front of the British public throughout 1969, on singles and sampler albums, and heavily promoted their debut, and the critical response was highly favorable, as were their concert reviews. [But Terry Ellis’s management company] had made a decision to devote its efforts and promotional budget to a rival act, Jethro Tull. Gradually, Clouds got lost in the shuffle . . . . [I]n the U.S., an album called Up Above Our Heads appeared . . . while in England a second LP, Watercolour Days, was issued, showing up in 1971. Clouds called it quits late that year, their moment having past.
Please read Alan Clayson’s riveting history of Clouds, with the band’s bitterness front and center over how other UK bands translated their innovations into fame and fortune, without a word of thanks — https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/the-clouds-atlas.
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