Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! / Off the Charts: 60s Rock Revelations😊

We the People — “My Brother the Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 12, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,301) We the People — “My Brother the Man”

“Whoop Whoop Whoop Whoop”: We the People (see #495, 850) give us “a smoking, almost-crazed, hard garage-punk number” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/artist/we-the-people-mn0000816941) with a “rip-roaring psych guitar” (The Listening Post Blog, https://thelisteningpostblog.wordpress.com/2017/05/25/song-of-the-day-we-the-people-my-brother-the-man/), a “great piece … desperate & wild !!!!!!!” (marcocasas6148, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3rTA7IIs8E)

Band member David Duff recalls that it was “[t]he first song we recorded . . . on Hotline Records, our own label. We got a box of records, 500, I think. That’s all that were
pressed.” (https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/09/we-people-interview.html)

Steve Leggett bemoans the fact that We the People “never captured any kind of national attention, which is hard to believe given the vitality, quality, and proto-punk punch of the band’s material. . . . usually delivered with a punk intensity and sneering vocals that are all the more striking because they are actually based around fully realized melodies.” (https://www.allmusic.com/album/too-much-noise-mw0000796014)

Richie Unterberger gives some history:

One of the most versatile mid-’60s garage groups — indeed, they were for the most part too accomplished and pop-savvy to truly merit the garage band tag — We the People had some big hits in Florida, but never broke out nationally, despite releases on the large RCA and Challenge labels. Veterans of Orlando garage [bands] . . . all found their way into We the People, who made their first single for the local Hotline label, “My Brother the Man,” in early 1966. “My Brother the Man” was a smoking, almost-crazed, hard garage-punk number, a path the band continued to follow on their early Challenge singles “Mirror of Your Mind” and “You Burn Me Up and Down.” . . . Yet at the same time they could throw in gentler and more lyrically and melodically subtle originals . . . . Unusual for a garage band, they boasted two prolific and talented songwriters in Tommy Talton and Wayne Proctor. . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/we-the-people-mn0000816941

Proctor left the band in ’67 as “I had become 1-A on the army’s list, and was sure to be drafted. I knew I had to do something if I didn’t want to go to Vietnam, so I quit the band and enrolled in college.” (https://www.psychedelicbabymag.com/2014/09/we-people-interview.html)

J.M. Dobies gives a sense of the scene:

Summer 1966. At places like the Orlando Youth Center, Leesburg Armory, or the Coconut Teen Club . . . . [h]undreds upon hundreds of teens are dancing to the beat stomped out by one or more of the top local bands. . . . On Monday morning, the band members will be back in class, subject to being hassled by teachers about the length of their hair, but on the weekends, they are rock & roll stars. They’re totally boss, man.

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/music/garage-days-revisited-2259038

Band members Terry Cox and David Duff reflected on the changing scene, giving the most concise, incisive and hilarious analyses of the same that I have ever read:

Terry Cox: “I can almost pinpoint the day where everybody who was dancing around, jumping around, raising hell, packing the place, instead sat down on the floor and expected to hear ‘In-a-Gadda-Da-Vida.’”

David Duff: “The mood changed. And it was a change for the worse. I can remember playing in Gainesville at the University of Florida. We go set up in one of the frat basements and play all night, and there’d be nobody in the room. Everybody was upstairs in their rooms, smoking dope and having sex. I liked it better when everybody danced.”

https://www.orlandoweekly.com/music/garage-days-revisited-2259038

Alternate version:

Here are the Fuzztones:

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Paul Williams — “Someday Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 11, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,300) Paul Williams — “Someday Man”

Paul Williams was only just beginning when he and collaborator Roger Nichols [see #631, 828, 1,054] came up with this wonderful ode to just abiding. And the Monkees (sans Peter Tork) were only just ending when they released it (before Williams) as a cool Davy Jones-sung A-side, only reaching #81.

As to Paul Williams, Mark Deming writes:

Paul Williams remains one of America’s best recognized all-purpose celebrities in the ’70s and ’80s — while plenty of folks are aware that he was a songwriter, vocalist, and instrumentalist, he also acted in movies and television, was a frequent guest on leading talk shows (he appeared on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson over a dozen times), competed on game shows of all sorts, and was as likely to pop up in a Planet of the Apes sequel as he was to write a hit song. . . . Williams developed a passion for both music and acting, and began appearing in school theater productions as well as local talent shows. A medical condition stunted Williams’ growth, preventing him from becoming taller than five feet, two inches, and at one point he considered a career as a jockey. But his love of the stage won out, and Williams did regional theater . . . before returning to California and joining a repertory theater company . . . . Williams hoped to break into the movies, but . . . his career in Hollywood didn’t take off right away. After a spell as a comedy writer . . . Williams teamed up with songwriter Biff Rose, providing lyrics for Rose’s melodies, and the two enjoyed a windfall when Tiny Tim recorded their song “Fill Your Heart.” The tune ended up on the B-side of Tim’s smash single “Tiptoe Through the Tulips,” and after getting his foot in the door of the music business, Williams formed a band with his brother Mentor Williams called the Holy Mackerel [see #24]. . . . but its sole . . . album was a commercial disappointment, and Williams set out on a solo career as he worked on his songwriting. Williams cut his first solo album for Reprise, 1970’s Someday Man, but it fared no better . . . . It was when Williams landed a job as a staff songwriter at A&M Records that his career finally started to click; working with Roger Nichols . . . he penned “Out in the Country,” which became a major hit for Three Dog Night, and the group had major chart success with two other Williams tunes, “Just an Old Fashioned Love Song” and “The Family of Man.” And a tune Williams and Nichols wrote for a bank commercial enjoyed an impressive second life when the Carpenters cut “We’ve Only Just Begun” and it became a massive chart success. . . . [H]e was cast in a supporting role as an orangutan in 1973’s Battle for the Planet of the Apes, and in 1974 he did double duty on Brian DePalma’s cult classic Phantom of the Paradise, composing songs for the film and playing sinister rock & roll mogul Swan. Williams also earned an Oscar nomination for writing the song “Nice to Be Around” for the movie Cinderella Liberty, a Song of the Year nomination after Helen Reddy cut “You and Me Against the World,” and in 1976 he . . . [took] home an Oscar for the love theme from A Star is Born, “Evergreen.” . . . While all this was happening, Williams somehow found time to cut five more albums for A&M . . . . Between his songwriting work and his acting gigs in everything from the TV shows The Odd Couple and The Love Boat (he also co-wrote the theme song for the latter) to the movie Smokey and the Bandit, Williams was seemingly everywhere, and in 1979 he won another Grammy . . . for the song “The Rainbow Connection,” written for The Muppet Movie. . . . [B]y the mid-’80s, Williams’ career had gone into a major slump; by his own admission, he had developed a serious addiction to drugs and alcohol during his years in the spotlight, and it wasn’t until 1990 that he got clean and sober and began rebuilding his life and career.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/paul-williams-mn0000753254#biography

As to the Monkees, Pete Mills writes:

By the time ‘Someday Man’ was issued as a stand-alone single in 1969 . . . the vertiginous drop in the band’s popularity was there for all to see. Peter Tork had quit after the dismal TV special and the commercial belly flop of Head – not because of these failures, but just because it was time. . . . The remaining three . . . ploughed on. . . . Davy Jones finally managed to persuade Screen Gems to allow him to record a song they did not own. . . . [It] allowed Jones to bring in a song by a young singer-songwriter Paul Williams. . . . Davy Jones said that he loved Williams’ work from the first hearing . . . Here was a song which fitted well with Jones’ own interests and strengths, had all the components of a hit in the pop scene of 1969 – a real find. The first hurdle to clamber over was that . . . the watertight contracts which locked in outright ownership of everything Monkee to Columbia and Screen Gems meant that only songs published (that is owned) by Screen Gems would be issued under the band’s name . . . . [P]erhaps the unmissable decline in the group’s commercial fortunes forced something of a rethink and permission was granted to Jones to go ahead and record the song Regardless it is arguable that Jones recording Williams’ tune did him a great favour and him titling his album after the song shows it was to some extent his calling card at this time. It did The Monkees and their fans a favour too, giving us a late career highlight albeit one which drifted by almost unnoticed at the time . . . . Davy reminisced about how he came to record ‘Someday Man’: “I went to Screen Gems many, many times with Paul Williams tunes…but they felt they were too sophisticated. This one was all right. They accepted that.” . . . [Producer] Bones Howe recalled . . . . “Paul Williams and I were friends going back for a long time…I played it for Davy and he liked it. We were able to convince Colgems that we could do an outside song…I kept saying to them ‘Find me another song that’ll knock this one out of the box’. And no-one could find a song that everybody liked better’.”

https://petesounds.home.blog/2023/07/03/tomorrows-a-new-day-baby-someday-man/

The Monkees:

Here is a demo by Paul Williams and Roger Nichols:

Here are the Casuals (UK group based in Italy):

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Price and Sheridan — “Lamp Lighter Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 10, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,299) Price and Sheridan — “Lamp Lighter Man”

Two Brumbeat Move-rs and shakers come up with a wonderful song that “sound[s] like [an] excellent 68/69 era Move outtake[]”. (Jason, https://therisingstorm.net/sheridan-price-this-is-to-certify-that/), or, to my ears, like a lost Neil Diamond almost-anthem.

The song is from an album that is “an astonishingly good collection of the post-Move recordings of Rick Price, both solo and in his collaboration with Birmingham rock singer Mike Sheridan, originally . . . released circa 1970. The music is an often appealing mix of psychedelia, pop/rock, and art rock, rather McCartneyesque at times but in the best possible way”. (Bruce Eder, https://www.allmusic.com/album/this-is-to-certify-gemini-anthology-mw0000378704)

“[T]he pair created some of the most beautiful music of the era . . . chockfull of timeless chamber pop. . . . [A] ‘honeybus’ baroque pop ride . . . was the main one they were taking on the This Is To Certify album”. (Garwood Pickjon, https://popdiggers.com/rick-price-mike-sheridan-this-is-to-certify/)

The LP is “a 24 carat classic of the late 60s British baroque-pop genre, chock-full of winsome melodies, gossamer-light harmopnies and exquisite string arrangements . . . that exists comfortably alongside the best works of Honeybus, or perhaps even the Move of ‘Beautiful Daughter’ and ‘The Girl Outside.’ (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Rick Price & Mike Sheridan: This Is to Certify: The Gemini Anthology)

Jason:

This is one of the better albums coming from the Move family tree. It was released in 1970 though it has a clear 1967/1968 sound and is one of the best albums of its kind. Rick Price entered the Move sometime in the late 60s, contributing bass and guitar to “Shazam“, “Looking On” and “Message From The Country.” Mike Sheridan had previously been leader of the Nightriders which were a Birmingham group that specialized in the merseybeat sound and 50s rock n roll. The Nightriders were sort of a breeding ground for future Move members, most importantly Roy Wood. During Price’s tenure with the Move, he and Sheridan started writing songs together for the above album. Both Sheridan and Price share vocals and writing chores on an album that veers into power pop, psychedelia, sunshine pop and progressive pop. There are horn and string arrangements on this beautiful album that recall some of Paul McCartney’s soft moments on the Beatles’ classic White Album (think “Martha My Dear” or even the Move’s great “Beautiful Daughter”). . . . This is an exceptional if little known Move album . . . .”

https://therisingstorm.net/sheridan-price-this-is-to-certify-that/

As to Rick Price, Bruce Eder writes:

Rick Price was probably the least-known member of the Move, if only because he never really established a well-defined musical (or personal) identity of his own . . . . This is to Certify: The Gemini Anthology, released at the start of the 1970s, seems hardly to have sold at all in its own time. . . . Price was born in Birmingham, England . . . . His earliest band of any note was the Cimarrons, who sounded a lot like the Shadows (or tried to). . . . [H]e moved on to the Sombreros, who changed their name to Sight & Sound a little later. Their original focus was harmony vocals, their influences the Four Seasons and the Beach Boys, but by 1967 they’d started doing songs in keeping with the psychedelic boom. And by that time, Price had started a songwriting partnership with Mike Sheridan, the former leader of Mike Sheridan & the Nightriders. The group recorded three singles, “Ebenezer,” “Little Jackie Monday,” and “Alley Alley,” all co-written by the duo and none successful. The group eventually deteriorated into more of a musical comedy outfit. One day in early 1969, after a performance in front of a club audience that included Roy Wood, the leader/principal composer of the Move . . . offered him a spot in the group. He joined just as “Blackberry Way” was making its way up the U.K. charts to number one. He was with them through the brief period of cabaret performances, plus their first (and only) tour of the United States, and lasted two years with the group. Price even recorded most of the original bass parts to the first Electric Light Orchestra album, although the latter were re-recorded by Wood . . . . From there, Price moved into an ultimately unhappy contractual relationship with Gemini Records, recording This Is to Certify . . . . Then he was . . . in an outfit called Light Fantastic, who showed a lot of promise but could never get it together in terms of recording. This was followed by a stint in the progressive rock band Mongrel . . . . From there it was on to Wizzard, Roy Wood’s new band . . . . last[ing] through 1975, then Price moved on to the Wizzo Band, playing pedal steel guitar, no less.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/rick-price-mn0000357165#biography

As to Mike Sheridan, 45cat.com writes:

[A]t age 19 Mike began to play piano in the Maypole pub on Saturday nights. One night a Teddy Boy approached Mike and said he was entering a competition in which the aim was to find the ‘Elvis of the Midlands’ and asked Mike to back him on piano. The ‘Elvis’ got through to the final round . . . but didn’t show up. Mike was asked if he’d like to continue and won the competition as a singing pianist. While working a regular Friday night playing piano . . . Cyril Viles asked Mike if he would like to join . . . The Chequers. Mike . . . joined . . . adopting the stage name of Mike Sheridan. . . . The group played a few gigs and members changed frequently . . . . Upon Billy King’s departure the group became Mike Sheridan and The Night Riders . . . . [A]n EMI producer for Columbia records, came up to Birmingham for a two day audition of local beat groups . . . . Mike Sheridan and The Night Riders were one of the five groups to pass the audition . . . . The five groups . . . were signed . . . to the Columbia label. [They] were sent the test recording of “Tell Me What’Cha Gonna Do” to rehearse. . . . [T]he single was a flop. . . . “Please Mr. Postman” . . . . failed to chart [but] sold well locally and gained the band a favourable reputation. . . . Roy [Wood] joined . . . after answering an ad in the Birmingham Post & Mail. . . . [and led] them into harmonies and introduced comedy into the act on stage by doing impersonations of Donovan and Dusty Springfield while wearing a suitable wig. The first single to be recorded with Roy Wood on guitar and backing vocals was a cover of The Shirelles’ “What a Sweet Thing that Was” . . . released in June 1964. This was followed by recording a version of The Rip Chords’ “Here I Stand[.]” In early 1965, the group went to Germany to undertake a series of bookings. Upon their return . . . the group name was changed to Mike Sheridan’s Lot. . . . Their final single released at the beginning of January 1966, was “Don’t Turn Your Back on Me” . . . . [T]he band had almost played throughout the entire country, acting as support for the likes of The Beatles, The Who, Small Faces, Them . . . and many others. Roy Wood left . . . to become a founding member of . . . The Move . . . . Mike Sheridan carried on . . . for a short while before he also left . . . . [A] young guitarist named Jeff Lynne . . . answered an advertisement in the local paper, bec[ame a] new member. . . . The Nightriders became The Idle Race. Mike Sheridan would later become a member of Sight and Sound that also included Rick Price, followed by recording as Sheridan and finally hooking up with Rick Price to record as Sheridan and Price. Mike Sheridan would also record an album of material with the members of Wizzard sans Roy Wood as Elmer Goodbody Jnr but only one single was released.

https://www.45cat.com/biography/mike-sheridan-and-the-night-riders

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Harry Nilsson — “Yellow Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 9, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,298) Harry Nilsson — “Yellow Man”

Randy Newman [see #174] as interpreted by Ella Fitzgerald, Harry Nilsson [see #1,168], Randy Newman and Georgie Fame [see #103, 169, 634, 695, 721, 1,044] with Alan Price. As irony has been outlawed, the song might not fare too well today. The song is, in Randy’s words, “a pinhead’s view of China” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EmSnTMVlKLs) “People still don’t get Randy Newman mocks the racist in his songs.” (orbison, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsTZUC4FG08)

Schmilsson’s is the best cover version. His “own songwriting was often wry and whimsical, so he was at ease tackling the tongue-in-cheek stereotyping” going on here. (Angel Aguilar, https://www.noripcord.com/features/overlooked-albums-32-harry-nilsson-nilsson-sings-newman) Fame and Price come in second.

Nilsson’s cover comes from his ‘70 album of Randy Newman’s songs. “Harry Nilsson introduced Newman to the world through a stunning album of interpretations of his songs (with Newman himself playing piano!)”. (Elusive Disc, https://elusivedisc.com/harry-nilsson-nilsson-sings-newman-180g-lp-1/)

Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes about the album:

[G]enerally regarded as the album that introduced Randy Newman the songwriter to a wide audience, Nilsson Sings Newman has gained a reputation of being an minor masterwork. . . . It’s deliberately an album of subtle pleasures, crafted, as the liner notes state, line by line in the studio. As such, the preponderance of quiet piano-and-voice tracks . . . means the record can slip away upon the first few listens, especially for anyone expecting an undeniable masterpiece. Yet, a masterpiece is what this is, albeit a subtle, graceful masterpiece where the pleasure is in the grace notes, small gestures, and in-jokes. Not to say that this is devoid of emotion; it’s just that the emotion is subdued . . . . For an album that introduced a songwriter as idiosyncratic as Newman, it’s only appropriate that Nilsson’s interpretations are every bit as original as the songs. His clear intonation and sweet, high voice are more palatable than Randy’s slurred, bluesy growl . . . . He’s created gentle, intricate arrangements of tuneful yet clever songs, and as such, the album may be as much an acquired taste as Newman. Once you’ve acquired that taste, this is as sweet as honey.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/nilsson-sings-newman-mw0001961763

As to Nilsson’s early years, Richie Unterberger writes:

Although he synthesized disparate elements of both rock and pop traditions, singer/songwriter Harry Nilsson[‘s] . . . allegiance belonged to neither. He’s best-known for his versions of other people’s songs but he was a skilled composer . . . . Nilsson had been struggling to make inroads into the music business for . . . years . . . . He made demos, sang commercial jingles, and shopped songs, all the while keeping his job at a Los Angeles area bank. In the mid-’60s, he wrote a few songs with Phil Spector that were recorded by the Ronettes . . . . The Monkees recorded his “Cuddly Toy,” and the Yardbirds did “Ten Little Indians” . . . . But Nilsson didn’t quit his bank job until after the release of Pandemonium Shadow Show [in ‘67, which] caught the attention of the Beatles. . . . John Lennon and Paul McCartney named him as their favorite American singer at a press conference, an extraordinary accolade for an unknown. . . . Three Dog Night took his “One” into the Top Ten in 1969, and Nilsson’s second LP, Aerial Ballet, continued the ambitious pop/rock direction of his debut, marrying his slightly eccentric, bouncy (if sometimes precious) tunes to Baroque orchestral production. When one of its songs, “Everybody’s Talkin’,” was used as the theme for the Midnight Cowboy film, Nilsson had his first Top Ten hit. . . . It was another cover (of . . . Badfinger . . . ) that gave him . . . the number one smash “Without You.” . . . [H]e never performed in concert . . . preferring to craft his artistry in the studio.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/harry-nilsson-mn0000560208#biography

Here’s Randy:

Here’s Randy live in ’70:

Here’s, yes, Ella:

Here are Georgie and Alan:

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Man in a Suitcase Special Edition: Ron Grainer/Alexander Stone: Ron Grainer — “Man in a Suitcase Theme”, Alexander Stone — “Man in a Suitcase”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 8, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

Famed Australian TV/film music composer Ron Grainer’s greatest creation (OK, other than the Dr. Who and The Prisoner themes!) was the theme to the ’67-68 British action/espionage TV series Man in a Suitcase. “Possibly the coolest theme tune ever!” (thefrecklepuny, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L8YTd0rfK0), “[t]he most powerful TV theme tune from the 60’s” (ColinPottersBar, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6L8YTd0rfK0), “[f]antastic theme, as ever from the great Ron Grainer”. (kali3665, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTjRgl4omHQ)

Then, in 1970, Alexander Stone (now that’s a name made for a spy series) “transform[ed the theme] into a Fuzz Psych Groover VOCAL with girl group backing. . . . [v]ery cool” (teabiscuit, https://www.45cat.com/record/gms003), “A BRILLIANT MOD STYLE KILLER.A GREAT VOCAL VERSION OF THE RON GRAINER TUNE MAN IN A SUITCASE.SOME GREAT FUZZ OVERLOAD”. (https://www.popsike.com/ALEXANDER-STONE-MAN-IN-A-SUITCASE-RARE-FREAKBEAT-PSYCH/4740671470.html)

WTF?

1,296) Ron Grainer — “Man in a Suitcase Theme”

Ruud:

Ron Grainer was one of the outstanding composers of music for British television. He was born in a small town called Atherton, Queensland, Australia on 11th August 1922, where his father owned the local milk bar. His mother played piano and Ron was on the keyboard from the age of two and considered a child genius, playing concerts for the local community by the age of six. He also showed the first sign of his versatility at the tender age of four when he began to learn the violin, practicing for two hours before and after school. In order to develop this talent further, he also studied the piano to such a level that, by his early teens he was a proficient performer on both instruments. . . . [H]e studied music under . . . at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music, but this was interrupted by World War II. He was called up to serve in the army on the islands after Japan invaded and Australia sent forces to monitor planes flying over. It was there that a barrel crashed against his leg when he was travelling in a truck and they had to drive over open ground very fast. He managed to get one leg over the tailgate but the other leg was crushed. There were no doctors at the base and he was in terrible pain and unconscious for several days before he was given medical treatment, by then ostiomialitus had entered the bone marrow. They wanted to amputate but he couldn’t have survived the anaesthetic, so he did not lose his leg but was in and out of hospital for years and received an army disability pension.

https://www.johnbarry.org.uk/rongrainer/biography

Bruce Eder:

Ron Grainer was something of a fixture in pop music in England during the 1960s, and as a composer at least two of his creations — the title theme from Doctor Who and the title theme for The Prisoner — remain known to millions of people around the world . . . . After studying at the Sydney Conservatory of Music, he decided to go to England to pursue a career in classical music, but once there he found himself sidetracked into popular music. His skills as a pianist placed him in great demand as an accompanist, to homegrown talent and also to visiting singers . . . . It was from his work as an accompanist and rehearsal pianist with the BBC that led to his first engagement as a composer, of music for plays presented by the radio and television service. That, in turn, led Grainer to his first assignment in scoring a regular television series, Maigret, based on the books by Georges Simenon, the title music from which — utilizing an array of then little-heard, archaic instruments, including the harpsichord and the clavichord — became a hit composition . . . . Grainer was suddenly in heavy demand as a television composer, and his later successes included Comedy Playhouse and Steptoe and Son, the latter one of the most important and influential British comedies of the 1960s . . . . He also moved into film scoring and into producing rock & roll music at approximately this same time. . . . [T]elevision and movie soundtracks — at which he was already proficient and writing profitably — held his attention from 1964 onward. Grainer’s first crack at musical immortality came in 1963 when he was assigned to write the music for a new science fiction/adventure series entitled Doctor Who. Grainer went to town on this title theme, indulging his taste for unusual instrumentation to the fullest — it was a mysterious yet exciting piece of music made up of what seemed like unearthly sounds, most notably the Ondes Martinot, a close cousin to the theremin . . . . Grainer continued writing film and television music for the next decade, and showed a unique ability to absorb and assimilate the characteristics of the changing popular music around him. His main title theme for the espionage/adventure series Man in a Suitcase was thoroughly in his own style, but it also displayed characteristics resembling the Beatles’ “Good Day Sunshine” and the Tremeloes’ “Suddenly You Love Me.” His big triumph, however, was the title theme to The Prisoner — ironically, his proposed music was initially rejected by creator/star Patrick McGoohan, until he speeded it up. Coupling romping horns, jangling electric guitar, and a relentless beat, it was a striking opening to the 17 episodes of the series . . . and Grainer himself reused the same thematic material in his score for the science fiction thriller The Omega Man (1971). Grainer’s health had been an issue since the early ’60s, when his eyesight had begun failing. In the early ’70s, he developed further vision problems and left his career behind for several years’ rest. He returned to composing at the end of the 1970s, most notably on the Roald Dahl-inspired series Tales of the Unexpected.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ron-grainer-mn0000234469#biography

What was Man in a Suitcase about? Kevin Steinhauer explains:

McGill (known as “Mac”) is a former U.S. intelligence agent based in London. After being thrown out of the agency for something he did not do, he finds his infamous reputation has preceded him everywhere he goes. To make ends meet he takes odd and intriguing “private eye” jobs throughout Europe, all the while trying to clear his name.

https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0062583/plotsummary/?ref_=tt_ov_pl

How did it come about? David Gideon explains that:

In the 60s ABC imported several British shows to fill holes in the US schedule, including ‘The Baron’, ‘Court Martial’, and the present title ‘Man in a Suitcase’. Each of these starred an American actor so the Brits knew that would make them commercially viable in the US; conversely, ABC by virtue of its investment would have some influence on the shows’ content. ‘Suitcase’ was in effect ITV’s replacement for ‘Secret Agent’ when McGoohan left to do ‘The Prisoner’. Richard Bradford was a US agent who came under a cloud and was forced to resign. Now he travels Europe taking cases as a sort of troubleshooting P.I. The series was cynical, somewhat violent, and Bradford’s character wasn’t all that likable. Hence, a single season before the suitcase closed for good. The Ron Grainer theme is a classic of the spy-jazz genre.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lTjRgl4omHQ&pp=ygUXTWFuIGluIGEgc3VpdGNhc2UgdGhlbWU%3D

Here is the condensed version of the theme:

Here is Grainer’s single:

Here are two trailers:

1,297) Alexander Stone — “Man in a Suitcase”

A stone cold killer “from the mysterious Gemini label, whose in-house producer Gordon Henderson penned lyrics for Ron Grainer’s famous instrumental TV theme”. . . . “[Q]uite why a vocal version was created as a B-side in 1970 is as mysterious as the identity of Mr. Stone…”. (John Reed, liner notes to the CD comp Keep Lookin’: 80 More Mod, Soul & Freakbeat Nuggets)

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New Dawn — “Proudman”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 7, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,295) New Dawn — “Proudman”

A riveting song by New Dawn (see #986) about a proud man who “started life, just like many, in a run down shack, didn’t have a penny”, who quit working for a rich man who just pitied him, and who vows to “live my life, before I die, like a man should live, with my head held high.” Springsteen should have done a cover.

Ron Moore writes about the Dawn’s sole album:

Dreamy downer LP with rhythm-centered (monotonous?) drums, organ, and chiming guitar. Moody heartfelt vocals and buzz fuzz breaks fill out the claustrophobic soundscape. Full of despairing lyrics about dissatisfaction with life and feelings of hopelessness without God. . . . Too deep and dark for some, but could be the pinnacle for soul-searching lounge band sorrow.

The Acid Archives (2nd ed.)

Isaac Slusarenko writes about the Dawn:

In 1966, Dan Bazzy . . . ran into bass player Bob Justin and guitarists Larry Davis and Joe Smith, local garage band musicians . . . . Bazzy joined their band and after a brief stint of playng as The Sound Citizens, The New Dawn was formed. By 1967, The New Dawn was essentially a nightclub band, touring throughout the northwest . . . down through California and Nevada, and as far north as Alaska. The band recorded and released their private press album . . . in July of 1970. The songs were composed in the studio and were recorded late at night after gigs. Initially five hundred albums were pressed . . . . [D]istribution was limited since the album was sold mostly at their live shows. Their one chance at the big time came in 1971 when the ABC-Dunhill Records label expressed a serious interest in the demo of three of their new heavier sounding songs. . . . By the end of 1971, the New Dawn faded into the sunset after years of living motel to motel under the disillusionment of their missed opportunity.

liner notes to the CD reissue of There’s a New Dawn

The band’s website adds:

In 1966, Joe Smith and Larry Davis got together and started playing at part[ies]. By the first part of 1967, Bob Justen and Dan Bazzy had joined the group and The New Dawn was born. For the next two years, the band played at part[ies], dances and local bars. In 1969, the group quit their day jobs and signed with a booking agent. They added a fifth member, Bob Green, to front the group and share the lead vocal load with the drummer and lead singer, Dan Bazzy, and went on the road. They played in clubs in Oregon, Washington, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, California, and Alaska. In 1970, Bob Green was replaced by Bill Gartner, and the group recorded and released . . . There’s a New Dawn. By the end of 1971, all the members in the group were married, and a few of the wi[v]es started having babies. Along with the babies came the desire to settle down and start roots. So, the group came off of the road, got “normal” jobs, and settled in to playing in local clubs on weekends. Over the years, most of the original members retired from the group and were replaced by other local musicians.

http://pnwbands.com/newdawn.html

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Jammë — “Strawberry Jam Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 6, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,294) Jammë — “Strawberry Jam Man”

Here is a Beatlesque and Mamas & Papasesque ode to, yes, strawberry jam, with “a great melody [and] lyrics that make me smile” (RDTEN1, https://de.rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jamme/jamme/), a “[s]tandout track[] . . . fun . . . [and] endowed with sticky-sweet guitars” (LongPlay33, https://longplay33.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/jamme/) that “sounds like it should be the theme to some whacked-out Saturday morning kids TV show”. (Richard Metzger, https://dangerousminds.net/comments/jamme_long_lost_60s_classic_produced_by_john_phillips)

“Jam” comes from “a remarkable . . . psych-pop album” (Richard Metzger, https://dangerousminds.net/comments/jamme_long_lost_60s_classic_produced_by_john_phillips), a “charming little record . . . with Rubber Soul-like instrumentation throughout [that has] a wonderfully laid back, hippy-folk atmosphere”. (LongPlay33, https://longplay33.wordpress.com/2018/02/16/jamme/) Richie Unterberger, however, is more ambivalent:

Jammë’s sole, self-titled album is rather like what you’d think a late-’60s album by a group with some British expatriates produced by John Phillips might sound like. There’s a lot of influence from the lighter and poppier side of the Beatles, especially in the harmonies. But the Mamas & the Papas similarities can also be heard in the sunny California pop/rock tilt of some of the vocals and arrangements, and the folkiness to some of the guitar parts. It’s an attractive combination, though not one that matches the work of the best Beatles-influenced pop/rock groups, as the songs aren’t as outstanding and memorable.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jamme-mn0001176276#discography

And RDTEN1 is not enamored:

Full of strumming acoustic guitars, pretty ballads, English-accented vocals and lovelorn lyrics, this was an album for young girls with Davy Jones fixations and his posters on their walls. . . . Online review draw comparisons to Emmitt Rhodes, Badfinger and even Paul McCartney’s Fab Four catalog. Don’t fall for it. These tunes are way lighter and far less memorable than any of those other acts. . . . Sure, many of the melodies were attractive and the harmony vocals were sweet, but trying to sit through the whole set felt like one was in danger of suffering from a sugar “overload.”

https://de.rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jamme/jamme/

As to Jammë, Richard Metzger tells us that:

In 1968, Jamme—a four-piece made up of two Brits and two Americans—were just another young group of musicians trying to make it on the Sunset Strip when they were handed the opportunity of a lifetime after John Phillips of the Mamas and the Papas offered to produce an album for them, thinking he had found the new Beatles. . . . However, not everything went quite to plan. The band came into Phillips’ life in the summer of 1968, just as the Mamas and the Papas were breaking up, his marriage to Michelle Phillips was on the rocks and he was having an affair with Mia Farrow (right under the nose of Frank Sinatra!). All of that contributed to a rather bizarre recording experience, all of which took place in the studio Phillips had installed in the roof of his Bel Air mansion . . . the entrance to which, incidentally, was hidden (James Bond-style) behind a secret panel on the first floor of the house.

https://dangerousminds.net/comments/jamme_long_lost_60s_classic_produced_by_john_phillips

Richie Unterberger adds:

Jamme evolved in some respects out of the mid-’60s Washington, D.C. group the British Walkers, who did indeed include a genuinely British guitarist, Paul Downing. Downing moved to Los Angeles in 1967 with his girlfriend, Nancy Throckmorton, staying with her mother, Susan Adams, who’d been John Phillips’ first wife. Downing joined the San Diego band the Hard Times for a while, and got to know Phillips, playing on some sessions in [his] home studio. After Downing played guitar on some tracks on [a] Mamas & the Papas album . . . Phillips suggested [he] put a group together, which he did in spring 1968 with fellow ex-British Walker Tim Smyser (on bass) and fellow British expatriate guitarist Don Adey. . . . [They] began recording Jamme’s album in Phillips’ home studio . . . but the road to the LP’s completion wouldn’t be smooth. . . . Phillips asked Downing to replace Smyser with another musician, and when Downing balked, the album fell deeper into limbo, Smyser soon joining a fading Standells. With help from Adey’s bassist brother Keith, the album was finally completed and released in March 1970 on Phillips’ Warlock label. Unsurprisingly given the chaotic circumstances, the LP didn’t gain much exposure . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/album/jammë-mw0000839610 ,

And RDTEN1 throws in some dirty laundry:

With Phillips bankrolling the project the quartet went into Phillips home studio and began working, on their album only to run afoul of their producers ever more erratic behavior. Jealous of wife Michelle’s apparent affection for drummer Rae, Phillips kicked him out of the band, bringing in a string of sessions players, including Jim Gordon as replacements. Next Phillips demanded bassist Smyser be cut loose. The band initially refused and the sessions ground to a halt. Smyser subsequently quit on his own, reappearing in a late-inning line-up of The Standells, where he was promptly joined by Paul Downing. When recording sessions started back up in early 1970 the Wrecking Crew’s Larry Knechtel was handling bass. Don’s brother Keith Adey was then added to the line-up. The album cover certainly gave you the impression this was all about the Adey brothers. Keith was credited as co-writer for most of the material (though his contributions were apparently minimal; Don being the creative mainstay).

https://de.rateyourmusic.com/release/album/jamme/jamme/

Here’s an alternate version:

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Wizz Jones — “Beggar Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 5, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,293) Wizz Jones — “Beggar Man”

Gee wizz, Wizz Jones , “[o]ne of the founding fathers of folk in the UK, cutting a dishevelled figure with a beatup acoustic guitar, and influential to many who have followed in his footsteps . . . should be regarded as the best folk guitarist [the UK] has ever produced.” (Paul Rigby, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/the-legendary-me) His third album — The Legendary Me — includes “Jones’ beautiful interpretations of [eight of] British writer Alan Turnbridge’s … songs include ‘Dazzling Stranger’ [see #743] and [today’s pick] ‘Beggar Man.’ The work of a gentle spirit with a light, lyrical, irreverent touch that belies his interpretive skill and superb guitar work.” (Paul Rigby, https://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/album/the-legendary-me) “Ex-Famous Jug Band member Peter Berryman . . . helps weaving the intertwined guitar textures which along with the unexpected tempo changes make ‘Beggar Man’ so compelling”. (comusduke, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/wizz-jones/the-legendary-me/)

Of the LP, Luca Ricatti writes (courtesy of Google Translate):

The Legendary Me was released in 1970. . . . All beautiful songs, played with an uncommon lightness and sensitivity and in which Wizz Jones shows that he is truly an excellent guitarist. . . . Tunbridge’s compositions are certainly the backbone of the album, beautiful lyrics, beautiful melodies. But the interpretations constitute a notable added value, also because Jones sings well. Among these jewels stand out . . . “Beggar Man” [and] “Dazzling Stranger” . . . .

https://www-lucaricatti-it.translate.goog/wizz-jones/?_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

Thom Jurek gives us some wizztory:

With its many leaves and branches, the English folk scene is traceable to a few gnarly yet enduring taproots. . . . [and] guitarist Wizz Jones is one of them. While virtually unknown in America . . . Jones was paramount in influencing virtually every acoustic guitarist and folk scenester who came after him in the U.K. Jones began to play guitar seriously in the mid- to late ’50s after being inspired by the literature of the Beat Generation, and American blues and folk recordings . . . . Jones bore a strange figure in British coffeehouses with his uncharacteristically long hair and hobo-ish demeanor, including a guitar that was literally held together with leather straps. He knew his stuff, however, with his playing rooted deep in the Mississippi Delta and in early Chicago blues styles, and he established a reputation early among younger players who soaked up both his image and the licks he fired off from a rapid right-handed picking style that was clearly his own. . . . Embracing the Beat life, he and Clive Palmer took to busking in the streets of France for a while . . . . Back in England, Jones met banjo king Pete Stanley in 1962 and formed a bluegrass duo that released a now legendary — and highly collectible — Columbia recording called Music for Moonshiners in early 1963. The duo issued one more recording for the label called Sixteen Tons of Bluegrass before disbanding in 1966. Beginning in 1968, Jones began recording a series of albums upon which his obscure, yet legendary, modern reputation was founded. Hanging with a bunch of locals and a loose-knit band he formed called Lazy Farmer, Jones issued nine albums between 1969 and 1977 . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/wizz-jones-mn0000569646/biography

As does Jones’s website:

Raymond Ronald Jones . . . [was from] a poor working class family in Croydon which was at that time a small town . . . on the outskirts of South London. Attending Oval Primary and Junior School and later Selhurst Grammar School for boys where Jones felt well out of his depth amongst boys mainly from fairly well-off middle class professional families. Being constantly absent due to severe bouts of migraine and having to attend weekly physiotherapy exercises for a curvature of the spine he left school at the age of 16 in 1955 with meagre qualifications. Inspired by Folk and Blues music heard on BBC and European Radio, Jones began to teach himself to play the acoustic guitar. He worked for a year or so at a textile warehouse in the City of London and then at a similar establishment in the West End. On leaving home around this time he moved into a rented attic room in Porchester Square close by Marble Arch and soon discovered the delights of a bohemian life-style in Soho. . . . Wizz began his musical career at the age of 18 leading a Country and Skiffle band called “The Wranglers” in 1957. He had been inspired to take up the acoustic guitar a year or so before this after hearing such guitar luminaries as Big Bill Broonzy, Rambling Jack Elliot and Muddy Waters playing at a club in London organized by Cyril Davies and Alexis Korner . . . . Having learned most of his blues licks from Long John Baldry and Davy Graham whilst playing in the coffee bars of Soho, Wizz followed the time honoured trail – busking throughout Europe . . . . On returning to Britain in the early sixties, Wizz formed a blue-grass duo with banjo-picker Pete Stanley, a partnership which was to last for four years . . . . Wizz and Pete went their separate ways at the end of 1967 and Wizz returned to solo work collaborating with songwriter Alan Tunbridge (an artist friend from the Soho days) and occasionally with guitarist Peter Berryman. . . . [I]n spite of being often mentioned as an important early influence by artists such as Eric Clapton, John Renbourn and Ralph McTell . . . Wizz retained a certain “musician’s musician” reputation, only occasionally playing club gigs and the odd festival spot . . . .

https://www.wizzjones.com/biog.html

As does Luca Ricatti (courtesy of Google Translate):

[Jones] began to frequent coffee houses and was among the first to go on small stages to play old traditional songs rearranged for guitar or blues pieces taken from records published by the American Folkways label. A sincere wandering spirit, in ’59 he took a hitchhiking trip with Alan Tunbridge , a designer he had met in the clubs of Soho. They spent the summer in Cornwall ‘roaming the beaches, writing, singing and working in hotel kitchens’. One evening he showed Alan some chords and he began to turn the poems he wrote into songs. But Alan was not a musician, he did not master his friend’s finger style technique, nor did he aspire to perform in public. . . . [H]e continued to write. And he got better and better. Although he has not composed for many years, Alan Tunbridge is perhaps better known as a songwriter than as an illustrator. Wizz instead continued his path in music. . . . [“]I went through a phase where I couldn’t believe how good Bert Jansch and John Renbourn were and thought I had to catch up with them. But then I realized that what is spontaneous is valid.” And it is certainly true, if Bert Jansch himself said of him that “he is the most underrated guitarist ever” . . . .

https://www-lucaricatti-it.translate.goog/wizz-jones/?_x_tr_sl=it&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

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Shocking Blue — “Never Marry a Railroad Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 4, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,292) Shocking Blue — “Never Marry a Railroad Man”

Sorry Venus, this is Shocking Blue’s (see # 1,214) best song. “What a gorgeous melody for such a melancholy song” (vincenzowolfen45833, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ja4Fo7OJws&pp=ygUoc2hvY2tpbmcgYmx1ZSBuZXZlciBtYXJyeSBhIHJhaWxyb2FkIG1hbg%3D%3D) Brian Green writes that:

[It] may be their best song altogether. A number one in Holland and a gold record in Germany and Japan, this mid-tempo track, with its staccato guitar riff and stays-in-your-head vocal melody, somehow didn’t make any noise in America [reaching #102], or England, where they were, amazingly, never terribly popular.

https://www.scrammagazine.com/shockingblue/

“Never marry a Railroad man He loves you every now and then His heart is at his new train, no, no, no Don’t fall in love with a Railroad man”

UDX4570PalmSprings-yh1mv writes:

I’ve been a freight train engineer for nearly 30 years now, and She couldn’t have been more right. Our lives are different than most. I wonder how these musicians knew?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ja4Fo7OJws&pp=ygUoc2hvY2tpbmcgYmx1ZSBuZXZlciBtYXJyeSBhIHJhaWxyb2FkIG1hbg%3D%3D

And Vincenzowolfen45833 remarks:

[M]y Dad was a Via Rail Conductor when it used to run the #1 line across Canada and when it was still part of the C.P.R. My sisters would sing this to him and my Mom back in the day.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=2Ja4Fo7OJws&pp=ygUoc2hvY2tpbmcgYmx1ZSBuZXZlciBtYXJyeSBhIHJhaWxyb2FkIG1hbg%3D%3D

As to SB, Horning explains:

The Shocking Blue achieved a blip of international fame with their single “Venus”, an irresistible and nonsensical confection that stuck them with the one-hit wonder label in America, where none of the band’ s subsequent singles caught on. . . . Formed by guitarist/songwriter Robbie Van Leeuwen after quitting the Motions . . . the Shocking Blue seem like they set out to be the Dutch Jefferson Airplane, with acid-rock guitar, a full-throated Grace Slick wannabe in Veres, eclectic instrumentation, and semi-hallucinatory lyrics about free love, voodoo, California, and the like. But unlike the Airplane, the Shocking Blue never succumb to pretentiousness through either diffuse experimentation or ponderous songwriting. Instead the band churns out pseudo-psychedelic bubblegum . . . all [with] precision and eagerness to please . . . .

https://www.popmatters.com/shockingblue-athome-2496060322.html

Brian Green dumps on Jefferson Airplane:

Jefferson Airplane is be the band that Shocking Blue mostly invites comparisons to, and it was the Airplane that veteran Dutch rocker Robbie van Leeuwen had in mind when he decided he wanted a female vocalist for his group. But while van Leeuwen may have started out emulating the Jefferson Airplane, his band quickly and permanently outclassed their predecessors. Where the Airplane’s lyrics were usually cliché-addled and verging on ridiculous, van Leeuwen offered fresh and innocent boy/girl tales and existential laments; while JA’s music often had that messy, jazzy, “let me do a solo”element weighing it down, Shocking Blue stuck to stripped-down, energy-packed Beat Club grooves; and Mariska Veres was simply a better singer than Grace Slick, more genuinely soulful, more naturally melodious. Veres was actually not Shocking Blue’s original singer. When guitarist van Leeuwen dropped out of local hitmakers the Motions to form his own band in ‘67, he did so with another Dutch scenester, Fred de Wilde, at the mic. The all-boy Blue recorded one album and some singles (a few of these minor hits in Holland . . . ) But . . . just when van Leeuwen was thinking that he wanted a chick to sing his songs, de Wilde was called off to do military service. Robbie wasted no time in finding Veres, who looked like a model and sang like a soul sister.

https://www.scrammagazine.com/shockingblue/

Steve Leggett adds:

Although Shocking Blue’s albums . . . featured progressive rock elements and inventive arrangements thanks to Van Leeuwen’s writing and production skills, the band was essentially marketed as a pop singles unit, and while they scored several subsequent hits in their homeland, none of the group’s releases approached the massive saturation success of “Venus.” Veres left Shocking Blue in 1974 to pursue a solo career . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/shocking-blue-mn0000029604#biography

On TV in ’69:

“Recently found footage from “Beat Behind The Dykes” (Dutch TV show, 1970)”:

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Freddy Lindquist — “The Green and Pink Little Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 3, 2024

As the album cover features nudity*, here is a YouTube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gR-tEpkpVw

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,291) Freddy Lindquist — “The Green and Pink Little Man”

Norway? No way! Yes way! “Back in the 60’s, Freddy Lindquist [see #755] was known as one out of two super lead guitarist[s] in Norway. . . . hailed as the Hendrix of Norway.” (Savage Saint, https://savagesaints.blogspot.com/2015/05/freddy-lindquist-menu-1970.html). In ‘70, he gave us Menü, “one of the best Norwegian freak-rock albums of all time”, containing this cool, progressive, “jazzy”, “hard rock” tune (Marios, https://therockasteria.blogspot.com/2022/09/freddy-lindquist-menu-1970-norway-noisy.html)

Thore Engen from the Norwegian prog/hard rock band Lucifer Was calls Menu “the best Norwegian heavy proggy rock album of 1970 and beyond.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZ3ybHIClo) Dan Bartko says it is “[p]robably the crown jewel of Norway for hard Rock.” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZ3ybHIClo) And L. Salisbury proclaims “So . . . this is what Norwegian musicians who DON’T burn Churches and stab former band members to death sound like!” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZZ3ybHIClo)

Savage Saint gives us some history in f the Lindquist saga:

Freddy started out his rock path as a member of Gibbons in the early 60’s. In 1965 he was offered the job as the new lead guitarist in one of the leading band at the time, The Beatnicks. The band was changing their musical style from a Shadows inspired band to a proper beat-band then. Freddy stayed with them for a couple of singles, until he was headhunted to play lead guitar in an even more popular band, The Vanguards, in 1966. Their former lead guitarist, Terje Rypdal, then went to play the organ, until he quit, diving into psychedelia with The Dream. In addiction to some singles, they both played on both LP’s released by The Vanguards. . . . After some more singles, Freddy quit the band in 1969, to join his old mates in The Beatnicks/New Beatnicks. One more single followed before Freddy left again, and the rest of the band transformed into Titanic. Hardrock was then the new formula and Freddy formed the supergroup Jumbo, inspired by the likes of Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin. Two singles was released . . . . The band then started recording an album, but in the midst of that the band fell apart, and the remaining members fulfilled the album and released in under the name Finjarn/Jensen. . . . Freddy . . . felt that the time was right for a proper solo album now, and his Menu was recorded and released in 1970. . . . The album did not sell too well, and soon went into oblivion. . . . one of the rarest albums from Scandinavia, but also as one of the very best.
https://savagesaints.blogspot.com/2015/05/freddy-lindquist-menu-1970.html

Toroddfuglesteg asks Thore Engen “which album was the first real heavy metal album by a Norwegian band.”. . . Engen responds:

That depends a lot of the definition of metal of those early years. Metal was not a term then. The relevant terms were mainly ”heavy”, ”underground” and “progressive”. Progressive by this time was not necessarily linked to art-rock like Yes, Genesis, ELP, but to a development from the 60’s pop, rock’n’roll and blues-scene. A wailing blues-album by Johnny Winter, for instance, could easily be labeled progressive. But by (early) metal you mean unison bass and guitar-riffing and screaming lead guitars? To me the first Norwegian progressive and heavy LP (also psychedelic) is Dream’s ”Get Dreamy”, featuring Terje Rypdal, from 1967! After that one Freddy Lindquist’s ”Menu” from 1970 is definitively 50% very heavy and I’ll rank this as the first.
https://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=65724

* Wikipedia (Norway) explains (courtesy of Google Translate) that:

The idea was that the cover of Menü should attract attention. It should be something that record buyers stopped at regardless of whether they knew the artist name or not. Thus Rune Venjar came up with the strange idea of taking his wife down to a photo studio and taking a nude picture of her for the front cover. In 1970, this was probably as politically incorrect as possible, and as destructive to sales as possible. Both the record reviewers and the general public failed the release.

https://no-m-wikipedia-org.translate.goog/wiki/Freddy_Lindquist?_x_tr_sl=no&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc

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Mandrake Paddle Steamer — “Strange Walking Man”Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 2, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,290) Mandrake Paddle Steamer — “Strange Walking Man”

This UK pop psych classic with “superb trippy lyrics” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited) “[f]eatur[ed] mournful guitar and great harmonies [and] was lent its extraordinary coda by producer Robert Finnis, who spliced on a tape of session musicians playing the Incredible String Band’s ‘Maybe Someday’.” (liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969) Band members Brian Engel recalled that “[‘SWM’] was the mildest of our songs, and our new label . . . couldn’t see anything bizarre in it at all. It was, in fact, about a guy suffering from a very bad trip but maybe it was about a boy whose girlfriend had left him . . . .” (The Tapestry of Delights Revisited)

As to Mandrake Paddle Steamer, the CD comp Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers tells us :

Formed by two art school students, Martin Briley and Brian Engel . . . the band never seemed destined to succeed. According to lead singer and chief songwriter Briley, they set out to be provocative: “Our songs tended to be based on authentic blood thirsty Viking sagas or Beowulf, or urban myths about East End sex criminals or circus dwarves. We predated punk by 10 years. Nobody knew how to categorize us.”

liner notes to the CD comp Mojo Presents Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969

All Music Guide adds:

Comprising Brian Engel (vocals), Martin Briley (b. London, England; guitar/vocals), Barry Nightingale (drums), Martin Hooker (keyboards) and Paul Riordan (bass/vocals), Mandrake Paddle Steamer were responsible for recording one of the [now] most cherished singles of the psychedelic era – “Strange Walking Man” . . . Mandrake Paddle Steamer never received a similar level of acclaim in their era, and issued only one further single, ‘Sunlight Glide’, which was released on Parlophone Records in 1969 but only for the Swedish market. Engel left in August 1970, leaving Riordan and Briley to take over on vocals. David Potts subsequently replaced Nightingale on drums as the band shortened their name to Mandrake, but the departure of Briley hastened their demise. Engel and Briley joined up again in the less celebrated Prowler and Liverpool Echo, the latter recording a single and an unreleased album, Liverpool Echo, for Spark Records in 1973. Briley then went on to play with Greenslade and enjoy a minor hit with the solo ‘Salt In My Tears’, before establishing himself as an in-demand session player and songwriter. Engel recorded two albums with Limey before joining the New Seekers.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/mandrake-paddle-steamer-mn0001812518#biography

For all you MTVers, here is “Salt in My Tears”:

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Cartoone — “Knick Knack Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — August 1, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,289) Cartoone — “Knick Knack Man”

This Scottish band’s “hook driven” (Joe Reagoso, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/10/cartoone-cartoone-1969-uk-wonderful.html) and “Beatlesque” (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/cartoone-mw0000819917) number is, per rockingscots (“a website dedicated to Scottish beat groups and rock bands from the ’60s and ’70s”), a “wonderfully miserable” song with session man extraordinaire Jimmy Page and a “[w]histled intro and outro – fairly rare on rock/pop records – Brian Ferry must have been listening” that “[d]escribes the presumed sad life of a bloke selling knick knacks on street corners for a living.” (http://www.rockingscots.co.uk/cartoone.htm).

“Knick Knack” comes from the band’s only album released at the time, a “real treasure to be explored” that is “[f]illed with twelve rock and pop gems”. (Joe Reagoso, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/10/cartoone-cartoone-1969-uk-wonderful.html) As Richie Unterberger describes it:

Page contributed guitar to the record as a session man — though his work is neither too prominent nor too similar to what he was getting ready to do in Led Zeppelin . . . . [I]t’s slightly fey pop/rock with strong debts to the lighter side of the late-’60s Beatles and, more apparently, the late-’60s Bee Gees. . . . [T]he melancholy melodies, ornate arrangements, and trembling vocal timbres . . . can’t help but bring early Bee Gees to mind. Yet Cartoone seemed to be suffering from some indecision as to how to define themselves, with some other tracks indicating some harder-rocking ambitions . . . . Other cuts load on so much orchestration that they seem to aim to the right of the Bee Gees, as stabs at the more bombastic and ballad-oriented slice of the late-’60s British pop market.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/cartoone-mw0000819917

As to Cartoone, Joe Reagoso writes that:

The four piece band from Scotland, which developed from The Chevlons, consisted of Derek Creigan (Vocals/Bass), Mike Allison (Guitar/Vocals), Mo Trowers (Rhythm Guitar/Vocals) and Charlie Coffils (Drums/Vocals). After relocating to the U.K. and through the help of their friends Lulu and Maurice Gibb of The Bee Gees, they soon got the attention of producer Mark London, who brought them to Atlantic’s Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler for a record contract. In early 1969, the album was released . . . .

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/10/cartoone-cartoone-1969-uk-wonderful.html

K2E2S Surya goes deep:

Cartoone formed in 1967 in Glasgow from a group called The Chevlons. They were an indispensable band when some celebrities from England came to Scotland on tour. Cartoone was the opening act for The Tremeloes, The Merseybeats and The Hollies. In 1968, Cartoone moved to London, hoping to secure a recording deal. In London, they were helped by a compatriot from Scotland . . . Lulu[, who] was managed by Marion Massey, whose husband was songwriter and producer Mark London. Cartoone showed him some of [their] own songs and London was impressed. He took the band into the studio, where they recorded four songs with just acoustic guitars. London showed these recordings to Ahmet Ertegun and Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records, who signed a two-album deal . . . . London was a friend and collaborator with Zeppelin[‘]s manager Peter Grant. This is where Jimmy Page came into the . . . sessions[, ] participat[ing] in the recording of all numbers of the album . . . . Lulu took part in the promotion of fellow countrymen, inviting her to her New Year’s TV program on December 28, 1968. And on January 16, 1969, Cartoone performed on . . . Top Of The Pops promoting their single “Penny For The Sun / Knick Knack Man”. The band then flew to promote the album in the US, where they performed on several TV shows. In April-June 1969, Cartoone traveled to the United States again, this time in support of Led Zeppelin’s American tour. Touring life soon got so fed up with guitarist Mike Ellison that he left the band, and Mark London urgently found a replacement for him in the person of talented guitarist Les Harvey, the younger brother of . . . Alex Harvey [see #69, 684]. Les Harvey had previously played with his Stone The Crows, co-managed by Peter Grant and Mark London. . . . Despite the good sales of the debut album (85,000 copies sold only in the US), Atlantic Records for some reason slowed down the release of the second album. . . . Les Harvey left them, longing to return to his band Stone The Crows, where his girlfriend Maggie Bell was the main vocalist. Then “Atlantic” terminated the contract altogether . . . .

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJ8Ife0QZY8&pp=ygUhQ2FydG9vbmUgc2NvdHRpc2ggYmFuZCBmdWxsIGFsYnVt

Rockingscots adds that “Unable to fully function now, Cartoone were dropped by Atlantic and split up on their return to the UK – broke and doubtless more than a bit disillusioned. . . . Les Harvey was tragically killed on stage by faulty gear in ’73.”(http://www.rockingscots.co.uk/cartoone.htm).

As to Jimmy Page, Joe Reagoso writes that:

Drummer Charlie Coffils recently discussed the close friendship Cartoone had with Jimmy Page, “While we were recording the Cartoone album in 1968, Jimmy was putting together Led Zeppelin. I managed to have a long chat with Jimmy as we were listening to the recordings we had just made . . . . He told me that he had found an amazing drummer called John Bonham, who was the loudest drummer he had ever played with, but he still had amazing technique on the drums. Jimmy said the whole band just gelled straight away, and the hairs on everyone’s neck rose on that very first rehearsal, as they knew they had found something special. Jimmy told me he couldn’t wait to get out there and play ‘live’[“] . . . .

http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2013/10/cartoone-cartoone-1969-uk-wonderful.html

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I Shall Be Released: Public Nuisance — “Strawberry Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 31, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,288) Public Nuisance — “Strawberry Man”

This anti-Vietnam War song “stand[s] out as quite imaginative”. (Richie Unterberger, https://www.allmusic.com/album/gotta-survive-mw0001893156) “I love this track it starts off in fine pop/punk style then cuts . . . into a completely new song!” (sf scene, https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FrpXNz2HkWI&pp=ygUoUHVibGljIE51aXNhbmNlIOKAlCDigJxTdHJhd2JlcnJ5IE1hbuKAnQ%3D%3D) It was recorded by a talented Sacramento, CA, garage/psych band that never got to release a single single, in part because their legendary producer Terry Melcher went into hiding after the Manson Family’s murderous rampage at Melcher’s former residence (likely looking for him), then being rented by Roman Polanski and his wife Sharon Tate.

Two LP’s worth of songs recorded by PN were finally released a number of years ago as a comp titled Gotta Survive — “a gold mine of groovy obscurities.” (Jackson Griffith, https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/evolver/14608/) “The songs are in a post-garage, slightly psychedelic rock/pop mode, equal parts energy and melody . . . . [A]s a whole Public Nuisance is more impressive than many long-term major label bands of the era.” (Aaron Milenski, The Acid Archives, 2nd ed.) “The music played by Public Nuisance was commensurate with the finest American garage rock of the period . . . . [f]rom blistering, fuzz-guitar-drenched freakouts to ambitiously loopy attempts at expanding baroque pretensions of 1960s-vintage psychedelic pop”. (Jackson Griffith, https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/evolver/14608/)

As to the music and the band, Richie Unterberger writes:

It’s pretty extraordinary for a band who never even released a record to have a two-CD package prepared in their honor more than 30 years after they disbanded. . . . . largely devoted to unreleased recordings . . . from late 1968 and early 1969 . . . . Is it worth such unusual archival care? Yes, though in truth its appeal will mostly lie with aficionados of garage-psychedelic crossover sounds . . . . Public Nuisance made for the most part above-average, though not groundbreaking, insouciant garage psychedelia with raw and idiosyncratic, but not sloppy, blends of punk, pop, folk-rock, and songs that reflected both the angst-ridden confusion and exhilarating highs of the era. . . .. tapped into some of the boundary-stretching experimentation of psychedelia while retaining a surly, defiant attitude. . . .

The Sacramento outfit . . . [was] a respectable, though hardly phenomenal, group that integrated raw garage rock snarl with more experimental psychedelic guitar textures and song structures, with the occasional pop/rock influence as well. . . . They got into not only some ambitious sounds, but also some ambitious lyrics that reflected the era’s rebellion and questioning of established values, as well as expressing more conventional romantic sentiments. Public Nuisance’s roots were in the mid-’60s garage band the Jaguars, who changed their name to Moss & the Rocks. Under that moniker, they recorded a folk-rock-flavored garage single, “There She Goes”/”Please Come Back,” for the small local Ikon label. Later that year, they re-recorded both tunes for a single on Chattahoochee. Both 45s are very rare and by 1967, they had changed their name to Public Nuisance and gone in more psychedelic directions without forsaking their garage energy. Public Nuisance opened for acts such as the Doors, Buffalo Springfield, Sonny & Cher, and the Grateful Dead . . . . [T]hey didn’t have a record deal until some demos in late 1968 helped get them a contract with Equinox, run by noted Hollywood producer Terry Melcher . . . . At the end of 1968 and the beginning of 1969, they recorded an album’s worth of songs, but nothing was ever released . . . . Public Nuisance disbanded around 1970, with guitarist David Houston producing and playing keyboards with the new wave band the Twinkeyz in the 1970s and going on to produce Steel Breeze and Club Nouveau.

https://www.allmusic.com/album/gotta-survive-mw0001893156 , https://www.allmusic.com/artist/public-nuisance-mn0000307045#biography

Jackson Griffith adds, after speaking with David Houston:

The group came together in 1964, calling itself the Jaguars. . . . its repertoire consisted of the instrumental surf-rock popular at the time. Tom Phillips, who played guitar in the Contenders and later in the New Breed, Glad and Redwing . . . . remembered seeing the Jaguars for the first time when they opened for the Contenders at a teen dance in Elk Grove in 1964. “Those guys were radical,” he recalled. “They had hair down to their waists.” Phillips recalled one other detail, about the Jaguars guitarist, David Houston: “David would go out and destroy his guitar onstage,” he said. “This was before the Who.” When . . . fretboard workouts like “Pipeline” and “Misirlou” [became] terminally uncool, the Jaguars added vocals and changed their name to Moss & the Rocks. And later in the decade, when rock music’s tonal colors grew darker and bluesier, Moss & the Rocks changed their name again—this time to Public Nuisance. . . . David Houston, who wrote roughly half the band’s songs; sang; and played guitar, keyboards and harmonica. . . . still can be found onstage at such local venues . . . or busy in his recording studio. Beyond that, his involvement runs like a thread through the fabric of Sacramento’s music scene. . . . [I]n 1966, Moss & the Rocks showed up at Ikon Records, a label and studio in East Sacramento. A Norwegian engineer named Eirik Wangberg was behind the boards. One Moss & the Rocks member told Houston he recalled that they had won some free recording time in a contest. Their manager was Gary Schiro, a surf-rock promoter from the Jaguars’ era who also managed New Breed and the Oxford Circle. Schiro had connections in L.A., which was one place you went as a Sacramento band that wanted to move to the next level. The other destination, of course, was San Francisco, and Public Nuisance later tried that option when it recorded a 1967 session—now lost—for Fantasy . . . . Schiro had the band cutting sides during the budget hours, after midnight and before sunrise. He’d worked out a deal for New Breed and Public Nuisance with Equinox Productions, a custom label with distribution through ABC-Dunhill Records that was run by record producer Terry Melcher . . . . Then, as Houston put it, the big fiasco happened. “Fiasco is an understatement,” he recalled. “When Charles Manson killed Sharon Tate and everybody, that was at Terry Melcher’s house. Terry Melcher [and] Dennis Wilson [see #666] rented this house; Dennis Wilson was friends with Charlie Manson [see #667]. Dennis was trying to get Charlie to record something. Evidently, Terry backed out of it, and something happened. I don’t know how true it is, but the story is that the people who went there were after Terry Melcher, not the people who were there.” Actually, Melcher and actress Candice Bergen had rented the house . . . but had moved out by January 1969, when film director Roman Polanski and his wife, actress Sharon Tate, signed a one-year lease. Melcher, understandably, went into hiding immediately after the murders and shelved all of his projects, including Public Nuisance. . . . So, Public Nuisance, which had been going down to L.A. on the weekends to record, came back to Sacramento. “We did a couple of shows trying to play at the Fillmore, on audition nights—Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I don’t remember,” Houston said. “But we never got there. I don’t remember how many years we stayed together after that. It just fell apart.”

https://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/content/evolver/14608/

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Sounds of Modification — “Balloon Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 30, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,287) Sounds of Modification — “Balloon Man”

A sunshine pop/baroque pop/pop psych/toytown tribute to balloon men everywhere that’s liable to whisk you up into the air without you even knowing it. The “Man” is “frothy pop-oriented ‘product'”. (RDTEN1, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/sounds-of-modification/sounds-of-modification/) Is that bad? Talk about being whisked!

This “[b]aroque psych band, hailing from Long Island NY, recorded and released only [one] album in 1968 at Jubilee label [including “Balloon Man”]. Beautiful harmonies and arragements from good musicians”. (marios, http://rockasteria.blogspot.com/2018/07/sounds-of-modification-sounds-of.html?m=1) It “pump[ed] out period pop with nice splashes of psych, harmony and baroque pop moves and outfits their arrangements with enough creative ingredients to keep things interesting on the ear.” (recorddigger, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/sounds-of-modification/sounds-of-modification/)

About the Sounds, RDTEN1 writes (somewhat ambivalently):

Sounds of Modification was one of Long Island’s contribution to the flood of mid-’60s pop bands that straddled “summer of love” styled “sunshine” pop and late inning pop-psych influences. The group featured the talents of horn player Joe Cavalea, drummer Mike “Butch” Cavouto, bassist Bob Dorsa, guitarist Frank Porcelli and keyboard player Pete Maletta. Having begun to attract some attention playing local New York clubs, dances and colleges (The Bridal Patch, The Fox Theatre, Thee Ye Olde Red Lion Tavern, Hofstra’s College), they found a mentor in the form of Bob Gallo (of Four Seasons fame). Gallo helped them score a recording contract with Jerry Blaine’s New York based Jubilee Records. Produced by Gallo who also wrote nine of the album’s ten tracks, 1968’s “Sounds of Modification” was a competent and professional debut, but under Gallo’s direction little of the band’s true identify came through. Speculation on my part, but I’m guessing Gallo saw an opportunity to push his songs on the band in the hope of scoring royalties. Shame they weren’t given an opportunity to record original material, or at least covers of their own choice. The band also lacked a first rate singer (perhaps explaining the multiple “group” vocals), but were clearly talented. Drummer Cavouto and horn player Cavalea were the stand outs. While the majority of tunes . . . offered up little more than frothy pop-oriented “product” there were a couple of stand out performances. The album’s most psych tinged offerings . . . were also the strongest numbers. Imagine a weaker Association . . . .

https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/sounds-of-modification/sounds-of-modification/

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Eternity’s Children — “Gypsy Minstrel Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 29, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,286) Eternity’s Children — “Gypsy Minstrel Man”

Eternity’s Children’s (see #706, 1,131) “finest moments rank alongside anything in the soft pop canon. . . . (Jason Ankeny, https://www.allmusic.com/album/eternitys-children-mw0000221884). Here is one of them, a plaintive tale of a gypsy minstrel man ever searching for the woman who left him on their wedding day.

As to the Children, they came up with the Biloxi Beat! Dawn Eden (now a noted Catholic theologian and canon scholar*) tells us that:

They were from Mississippi, yet they excelled in West Coast soft pop. They were co-produced by the legendary Curt Boettcher, yet they made some of their best music without him. They were intelligent and college-educated, yet they signed their lives away to a pair of entrepreneurs whose previous management experience extended only to a chain of health clubs. . . . [They were] the best West Coast soft pop group ever to come out of Biloxi.

liner notes to the CD reissue of Eternity’s Children

Jason Ankeny tells us:

Eternity’s Children were formed in Cleveland, MS, in 1965 by . . . Bruce Blackman and drummer Roy Whittaker, fellow students at Delta College. With the addition of lead guitarist Johnny Walker, rhythm guitarist Jerry Bounds, and bassist Charlie Ross, the group (originally dubbed the Phantoms) began developing the complex, overlapping vocal harmonies that remained the hallmark of their sound throughout their career. . . . [I]n 1966 the[y] relocated to Biloxi . . . . With the addition of local folksinger Linda Lawley, the fledgling band adopted the more contemporary moniker Eternity’s Children, and after Baton Rouge health club magnate Ray Roy caught one of their live appearances, he convinced [his] business partner . . . to form a management company . . . which soon signed the group . . . . [They] quickly recorded a demo that made its way to A&M . . . and in the spring of 1967 recorded their lone effort for the label, the . . . single “Wait and See.” . . . The record went nowhere, and . . . [they] were quickly dropped by A&M. . . . [but Roy] soon landed the[m] a deal with Capitol’s tax-shelter subsidiary, Tower . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eternitys-children-mn0000205385#biography

Let’s have Eden pick up the story:

Once the group signed to Tower, it was decided to again hire Keith Olsen as their producer. That meant of necessity hiring Curt Boettcher too, since he and Olsen by then came as a package. . . . Curt Boettcher was on top of the world, a hotshot Columbia staff producer involved with . . . Gary Usher’s Studio group Sagittarius and his own . . . “supergroup,” the Millennium [see #397, 506, 586, 662, 810, 1,002]. . . . Although Boettcher gave special attention to some of the cuts . . . he and Olsen did not fully utilize the group’s talents. It may have been because they were already sinking all their creative juices into the Millennium and Sagittarius, both of which featured Boettcher as an artist. Moreover, Eternity’s Children came with a solid sound of their own making, and it was clear that they were not ripe for being moulded.

liner notes to the CD reissue of Eternity’s Children

Let’s return to Ankeny:

During production of the album, relations between the [band] members . . . and their management became increasingly strained, and prior to the LP’s mid-1968 release, Blackman, Walker, and Bounds all exited. . . . An appearance on American Bandstand spurred “Mrs. Bluebird” up the pop charts, but Tower did little to promote the single or the band, and after three weeks at number 69 on Billboard, both quickly plummeted out of the Hot 100. Eternity’s Children nevertheless reconvened to begin work on their second album, Timeless, this time recruiting Boettcher’s longtime engineer, Gary Paxton, to helm the sessions. . . . The album . . . wrapped in late 1968, and promo copies of the first single, “Till I Hear It from You,” were soon dispatched to radio. But when [the song] caused little excitement among radio programmers, Tower abruptly scuttled Timeless‘ U.S. release; the album did appear on Capitol’s Canadian branch (“Mrs. Bluebird” was a sizable hit north of the border). . . .

Blackman and Walker finally achieved massive chart success in the mid-’70s as members of Starbuck, which scored the Top Five smash “Moonlight Feels Right.”

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/eternitys-children-mn0000205385#biography

* Of course, Dawn Eden is also a long-time scholar of another canon, that is what would be the rock and roll canon in an alternate and more just universe. She is also a songwriter.

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Timebox — “Gone Is the Sad Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 28, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,285) Timebox — “Gone Is the Sad Man”

This ’68 B-side is a “near-perfect piece of English psychedelic pop”, the “exuberant harmonies and . . . soulful lead vocal . . . swoop and glide”. (Mike Stax, liner notes to the CD comp Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts From The British Empire And Beyond 1964-1969) It is a “gem” with a “gorgeous melody” (Vernon Joynson, The Tapestry of Delights Revisited), where “[b]ackwards guitars, boogie pianos and mellow vibraphone collide”. (liner notes to the CD comp Acid Drops, Spacedust & Flying Saucers: Psychedelic Confectionery from the UK Underground 1965-1969)

As to Timebox, Jon “Mojo” Mills tells us:

The roots of Timebox lay in local band Take 5 in 1965 in Southport, a small northern English coastal town . . . near Liverpool[]. . . . [The band] turned professional and headed towards London. . . . [T]hey were soon working on package tours . . . as well as striking up a residency at the legendary the Whiskey a Go Go. With two singers leaving . . . U.S. singer John Henry was drafted in and the band changed their name to Timebox — an American term for a prison cell. Signed to Piccadilly in February 1967, their debut single, “I’ll Always Love You” b/w “Save Your Love,” . . . was released and displayed an early jazz-tinged, soulful talent. Following this, more turns of fate occurred, with ex-G.I. Henry being whipped back off to the U.S.A by officials . . . . Mike Patto, who had played with the Bo Street Runners and the Chicago Line . . . joined Timebox after a few illustrious jams and took on a prominent role as vocalist and songwriter. . . . Timebox soon became a hot live act. Many who saw them claimed Timebox to be one of the first rock bands in London to really explore jazz in a rock context. A wonderful performance at the Windsor Jazz Festival on August 12, 1967, caught the eye of Decca producer Gus Dudgeon, who immediately signed them to the label’s subsidiary Deram. The first 45, a fantastic version of Tim Hardin’s “Don’t Make Promises,” was backed by the even better Ollie original “Walking Through the Streets of My Mind,” which combined sharp blue-eyed soul harmonies with a psychedelic arrangement. The follow-up — again a classic example of British soul — was a cover of the Four Seasons’ “Beggin” and reached number 38 in the charts. . . . The problem was that even Deram viewed Timebox as a pop band, and so the more experimental songs were left in the can while the silly sing-a-long tune “Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye,” written for fun when the band members were drunk, was the next release in March 1969. It’s styling was a little too late for the era of novelty psychedelia, and of no interest to the more rock-oriented record buyer . . . . By the summer of 1969, things were turning sour. The final release, “Yellow Van,” was a great record and polite enough for airplay, but was banned due to the nature of the lyrics. This really was the end of the road for Timebox who had had a hard time at the best of times. The nucleus of the band merged into Patto, who released three albums in the 1970s.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/timebox-mn0000602690#biography

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Fortes Mentum — “Saga of a Wrinkled Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 27, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,284) Fortes Mentum* — “Saga of a Wrinkled Man”

Whimsical UK pop psych . . . as written by Frédéric Chopin! With its “distinctive, quasi-classical piano motifs” (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Psychedelic Pstones III: House of Many Windows: A Morgan Blue Town Compilation), “Good Vibrations style organ, syncopated drums and bass with gothic lyrics about growing old, [it] stands out as one of the outstanding UK psychedelic seven inchers of the late 60s”. (The Strange Brew, https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/fortes-mentum/)

The song was written by Danny Beckerman, a “mercurial producer/arranger/writer/musician . . . an archetypically precocious studio whizzkid who was one of [the] Morgan [Blue Town label] owner Monty Babson’s favoured lieutenants”. (David Wells, liner notes to the CD comp Angel Pavement: Maybe Tomorrow).

As to Fortes Mentum (see #904, 1,003), Maggie Regan tells us that:

Danny Beckerman was a staff writer at Morgan Music in 1966 and wanted to get a band together to record his own material. He decided on talented London musicians Frank Bennett on vocals, Ron Regan on bass, Keith Giles on drums, Alan Ward on Organ and Barry Clark on lead guitar. Originally Danny didn’t want to be part of the band but as they all got on well together the other guys persuaded him to join them and so was born, Sons of Chopin??? Their first single was refused by the BBC, they wouldn’t play it under copyright rules because, wait for it . . . they were not actually the Sons of Chopin!!! So instead ‘Saga Of A Wrinkled Man’ became the first single from the newly named [Fortes Mentum]. . . . They released three singles as Fortes Mentum. Despite a good following, the band never made any money although they performed all over London and the UK including such famous venues of the time like The Whisky A Go Go and the Starlight Ballroom in Crawley, as well as the usual college gigs and such. In March 1969 they were offered a unique opportunity to work in Germany. Unfortunately Alan and Barry had very good ‘day jobs’ and they didn’t want to give them up. They were replaced by Rod Creasy on keyboards and Paul Coles on lead guitar. This line up worked the famous Top 10 Club in Hamburg and the K52 Club in Frankfurt. It was at the Starlight Ballroom later on that Frank and Danny had a falling out. Danny decided to pursue his career in songwriting and so left the band. The inimitable Bob Flag (ex-Riot Squad) joined on saxaphone and flute. Fortes Mentum then toured with David Bowie amongst others but prestige doesn’t pay the rent and the band disbanded around a year later due to lack of gigs. The band had known agents such as The London City Agency/Capital Artistes but earning a living was hard in those days. The scene went a bit dead, even though the band were getting terrific write ups.

http://www.fortesmentum.com/

* HarvestmanMan says: “If the name [in Latin] was supposed to mean ‘strong mind’ (just one), it’d be ‘fortis mens’… if it was supposed to mean ‘strong minds’ it’d be ‘fortes mentes’. Someone never completed their language classes in school… ;)”. (https://www.45cat.com/record/2400). Harsh!

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The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Buddha (Was Her Best Man)”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 26, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,283) The Carolyn Hester Coalition — “Buddha (Was Her Best Man)”

Carolyn Hester (see #558) — folkie turned psychedelic. OK, she didn’t get booed at the Newport Folk Festival, but she does get her share of grief and eye-rolls. “[S]tarry-eyed idealism and girlish, high-pitched vocals”. (Alex Molotkow, (https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carolyn_hester_coalition-_carolyn_hester_coalition_magazine) Yes, guilty as charged! But as starry-eyed songs sung with girlish, high-pitched vocals go, this is a great one. Oh, and the career lesson here? Never turn down a “Puff the Magic Dragon” gig!

Before I forget, “Buddha” is from her first “psych” album, described as “fine westcoast style hippie fuzz folkrock/pop with Hester singing in a decidedly non-folky acid bubblegum style”. (Patrick Lundborg, The Acid Archives, 2nd ed.) “Buddha” is more folk rock, and is enchanting.

Bad-cat says that:

Anyone into [Carolyn] Hester’s earlier incarnation as a folk singer is likely to find her decision to turn to a more happenin’/commercial sound disappointing. On the other hand, anyone into this late-1960s psych-oriented effort is liable to find her earlier folk albums trite and dull. The thought of a folkie turning to psych is probably a major turnoff to many folks. That’s unfortunate since once you get over Hester’s little girl lost voice, 1968’s The Carolyn Hester Coalition is surprisingly enjoyable.

https://fancy313.rssing.com/chan-6208908/all_p32.html

Alex Molotkow throws in that “the Coalition were her foray into psychedelia, featuring an all-male team of pros. The band survived for two albums . . . both of which bear the marks of Hester’s folk revivalist past: starry-eyed idealism and girlish, high-pitched vocals.” (https://exclaim.ca/music/article/carolyn_hester_coalition-_carolyn_hester_coalition_magazine)

Finally, Richie Unterberger gives some needed historical context (though I edited out much of his vitriol):

Carolyn Hester had been away from the recording scene for a few years when she re-emerged in the late 1960s as the centerpiece of the Carolyn Hester Coalition, a psychedelic- and folk-tinged rock group. It’s hard to read this as anything but an attempt to keep up with the times on the part of someone who missed the boat that made folk and folk-rock a commercial proposition. . . .

[Hester] was an important if marginal figure of the early-’60s folk revival, singing traditional material with a high voice in the manner of Joan Baez and Judy Collins (though with less command). . . . Hester herself was unable to make it as a folk-rocker despite a brief try, and unpredictably went into psychedelic music for a couple of albums before largely drifting out of the business . . . . In 1960, she made her second album [that] cast her very much in the thick of the folk revival . . . sung in her high, almost shaky and girlish voice. In the early ’60s, she was briefly married to author and folk singer/songwriter Richard Farina, who became friendly with Bob Dylan shortly after Dylan’s arrival in New York. While recording her third album . . . she invited Dylan, then almost unknown, to play harmonica on a few cuts. His work on the album helped bring him to the attention of [John] Hammond, who signed Dylan to Columbia . . . shortly afterwards. While other performers of the early-’60s folk revival made great strides forward in sales and influence . . . Hester remained relatively obscure. She turned down a chance to form a folk trio with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey, offered by manager Albert Grossman; that position went to Mary Travers . . . . [I]n sticking exclusively to traditional material, rather than covering songs by contemporary writers or writing anything herself, Hester was falling behind the folk curve. . . . In the late ’60s, Hester made the unexpected move to psychedelic music as part of the Carolyn Hester Coalition, who recorded a couple of little-known albums [which] were erratic but not half-bad, interspersing updates of traditional material . . . with moody and fuzzy folk-rockers . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/carolyn-hester-mn0000149166/biography, https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-carolyn-hester-coalition-mw0000818892

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The Tages — “There’s a Blind Man Playin’ Fiddle in the Street”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 25, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,282) The Tages — “There’s a Blind Man Playin’ Fiddle in the Street”

From the best Swedish band of the 60’s (see #286) comes a ’68 pop psych delight and their last A-side to reach the top 10 in Sweden. “Retrospectively . . . considered a nod to the Beatles, with Roger Wallis [Radio Sweden] jokingly naming it ‘There’s a Blind Man Playin’ Fiddle on Penny Lane’ on his radio shows”. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street) OK, not the streets of London, the streets of Gothenburg! The song was “inspired by a man that often could be seen playing a violin on the streets of Gothenburg”. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street)

The song is “‘unbelievably catchy’ owing primarily to the chorus . . . a ‘wonderful creation'” (GT staff review, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street), “‘another one of Tages best’ . . . [with a] chorus [that is] an ‘earworm singalong’ that would get stuck in your head, ‘whether you like Tages or not'”. (Hudiksvalls Tidning staff review, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street) “We though it was pretty cheeky and cool to combine folk tones with rock and pop”. (bassist Göran Lagerberg, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street)

Wikipedia tells us that:

On 4 December 1967, Tages released their fifth studio album Studio. A blend of psychedelic music, rock and Swedish folk music, it was largely written by bassist Göran Lagerberg and producer Anders Henriksson. . . . [who had] introduc[ed] them to elements of Swedish folk music . . . . Lagerberg aspired to follow-up Studio with a release that was even more folk-influenced. . . . Studio had become a commercial failure . . . . [taking] a toll on the band, particularly Lagerberg, who considered the album to be “some of the best” he had written’ . . . . [H]e decided that the follow-up single . . . would be “more commercial” . . . . Lagerberg took inspiration from an almost “mythical figure” that could be spotted playing the violin on the sidewalks and town squares of Gothenburg, Tages’ home town. Though initially shrouded in mystery, the man in question was confirmed to be a real individual, namely John Eriksson. Eriksson . . . was allegedly divorced by his wife during the mid-1920s, leading to him “hiking to Gothenburg” and spending “up to sixty years of his life” there, playing the violin “in sorrow over his lost love”. . . . Despite having sufficient promotion in Sweden, the single was a relative chart failure compared to earlier releases. . . . spen[ding] four non-consecutive weeks on the chart. . . . In the UK, despite being fairly promoted by British Parlophone, the song failed to crack the [charts]. . . . [T]he single was met with critical acclaim in the Swedish press. . . . Lennart Wrigholm . . . . states that as was the case with Studio, record buyers felt alienated by Tages “endeavours” with folk music that they “flat out refused” to purchase the band’s records.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/There%27s_a_Blind_Man_Playin%27_Fiddle_in_the_Street

As to the Tages, Richie Unterberger opines that:

The[y] were without a doubt, the best Swedish band of the ’60s and one of the best ’60s rock acts of any sort from a non-English speaking country. Although the group’s first recordings were pretty weak Merseybeat derivations, in the mid-’60s they developed a tough, mod-influenced sound that echoed the Who and the Kinks. More than any other continental group, the Tages could have passed for a genuine British band . . . . Big throughout Scandinavia, the group actually made a determined effort to crack the English market in 1968, playing quite a few U.K. shows and releasing records there; they failed, and disbanded at the end of the year.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tages-mn0000155257#biography

And Nostalgia Central tell us that:

The band released a number of singles and LPs in their native Sweden to considerable success, making the Swedish Top 10 more than a dozen times. Though remembered as one of the finest non-English speaking bands of the 1960s, they failed to ever really break into the US or UK markets. In . . . 1967 . . . they signed directly to Parlophone and one of their singles . . . was the (at the time) very controversial She’s Having A Baby Now which many radio stations refused to play because of the subject matter. The Tages also produced one of the world’s first psychedelic albums, named Extra Extra in 1966. Then they wanted to create a pop-music that was totally Swedish by learning old Swedish folk-music. After this, they produced their fifth and last album – named Studio – at Abbey Road in 1967. The album is very influenced by Swedish folk music and psychedelia and is remembered as the finest album from the sixties from a non-English speaking country (it has been called the ‘Sgt Pepper Of Sweden’).

https://nostalgiacentral.com/music/artists-l-to-z/artists-t/tages/

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Gary Walker & the Rain — “Thoughts of an Old Man”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 24, 2024

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

1,281) Gary Walker & the Rain — “Thoughts of an Old Man”

From their Japan-only LP (and a Japanese B-side), Gary Walker & the Rain (see #483, 601) give us a song that is “distinctly Pepper-ish musically and lyrically” (Len, https://therisingstorm.net/gary-walker-the-rain-album-no-1/), and a “distinctly British psych-pop number with phlanged piano, chirpy ‘ba ba ba ba’ backing vocals and lovely melody and lyrics concerning a lonely, retired senior citizen”. (Wilthomer, https://anorakthing.blogspot.com/2009/12/big-in-japangary-walker-rain.html

Album No. 1 is one of Great Britain’s great lost pop psych albums — only it wasn’t really lost, as it was released in Japan, and it wasn’t really British, as it was led by a Yank. As Voltaire famously said, “[t]he Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire.” As Richie Unterberger once said, the Walker Brothers “weren’t British, they weren’t brothers, and their real names weren’t Walker”.

What is the story here? Let’s go to Unterberger:

Californians Scott Engel, John Maus, and Gary Leeds, were briefly huge stars in England . . . . Engel and Maus were playing together in Hollywood when drummer Leeds suggested they form a trio and try to make it in England. And they did — with surprising swiftness, the[ “Walker Brothers”] hit the top of the British charts with “Make It Easy on Yourself” in 1965. “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” repeated the feat the following year . . . . For a few months they experienced frenzied adulation almost on the level of the Beatles and the Stones . . . . [T]hey were far more pop than rock. . . . favor[ing] orchestrated ballads . . . emulat[ing] the Righteous Brothers . . . . In the intensely competitive days of 1967, the Walkers’ brand of pop suddenly become passé, and the group disbanded in the face of diminishing success and Scott’s increasingly fruitful solo career. Scott ran off a series of Top Ten British solo albums in the late ’60s, which have attracted a sizable cult with their idiosyncratic marriage of Scott’s brooding, insular songs and ornate orchestral arrangements. [see #396] Gary Walker released a few singles and an album with his group the Rain in a much harder-rocking guitar-oriented format.

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-walker-brothers-mn0000582024/biography

Vernon Joynson adds that:

As Gary Leeds he’d been in the early Standells. Then in 1966 frustrated at his limited role in the [Walker Brothers] he began a solo career. His first two efforts were minor hits and then he formed Rain with former Cryin’ Shames guitarist Paul Crane and ex-Masterminds’ guitarist Joey Molland.

The Tapestry of Delights Revisited

Len elaborates:

[Album Number 1 is] a genuine lost album which has only recently seen the light of day outside Japan and which will come as a pleasant surprise to aficionados of Brit psych. Gary Leeds was only ever a third wheel to the Walker Brothers, a non-singing drummer thumping the tubs on live dates and TV appearances . . . . However, such was the impact of the Walkers in Europe and Japan that, when the trio folded, Gary was easily convinced by conniving manager Maurice King to put together a new band in England . . . . Allegedly Molland’s interview ran thus. Leeds: You look like Paul McCartney. Can you sing like him? Molland: Yes. L: Can you play guitar like Eric Clapton? M: Yes. L: You’re in. Serendipitously, he really could do both, besides proving an adept songwriter. . . . The band’s recording career kicked off with a passable cover of “Spooky” that . . . sold well [only] in Japan, where the Walkers had belatedly achieved godlike status. On the basis of this UK Polydor permitted them to record an album, but then inexplicably refused to release it. Only in Japan, where the band’s local label, Philips, was crying out for further product, did it hit the shelves . . . . On the ensuing tour of Japan the band were mobbed by teenage girls . . . . [T]he band called it a day just a year after coming together. Molland went on to be a cornerstone of Badfinger . . . .

http://therisingstorm.net/gary-walker-the-rain-album-no-1/

Finally, Vernon Joynson again:

[Album No. 1 was] only released in Japan and has long been established as one of the world’s rarest records . . . . It is thought to have been withdrawn from sale almost immediately because of Molland’s contractual commitments to The Iveys.

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