LAURA's GARDEN

LAURA's GARDEN 1 (incorporating SFA38)

2007-12-17T06:46:00.000-08:00

L A U R A' s G A R D E N
~ further exp-laura-tions in the shrubbery of UK Psychedelia & Bendy Pop ~

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If you walk in Laura's Garden you will hear her mind......Listen!
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contact: lauras_garden@msn.com
No. 1 [ incorporating S.F.A. (no. 38) ]

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This, the very first, issue of LAURA's GARDEN is dedicated to the Love We've Lost; to the memories of John Peel, Syd Barrett, David Oscar Monckton Glendale Thubron, and Sanctuary Records. R.I.P. ye most beatific beauties, may your heavenly star burn longer and brighter than did your earthly one.

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CONTENTS:
Intro: Welcome to the Garden
Not Much Cheer For The People Living Here
The Herd: Paradise Lost
Holly: Paradise Found?
Monomania
The Light that burns twice as bright burns half as long
By Spaceship To The Psyche
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat
P/Reviews
Kites
Hello Enid, Goodbye Edythe
Bric-a-Brac Corner
Outro: next issue
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INTRO
Hello my lovelies, and welcome to the Garden.
The garden, the hortus deliciarum, the rosarium, has since time immemorial been a metaphor, and metonymy, for the happy place: Eden being the place from which we all came and to which we all long to return ~ "We are stardust, we are golden, And we got to get ourselves back to the garden" sang some goofy bird long, long agos and worlds apart. The Beatles begun their run of psychedelic-inspired recordings (with 'Rain'), and ended it (with 'I Am The Walrus') "sitting in an English garden". Gandalf's Garden was the mag which most effectively summed up the truly outré nature of the 1960s psychedelic revolution in consciousness John's Children played (rather roughly) in the same garden; childhood play and pastoral-horizontalism were dominant themes in UK '60s pop; the Electric Garden was both a strange club and even stranger song (by The Illusive Dream); and the Orange Bicycle gave us a rococco masterpiece in the form of 'Laura's Garden', one of britpop's bestest ever flights of fancy. Between this track's shimmering bee-wings-strings intro & outro was presented a multi-perspective bee's-eye view of the mind-garden, full of blissful visual imagery and delightful sensations. Directly cerebral, florid, experimental, grand, yet without the swollen pretensions of the worst prog rock, 'Laura's Garden' remains highly ambitious, its beauty resulting from those artistic ambitions being held in check by pop's gossamer threads, never allowed to spiral off into grandiloquence or inaccessibility.
In this very first issue of LAURA's GARDEN, Joe MacFarland is diagnosed as suffering from a highly-contagious case of monomania; we take a few trips into some of the garden's poppier corners; and Paul Martin reminds us that it was lino in the front (best!) room, outside loos (with Izal tracing paper to wipe with!), no central heating, once-a-week-baths with carbolic, only one week off a year (at Butlin's in Skeggie), and all that were the grim reality for most bands (and the mass of the UK population) in the "psych-era". Contrary to what many young "mods" say, the 1960s are not so easily made to fit into the "good old days" box. To do so does the period a disservice, betrays and misrepresents the facts. It was the very tension between wild desire and cold grey reality which generated the energy of the Psych Revolution: the urgent need to get off the factory floor and "back into the garden".
Thank you for glistening,
Paul Cross
MANY THANKS: I am very grateful to a great many people (including Joe McFarland, David Wells, Mary Lago, Stefan Granados, Marcello Carlin) for easing the birthing pains of this new mag; but I must deliver a most especial "ta muchly" to the following - MICK CAPEWELL (for much marvellousness avobe & yebond the dute of cally); PAUL MARTIN (for the speediest, most effective psych-fingers on any PC keyboard); MEG GREENHORN (for splendiferous kindness & patience); RAY GLYNN (from that most fabulous of bands, THE MIRAGE, for being such a thoroughly good egg); and most especially and most muchly of all, to the delicious MARIELLA THUBRON (for simply being Mariella Thubron, and being so delicious to boot). My LOVE to you all ~ PC xxxxx
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‘NOT MUCH CHEER FOR THE PEOPLE LIVING HERE’: ‘60s pop 45s as social documents by Paul Martin
Themes amongst British pop 45s of the late 1960s included portraits of attitudes towards urban living rather more simple than perhaps we have today. No second house hunting for a rural or seaside weekend retreat whilst working in London all week. Oh no. Not even a first let alone a second annual foreign holiday! The aural character and geographical sketches drawn in these musings were often derisory about working class people on holiday. Kaleidoscope’s ‘Holiday Maker’ or Prowler’s ‘Jaywick Cowboy’ (a novelty throwaway gracing the B side of their ‘Pale Green Hmmm Driving Man’) are typical English self parody. Almost like an updated aural Donald McGill postcard. However, the other side of the coin are songs about urban and blue collar entrapment. One very sweet example is the toy town whimsy of Monopoly’s ‘We’re All Going To The Seaside’. A 1967 topside of Monopoly’s second Polydor single. The band would later become Frogatt, but here they are in empathetic mood with the trapped paper mill worker and his long suffering family:

The Monopoly ~ 'We’re All Going To The Seaside'
Father looks tired as he walked through the gate,
hasn’t had a holiday for years.
Mother went to greet him like she always does,
fighting back her overworked tears.
(Chorus)
We’re all going to the seaside, the seaside, the seaside
We’re all going to the seaside,
If we can save enough money, money
Father said something but I couldn’t make it out
to try and bring a smile to her face.
Round about August, we’ll all take a rest
and go to a bright Summer place.
Chorus
Middle eight
Over and over, we say that we must take a holiday
Over and over, but how many years must we wait?
Chorus
Paper mill chimneys reach high in the sky,
everybody wishes they could fly.
Out of the smoke ‘cause they’re windows are broke
Watching their young years go by
Chorus, end
(The Monopoly, Polydor Records, 1967.
A Terry Kennedy production)

Conversely, Jonathan Gill, whilst recognising the drudgery and entrapment of the residents of his ‘Isandula Road’, cannot help being drawn back there himself. Perhaps he was a young man who escaped its factories, but could not quite break away completely. He questions his inevitable return to (presumably) his roots that the road represents, but almost unwillingly. Although recorded in 1973, it sounds every bit a 1968 record and is way out of wack with the prevailing pop ethos of the time.
Jonathan Gill ~ 'Isandula Road'
Isandula Road by the factory, smell the beer from the brewery,
Not much cheer for the people living here.
Isandula Road, by the railway line, noisy trains run all the time,
Not much cheer for the people living here
Chorus
Is-an-du-la, dating back a hundred years or more
What is it about the street, that makes me stop and turn my feet,
back again to Isandula Road?
Isandula Road, where your grandma lives, she can see all the world go by,
Not much cheer for the people living here
Isandula Road by the factory, smell of beer, from the brewery
Not much cheer for the people living here
Chorus, repeat and fade
(Humphries / Gill, Pye Records, 1973
produced, arranged and conducted by John McLeod)

Then we have a more enlightened understanding of urban entrapment in David and David’s ‘In The City’. In this song, the subject is caught in a dilemma between remaining in the city he had come to but despises, because his lover is of and will not move from the city, and fleeing to the open spaces of the countryside his heart tells him are calling. Enlightenment and understanding do not in this instance serve to resolve his predicament and we leave him still torn and still musing on his options.
The two Davids were Davis Seys and David Mindel, the latter was soon to form Espirt de Corp of Rubble fave ‘If’ (see the David Mindel interview in SFA 34) .
David and David ~ 'In The City'
In the morning, long before she starts to wake, I watch tomorrow fill the sky.
Only shrouded by the smoke of chimneys reaching way up high.
And I can see no grace for living in this place, she loves I know,
She’d never go away and yet I know I cannot sleep
Chorus
For I am dying here amongst the factories and cars,
amongst the tenements and bars that all surround me.
But whilst I’m laying here, collecting thoughts I’ve had so long,
I know where I belong, her arms around me, since she found me
Through the window coloured brightly by the rain, I will face the morning once again
In my thoughts though, only pastures, trees and hills can light my way
Through weather shaded eyes, the curse of pride denies the right to share
But when she’s there this is the only place I want to be
Chorus
For I am dying here amongst the factories and cars
Amongst the tenements and bars that all surround me,
But whilst I’m laying here, collecting thoughts I’ve had so long,
I know where I belong, her arms around me, since she found me….In the city.
(David Mindel, Columbia Records, 1970
prodused by Gus Dudgeon in association with Tony Hall arranged by Paul Buckmaster)
Graham Gouldman in the 1960s was a purveyor of incisive and melodic pop singles dealing cleverly and knowingly with themes of love, growing up and life in general (‘Schoolgirl’, ‘Impossible years’ etc). Amongst the songs he wrote but did not record himself is the excellent ‘Tallyman’ recorded by Jeff Beck (reaching No.30 in 1967) and Herman’s Hermits (though remaining unreleased by them). In this slice of working class life, Gouldman regales us with the delights of new clothes and goods bought on the never never via the tallyman and his weekly collection round. The tallyman should not be confused with the loan shark for instance. The tallyman was (perhaps still is in places) one of the few forms of consumer credit working class people on low incomes could easily obtain. I well remember my mother buying many of my early teen year clothes from such a tallyman. A two-tone (tonic) suit c.1971 I remember especially well. Also my first pair of Levis (shrink to fit in the bath even though Mum cut the legs short before letting me sit in the bath with them on!) and a pair of black leather penny loafers, I looked then the part of a 14 year-old suedehead once I’d got the crombie coat as well! The tallyman for many people, as long as their incomes were regular, offered something to look forward to as he brought them the goods they ordered, long before internet mail ordering was even an idea in anyone’s head. Conversely of course, he also meant a regular outgoing of scarce income. Perhaps he was as much resented as welcomed for this reason. Nonetheless, the tallyman was a significant part of urban working class economics and culture and I’m glad Gouldman wrote such a song. It doesn’t celebrate the guy, nor does it denigrate him, rather it acknowledges him as a fact of their lives!
Jeff Beck ~ 'Tallyman'
To our house on a Friday, a man calls every week,
we give him a pound when he calls on his rounds.
To our house on a Friday, a man calls every week,
We give and we get and we’re always in debt.
With his plan, he carries all we’re needing, with his plan, most anything is ours,
He’s the tallyman, oh yeah, he‘s the tallyman
[Guitar solo]
Shoes and socks are wearing for the children, frilly frocks all in the latest style
He’s the tallyman, oh yeah, he’s the tallyman
To our house on a Friday, a man calls every week,
We’ve made him a friend, so he’s here til the end,
from cradle to grave, we’re expected to save,
we’ve made him a friend, so he’s here til the end.
(Graham Gouldman, Columbia 1967, a Mickie Most production)

We can take the lyrics of these songs in a context with other pop songs of the time that seem to refer to parallel themes and they help us paint a bigger picture of popular sentiment and concern of the period. For instance, demolition and new building which were a part of the modernisation of Britain in the 1960s are the subject of Idle Race’s ‘Knocking Nails Into My House’ Peter Lee Stirling’s ‘Goodbye Thimble Mill Lane’ and Turquoise’s ’53 Summer Street’ for instance. Therefore, these pop pieces are not only charming in their own right, they are also social historical documents of change and reactions to, or comments on it from young people of some forty years ago. It is too easy in our non-stop 24/7 society to simply view these songs as antique, nieve or simplistic. They are in fact voices from our near (and indeed even lived) past offering us a dialogue with that past as a way of understanding ourselves in the present and perhaps causing us to pause for thought every now and then. I for one enjoy the conversation with them.

Paul Martin (with thanks to Mark Frumento for pointing out some of these tunes to me in the first place)
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THE HERD: 'Paradise Lost' by Marcello Carlin
Another hopeful assemblage of post-Mod beat boys whom Ken Howard and Alan Blaikley used as an experimental crucible for ideas too outré even for Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick and Tich, featuring puppy-eyed teenage guitarist and lead singer Peter Frampton, the Herd’s time was relatively brief; "From The Underworld," their debut hit with funereal bells, undertaker’s plunking bass, Gregorian chanting and an Oedipal lyrical complex (though Scott Walker’s "Oedipus" offers a subtler and yet somehow far more hysterical variation on the same theme), still gets the occasional radio play, but the follow-up has seemingly become lost to follow-up and never gets revived. A shame, because as gaudily great as "From The Underworld" is, "Paradise Lost" is arguably much, much stranger. The kind of single which could only have appeared in 1967 – it was released at the very end of the year, reaching the Top 20 in early 1968 – its beginning is enough to make the listener wonder whether they have purchased a Frankie Vaughan single by mistake; sliding "Stripper" brass, high-kicking "Don’t Bring Lulu" drums, awaiting the arrival of top hat and cane; but then it meticulously dissolves into a sombre variant on the "Underworld" model with mournful motets of plainsong as Frampton muses: "In the deepest dungeons of my mind/I dredge the shadows" ...as I said, only in 1967 could something like this occur. As he cries over the "scene of my innocence departed," the song opens up to allow pirate radio beat boom harmonies and cavernous chambers of choir and brass.Essentially dwelling on the loss of a certain kind of sexual innocence…remember, Frampton was sixteen going on seventeen at this stage…he wanders confused, thinking of the now surrendered self-pleasures of youth ("Once I could love without desire/Her glance could warm me without fire") but sounding hurt and almost enraged about his inability to…get the real thing ("Experience has dulled my eyes/With repetition, wonder dies") or his agony over the fact that he can never experience it again for the first time ("She was my promise and my dream").As the cascades of "Teenage Opera" trumpet fanfares make metaphorically clear, "Paradise Lost" is less to do with Milton than with "Pictures of Lily" (do you see the alliteration there?), but since he hasn’t actually lost his virginity yet (the tantalisingly unreachable sweetness of the Vaughan Williams solo violin balanced with the irretrievable loss of childhood of the lullaby glockenspiel) all he can do is wearily turn the pages again and go through the mechanics as the dream fades and the crass "Stripper" stomp returns, this time not to be moved, until someone finally comes to show him the way.
Reprinted, with kind permission, from The Blue in the Air
http://garbocathedral.blogspot.com/2007/09/herd-paradise-lost.html
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HOLLY: Paradise Found? by Paul Cross

HOLLY - 'Paradise Lost' (Fontana TF 980) Rel. 22/11/68.Can you improve on perfection?
Nine months after The Herd's glorious 'Paradise Lost' fell off the charts, there was issued another version of the song by one Holly. Clearly those articulate Howard-Blaikely chappies hadn't, despite it being the Herd's least successful chart-entry, entirely given up on this colossus. But they had changed things a bit. Gone are the 'stripper'-style top & tailings, the false climaxes, all the schlock-psych window-dressing, the ghoulish harmony vocals and effervescent organ trills of The Herd's meisterwerk. All that made 'Paradise Lost' the very essence of late-'67 THINK BIG Wirtzianesque bravura. Instead, Holly's rendition (same song, same production team, even same label), whilst it retained a large-scale production, instead featured a young lady vocalist, all strident French-chanteuse-style vibrato, set all-too-smugly within a grand-dame, sub-Shirley-Bassey-type un-pop arrangement: all MOR Mike Sammes harmonies a-fluttering, angelic harps a-shimmering, and big taut kettledrums a-booming. Holly uses her voice to both wring out every drop of melodrama from the lyrics and simultaneously demolish a true work of art; transforming the whole thing from neurotic sexual psycho-drama epic into supper-club bathos: from the pretty young narcissists of the Kings Road to the bloated old farts of Talk of the Town in 3 minutes flat.
In answer to the question made explicit in the title of this piece the reply is 'No, there's no paradise here'; and to the question in my opening line, again, a resounding Non! The ambition and sheer impudence, to say nothing of the artifice and glory, of the original are jettisoned for a cynical mums-and-dads-friendly orch-fest approach. Holly's take on 'Paradise Lost' offers a rare example of Howard-Blaikely (intellectually and creatively, way above most of their peers) losing their bottle. Not that anyone noticed for 40 years. This record only briefly appeared from out of sales reps' shoulder bags, slid into (a few) record shop racks, then slid into obscurity.
Why bother mentioning it at all, then??? you may well ask. Because at least one record dealer has deceitfully hyped this as "great psych"; and, as Charles Shaar Murray once sagely informed us, records as bad as this ought never be forgotten..
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'PARADISE LOST' (lyrics by Alan Blaikley & Ken Howard)In the deepest dungeons of my mindI dredge the shadows, try to findA mem'ry dimly lit, a jigsaw piece to fitScene of my innocence departedAaaahOnce I could love without desireHer glance could warm me without fireWhere is the boy I was, who wanted her becauseShe took my loneliness and healed meExperience has dulled my eyesWith repetition wonder diesIn craving to be free, I lost a part of meShe was my promise and my dream Aaaah
(Note: These words are from The Herd's version; that by Holly has all the female pronouns changed to male.)
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MONOMANIA ----Hypothetical aural hallucinations or valid variations? A leisurely perambulation through the world of "mono" and "stereo" in the world of pop-psych---- by Joe McFarland
Well, for a long time I used to wonder: "what is this nonsense about mono and stereo?" Every time a CD would be released with mono/stereo versions of the album I would think "couldn’t they have thrown on some demos or rare tracks instead?" I still feel that way most of the time. And up until a few months ago if I had to decide between mono and stereo, especially for a psych album, I would probably have said "go stereo" if for no other reason than you’ll hear the panning from speaker to speaker or any cool headphone effect in stereo.
But lately I’ve had a revelation of sorts, a kind of mono conversion that has me looking at the back of any album and hoping that the magic word "mono" will be printed there, even if the copyright date is as far into the age of stereo as 1968! What has caused this about face? Well, as usual it seems to have started with the Beatles, and branched out from there.
Not that my first mono psych LP was a Beatles album. A few years back I got a copy of Honeybus’ "Story" in mono. I had also found a copy of the Idle Race’s "Birthday Party" in mono and not ever really paid much attention to its mono designation. It had happened to be the version I found, and I remember at the time being glad that I had the compilation "Imposters of Life’s Magazine" to hear the stereo versions of most of the songs. But when a generous and well-known psych-pop enthusiast recently sent me a CDR of that same album (showing how little I had even noticed what I had in my own collection!) I ended up listening to it with some regularity. Often, however, I would follow up by switching to the stereo mixes on "Back To The Story" or "Imposters" and thinking "that was interesting….but for the most part I prefer the stereo."
That could have been that, but mono was not to be ignored!
A few months later I came across some Beatles bootlegs with mono versions tagged on to the end. That was followed by a mono version of Sgt. Pepper. Then slowly, ever so slowly, I got sucked into the obsessive need for mono. Was it the fact that John Lennon famously announced that the definitive Sgt. Pepper was the mono mix? Was it the fact that there seemed to be endless debate on the internet over the relative merits of Pepper in mono and stereo? Was it the fact that on some songs I definitely preferred the mono, while on others the stereo sounded better? I don’t know….all of the above.
It was the White Album that really did it for me. Here it wasn’t just the levels or speed of the songs that seemed different, but the whole album seemed to build and expand on the difference most detectable previously on "Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band (Reprise)", the most obvious song on Sgt. Pepper where you actually hear different STUFF! It seemed that almost every song on the White Album had some sort of difference in mono. Lennon might have praised the mono Pepper, but it was the White Album that seemed to warrant the mono attention.
On "Savoy Truffle," for instance, the guitar is different, and on "Piggies" the noises are different. But as every Beatles fan reading this will undoubtedly know, the big winner of the "mono is different" prize is "Helter Skelter." It’s a completely different animal in mono. Listening to this in mono was like reading a passage from a religious text and finally having a beam of light knock you on your rear end while a large booming voice announces….LISTEN TO THE MAJESTY OF THIS MONO MIX YOU LEADEN EARED FOOL! Well, kind of like that.
Yes, "Helter Skelter" went from being what I always considered a somewhat convincing attempt to rock on the part of McCartney, to a masterpiece of heaviness in mono. The descending guitar riff blasts out of both speakers like some sort of heavy metal koan demanding to be memorized and repeated for immediate access to a state of blissful enlightenment. In addition, the Sabbath like rock is truncated about forty seconds earlier in the mono, so that we get no fade-back or "blisters on my fingers," which just makes the song that much tauter, mean, and direct. I’m not saying "better" here you’ll notice, but it was noticeably DIFFERENT. Here for the first time was a song I could say was radically different from one mix to the next. Once I had let this wash over my brain, it was inevitable that I’d hear it everywhere. Soon I was trolling the internet looking for discussions of the relative merits of mono and stereo. I was going back to the Idle Race and checking out the Tomorrow album in mono. Sure the mono would eliminate the panning effects and some of the "weirdness", but on some songs it would bring out a sound or a guitar line that didn’t show up in stereo.
The recent Bee Gees boxed set afforded a chance to compare the mono and stereo and sometimes a song would just sound better in mono…cleaner. "Kitty Can" had a clarity I hadn’t heard in stereo. The harmonies sounded nicer. The song "Idea" had a little guitar part near the beginning that was taken off of the stereo. It wasn’t just a case of the separated channels of stereo coming out of both speakers with the same information. These are songs that take on a new life in mono.
But was it as simple as "mono brings out new life to the stereo mix"? As I delved further it became more complicated. It seemed there was more than one "mono" out there. Many mid-sixties albums, like Sgt. Pepper, had been mixed for mono in a way that was different from the stereo mix, more carefully and often with help from the band. This process could take a while, so that the mono "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" was done in several sessions while the stereo was a relative afterthought. Both that album and Pepper were mixed for stereo rather quickly. This meant that there were real differences between the mono and stereo mixes in these cases.
However, there was the whole "reprocessed stereo" thing. This was that insidious practice of making a fake stereo out of redirected mono recordings. This famously dogs the American stereo "Magical Mystery Tour" LP. This is a story in and of itself and you probably know about it if you’ve read this far, or have read Nicholas Schaeffner’s "Beatles Forever" at some point in your life, where I first ran into this info many years ago.
But suffice it to say that the U.S. stereo of that album is basically a splitting up of the mono, unless you get the German copy with the true stereo. There are many Beatles sites that will go into more detail, but basically the mono "Magical Mystery Tour" tapes seem to have been easier to locate at the time. And Capitol in the U.S. went with that. Except for the song "Blue Jay Way" which in every stereo version I’ve heard has a lot more backwards stuff going on than on the mono, the U.S. stereo "Magical Mystery Tour" isn’t hugely different from the mono. But a U.S. mono" Magical Mystery Tour" long playing record is pretty rare, by dint of the fact that it was only released as an LP in the U.S. for quite a few years. You could hear the mono in the U.K. on EPs.
The German stereo seems to have ended up providing what is now the accepted "stereo" version for that album. Where these ears (admittedly not the most attuned) really notice this is the song "Baby You’re a Rich Man" which sounds better on the German stereo than the U.S. Stereo or the U.S. mono. Well, let’s just stick with the word "different" instead of "better" as it is admittedly longer in mono. And with a Beatles song, longer is usually a good thing. But if you like bass (and who doesn’t?) then the German stereo is the way to go.
So, stereo (it turns out) can actually be mono (a variant thereof in the case of "Magical Mystery Tour"), unless you track down the German stereo. Conversely, there is something called a "fold-down." That means that up until 1967 in the U.S., and 1968 in the U.K. a mono record would most likely be significantly different from the stereo. But once you get to1969 and that lovely mono copy of the "Yellow Submarine" LP (side note--if it’s in good nick you have something there folks!) and what you’re really getting is fake mono. This is a "fold-down" of the stereo album and not a different mix at all.
This is almost the opposite problem from the "Magical Mystery Tour" situation. With "Yellow Submarine" what you get in mono is not a different mix, but the stereo recording coming through both speakers. In other words, you could get the same effect by hitting a "mono" switch on your stereo while listening to the stereo "Yellow Submarine," if your stereo receiver has such a switch. So while "Magical Mystery Tour" in U.S. stereo is similar to the mono version, but reveal some mono/stereo variations, the mono/stereo Yellow Submarine’s are the same exact recordings. Just the same, it helps a song like "Hey Bulldog" or "It’s All Too Much" to hear it in this "fake" mono. The stereo puts the piano of "Hey Bulldog" in one speaker and the vocals in another. Even if the mono isn’t a different mix, it sounds great to hear the riff blasting out of both speakers.
But I digress. The fact is a quick listen to the mono/stereo of the SONG "Yellow Submarine" from the similarly-titled LP will reveal no differences in the mix from mono to stereo. But if you go back to "Revolver" and do the same thing with that same song you’ll get some tasty little variations. A guitar chord can be heard at the beginning of one, and not the other. Some background vocals from John Lennon on one line can be heard where they don’t exist on the other. That sort of thing.
And while we’re visiting "Revolver" perhaps we should take a look at "I’m Only Sleeping" which seems to have different backwards guitar depending on whether you get the U.S. mono, the U.K. mono, or the stereo! Yikes. How many versions are there? Looks like three or four. Well, if that isn’t enough, the first pressing of "Revolver" in mono had a mix of "Tomorrow Never Knows" that was printed for about a day until John Lennon decided he wanted another mix and guaranteed that those "first pressing" would forever be quite collectible. I’ve heard this version on CD and can’t really say I hear a lot of difference between that first mix and the later mono mixes, but it’s widely reported that it’s there, noticeably in the seagull sounds. Well, that’s the kind of stuff you find out when you stare deeply into the abyss of Monomania.
By far the Beatles get the most attention on the internet when you start doing searches for mono or stereo. I’d heard for a long time about differences with the Stones early mono releases as well, and I’d heard of people who swear by those mono mixes. Also, Dylan albums through "John Wesley Harding" have distinct mono mixes, and there are some "fold-downs" after that. I’ve read that Jimi Hendrix doesn’t say "I’m coming to get you baby" on the mono "Foxy Lady" and that the guitar on the mono "Our Love Was" on the "Who Sell Out" album is different. Gerry and the Pacemakers reveal variations from mono to stereo, if my internet research is to be trusted. The list undoubtedly goes on and on. You get the idea.
And to make things more complicated there’s the Brazilian phenomenon. What’s this, then? Well, I stumbled upon this when I was looking to see if "Hey Jude" might have made it onto mono. It turned out it didn’t in either the U.S. or the U.K., since mono was a finished format by that point (1970). But it did in Brazil, where mono continued at least until 1972. Was this a "fold-down" of the stereo? Probably so, but if you want to hear mono versions of albums such as "Hey Jude", or "Abbey Road," or John Lennon’s "Imagine" then Brazilian copies are the way to go. Some other South American versions can be found as well. I’m not sure why a mono version of "Abbey Road" is really necessary, but it’s there, and can be heard on a Dr. Ebbet’s bootleg if you want it on CD!
Ironically, "Rain" on the album "Hey Jude" is already mono on all copies, or a faked stereo. Supposedly finding this song in "true stereo" is no easy task. This makes sense, as a b-side of a 1966 single would probably not have demanded a careful stereo mix at the time. Hence this remains on my stereo "Hey Jude" another example of the "vocals go here, guitars go there" form of "fake" stereo. It all gets pretty complicated. There is a mono single version of "Revolution" in the U.K., and the Brazilian mono of the song on the "Hey Jude" album. As I have not conducted a side by side test of those, I can’t tell you if they sound different, but I imagine a careful listener would hear something different in each mix. The "true" mono versus a "fold-down" mono? Perhaps. My Brazilian "Hey Jude" is still in the mail. I’ll have to get back to you on that one.
The bottom line for mono and stereo? For the most part you might be happy having one or the other and just getting used to it. But if you are infected with Monomania don’t be surprised if you find yourself trawling record stores and eBay looking for that elusive Brazilian mono LP. And every now and then you might find that all the hoopla is justified.
Here’s my list of some mono songs that are worth a listen, just to support the idea that mono can be different from stereo. It’s by no means complete with regard to interesting mono. If you are already addicted to this kind of thing you can no doubt add several other songs not on here. Recently the release of the mono "Piper At the Gates of Dawn" has resulted in some effusive testimonials on the internet about the superiority of the mono version. I had even read such things before it was recently released, by people truly upset that the mono version was being allowed to languish in obscurity when it had keyboards and reverb that just isn’t on the stereo version. For many, despite the lack of panning from speaker to speaker, it is the definitive version of Pink Floyd’s first album.
Were I to put together a little CDR of mono stereo differences as it might appeal to the pop-psych listener, this is what I would include:
1. The Beatles---Helter Skelter (mono) Shorter, but more intense. Reinvents the song as the progenitor of heavy metal!
The Beatles---I’m Only Sleeping (mono) different (more) backwards guitar
The Bee Gees---Kitty Can (mono) just sounds better
The Bee Gees---Idea (mono) some cool guitar at the beginning
Tomorrow---Auntie Mary’s Dress Shop (mono) disappearing harpsichord after intro and a more pronounced guitar in the middle distinguish this from the stereo version. Generally more rocking and pared down.
Pink Floyd---Interstellar Overdrive (mono) more keyboard at beginning
The Idle Race---Sitting In A Tree (mono) not better than stereo, but more forceful
Honeybus—How Long (mono) the riff is just much better in both speakers
The Beatles—Sgt. Pepper Reprise (mono) guitar and vocals different
The Beatles---Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds (mono) some phasing in the "ahhhh’s" you don’t get in stereo, especially near the end of the song.
The Beatles---Hey Bulldog (mono) gotta hear that riff in both speakers even if the mix is the same
The Beatles---Tomorrow Never Knows (mono) the first day mix. I can’t say I notice any big difference here, but it’s the one they all talk about! It has everyone scouring their mono "Revolver" looking for that magic number 1 in the matrix!
The Beatles—Savoy Truffle (mono) the guitar in the middle is different
The Beatles—Dr. Robert (mono) the U.S. mono is the only one with John Lennon saying "o.k. Herb" at the end of the song (if you crank the volume), but it’s the riff again coming out of both speakers that makes it worth hearing.
Yeah, mostly Beatles on this list, but that’s what I have heard a lot of in mono. I
don’t have the Zombies in mono so I can’t comment on those. But I’ve read that "Odessey and Oracle" has some differences. By the way, the recent reissue of the July album is in mono, so don’t let anyone telling you they have a reissue mono copy jack up the price!
In the final analysis, mono provides an interesting take on a lot of the Beatles material, and on a lot of stuff from the mid to late sixties. But mono doesn’t necessarily mean "better." It can make some of the songs (Taxman comes to mind) rock a bit more. And it makes other last a few seconds longer in the fade-out (Love You To, All You Need Is Love), but even after my heavy case of Monomania, I still prefer "Baby You’re A Rich Man" in stereo even if it is shorter. While I find the mono "Blue Jay Way" interesting without the backwards vocals, a song as psychedelic as that one certainly isn’t hurt by such a blatantly lysergic addition as backwards vocals in the stereo mix.
Start with the above songs and if they whet your appetite or compulsive personality, by all means proceed on to the world of mono. It’s not just the format of the early sixties, but an interesting variant on the more psych sounds as well. Plus, mono vinyl seems to be a bit sturdier than its stereo counterpart. I’ve had some nice listening from vinyl that looks pretty bad under a strong light.
At the very least, the Beatles albums from "Revolver" through "Yellow Submarine" should be available on legitimate CDs in mono. And of course we have to hope "Saucerful of Secrets" will get the same treatment as "Piper" with mono and a nice version of "Vegetable Man" and "Scream Thy Last Scream" tacked on to the end. But that’s a whole different story, and beyond the scope of this monomaniacal screed. In this world of mixed messages, it’s nice to know that mono can bring it all together and mix it up at the same time.
[Further listening for Beatles stereophiles: Yellow Submarine Songtrack. Lots of rerecording and remixing here, but some sources on the internet seem to suggest you hear some songs in a more subtle stereo mix, making up for the primitive stereo of the mid-period and later Beatles records. Just don’t let the purists catch you, as songs like "Hey Bulldog" feature re-recorded drums by Ringo and other modern adjustments in attempt to center some of the instrumentation while maintaining stereo.]

**************THE LIGHT THAT BURNS TWICE AS BRIGHT BURNS HALF AS LONG: a Sanctuary Records Obituary by Paul Cross

"the mourners are dressed in peppermint pink, orchid, gold-apricot, sky-blue, scarlet, pale peach, mauve-pink, pomegranate, iridescent salmon (orange-persimmon-yellow), and olive green"
~ Mary McCarthy (on Pontormo's 'Deposition'), from The Stones of Florence, p. 112.
Sanctuary has been top dog in the UK-psych reissue-field for most of the past decade. With John Reed at the helm, and influenced by his (mod/soul/psych) musical tastes, the rights to Pye, CBS, etc., with David Wells on hand, the label had given the world such treasures as the Immediate boxed set, a plethora of Small Faces releases, the delightful Psych Pstones series of compilations, treasure from Billy Nicholls, Skip Bifferty, and the Uglys, curios from the Morgan empire....and so on. Some of the more specialist items shifted no more than 2000 units; but, thankfully for us, John saw his rôle not simply as businessman but as public servant and musical archivist. Sanctuary comps could be relied upon for legality, reasonable price, good sound quality, informative liners, and most importantly, a blinkin' good selection of tracks. Sanctuary, consistently maintaining this high quality, continued manfully until the very end, going out on top with the mighty Real Life Permanent Dreams boxed set (see review, this issue).
The latest (October 2007) situation -- and it’s not good! -- with Sanctuary is that Universal will take over everything in January 2008. The Sanctuary operation is pretty much gone! They have a few releases upcoming but it seems in very limited runs (the Real Life Permanent Dreams box & Tea and Symphony sets only received a relatively small (initial) pressing and quite limited distribution, and are already out of print! The Freak Emporium had a stash of the former, but most other sellers have none left) At the moment once an item runs out that’s it until Universal decide whether or not to repress. And with most of the psych/psych-related releases being far from big sellers it remains to be seen whether Universal will carry on with the public service. I found out all this by calling Pinnacle and Sanctuary to chase up certain things. A sad end to a glorious endeavour.
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BY SPACESHIP TO THE PSYCHE by Mike Moorcock
Reprinted from Les Spinge 12 (Jan 1964).This is the age of miniaturisation and meanness, of the carping and the cautious, of the lopsided lauding of single and singular aspects of the intellect over the spirit. It is not a generous age; it is an age of bile and bad blood, an age of interminable dissection of the human spirit into a million catchy categories; social, political, psychological, physiological, ad nauseam. It is not, of course, likely to last. It is even welcome, so long as it does not last too long, for, as the splitting of the atom resulted in the release of mighty energies, so might the splitting of the human spirit results in a similar release. But it is not nice to see so much specialisation -- a specialisation which has extended into the world of the arts, where a painter must be categorised as such and such, a novelist must be marked as a particular type, a dramatist as another. Bacon is this, Brecht is that, Becket is the other. The pity is that the gullible artist believes it and deliberately narrows himself. Those who do not, like John Cowper Powys for instance, are often ignored because they are hard to classify. Books get shorter and shorter and do not pack any more into fewer words, which would be the justification for their brevity, or else we receive our yearly score of great American novels, each greater than the last (the adjective I have found, when applied by critics, appears to describe the length of the book rather than its content, if any. Henry James, of course, wrote the Great American Novel years ago -- but he wrote it about England.) However, there is no need for pessimism; the breakthrough is showing and we may see some real novels soon. There are quite a few writers who seem to have it in them to write one: Murdoch, Golding, Heller or even Amis. And Science Fiction, so long an ultra-specialised field, is also beginning to broaden. In this field of poor, old, tired, cliche-ridden science fiction there are signs of fresh activity. A tiny handful of promising writers are busy chucking most of SF's trappings out of the window. We SF fans live in a microcosm, inflatable to any size we want, though, as we extend its size, it loses its mass, until, if we inflate it enough, it vanishes like gas. We are emotionally attached to so many inessential components of SF that we welcome a new twist on telepathy as a big advance, a slowly developed plot as good writing, or few cheap jokes as great satire. It is not our fault; we have got too involved, we can't see the wood for the trees; we need something to haul us out of this swamp and show us the rest of the terrain. One or two writers are helping us here. Jimmy Ballard and William Burroughs come to mind. The trouble with many SF fans is that they are often intelligent people with naive and distorted views. Much of the cause is clue to the fact, which continually surprises me, that a large percentage read nothing but SF: Their whole thought is coloured by the half-baked and ill-written ideas of a group of minor writers working in a sensational and, for all that's said to the opposite, narrow field, so that the sense of wonder, the curiosity about life, the original spark which attracted them to the field in the first place, slowly become jaded – dessicated because it has so little genuine stuff on which to feed. The mind of such a reader is superficially widened, but rarely deepened. It is very frustrating to see this process at work. If SF is to continue to be valuable, it requires writers who are prepared to dig deeper foundations rather than continue to build on the shaky, tottering skyscraper with their bright, but hollow, gimmick bricks. Not, I suppose, when I come down to it, that I care that much; but, as I said, I am still emotionally attached to the form, and, rather than sneer at it shall attempt to make some constructive criticism within my 1imitations, so long as the reader keeps it in mind that my opinions are given without qualification because to qualify them would take time and confuse the argument. Therefore, if I say SF is rubbish, it must be remembered that I think most SF is rubbish, which leaves an awfully large number of stories which I do not think are rubbish. There are perhaps, three kinds of SF -- which if bad by ordinary literary standards, but which is excellent SF (like Harness's TIME TRAP, for instance), SF which is bad by all standards, and SF which is good by all standards. In THE DROWNED WORLD; J.G.Ballard has produced a book which is good by all standards. Surprisingly few SF fans of my acquaintance have read it, which is strange because this is one of the only SF books worth keeping and re-reading. Its starting point is a familiar one -- a change in the balance of nature and its effects on the human race. THE KRAKEN WAKES, DEATH OF GRASS and WHEN THE TIDE WENT OUT are; three of this type,-- a type in which English writers seem to specialise. Unlike those three, Ballard's book has more than a readable English style and the story of how John and Mary get things going again; it contains a wealth of symbols and implications all with a valid relationship to real life. It is a well-written book, combining good characterisation with a theme that need not be agreed with, but which sets off a thousand sparks in the conscious and unconscious mind. The descriptive passage of a world of super-tropical temperature swiftly reverting to the Paleozoic, complete with steaming, teeming waters over-shadowed by the scattered ruins of buildings still poking above the surface, of the tangled, dense vegetation and the large reptilian life forms which sit like statues on the cliffs that were once giant office blocks, are excellent. More than this we have Kerans, the central character, his whole psyche moving backwards in time, keeping pace with the world's devolution; the doomed, tiredly optimistic Major Riggs and his team, trying hopelessly to halt the inevitable process, the bewildered Strangeman with his defiance and refusal to accept the change while taking advantage of it to loot the abandoned treasures of the world. Three of the characters, each symbolising the different reactions of their species to the supercession of what are, in fact, their remote, primeval ancestors. But where are they going? What were they in the first place? What is the human being's relationship to space and time? These are a few of the implicit questions in the book. Undoubtedly, THE DROWNED WORLD is a definite breakthrough, not only for SF, but a new kind of literature which is beginning to emerge from the Mean Ages. This is not to be, I feel, Ballard's finest work -- he has still plenty of time to write several even better ones, and I look forward to them. Of a more diffused and frenetic nature are the three Olympia Press editions of William Burrough's experimental novels -- THE NAKED LUNCH, THE TICKET THAT EXPLODED and THE SOFT MACHINE. Obscene, picturesque, romantic, frightened, funny, bewildered and perverse, they are not to be compared with the groping, warm-hearted, troubled meanderings of Henry Miller. These books have a more logical mind behind them. Though conforming to few of the rules, they still strike one as having had all the skill and intellect of a superior writer put into their construction. And, in their way, they are science fiction – science fiction as it must become if it is to survive as anything but a superficial form of entertainment. His invented societies are worlds of horror and turmoil -- THING POLICE KEEP ALL BOARD REPORTS reads one chapter heading. "The Novia Kid came in trailing clouds of cosmic dust from his last assignment." "A, boy dropped his clothes on iron and gut naked the iridescent oil film through candirus pirhanha fish electric eels and sting rays and sharp braille of hidden metal. Pulled himself, into the boat and shook a condom from his hair. He put on his hustling smile and flipped a hand to the town: 'Them NO GOOD RACE. NG Conditions." Typical sights leak out. "Malo Fourth Grade See Dogs. Of Appalling Terminal." "Swamp delta to the sky that does not change. Speared a sick dolphin in bubbles of coal gas. Only food in this village. Smell and taste rotten metal. Shrinking in heavy time." "Pass without doing our ticket -- mountain wind of Saturn in the morning sky--From the death trauma weary goodbye then." Irony is strong, the frantic irony of a man who wishes desperately to communicate his vision and resorts to increasingly obscure means in an effort to pull the trigger of the reader's mind, the trigger which will set off a similar series of explosions as those erupting through Mr Burrough's junky-faced skull. I've seen that face a million times in clubs and pubs and coffee-bars--the same shrunken features, hooded eyes and introversion as a man sinks deeper and deeper into himself, into his own private world with its own universe and boundless landscapes, wanting to talk to you about it, but lacking words that would be the right ones, and pretending he doesn't care. Burroughs is a junky with enough brains, soul, or will-power to have wrenched himself into a supercool state in order to construct a code that will leap from mind to mind like a spark between plugs and start a big engine running somewhere down there. He begins by creating associations in the reader's mind --, key words, trigger-phrases, which he later uses when he employs his fold-in method of taking two typewritten sheets of his own, folding them lengthways down the middle, and sticking the two halves together so that the result is a sheet with a half sentence of each scanning across. This has been sneered at, but it is a relevant experiment which works if the author has succeeded first in building up the trigger-words in your mind. Then the reading becomes a rewarding experience quite unlike ordinary reading. The method is science fiction in itself. It is lift-off taking you out to the inside, by space ship to the psyche. Those SF writers who lean backwards, using the intellectual novel of the thirties as their model, might do well to have a closer look at William Burroughs. SF stuck in the thirties. It stuck in the age of the sexy, shiny machine with cogs and throb. If it then combined the techniques of the pulp-writers, of other fields with the ideas of the engineer now it often combines the tired techniques of the Waughs and Huxleys, Hemingways and Steinbecks (adopting, quite often, the same attitudes) with the ideas of the engineer. Only a little of the material escapes this criticism, only a little catches the mood of modern scientific thought. In the American magazines we have Cordwainer Smith with his macabre lyricism. Smith's YOU WILL NEVER BE THE SAME contains a few very good stories and some that are not so good, approaching whimsicality and the empty sparkle of Bradbury at his worst. But Smith is a giant compared to most of the others who appear in the same magazines. He has zest, he is stimulating and achieves his effects by means of a good, clean, style. Smith is no carper, rarely the backward-looking predictor of worlds of the future which are really idealised pictures of worlds of the past (like so many boring American after-the-bomb novels). He is a writer who sees in the developments of modern physics, a future world of brilliance, mediocrity, cruelty and wonder. He draws his inspiration from inside, not from the Sunday Supplement Science Page, and because of this he is seen as a serious and individual writer whose work has genuine relevance to us, now and here, and then and when. Like all worthwhile romantics, he is also rational and objective. Reading him, one senses that he has a clear head and knows what he’s doing which can’t be said for any of the others. It's a wild thing to say, but it is just possible that SF can become the literary form of the future -- but so changed will it be by that time, that admirers of EARTHMAN, COME HOME probably won't recognize it. SF must be broadened and deepened and rid of its flashy gimmicks before it can become a good vehicle for the serious writer, but the process appears to be at work and ten years should prove me right or wrong.
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JOSEPH AND THE AMAZING TECHNICOLOR DREAMCOAT: the early years by Paul CROSS

INTRO
The history of the lyricist-composer relationship of Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber is both well known and well documented, but here in skeleton form is a brief outline of that association as it relates to the early history of Joseph.
PRE-JOSEPH
Tim Rice was a member of the pop group the Aardvarks, 1961-1963. He then got a job at EMI Records, 1966-1968, then joined the Norrie Paramor Organisation, 1968-1969. On 21 April 1965 Tim sent Andrew a letter in which he said "I've been told you're looking for a "with it" writer of lyrics for your songs, and as I've been writing pop songs for a while and particularly enjoy writing the lyrics I wonder if you consider it worth your while meeting me. I may fall short of your requirements, but anyway it would be interesting to meet up -- I hope!". Tim, then aged 21, had studied law, worked in a solicitor's office, and was already mixing with professional singers and producers (he joined EMI as a management trainee on 6 June 1966) impressed young Andrew (then aged 17), who was on his way to Magdalen (he would leave Oxford after just two terms). The two met, the meeting changed their lives, they immediately started to cooperate, churning out pop songs, following the pattern of music first, words later, which marked all their collaborations.
The Lloyd Webber household in South Kensington became home for Tim, too, as he moved into a spare bedroom in the large apartment owned by Andrew's grandmother. Another regular visitor, and family friend, was a music teacher, Alan Doggett, who had taught Andrew's younger brother, Julian (now a renowned solo cellist), at Westminster preparatory school. Doggett had moved on to another preparatory school, St Paul's, Colet Court in Hammersmith, where he was head of music.
Their first musical written by Tim & Andrew became People Like Us (1965), on the life of Victorian philanthropist Dr Barnardo. It is very Oliver-ish ("a sub-Bart-ish score") and thus not at all pop or rock-ish. The recording, cut by Southern Music, is of little interest to us save that it has some quirky moments of English pythonic-centricity, most notably, the lyric "Here I have a lovely parrot sound in wind and limb / I can guarantee that there is nothing wrong with him".
Other musical notables with a Tim Rice connection, from 1967-69 (notable from a LAURA's GARDEN perspective, that is), are the apocalyptic '1969', which together with 'Down Thru' Summer', was the first recorded (Olympic, Barnes, June 1967) and released Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice collaboration; and 'Probably On Thursday' / 'I'll Give All My Love To Southend' (recorded October 1967; the latter also covered, in French, by Danièle Noël, and also produced by Tim) by the lovely Ross [i.e. Rosalind] Hannaman (who would soon become Mrs Mark Wirtz); and of course Tim's association with UK Psych heroes Tales of Justine. Then there's Just Plain Smith ('Don’t Open Your Mind' (1969) ~ includes Tim on backing vocals), and 'Million Dollar Bash' by The Mixed Bag (also 1969). Also, worth mentioning here, are Alan Doggett's choirboys, who, performing under the Harrison-esque name of Wonderschool, cut a bizarre version of Syd Barrett's 'Bike'!!!
Circa late-summer/autumn '67 (Michael Coveney says "in late '67"), with Tim wanting to write more pop songs and Andrew planning to write another musical, Andrew got a call from Alan Doggett.
THE COMMISSION:
Doggett suggested that Tim and Andrew should write a pop cantata for the annual school concert, ideally on a Biblical subject, for the school choir to sing at their Easter end of term concert. Various tales are told about how it was that Joseph came to be that subject. It is stated that it had long been "Tim's favorite Bible story"; also, that the pair simply opened the Bible at random; also, that Joseph was decided upon only after a James Bond-type scenario has been considered. Anyhow, within a couple of months the duo had a fifteen-minute pop version (as opposed to the present-day two-hour showbiz monster it has become!) of Genesis 37-46, the biblical story of Joseph and his coloured coat. Thus was born Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat (Lyrics by Tim Rice. Music by Andrew Lloyd Webber). Note the title's reference to the recent Ally Pally 14 Hour Technicolor Dream psychedelic happening-rave.FIRST PERFORMANCES
The World Première took place at the Old Assembly Hall, Colet Court School, Hammersmith, 2:30 pm on the cold afternoon of 1 March 1968, performed by the school choir, accompanied by the School orchestra and conducted by Alan Doggett. The performance was only 20 minutes long. It then grew at subsequent performances at Central Hall, Westminster (where Andrew's father was the organist) on May 12th, 1968. Julian Lloyd Webber, along with Bill Lloyd Webber, gave a 45 minute classical recital as an opener. The audience of approximately 1000 (some sources say 2500) consisted mainly of proud parents of the Colet Court boys. Tim Rice played Pharaoh. To Andrew and Tim's surprise, Derek Jewell, Jazz and Pop Critic for The Sunday Times, and parent of one of the boys, was in the audience and penned an unsolicited and favourable review ('Pop Goes Joseph'), which appeared on 19th May 1968: "Throughout its twenty-minute duration it bristles with wonderfully singable tunes. It entertains. It communicates instantly, as all good pop should. And it is a considerable piece of barrier-breaking by its creators." Jewell viewed Joseph as progressive, in that it "emphasized the rich expansiveness of pop tather than the limitations of its frontiers", he was also one of the first to fall foul of that perennially slippery title, mistakenly substituting "His" for "The"!
The performance was such a success that a third performance took place ("Pop into St. Paul's"), at the invitation of the Dean of the cathedral, the Very Rev'd Martin Sullivan, on 9th November 1968 at St Paul's Cathedral. Here Joseph was expanded to include songs such as 'Potiphar' for the first time.
The fourth, and final performance (January 1969) of the first run of Joseph was a return to the Central Hall. It included as support, a performance by David Daltrey of his wonderful 'Planet Suite' (checkout the wonderful Tales Of Justine. Petals From A Sunflower collection (Tenth Planet TP034)).
FURTHER DEVELOPMENTS
Andrew, desperate for financial backing to enable him to continue writing, was introduced to Sefton Myers, a property entrepreneur keen to expand into showbusiness His partner, David Land, heard the Joseph album and immediately offered Tim and Andrew a management contract, guaranteeing support for 3 years in return for a shore of their income. This allowed Tim and Andrew to continue writing and enabled Tim to leave his employment with Norrie Paramor. Their first project under the new contract was another piece for schools, Come Back Richard, Your Country Needs You, based on the story of Richard I. It was performed with Alan Doggett, once again as musical director, at the City of London School in November 1969, but Tim & Andrew did not take the project any further as they had already discussed another idea, the story of Jesus Christ. Tim Rice eventually developed Richard into the musical Blondel (1983). Andrew and Tim then went on to write Jesus Christ Superstar (recorded at Olympic, in 1970). It was the success of this project that enabled Joseph to continue to grow. The album of Jesus Christ Superstar was a hufe success in the US, and when Joseph was released there, with a marketing campaign implying it was the follow-up(!) to 'Superstar', the Joseph album stayed in the charts for three months.
In September 1972 Frank Dunlop for the Young Vic directed the Decca album version of Joseph starring Gary Bond, at the Edinburgh Festival, the performance preceded by a faux-medieval mystery play. In October the Edinburgh production played at the Young Vic for a fortnight before transferring to the Roundhouse for a six-week-run. Michael White and Robert Stigwood (Tim & Andrew signed a 10-year contract with RSO following Sefton Myers death)subsequently presented the Edinburgh production at the Albery Theatre, where it opened on 17 February 1973 and was accompanied by a piece called Jacob's Journey, written by Tim and Andrew with dialogue by Alan Simpson and Ray Galton. This told the story of the early life of Joseph's father, Jacob. Soon, it was thought that the combination of Jacob's Journey, mostly spoken dialogue, and Joseph, entirely sung, was not a success, and Jacob's Journey was gradually phased out. Joseph emerged to receive its first major production in its present form at the Haymarket Theatre, Leicester, then eventually opening on Broadway on 27 January 1982.A few interesting songs (other than from Joseph or Jesus Christ Superstar) with lyrics by Tim Rice & music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, from the tail-end of the 60s, include 'Goodbye Seattle' (1970); 'Roll On Over The Atlantic' (1969); 'Come Back Richard Your Country Needs You' (check out the 'Discogs' in old isues of SFA for more details).
EARLY JOSEPH RECORDINGSAfter reading Derek Jewell's review, Tim Rice's then employer Norrie Paramor, producer of Cliff Richard among others, encouraged Decca to release an album of the St Paul's Cathedral version of Joseph. Released in January 1969 the album, attributed to The Joseph Consortium, featured The Mixed Bag (Terry Saunders- vocs/lead gtr; Malcolm Parry- vocs/bs; John Cook (later in Mungo Jerry)- keys; Bryan Watson- drms), David Daltrey (as Joseph) and Tim Rice (as Pharaoh). The Colet School choir played the part of narrator. Also featured, on harpsichord, acoustic guitar and maraccas, was Martin Wilcox, who had introduced Tim Rice to the Mixed Bag and the Tales of Justine. Tim & Andrew wanted the LP to have a gate-fold sleeve, with printed lyrics, but instead they got a standard sleeve (still, which is very attractive, with a cartoon front cover, and, on the rear, photos of The Mixed Bag, David Daltrey, and Tim & Andrew, "wearing naff late sixties clobber" ~ Tim Rice), with a lric sheet (insert). Whilst it received several good reviews, the album was unsuccessful commercially, selling approximately 3000 copies. At the same time as the album's release, Novello & Co. published the original 20-minute-version of the score.In these infuriating days of endless audition TV shows, myriad wannabe-Josephs singing their queeny little hearts out, massive hype and schmaltzy productions it is difficult to remember just how wonderful, how fresh and innovative ~ and how pop ~ Joseph was when it first appeared. Those of us who remember seeing Joseph in the 60s or early 70s, must wonder that it is probably nigh on impossible for today's youngsters to visualise the show as it was first intended, to see or hear it as anything other than a "mega-glitz production" (Coveney, a huge theatrical juggernaut.
Memories may fade, and hype may predominate, but the earliest recordings present us with a very different Joseph to the current version ~
THE FIRST TWO LP VERSIONS
The first Joseph is not some underground hip sound, but it is very much a product of its time (1967) and place (Swinging London), deeply coloured by the ambition and daring of contemporary pop. Tim Rice appears somewhat disingenuous when he states that "the Summer of Love, the high point of the Swinging Sixties, seemed to have passed us by. For the first time I began to wonder if I was still in touch with contemporary music", especially as he was a witness to two of the epochs most defining momenst: ~ the orchestra rehearsals, at Abbey Road, for the climax to The Beatles' 'A Day In The Life', and the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, which he attended ("I smoked half a banana and had my wallet stolen"). Tim acknowledges that the release of Sgt. Pepper "was the event of the entire music world's year". In the second-half of 1967 it would have been nigh on impossible for anyone, let alone a young EMI insider, not to notice Pepper! It was everywhere The psychedelic-pop vibes of 1967 are much in evidence in the early Josephs, from the very title ~ Technicolor Dream, to the then-fashionable stylistic rummaging in pop's junk box - 1920s vaudevilliana ('Potiphar' is in a similar vein to the Purple Gang, Bonzos, Temperance Seven, New Vaudeville Band,'When I'm 64', et al); and 1950s rock 'n' roll ('Song Of The King'); to the dodgy rhyme-schemes; and ultimately to the Wirtz-style sonic blending of pop & kids & orchestra to form a teenage opera/cantata/oratorio whole. Current productions of Joseph may now present a bloated monstrosity, but in essence, the musical was a product, however much augmented and botoxed and perennially unhip, of the Summer of Love.
Fans of the more florid end of pop, or the lightest side of syke may appreciate the following -
~ 'Jacob And Sons' opens with some stately orchestation, a touch of fuzz and a drum roll.
~ 'Joseph's Coat' is great pop; its rainbow ending (a roll-call of 29 colours of which 24 were added to the score by the Colet Court boys), is both poetic and veers into kitsch-psych territory.
~ the harpsichord on 'Joseph's Dreams'.
~ the quirky parts (organ and guitar grooviness) which add drama to 'Poor, Poor Joseph'.
~ the weird "Joseph was taken to Egypt in chains and sold..." psych-proggish interludes.
~ the east-west guitar figures in 'Close Every Door to Me'.
~ the self-consciously groovy backing to 'Go, Go, Go Joseph', in particular the bendy "Hey dreamer..." sections with their mesmerising organ and general air of bendiness - the album's most psychedelic moment.
~ the strange vocal sound in the "chained and bound" section.
~ the homage to 'A Day In The Life' in 'Who's The Thief', the orchestral crescendo replicated albeit in teeny weeny miniature scale. (Tim Rice witnessed the orchestral rehearsals in Abbey Road.)
~ the very Wirtzianesque half-minute instrumental intro to 'Jacob In Egypt', which sounds like it dropped straight off the 'Teenage Opera' soundtrack (compare it with the instro tracks on the RPM CD).
~ 'Any Dream Will Do' a simple 60s pop ballad, nothing like the schmaltz-behemoth it's become in recent years.
~ or the many, simple but effective pop moments scattered throughout the album.
The second (1973) recording presents a toughened up Joseph; with higher production values and crisper arrangements (note the cleaner strings on 'Jacob And Sons'). It's also padded-out with new songs, 'One More Angel In Heaven' (a c/w pastiche); 'Pharaoh Story'; 'Those Canaan Days' (a French chanteuse pastiche); 'Stone The Crows'; 'Benjamin Calypso' . Gary Bond plays Joseph, and, unsurprisingly, sings the songs like an actor, not a pop-singer; Gordon Waller plays Pharaoh. Much of the small-scale "sixties" vibe of the first album version is watered-down, or lost altogether; but, the four seconds of weirdness (backwards-sounding but not actually backwards) ~ at 0:13 - 0:17secs ~ on 'Poor, Poor Joseph' are cool; as is the retained pop-proggishness of the "Joseph was taken to Egypt in chains and sold..." parts; the harpsichordian beauty of 'Close Every Door'; the groovy intro to 'Go, Go, Go Joseph'; some better-than-the original easternisms in the "Ishmaelites" section; and the frantic Beatlesque climax to 'Who's the Thief' are also moments of delight.
JOSEPH: ARCHETYPAL 1960s POP CANTATADespite the muddiness of the mix of the first album ~ it originally disappointed the writers ~ and for all its basic "live" feel and amateurishness (those kids, those plonking xylophones) and, worst of all, its un-Wirtzian lack of production finesse and grandeur, one must agree with Tim Rice when he says that "[h]owever polished some of the gigantic commercial productions have been, it is versions similar to the spirit and size of the world première...that I enjoy the most." And, although there are few who would doubt him when he says that "This great tale has everything -- plausible, sympathetic characters, a flawed hero, and redeemed villains ... It is a story of triumph against the odds, of love and hate, of forgiveness and optimism. As with all great stories, the teller has no need to spell out the messages if he tells the tale well. Perhaps risking comparisons with the youthful Joseph's lack of modesty, I believe Andrew and I told the story very well indeed", it is the first Joseph LP version (and to a lesser degree the second) which still has the greatest appeal to fans of late-60s British pop. It remains the most perfectly-formed pop oratorio of the late 1960s.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
With grateful acknowledgments to Tim Rice: Oh, What a Circus [autobiog]; and Michael Coveney: The Andrew Lloyd Webber Story.
**************
P/REVIEWS

PSYCHEDELIC SCHLEMIELS: lost sounds from the Britpsych scene 1966-1969
(Wooden Hill WHCD017) CD compilation (Various artists)
1. WEST COAST CONSORTIUM Elastic Band 2. PEANUT RUBBLE Broken Man 3. SO ON AND SO FORTH Sweet Wine 4. THOSE FADIN’ COLOURS Try Me On For Size 5. URBAN When My Train Comes In 6. THE PHOENIX Brave New Sights 7. HERBAL REMEDY I (Who Have Nothing) 8. PEANUT RUBBLE Willow Tree 9. THE OBJECT Blue Skies And Green Green Grass 10. SO ON AND SO FORTH (I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone 11. WEST COAST CONSORTIUM Ginny Stop 12. THE PHOENIX Live For The Sun 13. THOSE FADIN’ COLOURS Blow Up 14. HARVERSON APRICOT Wax Candle 15. THOR You’re My Cream 16. PEANUT RUBBLE Just A Dream 17. ALFIE SHEPHERD Floating On A Dream 18. BARNABY RUDGE In The Sunset 19. THE CARNABY I Don’t Deserve A Girl Like You 20. SOUNDS AROUND Two People
Could this be the LAURA's GARDEN Comp of the Year (2007)?
Psychedelic Schlemiels "explores the secret garden of sweet floral Albion"; and if prizes were awarded for digging up the most obscure tracks in England then this comp would win the boat, the car, the holiday, and the cuddly toy. These are genuine rarities, unique acetates, not releases on major labels. (Incidentally, it is good to see the sleevenotes contain some common sense observations on the current (ridiculous) situation of collectors paying huge sums for relatively common records.)
Approximately half of the tracks here have been recycled from now hard-to-find Tenth Planet vinyl-only comps; all have been rescued from acetates or reel-to-reel tapes, all sounding pretty damed good, especially when one considers that they are mostly demos recorded in bedrooms, garages, the odd tiny provincial studio, and even a room above an undertakers in Shoreditch.
The sounds on offer are varied, ranging from to mod-gone-odd (The Object), sliding into the raw-edged/heavy side of psych (Peanut Rubble)and out the other side into bluesy rock. There are a couple of real kicking covers ('Sweet Wine', 'Steppin' Stone' ~ the latter including a comical "rules, rules" mis-quote). 'Elastic Band' is the original of the ('Circus Days') track by Juice, it's wonderful ~ slower and harmonised into heavenliness. Alfie Shepherd (Angel Pavement) shows us that home-recording can equal 55 hours in Abbey Road for psychedelicity. I'm sure we'd all love to see his 'Wind In The Willows' album ~ from which this beauty is taken ~ granted a release.
'In The Sunset' is Barnaby Rudge's best recording. Ok, Ok, I know that's not saying much! But this is great. Far better than one might expect from that Dickensian ne'er-do-well. It's an elaborate affair, all high-register backing-vocals and kitchen-sink-production.
Roll on the next 20 volumes of Psychedelic Schlemiels!
PS ~ Do listen out for the secret mystery track; it's hidden at the end of the CD, a minute after the final (listed) track ends; it's a curious affair, freakbeat with frantic drums, which rapidly dissolves into a mêlée of dive-bombing backward-tapes, unexpectedly topped off with a dollop of ragtime jazz!
*
CANTERBURY GLASS - Sacred Scenes and Characters
(Ork ORK 5) CD
We all ought to know by now that "progressive-psychedelia" is usually a misnomer for something which is usually just plain prog. Mindful of this it is good that this CD has arrived without a fanfare of hyperbole or misapplied labelising. And yet, the music by Canterbury Glass is "progressive-psychedelia". The real deal. This is the genuine article, the underground sound of Middle Earth resurrected from beyond the grave. I would have liked more info in the sleevenotes, but it seems that the fine detail may now be lost (note: the confusion in the sleevenotes about dates: "early '68" concatenas uneasily into a "Jesus Christ Superstar" 1970).
On the musical side, many an acid sound-head will delight in 'Kyrié'. With its hushed, slowly unravelling intro, dreamy spirituality, hypnotic entwinement of guitar and keyboard, and mind-crunching end, this is superb way to open the disc (and to blow away those cheesey pop-syke sounds from your ear-holes). The tracks are full of meandering, Arzachelianesque guitar & organ explorations, genera,l heavy air of ekklesiodelia (all Anglo-Catholic bells & smells and latin anthems married to underground rock),and loose-but-tight hairy proggishness. There are some cliches, including some ubiquitous Tull-ish flute runs and godawful mouth-harp (how I hate this horrid instument!) may knock the gilt of the gingerbread, but does not mar irreperably the beauty of this long-lost treasure. In fact, if this had been released in its entirety (we are sadly missing one track 'The Roman Head of a Marble Man') at the tail-end of the '60s instead of (in incomplete form) at the tail-end of the first decade of the third millenium it would long ago have achieved some kind of 'classic' status.
*
INSANE TIMES: 25 British Psychedelic Artyfacts From The EMI Vaults
(EMI/Zonophone ZONO 20072) CD compilation (various artists)
1. Kevin Ayers - Song For Insane Times 2. July - Dandelion Seeds (Single Version) 3. Tomorrow - Real Life Permanent Dream 4. Ipsissimus - Hold On 5. Mandrake Paddle Steamer - Strange Walking Man 6. The Gods - Towards The Skies 7. The Penny Peeps - Model Village 8. Paul Jones - The Dog Presides 9. The Idle Race - Hurry Up John 10. The Orange Bicycle - Last Cloud Home 11. Jon - Is It Love? 12. The Brain - Nightmare In Red 13. Bonzos - Equestrian Statue 14. Rainbow Ffolly - Sun Sing 15. Simon Dupree - Castle In The Sky 16. Tale sof Justine - Monday Morning 17. Mike Proctor - Mr Commuter 18. The Hollies - All The World Is Love 19. The Aerovons - World Of You 20. The Lemon Tree - William Chalker's Time Machine 21. The Parking Lot - World Spinning Sadly 22. Herbal Mixture - Please Leave My Mind 23. The Koobas - Barricades 24. The Yardbirds - Think About It 25. Syd Barrett - No Good Trying
Perhaps the selection here, mostly "classics"- sounding superb, from the masters - is a tad too mainstream to turn-on the more obsessive psych-sound-hound, yet it contains such under-exposed gems as the mesmerising 'Last Cloud Home', the 45-version of 'Dandelion Seeds', and Paul Jones's lunatic 'The Dog Presides', and revives a under-appreciated oldies (eg. 'Hold On', 'World Spinning Sadly'). 'Insane Times' remains a good EMI primer for those new to the scene, and at £8 or £9, incredible good value..
Cringe-edelic moment: Something I've been wanting to say for years, but always feared being swiped arond the head with a sunflower (named Albert): David Daltrey's inadvertently hilarious cry of "Alright!!" in 'Monday Morning' has to be one of the nerdiest, weediest, least convincing displays of male braggadocio ever cut to vinyl. But then, perhaps in psych-pop, weedy is really a good thing?
*
PSYCHEDELIC JUMBLE Volume One: What's the Rush, Time Machine Man
(Rev-Ola CR REV 217) CD compilation (various artists)
1. Majority/You Can Run2. Tintern-Abbey/Do What You Must3. Paradox/Whats The Rush Dillbury4 Honeybus/Delighted To See You-Demo5. Penny-Peeps/Meet Me At The Fair6. Majority/Our Love Will Be So Strong7. Tintern-Abbey/How Do You Feel Today8. Fives-Company/Friends And Mirrors9. Paradox/Mary Colinto-Demo10. Penny-Peeps/Into-My-Life-She Came11. Majority/Time-Machine Man12. Opal-Butterfly/Mary-Ann With The Shaky Hand-demo13. Tintern-Abbey/Naked Song-demo14. Paradox/Like The-Day Goes15. Penny-Peeps/Helen Doesn't Care16. Obscured-Rays/You And Me Baby17. Majority/Dont Know What You're Doing18. Tintern-Abbey/It's Just That The People Cant See-demo19. Paradox/Somebody Save Me 20. Ruperts-People/Flying High
Although The Majority's 'Our Love Will Be So Strong' is a compelling east-west musical hybrid, it is unreleased 60's pop rather than unreleased 60's psychedelia is the order of the day with this charming comp. Good to see that Five's Company's stunning 'Friends and Mirrors' (see SFA 34) is finally gaining the appreciation (and release!) it long ago deserved. Some tracks such as 'Time Machine Man' (The Majority) have appeared elsewhere; as have some by the oh, so over-rated Tintern Abbey which do little to enhance the band's currently stellar reputation, built as it is solely on two sides of the(pre-Paul Brett)superlative UK psych release. I wonder what the band's profile would have been like had these tracks been the only known ones? These songs show a band not yet burnt-out but treading water, unable to re-scale those Deram heights. Rupert Peoples' fairly average MOR-ish instro (already known to some from a BBC session) is OKay. The Honeybus demo is truly delight-ful (although I cannot help feeling that with each passing year those lyrics sound more and more dodgy; can't see 'em going down too well with readers of The Scum or the Daily Moron). Paradox (no relation to the guys on Polydor) offer four good un's, "The Obscured Rays" are in actuality The Mirage backing a long-forgotten vocalist, and 'Meet Me At The Fair' by The Penny Peeps is a delightful toytowner with which many a wee grandchild will sing happily along. Nice!
*
A GLASS MENAGERIE
(RETRO822) CD compilation (Various artists)
1) She’s a Rainbow - Glass Menagerie2) But that’s When I Started To Love Her - Glass Menagerie3) Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane - Timon4) Rambling Boy - Timon5) Anonymous Mr. Brown - Tony Crane6) His World - Tony Crane7) Head For The Sun - Movement8) Mr Man - Movement9) You Didn’t Have To Be So Nice - Glass Menagerie10) Let’s All Run To The Sun - Glass Menagerie11) Riding A Wave - Turnstyle12) Trot - Turnstyle13) My Son John - Onyx14) Step By Step - Onyx15) Never Trust In Tomorrow - Gentle Influence16) Easy To Love - Gentle Influence17) Until My Baby Comes Home - New Formula18) Burning In The Background of My Mind - New Formula19) Hot Smoke And Sasafrass - Mooche20) Seen Through A Light - Mooche21) Frederick Jordan - Glass Menagerie22) I Said Goodbye To Me - Glass Menagerie
Pye label goodies; some comped before, plus a few previously uncollected, some of which are cute but most should have been left in obscurity. Useful.
*
TUESDAY'S CHILDREN - Strange Light From The East: The complete Recordings 1966-1969
(Rev-Ola CR REV 209) CD
This fascinating release shows us a band, which possessing both musical ability and great songwriting talent, failed to make any inroads into the charts. The lack of stylistic cohesion may best explain their lack of commercial success. Rather than a natural progression, an evolution, there's a confusion of styles here ~ this is a band with an identity problem; and what we get veers from mods doing Buddy Holly ('That'll Be The Day'), to sub-Spector ('When You Walk In The Sand), to blue-eyed club soul ('Guess I'm Losing You') via a proto- Bay City Rollers sound('Baby I Need You'), a Greek-tinged holiday song ('High On A Hill'- almost redeemed only by its first-10 and final-7-seconds), and much "professionally"-done, tacky pop ('Baby's Gone', etc), Most of this confusion is probably down to mis-management, because when the band became Czar their identity achieved instant clarity.
However, from out of this stylistic hotch-potch there emerged some marvels. Highlights included here are the title track (a cod-syke classic, heavily draped in capricci cinesi finery); 'Summer Leaves Me With A Sigh' (a superlative example of what is so attractive about much of the very best 1960s British pop: softly sung but with sledgehammer fuzz guitar blasts; the contrast of rock guitar with pop vocal, held together in perfect tension within the 7-inch vinyl-format); 'Ritual Fire Dance' (a classical-progressive-psych epic and a precursor of Czar who also recorded this monster sound); 'Doubtful Nellie' and 'Mr Kipling' (two psych-pop treasures); a take on The Rokes' 'Bright Eyed Apples' ("Bright eyed apples make the trees seems taller / Tall trees make a small man smaller...", with some fab organ); and 'She' their magnum opus, one of the most majestic records from the late-60s, Johnny Arthey-arranged orch-pop, glossed with a lite-psych sheen:
"Follow the man who paints the strawberry jam,
Kiss the girl whose head is in a whirl,
Hold my hand,
And come to Wonderland
With me..."
Also included on this CD is Phil Cordell's wonderfully evocative 'Red Lady', all afghani flavoured and swirly, which we raved about in SFA years ago and which was then promptly bootlegged.
For more info on Tuesday's Children / Czar, see the Mick Ware interview in SFA 25, or visit the bands' fine website @ http://www.czar.org.uk/
*
TEA & SYMPHONY: the English Baroque Sound 1967-1974.
(Sanctuary CMQCD1541) CD compilation (various artists)1. Time To Wander - John Kerruish 2. Nowhere To Go - Graham Gouldman 3. Alice - John Plum 4. Stop - Vigrass 5. Strange Girl - Kate 6. Off To Find A New Land - Lea Nixon 7. For Where Have You Been - Honeybus 8. Captain Jones - Eddie Addenbury 9. Maisie Jones - Nimbo 10. Summer Love - Almond Marzipan 11. Very Well - Les Payne12. Nothing Else To Say - David Reilly 13. Here Before The Sun - Lori Balmer 14. Copper Coloured Years - Consortium 15. My World Turns Around You - Marc Reid 16. Watching The Boat - Roger Charles 17. 'Til The Sun Goes Down - Tremeloes 18. Growing Older - Graham Gouldman 19. Seductress - Steve Elgin 20. Justine - Julian Brooks 21. If I Call Your Name - JuniorCampbell 22. There Is A Mountain - Quiet World Of Lea & John 23. Her Father Didn't Like Me Anyway - Humblebums 24. Sewing Machine - Tuesday
Some of you may remember a prototype of this comp being punted to Sanctuary a few years back (with a different editor/compiler at the helm), contents pretty similar as here. Sanctuary weren't too interested then; but, presumably they changed their minds.
This comp suggests to my nose those smug-faced, camp, London poseurs who revel in their dilligently un-trendy trendiness, their ineffable sense of irony and their own conceit, and who constantly conratulate themselves on their musical élitism, hoping to be seen listening to the right cheesey music without actually listening to it. Bob Stanley's liners are horrible and completely snobbish. There's some old hob-nobs in there about "psych fans not liking this type of music". How very peculiar, as most of these were "discovered", given their first public appreciation by "psych fans", many (eg. John Kerruish, Julian Brooks, Consortium, Nimbo) in the cyber-delic pages of SFA. Although, on refelection, perhaps many "psych fans" won't like everything on offer here. Why should they? John Kerruish is actually a lock of holt bollards~ like a classicized version of The Darkness, his turgid voice, now hysterical and then profoundly macho, sounds like Scott Walker on Exlax; and the wretched Lori Balmer track stinks, Carpenters-cloning of a most anaemic kind.
Still, don't let any distate for the compiler's own music turn you away from this comp, it's worth getting for Eddie Addenbury's 'Captain Jones', which is a gem, one of the best new/old songs we've heard in a long time. There's a sycophantic and dumb review (albeit mercifully short) in a recent issue of Record Cul-lector, full of twaddle about Mr BS discovering a new genre! Hilarious! Another funny thing is that the CD had very little to do with "baroque" anything. The "baroque" label is a bit out of plumb here; ill-equipped to cover the creations from the above-cited Lori Balmer, as well as Nimbo, Consortium, Tuesday, Eddie Addenbury.... Tea & Symphony is basically just a copy of 'Fading Yellow' which is itself basically a copy of 'Circus Days'.
All's said, it's good to hear 'Alice' in all its majestic glory, sounds better (different?) to my "mint" 45. Strange.
Oh, and if Mr BS is still wondering what happened to Julian Kirsch, could some kind soul please point him in the direction of the interview in SFA 23.
~ ~ ~
There is one recommended alternative to the above take on Tea & Symph; a deliciously demolitionous review, and classic of its kind (how very 117ish!!), complete with anagram title, online on Amazon.co.uk (yes, that's it, just below JJ's hype), from a wicked wag by the name of "Johnny Martin" (do get in touch, you naughty man!!); so good a review and so succinct that I have no hesitation in quoting it in extenso:
PYTHON & SEAMY
There was I, thinking I was taking a journey into an enchanted world of delicate orchestration and slightly askew hippy ideology, you know, sort of Incredible String Band without the trees or Nick Drake without the introversion. And what do I get, a place where penny collars and velvet bowties the size of bats are de rigueur, the smell of Old Spice and Falcon hang in the air, and the only hopes for the future are a summer stint at Pontins. Truly horrible.
*
REAL LIFE PERMANENT DREAMS: a cornucopia of British Psychedelia 1965 - 1970
(Castle CMXBX1239) 4-CD boxed set (Various artists)Disc 1: 1 The Smoke - My Friend Jack 2 The Tornados ’66 - No More You And Me 3 Lord Sutch - The Cheat 4 The Frame - Doctor Doctor 5 The Drag Set - Day And Night 6 The Kinks - Fancy 7 The Traffic Jam - I Don't Want You (BBC Session) 8 Honeybus - The Breaking-Up Scene 9 Winston's Fumbs - Snow White 10 Neil Christian & The Crusaders - I Like It 11 Australian Playboys - Black Sheep R.I.P. 12 The Fleur De Lys - Circles 13 Marc Bolan (With John's Children) - The Lilac Hand Of Menthol Dan 14 The Buzz - You're Holding Me Down 15 The Riot Squad - I Take It That We're Through 16 Paul & Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames - Come On Back 17 The Kirkbys - It's A Crime 18 The Kinks - Love Me Till The Sun Shines (BBC Session) 19 Marc Bolan - Hippy Gumbo 20 The Incredible String Band - Gently Tender 21 Donovan - Sunny Goodge Street 22 Floribunda Rose - Linda Loves Linda 23 The Small Faces - Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire 24 Santa Barbara Machine Head - Rubber Monkey 25 The Deviants - You've Got To Hold On 26 Julie Driscoll & Brian Auger With The Trinity - Season Of The Witch
Disc 2:27 The End - Loving Sacred Loving (Alt. Version) 28 Blonde On Blonde - All Day All Night 29 Ramases And Selket - Crazy One 30 Skip Bifferty - Man In Black (BBC Session) 31 Icarus - Yellow Balloon (Previously Unreleased) 32 The Orange Machine - Real Life Permanent Dream 33 Eire Apparent - The Clown 34 The Rokes - When The Wind Arises 35 Serendipity - I'm Flying 36 The Orange Bicycle - Trip On An Orange Bicycle 37 The Smoke - Utterly Simple 38 Billy Nicholls - London Social Degree 39 Lomax Alliance - The Golden Lion (Previously Unreleased) 40 Jethro Toe [Tull] - Sunshine Day 41 Paper Blitz Tissue - Boy Meets Girl 42 The Bystanders - Cave Of Clear Light 43 Anan - I Wonder Where My Sister's Gone 44 The Marmalade - Man In A Shop 45 The Bobcats - Lord John (Previously Unreleased) 46 The Peep Show - Mazy 47 Moon's Train - Bakerman 48 Episode Six - Love, Hate, Revenge 49 The Tickle - Good Evening 50 The Excelsior Spring - It 51 Warm Sounds - Nite Is A-Comin' A.K.A. Lindyloo (Previously Unreleased Alt. 52 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Fire (Alt. Version)
Disc 3: 53 The Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men (BBC Session) 54 Sun Dragon - Five White Horses 55 The Turnstyle - Riding A Wave 56 The Picadilly Line - I Know She Believes 57 The Fox - Hey! Mr Carpenter 58 Timon - The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane 59 Gilbert - Disappear 60 Our Plastic Dream - Encapsulated Marigold 61 The Epics - Henry Long 62 Grapefruit - Lullaby 63 Harmony Grass - I've Seen To Dream 64 Spectrum - Nodnol 65 West Coast Consortium - Colour Sergeant Lillywhite 66 The Yellow Bellow Room Boom - Seeing Things Green 67 The Californians - Golden Apples 68 The Loot - Don't Turn Around 69 The Beatstalkers - Silver Tree Top School For Boys 70 The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Give Him A Flower 71 Tony Hazzard - Fade Away Maureen 72 The Rockin' Berries - Yellow Rainbow 73 The Hill - Sylvie (Previously Unreleased) 74 Andy Ellison - Fool From Upper Eden 75 The Uglys - Love And Best Wishes (BBC Session) 76 The Gun - Sunshine 77 Twice As Much - Green Circles 78 The Alan Bown Set - Mr. Job 79 The Small Faces - Happydaystoytown
Disc 4:80 Junior's Eyes - Circus Days 81 The Kult - No Home Today 82 Velvett Fogg - Lady Caroline 83 Andromeda - Go Your Way 84 The Nice - The Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon 85 Sam Gopal - Horse 86 Hardin-York - Candlelight 87 Fat Mattress - How Can I Live? 88 Andrew Bown - Tarot (Ace Of Wands Theme) 89 Humble Pie - The Light Of Love 90 Bobak Jons Malone - On A Meadow Lea 91 Pussy - The Open Ground 92 Woody Kern - Fair Maiden 93 Man - Empty Room 94 Samson - Venus 95 Opal Butterfly - My Gration Or? 96 Soft Machine - Thank You Pierrot Lunaire/ Have You Ever Bean Green?/ Pataph 97 Andwella's Dream - Felix 98 Spice - Born In A Trunk 99 Stray - All In Your Mind
In many respects this is a Sanctuary-label psych-sampler, albeit a sampler of a deluxe nature; yet it also includes newly upturned info, alternative versions and BBC session tracks.
RLPD more than adequately meets its self-imposed agenda "to plot the rise and fall of the scene". And what this beautifully-produced set achieves more effectively than any other to date, is to convey the quick rise and even quicker fall of the "psych era": the rapid, sometimes faltering, advances of mod-into-psych (Disc One: 1965, mostly 1966-7, some '68), the blooms and wonders of psychedelia at the point of maximum impact (Discs 2 & 3: mostly '68), followed by the rapid retreat of psych-into-prog (Disc 4: mostly 1969-70). In the winkling of a Twink and the Skipping of a Biff it was all over. An excellent primer for neophytes with tasty treats for even the most jaded ipsissimus.
Most importantly, there are some delicious sound improvements ~ Serendipity have never sounded this good before; Lomax's 'The Golden Lion' is muchly improved on the version(s) which've been doing the rounds in recent decades); and some genius track sequencing ~ Biff back-to-back with Icarus is magisterial!); alt versions ~ Andy Bown's 'Tarot', which sounds like a different recording (perhaps from a TV-version, not from the 45), rather than a different mix, Andy's vocal has a different feel, the bass is more prominent in some places, some background sound effects/harmonies are missing where other effects have been added!); Eire Apparent's 'Clown' is a trippier, more sinister rendition; The Bobcats' 'Lord John' is simply sublime. Some of the earliest recordinga are a quartet of Joe Meek productions (Tornados '66, The Buzz, The Riot Squad, Crying [sic] Shames). There are a few blooper inclusions: Gilbert (let's be honest 'Disappear' is awful, a curio at most; but his 'Mr Moody's Garden' is excellent); Bobak and Pussy (both are over-rated and over-exposed, and virtually unlistenable!); and Tull (surely, 'Aeroplane' would have fitted much more comfortably?), none of which spoil the show.
With its four discs, booklet ~ containing acres of enjoyable text (some scrumping/recycling here, acknowledged with a wry smile), full of new infos and tons of trainspotterisms, and densely coloured and heavily illustrated, too ~ and pretty box inside a pretty slip-case, RLPD is a luxury product, but with a budget price ~ although that price has already risen online. One of the last psych releases from Sanctuary, it only managed to receive limited distribution before Universal took over the label and effectively shut down operations, killing off one of the UK's most consistently good reissue labels (see obituary, above). RLPD is a wonderful tribute to Sanctuary Records and epecially to the drive and vision of John Reed, David Wells and Sam Szeplanski.
In recent years there have been some pretty abysmal comps and box sets. and we fear that RLPD may represent the high-water-mark of UK Psych reissues. With the loss of Sanctuary we see no other player with the requisite skills entering the ring. It will be interesting to see if any future releasse equal RLPD in scope, depth, quality and beauty. I somehow doubt it. :-(
*
BREAKTHRU - Adventures Highway
(Circle CPW C108) (2 x CDs)
Yet another load of never-weres get a belated 3-seconds lick of the ice-cream of un-fame. Some great sounds from Breakthru (also billed as The Breakthru, and Break Thru), some of which may revivify long-dead memories of raucous nights at Happening 44:~ 'Here Comes The End is mighty (phased?) mod/pop-art. 'I Have A Dream' is er...dreamy,( and with a political message c/o Dr Martin Luther King). 'Shake Off That Lead' is actually not a thousand light years from the 45. 'Love Is Strange' includes some great guitar work, making this well-known tune almost unrecognisable (no bad thing). 'The Sailor Song' is one of the best here, highly enjoyable progressive-pop. But some of the others, 'Alice Dropped Out' (pedestrian hard rock), 'Believe It', and the terminally over-familiar 'Spoonful', are none too hot. To make ammends there's a cute cover of Alan Bown's 'Toyland'-land-land and of course both sides of the lone Mercury 45.
The band hated that single and the 'warning' on the sleeve stinks of modish mind control, humorous it may be, but its sub-text (you-will-enjoy-this-you-will) is less-than-subtle, actually rather desperate, and possibly self-defeating. I don't like blues wailing harp, not even if it's called "anguished harmonica wrk" or "nice harp blowing", to me it remains a hideous racket. And I don't welcome being berated after I've paid my money. Especially as I've always quite liked 'Ice Cream Tree', and like it even more now that we're told that ~ quoting the sleeve-notes: this"cursed...lightweight...twee bubblegum...blatantly commercial...ghastly...horrible mistake", this "sugary...trite, chirpy little pop tune" of which "a bonfire should be made" and that we all "should dance around the flames", is actually "a drug song about somebody high on acid waiting on his dealer"!! Marvellous.
You can get this in a vinyl format (LP + 45), but as two CDs?!?!?! ....for 18 tracks?!?!?! Get out of here. What makes me smile is the faux-luxure with which detritus is dusted down, repackaged, provided with acres of assiduous annotations, dozens of photos and frankly dribbled over. Silk purses? Sow's ears?
PUBLIC HEALTH WARNING! Too much reading of tiny liner-notes can seriously impair your eyesight.
*
THE ZOMBIES/COLIN BLUNSTONE as NEIL MacARTHUR/ROD ARGENT & CHRIS WHITE - Into The Afterlife
(Big Beat CDWIKD 266) CD
This 20-tracker, billed as "the legendary missing link between the Zombies and Argent", actually pulls together an assortment of late-period Zombies tracks, and Colin Blunstone (as Neil MacArthur) solos, with some Rod Argent & Chris White recordings. Some have already been aired on previous Zombies/related releases (comps & the solo 45s). Most of the inclusions are, unsurprisingly, of a high standard ~ all breathy, ethereal perfection (they even manage to make a Buffalo Springfield song sound interesting. No mean feat!); the mixes of Zombies tracks in which the orchestral parts have been given greater prominence are fascinating; the Deram re-cut of 'She's Not There' is well-known, a psych-effects-drenched; 'She Loves The Way They Love Her', 'It Fails To Please Me' ("Jerry Lee Lewis goes baroque"),'To Julia' (all by Rod & Chris), '12:29' and a Procolish 'Don't try To Explain' (both by Colin/ "Neil") are stunning.
Great as these and most of the others are, the real gems on the comp are the two versions of the psych-pop masterpiece ("this is one of the best psych-pop discoveries of recent decades" ~ Dave Thubron, SFA 35) which first surfaced on the MacMacleod comp. The first version (recorded at Central Sound studios, circa March '68), titled 'Telescope' is here credited to Rod A & Chris W; whilst the equally delicious recut credited to Chris White & Argent, has, by this time (around the end of 1971), been re-christened 'Mr Galileo'. Either way, both versions knock the stuffing out of most recent "pop-syke discoveries", and show that the Zombies could successfully dabble in pervo-delia with the very best of them.
*To record labels: Should you have a release (legit, semi-legit, & just plain naughty) which may be of interest to us & our readership of fanatical psychedelic sound-hounds, we'd be delighted to hear from you. Please email us at lauras_garden@msn.com
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'KITES': some thoughts by Mary LAGO
The following are some thoughts on the lyrics of 'Kites' as performed by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound. The lyrics are not nonsensical, they are not to be taken literally, as they would at first appear, but a series of metaphors and symbolisms.
The song is sung from the point of view of a lover (male), who, wishing to do anything for his beloved, focuses, as lovers are wont to do, solely on her desires and his expression of his love for her, and ends up flirting with ideas of omnipotence.
He talks of flying "a yellow paper sun" (sun = warmth, light, the centre of things) in the form of a (paper) kite) on "your sky" (as opposed to the sky), a metaphor for brightening up her life with his love. And, by floating "a silken silver moon" (silken = sensuality; moon = a symbol sacred to lovers) "near your window" he will even brighten her nights, "if your night is dark". The wind, necessary to fly any kite successfully is both a figure (metaphor) and the very agent (metonymy) of freedom.By writing "I love you" in "letters of gold" (gold = eternal, valuable, as is his love for her) "on a snow white kite" (snow white = untainted, virginal, pure = her) and sending it "soaring high above you" (= the ecstatic, orgasmic elevation of the spirits by love), "For all to read", he is declaring his love for her to the entire world, taking this most miraculous event in his life and sharing it with all humanity. In this, writing in gold on white is a pretty silly thing to do if you want to make a public decalration, gold not being very legible on a gold ground! But it matters not, as this song is not one of self-expression, a grand gesture, but about methods of self-expression and grand gestures.
Beyond the earth, even "in heaven" he "will scatter rice paper stars" (rice paper = exotic, also suggestive of confetti; stars = eternal, infinitely distant, and wondrous) even if "there are no stars" ( = in the black void his love will remain forever, seemingly tiny perhaps, but burning bright). Again, the desire for omnipotence, surpassed only by his boastful promise of finding "seven wonders more"(seven = a sacred number, wholeness) with which to impress his beloved.
~ And, here, for your amusement, are the lyrics of 'Kites', including a translation of the Chinese middle-section, performed by Jacqui Chan, who, not undertanding any Chinese, merely verbalised the phrase phonetically. She had no idea what it was she was saying! Nor did the band!
'Kites' ~ performed by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound
I will fly a yellow paper sun in your skyWhen the wind is high, when the wind is highI will float a silken silver moon near your windowIf your night is dark, if your night is darkIn letters of gold on a snow white kite I will write "I love you"And send it soaring high above you For all to readI will scatter rice paper stars in your heavenIf there are no stars, if there are no starsAll of these and seven wonders more will I findWhen the wind is high, when the wind is highIn letters of gold on a snow white kite I will write "I love you"And send it soaring high above you For all to read[ Chinese spoken passage. English translation:
I love you I love you
My love is very strong
It flies high like a kite before the wind,
Please do not let go of the string ]In letters of gold on a snow white kite I will write "I love you"And send it soaring high above you For all to read
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HELLO ENID, GOODBYE EDYTHE by Paul Cross, ably assisted by Ray Glynn of THE MIRAGE
The recent Mirage compilation (Tomorrow Never Knows- see review in next issue) issued by RPM, includes a track 'Hello Enid'. Despite a lack of any info on the song in the liner notes, the bat-eared have already noted three curious things about said song ~ [1.] that the track has already appeared twice before, [2.] under a different band name; [3.] with a different title.
The track first appeared for public consumption in 1993, on Dustbin Full Of Rubbish ([USA:] Grants GR-D 1974), issued in the US by Dave Brown (of Distortions records fame), therein entitled 'Hello Edythe' (undated) and attributed to 'The Name' "unreleased acetate 1966". Brown apparently bought the double-sided acetate during a trip to England. I surmise that the acetate was from the (Hertfordshire-based) collection which included not an inconsiderable number of Mirage acetetes (many of which were swiftly bootlegged) which was broken up circa 1989. The track then re-appeared (with the same title/attribution) three years later on the legitimate Syde Tryps Vol. 6 (Tenth Planet TP024), together with its flipside, 'What Do I care' (both songs again dated 1966, accepted on trust to be correct). Almost imperceptably speeded-up as are the 'Enid/Edythe' (on Dustbin) and the 'What Do I Care' (on ST6) ~ these were re-mastered from a cassette ~ both are nonetheless the same recordings as those on the Mirage comp.
Ray Glynn, former guitarist/vocalist with The Mirage confirmed that the band never used 'The Name' moniker. He had no explanation for the attribution, other than that "a tape-op might have done it" in naievety, and then certainly "without the band's knowledge or permission. As, basically studio musicians, we didn't get involved in the distribution, pressing, labelling side of things", Ray expalined, "The only time we used different names to The Mirage, was for contractual reasons, or whatever, (eg. Yellow Pages, Portebello Explosion, Jawbone, Larry Page), we were never known as The Name".
One alternative to the "innocent tape-op" scenario is the "deceitful record dealer" scenaio. It is not uncommon in the world of blank acetates for an over-eager record dealer to spice up an otherwise dowdy "unknown" artist, by the creation of a false identity (see SFA re. 'Circus Days', The Gun, etc.). Certainly, the label of Ray's own EMIdisc copy of 'Hello Enid' is devoid of anything, save only a few splodges of yellow chinagraph pencil, the long-eroded remains of the song title. Ray's copy is also, surprisingly, single-sided.
I always suspected that the earlier "1966" dating of the recording (despite all the Revolver allusions) was incorrect - the song is just too perfectly executed for that year. Ray confirmed my doubts: "Kirk Duncan played harmonium on it. The harmonium was the closest thing we could get, or could afford, to a Mellotron." Ironically, the more recent dating of '1968' seems to me too late, bearing in mind internal evidence (the song's morbidity and ecclesiastical vibes), I'd plump for a recording date of 1967. Most probably sometime around the recording of 'The Wedding of Ramona Blair'.
And Enid Tremaine, herself? "She was never a real person. Just one of Dave Hynes' characters. Like Ramona Blair and Ebaneezer Beaver and Mrs Buzby; he just liked the sound of those names. She was if anything, inspired not by a real person, but by chemical substances!"
Even though Enid Tremaine was not an actual person, this is no escapist fantasy; her attributes, her dottiness, her loneliness are poignantly realistic, and all too common in an indifferent society.
The Mirage were heavily inspired by the Beatles. Lest anyone doubt it, they should witness the Mirage's cover of 'Tomorrow Never Knows, the guitars & harmony vocals on 'That I Know', and the horizontal ("I'm only sleeping") Lennonism of 'Lazy Man'). But always took that inspiration in the opposite direction from pastiche. Directly as a result of 'Eleanor Rigby' (UK release: 5th August 1966) there began to appear a deluge of idiosyncratic pop songs about odd, solitary characters; songs full of clarity, nostalgia (a reaction against mod-ernism), melancholia (reflecting the spiritual crisis of mid-1960s materialism), and the minutiae of everyday life (the commonplace rendered fascinating, sometimes seen through the distorting lens of LSD). Such songs became part of the mid-60s zeitgeist: The focus shifted from the arena of abstracted generic boy-girl relationships to something stranger, more personal, yet often rendered safe by being in the third person. 'Hello Enid', like 'Eleanor Rigby' (and The Mirage's own 'Mrs Buzby, ''Ebaneezer Beaver', 'Is Anybody Home?', and 'The Wedding Of Ramona Blair') is a folk song. 'Folk' not in the sense of traditional, rustic, music, but folk in the sense of its originating from the common people.; what Ian Macdonald termed "technologically evolved folk music".
Curiously, this is what that funny old Tapestry book had to say on the subject (entered under the entry for "The Name", of course): "Basically this is bad psychedelic pop, quite varied [sic] but badly put together and it's easy to see how it's remained unreleased." This assumption reveals a tin ear. 'Hello Enid' is a masterful example of a character-driven song. Melancholic observational psych-pop; small-scale, claustrophobic, and 'Eleanor Rigby'-derived as it is, it's also reminiscent of Lennon's middle-eight on 'We Can Work It Out', not just through the shared use of harmonium, but in the tempo-change to emphasise colour, the churchy gloominess, and in the whole enriched beat-group-sound.
Dave Hynes possessed a novelist's highly-attuned ear for language, and yet the satirical wit with which he captured the lonely old lady's dottiness ("it's a nice day, except for the rain"), is handled with the economy of a major poet; and the Salvation Army band, conjured up by the rhythm change, pulsating bass and galloping harmonium, is as captivating and precise as the detail in an old-master painting. It is too easy to dimiss this sort of material as trite and childish "toytown pop". When in fact it is a shrewd and amusing, and it is these elements in the observation that makes one realise that rather than simply laughing at them, Dave Hynes, behind the childlike masquerade of his works is laughing at our society, at all of us. 'Hello Enid' is - in my opinion - a masterpiece, one of the crown jewels of 1960s pop.
Incidentally, it can also be established here that the track by the "Obscured Rays' " (pun intended???), 'You And Me Baby' (see review of Psychedelic Jumble, this issue) definitely features The Mirage: "That's us, alright. I sung harmonies", confirmed Ray Glynn; although the identity of the lead vocalist remains a mystery: "I've no idea who he was", said Ray. "If this was ever to have been issued as The Mirage (which is doubtful), then a finalised vocal would have been added; that lead vocal would have been replaced. This is most likely one of dozens of tracks we played on, using someone who was either signed to Dick James, or whom DJM contemplated signing."
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
'Hello Enid' (lyrics by Dave Hynes) performed by THE MIRAGEHello EnidEnid TremaineHello Enid'Are you waiting for someone?''Yes, I've been waiting for hours', she said'Never mind, it's a nice day''Except for the rain, terrible shame'Hello EnidEnid TremaineHello Enid'Do you need anybody?''Yes, I need someone to talk to', she said'Come and stand in the bandstand'Oh, EnidEnid TremaineHello, the one alone (Hello)She said, 'See you on Sunday''Yes, in a way, 'cos I play in the band'Take a seat in the grandstand'EnidEnid TremaineHello, the one alone (Hello)Enid Tremaine'Are you waiting for someone?''Yes, I've been waiting for hours', she said'Never mind, it's a nice day'Except for the rain, terrible shame'Hello EnidEnid TremaineHello EnidEnid TremaineHello EnidEnid TremaineHello EnidEnid TremaineHello EnidEnid TremaineHello Enid...
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
My sincere thanks to Ray Glynn and David Wells.
(For more on The Mirage, check out the next issue of LAURA's GARDEN)
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BRIC-A-BRAC CORNER
"Psychedelia is as old as humankind. Maybe even one of the things which caused us to become humankind (vide Terence McKenna's theories about the role of psilocybes in the evolutionary leap). During the few years from 1964 to 1970 psychedelia went overground and into the realms of pop-ular culture. But it did not then die in '69/'70, that's for certain. It just fell off the agenda of the fashion-junkies and their media-whores. In the West it undergoes periods of occultation but is alive and well to this day and will with luck remain alive as long as humanity survives." ~ Dave Thubron
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BBC RADIO LEEDS:
Playlist for James Addyman show (09/01/2005), with studio guest David Wells.
Jim's picks included:
The Eagle Flies On Friday - The Exceptions (CBS)I'm Gonna Find A Cave - Miki Dallon (Strike)Morning Dew - The End (Tenth Planet)Midsummer Night's Scene - John's Children (Track)
David's picks:
Arnold Layne - Pink Floyd (Columbia)Real Life Permanent Dream - Tomorrow (Parlophone)Eagle's Son - Pretty Things (De Wolfe)In The First Place - Remo Four with George Harrison (Pilar)Second Production - Mike Stuart Span (Oak)Cowman Milk The Cow - Adam Faith (Parlophone)Have You Heard The Word - The Fut (Beacon)Double Sight - One In A Million (MGM)Tootsy Wootsy Feel Good - Angel Pavement (Wooden Hill)Madman Running Through The Fields - Dantalian's Chariot (Columbia)Beeside - Tintern Abbey (Deram)
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JOHN BROMLEY NEWS
John Bromley (see SFA....) has approx 200 unreleased songs. Plans are afoot to release a selection of these, via Rev-ola.
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ODDBALL 45s
CLIMAX - 'Love Me Woman' / 'There Goes Maloney' ([Belgium:] Ronnex 1424) [1968?] Brit-style kick-ass tune RAY CAMERON - 'Doing My Time' / 'Gateway Gateway Car' (Island WI6003) 1967. Great cheese-pop with fuzz guitar and prison sound effects. Fun! MUMMA BEAR - 'Sally Anne' (Parlophone R5926) 1971. Nice, catchy pop. Far more '68 than '71. Not bendy as such but its orchestral stylings, touches of wah wah, pounding Darryl Stewart - Northern Soul 4/4-rhythm backing track, and Roy Wood hints are all heavily indebted to pop music's greatest, most golden year. There are bubblegum overertones, but as with much "manufactured music" it still has classy undertones. (Was this song also a Cufflinks B-side? I dunno, can't remember and don't care.) This was also issued in Spain, where it came in a pic sleeve. Another side (the ultra-catchy 'My Baby Said Yes'; a Mike Vickers production) by these guys is OK, but not as good as this one. Other Mumma Bear singles: 'Tell Me How' / 'My Baby Said Yes' (Parlophone R5861) Rel.: 09/70. 'Betty Betty, Bye Bye' / 'Susie, Susie' (R5891) 1971. 'Banana Boat Song' / 'Puppet Man' (R5911) 1971. WASHINGTON D.C.s - 'I've Done It Wrong' / 'Anytime' (Domain D9) 1968. Superb pop from a band who had great singles but not a great deal of luck when it came to selling bucketloads of records. BEATNICKS - 'I Feel Good' ([NL:] Philips 355 358PF) [1967?] Dutch band doing a cover version of The Artwoods' 'I Feel Good' which. with its superloud Guitar and killer Brass section. This knocks spots of the original! THE BOX - 'Whole World' / 'Dreams Second Hand' ([West Germany:] Admiral AD 1103) [1968?] THE EVENT - 'Mervin Guy' ([West Germany:] Metronome M 25007) 1967. Another version of this totally silly but totally wonderful toytown pop-syke song, on the flip of the modly 'Scratchin' Ma Head'. TIME MACHINE - 'Hippy Me, Hippy You' / 'Letter Lady' ([France:] /////) 1969. Another beautiful single from the French band whose 'Turn Back Time' and 'Bird In The Wind' were featured on 'Rubble' vol. 11.
**************Re. FOLK PSYCH: off http://www.theunbrokencircle.co.uk/ I'd recommend the 2 CD Marc Brierley set on Sactuary. His first album has a psych feel to it but the rest of the material also has some unusual twists and turns. I think you like him if you like Mark Fry - Brierley is not as "light" but in the same vein. Also been listening to the Nick Garrie album recently. That's a nice one. Maybe check out: Trees,Forest (no connection between the two) and Dando Shaft. The later presents some real listening challenges but the reward is worth the time investment, I think. I tend to be a bit disappointed by acid folk albums as they're never as atmospheric as I expect them to be. I find the Incredible String Band virtually unlistenable and they're supposed to be the best! Anybody know where the songs as good as "Tam Lin" and "Farewell, Farewell" on Liege & Lief are hiding? jtmcfarland@mindspring.com wrote--- Pentangle "Solomon's Seal" and "Reflections" are two albums that give Mellow Candle a run for its money. Just fantastic records and if you don't have them you had better be dead or in jail. One song that stands out as something really different in this vein is Chris Coombs' 'North Country Cinderella.' I'm sure it's meant to be a straight folk song but the recording and instrumentation is so unusual that it blows me away everytime I hear it. It's on a comp called Number Nine Bread Street which is otherwise straight or in some cases traditional folk. Tudor Lodge had some really nice songs but to me they are straight folk with a commerical/pop slant. My favorite is their version of Ralph McTell's 'Kew Gardens.' UK ISB - S/T & 5000 Spirits Dr. Strangely Strange - Kip Of The Serenes Vashti Bunyan - Diamond Day The Mark Fry songs sound particularly promising - about the most "psych" folk music I've ever heard, and with just the sort of dreamy, atmospheric, slightly unsettling mood I've always thought psych and folk should bring out in each other. "Song For Wild" is priceless - I heartily recommend everyone pops along for a listen!
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Re. Bill Kenwright ('Discog.', SFA37): Dear SFA, Interesting to read your thoughts on the Bill Kenwright 45. It is an odd little thing isn't it? As you almost remembered, Bill had earlier been in a group. That group was Room 10. Best wishes and keep up the marvellous work, Phil Cockrup.
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OUTRO: NEXT ISSUE
...we'll be taking a good look at the Psychic Circle label, and Marmalade Skies' Toytown set. We'll have military-satyrical-syke, some fella called Paul McCartney, plenty of reviews of new releases and older ones too (including a tottering great pile of attractive Cherry Red CDs to work through), and lots of other sweetly scented treats!
We in the Garden very nuch look forward to hearing what you think, we also welcome your input, and articles on a wide range of subjects. This is YOUR mag, so do get in touch!
Be seeing you.
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LAURA's GARDEN No. 1 [ incorporating SFA, no. 38 (vol 4, no 2) ] EDITOR: The Rt. Hon. Paul St. James CROSS WRITERS: Marcello CARLIN, Paul CROSS, Mary LAGO, Paul MARTIN, Joe McFARLANDAll contents, Copyright © LAURA's GARDEN, 2007; except: all lyrics, all quotes, all photos, all borrowings; and the following whole texts: 'By Spaceship To The Psyche', by Mike Moorcock. Copyright © Michael Moorcock, 1964; and 'The Herd: Paradise Lost', by Marcello Carlin. Copyright © Marcello Carlin, 2007.LAURA's GARDEN is a non-profit-making & non-capital-generating publication. No part of the contents may be reproduced for gain. It's strictly for personal use and educational purposes only. Mess with us and by jimminy we'll come round in the middle of the night and stuff a sprat up yer nightdress. Nota bene: Any opinions expressed in LAURA's GARDEN are the writer's own, and do not necessarily reflect those of the other writers.
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If you walk in Laura'S Garden you will hear her mind......Listen!

SFA 37 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:45:00.001-08:00

SFA 36 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:44:00.004-08:00

SFA 35 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:44:00.003-08:00

SFA 34 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:44:00.001-08:00

SFA 33 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:43:00.002-08:00

SFA 32 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:43:00.001-08:00

SFA 31 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:42:00.004-08:00

SFA #30 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:42:00.003-08:00

SFA #29 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:42:00.001-08:00

SFA #28 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:41:00.004-08:00

SFA #27 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:41:00.003-08:00

SFA #26 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:41:00.001-08:00

SFA #25 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:40:00.003-08:00

SFA #24 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:40:00.001-08:00

SFA #23 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:39:00.005-08:00

SFA #22 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:39:00.003-08:00

SFA #21 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:39:00.001-08:00

SFA #20 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:38:00.004-08:00

SFA #19 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:38:00.003-08:00

SFA #18 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:38:00.001-08:00

SFA #17 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:37:00.002-08:00

SFA #16 ( first published

2007-12-17T06:37:00.001-08:00

SFA #15 ( first published Feb-Mar 2003 )

2007-12-17T06:36:00.000-08:00

SFA #14 ( first published Jan 2003 )

2007-12-17T06:35:00.000-08:00

SFA #13 ( first published Xmas 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:34:00.002-08:00

SFA #12 ( first published Nov 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:34:00.001-08:00

SFA #11 ( first published Oct 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:33:00.000-08:00

SFA #10 ( first published Sept 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:32:00.000-08:00

SFA #9 ( first published July/Aug 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:30:00.002-08:00

SFA #8 ( first published June 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:30:00.001-08:00

SFA #7 ( first published May 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:29:00.000-08:00

SFA #6 ( first published April 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:28:00.000-08:00

SFA 5 ( first published Dec 2001/Jan 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:26:00.001-08:00

SFA 4 ( first published Dec 2001/Jan 2002 )

2007-12-17T06:26:00.000-08:00

love love love love love love love love love love love love love love

Why? How uncanny! "Tis the legendary

Sweet Floral Albion

crew, with their unique ramblings on the subject of UK psychedelic culture... (Dec 2001/Jan 2002) No. 4 price: Gratis!

My Lords, Ladies and Midgets, good evening and welcome to issue Numero Quattro of the thyme machine known as SFA (look Mum, no parentheses!!!) For your entertainment, delectation, titillation and cerebral stimulation we offer you a platter of tasty treats and mouth-watering morsels.
We hope you enjoy our mag and look forward, dear reader, to hearing from you- we welcome all feedback, well, the good stuff. Hello to everyone reading this on "Marmalade Skies" and many thanks to Jim for believing in us!!
-Dave Thubron (editor)

** this (rather late) issue, which is humbly dedicated to the memory of GEORGE HARRISON,
includes:

OUT IN THE COLD - 2 long-lost chromosome curlers, by Jason Scott
REVIEWS - by Paul Hodges (PH), Jon Kerr (JK), John Salomon (JS) and Dave Thubron (DT) FURTHER QUOTES from Roger's masterpiece
THE HAPSHASH REPRINTS, by Paul Cross
UK PSYCHEDELIA DISCOGRAPHY, Pt 36: - Addenda
PRETTY THINGS - Philippe de Barge : Acid Burns, by Dave Thubron "Please Sir, could I have some..." by John Salomon
TECHNICOLORED SWAP SHOP "Till we meet again" - more news from nowhere

OUT IN THE COLD - Jason Scott
Time to have a listen to two more LPs long since consigned to the dustbin of history and ignored by psych-heads...

WOODY KERN - The Awful Disclosures of Maria Monk (Pye NSPL 18273, 1969)
'But it's bluesy innit? - is the quote that people who ain't heard it, reach for when this LP is recommended to them. OK, so there is a bluesy (in a progressive sense) edge to some of the stuff on offer here, but it's a pity this tag has adhered so stubbornly for so long as this LP has become neglected by the very audience it originally tried (and failed) to attract. Of the eleven tracks that comprise this album only a couple are predominantly 'blues-based' and even then they're not in yer average "muddy-waters-ripped-off-by-the-white-boys" stylee. The opener, 'Biography', is a lengthier rendition than the 45 version, replete with more echo and reverb. It's a tasty and superlative merger of prog and off-kilter, ragaesque psych, as is much else on this album. Other tracks that are in the same 'crossover' territory are the melodramatic 'Xoanan Bay', 'Uncle John' with its mad sax-break, a fine old version of Spirit's 'Gramophone man' - phased to the max!!! There's oodles more phasing on 'Fair Maiden'. The influence of Mr Beefheart is most felt on the punningly titled 'Vile Lynn', which also contains a great guitar break. There's some flutey Tull-style prog-jazz ('Tell you I'm gone, and mellow 'The Blues KeepFalling'), and versions of tracks by Little Walter & B.B.King). This album easily stands its ground alongside many other home grown products from the tail-end of the decade and should be investigated by all those who have a serious interest in late 60s psychedelia and related sounds, especially those who, say, are open-minded enough to appreciate gear like 'Mercator Projected' or the early Jethro Tull albums; and not just by RoxyMusic fans (Rik Kenton was in the band) or those club DJs who continue to sample it's evocative flute runs. (A little bird tells me this LP is down for reissue by Castle/Sanctuary, so no-one will have any excuse for not owning a copy.)

RUST - Come with Me - Germany : (Horzu Shzl59, 1969)
What a grear sleeve! A spooky, gothic-looking chick raises her arms aloft above the heads of two starey-eyed flower children, whilst the typeface of the album's title melts, dripping down live lava. Horrible! This album is far from common in its original form (even in Germany it's become a rarity). But there was a CD reissue on TRC (TRC017) about ten years ago. As a piece of music this LP has few, if any, other UK releases with which it might be compared. It possesses a 'loose' and in some parts (eg 'You Thought You Had it Made' with its distorted vocals and unruly edginess) aUS, 'punk' - feel. Maybe the closest sounding UK act would be the Deviants, but there are as many similarities as differences... The tracks, as was common back then, cross fade into each other, and are punctuated by sound effects. The weird keyboard sound and tolling Big Ben,of 'You thought You Had It Made', dissolve into 'Please Return' which in its half-worked-out amiable chugginess, resembles some of the lesser Gary Walker & The Rain LP tracks. This track dissolves (by way of water noises) into a "mod-soul boys gone awry" sort-of-sound. It's general structure is intriguing even if as with 'Please Return' its a bit unfinished-sounding.Still it's pretty good. 'Think Big' begins with a NASA news-piece then moves into a twangy guitar& profundo echoed vocal piece of sub-Americana. 'Rust' is lyrically OK, although another weird and sparse arrangement with nice treated piano. The next track (side two's opener) 'Delusion' is lead by more nice US style guitar and general garage mayhem. It also contains a nice opening lyric in 'Living Under Bridges, Sleepin' in the rain/Listen to the ratbag tryin' to screw your brain'. The echoed choral refrain/chant also has a faint hint of future Glam about it. 'Doesn't Add Up To Me' is pretty off-balance, its rhythm changes trip you up, and the vocal distortion can be quite disturbing especially if you're in a delicate state of mind. Lovely echo on the guitar, phased drums, and more alternative/radical lyrics, then a beautiful hazy ending - from a psych viewpoint this is probably the LP's standout tracks. But up next is the beautifully-crafted 'Find a Hideaway', with its gorgeous keyboard flourishes, and more sound effects which lead us into the excellent title track which has some much welcomed melodicism about it, plus backwards(?) tapes and another nice ending - A MINOR MASTERPIECE OF UK PSYCHEDELIC POP. The final track, the aptly named 'The Endless Struggle', is another kettle of fish entirely. A full-on, fuzzed-up guitar assault is followed by a driving pop/rock hybrid offset by layered harmonies. A fine album indeed and as original a piece of work as the genre ever threw up, go on, give it a go and... 'Come with me, we'll be oneJust the three of us, With the sun...

From The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations, by Roger St. John: Entry No. 85: Timothy Leary (on UK psychedelia 1968)
'For the last few years, America has been on a Magical Mystery Trip, planned and guided by Englishmen. Everything harmonious and graceful in the electronic psychedelic revolution of the 1960s has come from the venerable East-Anglia Import-Export company. The eye-land empire. The English have seed style. The polished performance based on the rich racial myth. A hip DNA root structure that enables them instinctively to deal with the pulsing energies of our time - electronics and psychedelics.'

***REVIEWS***

THE FLOWER POT MEN : Midsummer Dreaming (Tenth Planet TP051) 180g vinyl. Ltd edn 1000 copies
First thing you notice, of course, is the beautiful multicoloured Phil Smee designed sleeve, in a sort of Lord John-meets-Yellow-submarine style. The Flower Pot Men have been too easily dismissed as cash-in one-hit wonders. But, whilst that song is included here, there are others that help present a more intelligent overview of their work. And, whilst the two Radio One jingles are of perhaps minor interest to completists only there are some absolutely essential gems here, most of which have been available elsewhere but so what??? Cos here, on one piece of solid virgin vinyl in amazing wraparoundsound you get John Carter & Russ Alquists superduper 45 sides 'Midsummer Dreaming' and 'The Laughing Man' The Flower Pot men's (unreleased at the time) 'Blow Away' which is a real beauty their version (basically the same) of 'The Cooks of Cake and Kindness' (The Californians), and the lengthy prog pop 'Children Of Tomorrow' (NOT the MSS song) amongst others. What more do you want for your £12? Blood? Go get. But be quick... (DT)

WE CAN FLY 2 CD (Past & Present PAPRCD 2037)
22 tracks which are here issued under the 'UK psychedelic obscurities' banner. Of which 3 are German (The Lords, The Petards, Joy Unlimited), 2 are Swedish (Pugh and The Tages - who are not from Denmark as it says in the liner notes!!), 1 from Holland (Brainbox), 1 from Belgium (the Julian Kirsch), 1 US (John Fitch, albeit recorded in the UK), and 1 from the Lebanon (The Cedars), which leaves 13 'UK psychedelic obscurities'. Still, enough bitchin', overall this is another fine comp. Nice to see Shy Limbs 'Trick Or Two', the excellent 'Colour Sergeant Lilywhite' by West Coast Consortium, Nite People's 'Love...' and the mighty 'Rabbits' by Norman Haines (alias Avalanche). The final tracks on the comp, viz Danny McCulloch, and the Moonshine 'acetate' are pretty good musically but even to us open-minded and open-hearted guys can't really be termed 'psychedelic'. (JK)

WATERLOO - First Battle CD (Musea (France) FGBG 4281 AR)
You should all know 'Why May I not Know' - a strident piece of psych gone prog -from 'Circus Days 6'. But this release has a lot more to offer besides that goodie. It contains the superb ten-track original 1969 LP (Euro release only) recorded in London by this Belgian band... PLUS six bonus tracks (Note; you don't get these on the Musea vinyl release). This music is highly influenced by '68-69 era Tull but there is a strong Arzachel feel in the phasing, bombastic keyboards, tons of echo and intricate guitar motifs. For me the stand out track was the previously unreleased 'The Youngest Day', which although laid down c. 1972 is a prime slice of '68/69 psych with vocal distortions and double flanging to the fore. Also, 'Smile', a '71 45 side is great brass-tinged pop-psych. For those who wish for some "musical exploration" but love the 'UK sound' this is a highly recommended album. Great songs, superb musicianship & English vocals. If this was a British band it would be a UK premier league prog-psych collectable. Well good! (PH)

JOHN KONGOS - Lavender Popcorn CD (sequel, CMRCD 395)
If you want the Scrugg and Floribunda Rose 45s in stunning sound quality (and frankly who wouldn't?) then this is a must-buy purchase. There's also another unreleased Scrugg track, 'Patriotic' (gently satirical pop sike), to tempt you. The solo John Kongos album - 'Confusions About A Goldfish', is however an oddity for those who have acquired its extremely odd fishy flavour (sorry!). It's sort of acoustic singer songwriter stuff but with some whacked out lyrics (the title track for starters!) and the odd bendy-ish moment ('Desert of Mountains Of Men' and 'Flim, flam Pharisee'). (JK)

MAGIC SPECTACLES - CD Comp (Hyacinth H 003)
Oh dear, where do we begin? This is a mess. Awful 'scanned' liners. It's on CD-R, but being sold (in the US) as a 'CD' - naughty! Most of the stuff on here hasn't been comped before (nice) but most of it should never have been comped and its a rag bag of junk (not nice). The 'notes' and liner are peppered with typos and other errors (OK, we now this mag ain't perfec, befroe yuo all right inn at wonce). And worst of all the last track - Paper Blitz Tissue's fine 'Grey man' (which is reproduced here in pretty good sound quality) runs out half-way through cos the bleedin' CD-R was full up!!! Steer clear (JS)

From The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations, by Roger St. John:
Entry No 196 : Johnnie Young
(Bee Gees hanger-on who covered two of their '67 masterpieces. Here, in interview with DJ Keith McGowan on Sydney Radio 6PR), Johnnie, who certainly ain't no drugs guru (he gets his "micrograms" muddled with his "milligrams"- VERY dangerous indeed!!!) talks about his hilarious acid experience) -
Johnnie: ... I started to feel very light and very tingly all over and everything seemed quite nice and then got a little bit frightening you know things started getting dark and light and everything like that, and I would advise no-one to try it, because it's a, you know, a very stupid thing to do.
Keith: Well, over what period of time were you under the influence of this very small dose of LSD? J: Ermm... well it seemed like only a very short time. Apparently it was about an hour or so (!!!) or something like that. And then I had a good sleep for about then hours K: How long ago was it?
J: This was only several weeks before I left England
K: Ohhh...
J: Very strange. Hope you don't mind me saying that
K: Oh there's sort of a million questions I want to ask you but, I er.. what's the scene like, is there much of it around? Have many people taken it, or what? J: No, now it's all changed again. You see The Beatles are the ones that start all these things you know. They started by admitting they'd taken LSD. They got terrible criticism and all this sort of thing. they'd taken the full 250 milligrams.. (!!!) K: And what did you take? J: ... which is a trip of only abut 50 or 70 milligrams(!!!) or something like that which is quite minute (!!!) so y'know I could quite imagine what a full trip would be like, would be quite terrifying and er, now the big thing is meditation of course where you sit down and meditate with yourself (!!) I've got a book on that. K: Yeah, I saw a book on yoga in your bag there J: I had another book called 'Kama Sutra' which I tried to bring in the country but er that was unfortunately banned and taken from me. K: It's a record label isn't it? So Johnnie Young has take LSD! It's eleven minutes past five. Have you told anyone else that on the air before'? J: No, I haven't been game actually. K: Oh a first for me...
Many thanks to Ellis & the guys at "Boobs-a-lot Records" for putting us on to this "classic" interview and thanks to Rosa and Mickey for those illuminating specimens of Aussie Fungi - nice!

THE WIMPLE WINCH "DEMOS" - NOT!!!
It's very satisfying that those much-loved whimsydelic demos, incorrectly attributed to Wimple Winch on the 'Wimple Winch Story' compilation (Bam Caruso KIRI 107 CD, 1992), and the recently expanded 30 track bootleg comp have finally been issued under, what some of us have long since known as, their correct name, i.e. that of their author - Dee Christopholus solo tracks. Now available on "Waterloo Road" (Pluto TH 03074), a fascinating collection of tracks cut at the small Pluto Studios in Stockport between 1968 and 1975.

*** UK PSYCH (and related) DISCOGRAPHY ***
Part 36: - Further addenda (Sorry, not in A-Z - see (S)FA3)

- TERRY BRITTEN - 2,000 weeks/Bargain Day (Columbia, 1969).Promo - only solo 45 by the former lead singer of The Twilights - whom we adore (see "A few of my favourite things" - this ish). Nice double-sider, love the bubble-icious guitar on the 'b' side

- DAVE CLARK FIVE - Tabatha Twitchit - Lost In His Dreams- It Ain't What You Do The first two are off the 'Everybody knows' LP (Columbia SX6207, 1968), which also included the slightly better known 'Inside And Out'. 'Tabatha' is ultra-catchy 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang' - style, toy-town pop and frankly rather tacky. 'Dreams' is great pop-psych with a waltzy fairground organ and nice lyrics, albeit a bit snooty & micky taking. 'It Ain't What You do' is off the 'If Somebody Loves You' LP (Columbia SCX 6437, 1970), and is a bit like Procol/Freedom in their more serious(?) moments - a quality track. Also on this latter LP is '5 by 5' a full-on fuzz-fest; and 'Live In The Sky' kind of pop-sike-ish featuring the chants of the '66 World Cup crowd.
- CONSORTIUM - The Day The Train Never Came (Pye 7N 17725, 1969)

Trademark falsetto harmonies from the former 'West Coast Consortium'. Nice & weird & very English. On one of the 'Justa...' comps and the CD version.

- MERION - Abyssinan Secret (Page One POF 042, 1967)
Also issued as 'MARION', and also covered well-enough (surprisingly!!!) by 'Our Cilla'. Great stuff, with the right kind of ethnic-vibe for our ears.

- THE BABY - Heartbreaker (Spark, 1969)
Fuzzed up proto-glam meets tardo-psych. Very odd. Very rare and totally unknown. Sort of like The Eggy (kind of). A Scottish Bovver Boy pop treasure!

- DAVID CHRISTIE - Penelope Breedlove (Mercury MF 1028, 1968)
Lovely! This epitomises a certain type of fey pop-psych! Another version (v.similar) by 6AX is on 'Syde Tryps 7'.

- STAVELY MAKEPIECE - I wanna Love you Like a Mad Dog (Pyramid, 1969)
On a reggae label (why?). This is flipped-out UK style to the max and... by those Lieutenant Pigeon persons (GASP!).

- LOVE AFFAIR - Hush - The Tree- 60 minutes of your time
All off the 'The Everlasting Love Affair' LP (CBS 63416, 1968) 'Hush' is yet another great club-friendly version, with superb guitar. 'Tree' sound like a Fleur de Lys out take (Yes, it REALLY is that good!) absolutely, bloody marvellous! '60 Minutes' is a tasty Small Faces-style freakbeat - soul hybrid that works very well. None of these 3 tracks are anything like the usual crap associated with this pre-fabricated outfit.

- LUVVERS - House on the Hill (Parlophone R5459, 1966)
Lulu's erstwhile backing band with a snotty/punky piece of pop that hits all the rights notes. Quite bendy too.

- UNIVERSALS - Green Veined Orchid (Page One POF 049, 1967)
Neglected track. Why?? It is the total "dogs". Knocks spots off 'Hey You' (which is pretty straight mod-beat). The phased ending is worth tracking this 45 down for on its own, but even without that its still top quality UK 60s pop! By the way, the correct title is "Green Veined Orchids" (misprinted on label)

- CIRCUS - Do you Dream? (Parlophone R5672, 1968)
Wow! Phasing-a-go-go! A real beauty. Love the lyric - 'Do you Dream? Castles in the Sky/ Do you Dream? Ever so high'... A winner!

--TOYSHOP - Say Goodbye to Yesterday (Polydor, 1969)
Lovely jubbly!! Pity my copy is trashed beyond redemption... Is this still gonna be comped...?

- TAPESTRY - Who Wants Happiness (NEMS 56 - 3964, 1969)
B side of 'Heart and Soul'. This is a brilliant 'Blow up!' type dancer. Ignore the Tapestry (no pun intended) of Delights entry for this - it's well off the mark.

- CLOWN - Lord of the Ringside (CBS, 1972)
Plugged by Lewis 'Lowland Paradise' Anderson on the now sadly defunct 'Marmalade Skies' forum. Spooky folk with nice wah-wah. Supposedly recorded in 1970(?) c/w 'Rumania', which is OK. There's a forthcoming CLOWN comp from those nice 'Dig The Fuzz' people. So keep 'em peeled - it'll also include the disturbingly perv-tastic 'Uncle'... among other good things. Can't wait!

- THE EXECUTIVES - The Ginza Strip (CBS 3067, 1967)
A paean to Tokyo, wrapped in fab and groovy 1967-style pop-psych finery (sitar & flute, etc). A nice piece (and rarer than you think) from a band too-often dismissed by sad, moanie-minnie psych snobs who prefer prog muso twaddle to the "proper" stuff. (See SFA 2 for our "appreciation" of 'Tracy Took A Trip')

PLEASE NOTE:
SFA are planning to issue a series of CDRs/tapes of these and other recommended/neglected tracks. Let us know if you are interested. Possible track-lists will be published in SFA5, or emailed direct to those who are interested

LYRICS
For no other reason than we like 'em, we've included the following words of weird and wondrous wide-eyed wisdom (let us know of any errors, oh do, please!!!)

RIVER TO ANOTHER DAY - Love Sculpture

You start to close your eyes
Your mind begins to slow
Velvet shadows fall
Your worries start to go
You're drifting through the lily patch
Away
You're on the river to another day

Another day has gone
And darkness touches you
Your mind is slipping free
There's nothing you can do
The roundabout's stopped turning
You won't stay
You're on the river to another day

River, where are you going?

Everyone is marking time for you

Reality has lost
And reason doesn't care
Your clothes, lost, interests you [?]
Lie as you left them there
The colours have all changed
From white to grey-ey-ey
You're on the river to another day
Flow down the river to another day-ay-ay-ay-ay
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

TIME/CONFUSION - The Crazy World of Arthur Brown

Time bending faces
Time mending places
Time into time
One white hand holding silence
Collapses ecstacies of violence
Time into time
Time, let your fist open wide
You'll find the hand and the pattern
Behind which we all hide
Change into time
A bubble of blood shut from laughter
Circles death before and after
Time beside time
Smiles, yawning, wisdom
Joy, or a liar's kingdom?
See leaves scattered in the bracken
Lemons in a spider's web
And travel down on ancient foot-path
Where the sudden scent catches you
And you try to stay its flavour
And find at its source
A green leaf already muddied
All things have a pattern...
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

KALEIDOSCOPE -Marmalade

In the mystic magic mind of mirrors
Silver sand of sunbeams slowly filters
Imagination knows no senses
Interpretation indispenses

Rainbow rivers rounds of red and yellow

Peaceful purple planets of contentment
Exhilaration reaches inside
Hallucinations fill the mind wide
In & Out round about
Leave the world behind
Up & down round and round
There are dreams to find

Golden gardens glistening in the spectrum
Silhouetted shadows flit in silence
Manifestations of the time flies
Reincarnations of the mind's eye
~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~ ~~~~

SONG FOR INTERNATIONAL TIMES - Soft Machine

People say they want to be free
They look at him and they look at me
But it's only themselves they're wanting to see
And everyone knows about it

We talk all night and we're all turned on

We believe we heard him singing his song

He told us all that there was work to be done
And we all sung the chorus

Yes, Disneyland has come to town
Everyone's dressed and they're standing around
Alice is wearing her sexiest gown
But she still doesn't want you to look at her

Beautiful people who are queuing to drown
Wait for the lifeguard to put on his crown
But he's up at the other end of town
Trying to talk to the mirror

The scientist talks and he knows what he means

He sits on the floor and has beautiful dreams
Then gets brought down by a woman who screams
But he knows that it's only a record

His brave new girl stops feeding the ants

And looks at him with her septic pants
She still knows how to make him dance
And f*** emancipation

And you and I sit and hum
We know something's got to come
And get us off our endless bum ...

There's probably one in the bathroom

Note: A revised version - 'Song For Insane Times', appeared on Kevin Ayers' magnificent 'Joy Of A Toy' LP (see SFA 1)

From The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations, by Roger St John: Entry No 65 : Paul McCartney (A Beatle)
'God is in everything. God is in the space between us. God is in that table in front of you. God is everything and everywhere and everyone. It just happens that I realised all this through acid, but it could have been done through anything. It really doesn't matter how I made it... The final result is all that counts'
(so what went wrong, Paul?) From Queen magazine. Also quoted in Hansard 28/07/67.

'UNISSUED'(?) SAM GOPAL 45 - Stable STA 5602
I should like to say (a somewhat suspicious) 'thank you' to one of our readers, viz Lloyd Ridgwell, who sent me label-photocopies and a tape of the legendary & supposed non-issued Sam Gopal 'Horse'/'Backdoor Man' 45. The label mis-attributes these tracks to The Deviants (also, of course, on Stable Records). Mr Ridgwell states: "This printing error, and resulting wasted cash, probably explains why the single was withdrawn and subsequently failed to reappear in a corrected form". All quite plausible, especially as he goes on to say that he received his copy of this 'unique' 45 (all copies should have been destroyed) from Steve Sparkes (Deviants' producer). The mixes, he says are 'slightly different to the acetates aired on the 'Psych Salvage Co' comps. But to mine ears they sound the same only in better sound quality; but hey! I'm a tone deaf, very cynical kinda guy, who only believes the evidence of his own ears and eyes - show me the actual record, Lloyd, and I'll be as happy as a pig in ... Until then, the jury is still out.
Paul Hodges

Here, one of our readers (Mr Dean Sanders, of Cobham) tells us about the fings wot he likes, in a piece we hillariously call - "These are a few of my favourite things"

DEVIANTS- 'Last Man' (off 'Disposable' LP)- Weird and scarey poo that has always given me the colly wobbles. Not just the track itself, which, of course, is the epitome of post-apocalyptic dementia, but the hideously awful idea of Micky Farren as the sole-surviving member of humankind. Jeepers!

ELMER GANTRY - 'Air'-The band disowned this track, saying it was all tongue-in-cheek, mickey-taking stuff. Mmm? Nevertheless, it's superlative, sitar-embellished pop psychedelia with hippy-trippy lyrics.

TWILIGHTS - 'Paternoster Row'-What can you say? Well... simply the best piece of Oz-psych EVER recorded, and the best 'Walrus' - period Beatles track the Beatles never recorded. A total marvel. Check out this band ASAP. Their material ranks with the very best of UK psychedelia (Look out for a future SFA article on their psych material). Send us your choices, we'll try to include them in future issues.

Roll up! Roll up!
### MINI QUIZ ###
Q. What was the inspiration (other than 500 mikes of Orange Sunshine) for the following line from the fab "Yellow Brick Road", by The Mindbenders: 'where music is blowing, from liquid pianos around you...' The first person who emails the correct answer wins a suitably psychedelic "mystery prize" (ooh!) If no-one gets it right, I'll keep the prize myself for being such a clever old sod. By the way, 'tis a shame "Yellow Brick Road" hasn't been comped, as it's not too-well known, which is a great shame, as it is absolutely top-notch UK psychedelia (one of the very best tracks of the era) and, methinks, the best thing that The Mindbenders ever did, and that's saying something!

From The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations, by Roger St John Entry No. 60 : Brian Epstein (An impresario of some stature): talking of the 'new mood' capturing the UK in '67:
Bri : ... this new mood has originated from hallucinatory drugs, and I am whole heartedly on its side!

THE HAPSHASH & THE COLORED COAT REPRINTS, by Paul Cross
The Hapshash posters have long been admired, even in '67 they were recognised as 'art' (for example see The Observer Magazine, December 3, 1967), and esteemed by memorabilia collectors. The original series produced by Michael English with help from Nigel Waymouth (proprietor of 'Granny Takes a Trip' and NOT a friend of Jonathan Meade's!), numbered 33 screen prints on fairly standard poster paper that, for all the abuse most copies have suffered, have stood the test of time pretty well (OK, so some of the metal inks have cracked where posters have been rolled up...
In April YK2 the duo were flown to San Fran to oversee the reprinting of their entire series (as those of us who were sent the prospectus were told) of posters in an edition of 250 numbered & signed copies). The resulting work is stunning and apart from a few minor liberties taken by Roger Bernhardt (the SF printer) are faithful copies of the posters and, barring the odd bootlegged 'reprint' (some of which have not been the correct size) would have been the first time the series has been reproduced. Unfortunately, only half a dozen of the posters ("Soft Machine Turns On"; "The Who-I can see for miles"; "Tomorrow - My White Bicycle"; "Save Earth Now"; "Saville Theatre 01/10/67"; & "CIA v UFO") were made available, as "Collectors" (primarily trendy, loft-living, high-income nostalgia buffs; as well as the odd well-heeled 'genuine' fan of the psych era) weren't interest. They didn't want hand-signed reprints on fine-quality art paper - they wanted the REAL THING! And with a price of 300 US Dollars each, who can blame em!!
(NOTE: they've since been sold off cheap - Ted Owen of Fleetwood-Owen (auctioneers to the gentry), the man behind the idea and joint-author of High Art was not a happy man (allegedly))

VERY MORE-ish
by John Salmon
The Pink Floyd eh? Yeah, good old Syd, he was great wasn't he? Well maybe, but he ain't on this disc (cue cries of outrage) What disc? The 'More' soundtrack.
The album opens with 'Cirrus Minor' a nice blend of
English pastoralism and space rock (self-produced to boot), as blissed-out as anything on the two previous, more celebrated LPs. 'Cirrus Minor' lulls you into a false sense of security, as suddenly... BANG! The Floyd rock on 'The Nile Song': pugnacious guitar chords and some superlative machine-gun drumming are handled with finesse and some remarkable, quickly gained maturity. After that STP-fuelled, rollercoaster ride, it's time to roll a nice fat one ("roll and roll") and mellow out to the acoustic-based melancholia of 'Crying Song' and 'Green is the Colour'. 'Up the Khyber' comes on like a jarring & stacatto 'Toc H' Part 2 (very 'ava gardy'). 'Cymbaline' is melodic hippie prog par excellance with a delicious, shimmering keyboard ending. A 'high time' indeed (a lovely demo version of this track by Hawkwind Z00 should not be overlooked either). Flip the album over for a short, percussion and flute instrumental. 'Main Theme' is amazing, with keyboards reminiscent of 'The Committee' soundtrack, and complete with the wonderful and now famous Big Gong that first appeared at Floyd gigs around this time (i.e. 1968-69). 'Ibiza Bar' is another guitar-based heavy acid rock attack. Whilst 'More Blues' is pretty down home y'all. 'Quicksilver' is another late psych fest, similar in arrangement to 'Main Theme'.
A 'Spanish Piece' is like anexpanded version of The Kooba's 'Spanish Joe' ditty (although I think they confused their Mexicans with their Spaniards in the works???)
Those whose musical tastes have been shaped (ie. dictated) by received ideas should (and do) steer clear of this LP. But, anybody who can see through the 'Syd was the Floyd' hype will be in for a treat. There is enough good stuff here to give both 'Piper' and 'Saucer' a run for their money, and then some.

Joe Public, it's over to you... A READER'S LETTER: "The Psych 'Scene' - An Overview"
Dear Dave,
It was evident from postings on the "Marmalade Skies" message board (R.I.P.) that the psych 'scene', if such a beast exists, is a very confused and agitated animal, in a state of crisis, and perhaps near death. Perhaps already extinct.
The 'scene's' only hope for survival is to learn. And we could learn a lot from the Rare Soul scene, about how to maintain things for the futre and how not to tear apart things in futile and bitter internecine squabbles.
The Rare Soul scene has evolved it's own forms of classification and delineation that, although rightly not set in stone help to structure musical appreciation. These 'structures' help those within and without the scene come to an understanding of the scene as a totality. This is one of the major, albeit less obvious ways in which the Rare Soul scene differs from the psych 'scene'. "Our" terminology is limited and faulty. For eg "Freakbeat", which although an earnest and thoughtful attempt at specificity, has long since lapsed into generality and of late into near meainglessness. And the very term "psychedelic" is itself nearing absurdity in terms of definition.
What I think we need is a commonly understood and accepted language of critical & musicologcal terms. For example, on the Rare Soul scene they have "Northern" (traditionally 60s mid-uptempo dance soul); "Deep" (slower, impassioned ballads); "Modern" (uptempo 70s/80s); "Crossover" (mid-tempo, late 60s /early 70s - literally wher te sixties and seventies fans' tastes meet/croxx-over); as well as "two-sep", "poststompers", "popcorn", "tumbleweed", "oldies", "newies" and so forth... The existence of these different sub-groups doesn't confuse or fragment the scene; they bind it together, creating a cohesive whole in which each term is understood by people speaking the same language.
We need a codification along similar lines. Some examples may help to point the way forward:

FREAKBEAT - in its narrowest sense: souped-up beat/proto-psych

POP SIKE - Ersatz psychedelia/pop whims

PSYCH-POP - Psych influenced/infused pop music (also 'Pop-Psych')

ACID ROCK - Hard edged, psych influenced/infused guitar driven rock music

PROG/PSYCH CROSSOVER - The edgy/uneasy point at which psych & prog blur. A term based on the music, applied to a grey area of chronology (strangely enough, akin to crossover soul's blend of 60s & 70s tastes)

SPACE ROCK - A Floyd-influenced mutation, a la Hawkwind, Nektar, Khan et al. (Also 'Cosmic Rock')

All these terms can be covered by the umbrella term of musical 'psychedelia'. The other major (non-musical) distinction between the psych ad soul scenes, of course, is that, whilst the Rare Soul scene is based on the integral club experience (one of competive bonhomie and social interaction), the psych scene is simply composed of isolated, asocial old tossers wit tapes, 45s & CDR burners instead of clubs to go to.
I hope that this isn't taken as too harsh an insult, after all I too am one of those old tossers
Yours, Alan Watson (via e-mail)

NOTES & QUERIES - help!
- o Anybody got any inf re. the band histor of STEEL MILL (we know the line up, release details, producer, writers, etc etc)? We don't know nuffink about what the guys did before or after this period (ie. 1970/71) and nor does anyone else we know.
- o Anybody (oher than Peter Jenner) have a copy of the flyer or poster for The Floyd's 'Games for May' gig, Queen Elizabeth Hall, May 12th, 1967? Don't worry, we don't want to buy it; to just have a Xerox copy, or even know that other copies exist, would be nice.
- o Line up details (in fact, any info at all PLEASE!) for THE HINGE, who cut the brilliantly mod-tastic "You Better Go Home". They are a blank page in our encyclopaedia.
- o Colour photographs of GEORGE HARRISON's psychedelic mini (especially of the right-hand (driver's) side of the car. Required by restorer. (NB. we already have footage from 'Magical Mystery Tour' file (&out takes) - thanks)

TECHNICOLORED SWAP SHOP
To list an ad here simply e-mail us with your text - we'l give you a number, and pass on all your replies. It's FREE and confidential!
4.01 WANTED: FLOWER SCENE mags, or decent photo-copies thereof. STC
4.02 WANTED: MINDBENDERS - schoolgirl 45 EX/M cond. STC
4.03 WANTED: BROKEN DRAMS vols 3,4 &6. STC/condition
4.04 FOR SALE: US psych 45s/LPs. 100s of items email for list
4.05 FOR SALE: "International Times". All issues (barring half issues/broadsheets) decent offers only please (£1000+)
4.06 FOR SALE: BLOND - 'The Lilac years' (Swedish Fontana) Ex/M- Bids. Othe scandi-psych items too
4.07 FOR SALE: Leviathan double - 45 promo pack. Mint vinyl. pack:- Ex, slightly knocked at edges. Good offers please
4.08 WANTED: Swinging 60s chick for penpal type thing. Must be cool fab and very groovy and willing to frug
4.09 Demure, Julie Christie - type seeks handsome attentive actor Must own e-type and pad in Chelsea. Reply Box 69
4.10 WANTED : Rupert's People original (yellow) badge & fanclub membership card STC/condition

WEB WATCH - More internet stuff that we like
OO MIKE STUART SPAN (Link via Marmalade Skies)- very nice, and another one from Jim Mac- the world's busiest man bar none. contemporary press cuttings,loads of info,nice pics, all presented in a colourful and stylish way. Highly recommended.
OO GIBRALTAR ENCYCLPOAEDIA OF PROGRESSIVE ROCK- OK, so it's nowhere near the scale of Vernon's book...BUT it does give more info than that tome, on the type and quality of the music, so as a guide to potential purchases it's extremely useful.
OO ROCKINBEAT- http://www.rockinbeat.de/ superb stuff. Gabor & the gang are reissueing some of the rarest beat and psych LPs. A nice international selection and very competitively priced they are too.
OO TAPESTRY OF DELIGHTS (various links)- Nice to see that Borderline are still correcting this work (well...very occasionally). It's an essential book but it does need a damned good seeing to. Pity Vernon is busy with other things...

TIL WE MEET AGAIN...
Next time we'll have articles on EYES OF BLUE, ALPHABEAT, THE MOTIVES EP, a review of the new RUPERT'S PEOPLE comp, plus all the usual features. Sorry that the PRETTY THINGS fell off somewhere along the line, when we find 'em and dust 'em down, we'll put 'em in the next issue.
Au revoir mes enfants!!!

As we said in our Christmas speech: issues 1&2 are, by an ancient alchemical process, being converted from paper to computer, so, soon you'll all be able to read our early stuff ('L' Plates not included!)

All contents are copyright (c) 2002 Sweet Floral Albion
The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations by Roger St. John, is copyright of the publisher: Tangerine Books (Lo
Sweet Floral Albion is published monthly (well, we do try) and is edited by The Right Honourable David Thubron, CBE, LSD, BSE.

love love love love love love love love love love love love love love

SFA 3 ( first published Nov 2001 )

2007-12-17T06:25:00.000-08:00

SWEET FLORAL ALBION

Why? How uncanny! 'Tis the legendary (Sweet) Floral Albion crew, with their unique ramblings on the subject of UK psychedelic culture... (November 2001)
No.3 Price: Gratis ********************

Welcome to, this, our latest crumbly digestive. We say a most especial "Hello dears", to those of you who are new to (Sweet) FLORAL ALBION. After the recent piracy problems and an even more recent re-assessment of our (that's 'my') photocopying and postage costs, we're sticking to the email-only format, so, there will no longer be any lengthier, 'whole' issues, as in days of yore, with Nos 1 and 2 (sorry!) We'll send out stuff as we get round to it. Still, hope you enjoy our ramblings. Sorry there's no pics, as yet. Dave T. This time around we have the following tasty treats to tickle your tastebuds:

· OUT IN THE COLD - 2 long-lost chromosome curlers (by Jason Scott)
· LIBRO PSICEDELICO - A review of "Underground Graphics" (by J. Barrington Phillips, esq)
· REVIEWS - by Paul Hodges (PH), Jon Kerr (JK), Nick Philips (NP), 'Big' Barry P (BP) and Dave Thubron (DTs)
· THE BEE GEES - 'DEEPLY, DEEPLY, DEEPLY ME' (by Dave Thubron)
· UK PSYCH DISCOGRAPHY Pt. 37: Addenda
· THE BUMPER BOOK OF PSYCH QUOTATIONS (by Roger St. John - We'll be dipping our wicks in this hefty tome from time to time)
· THE SHAME (ACETATE) LP REVIEWED!
· TECHNICOLORED SWAP SHOP (Small Ads)
· 'TIL WE MEET AGAIN - A taster for next time

"OUT IN THE COLD" by Jason Scott
This issue I'm placing two more scandalously neglected and pungent little phonograms on the ol' gramphone machine for a re-evaluation.
It's time to delve into the first: HUMAN BEAST - 'Volume One!' UK: (Decca SKL 5053)
I can remember clear as day the first time I ever heard this. It was in my mate John Taverner's digs in 1970. First thing that hit me about the album was this was what the Sam Gopal 'Escalator' LP should have sounded like. It captures to perfection the sound of that stoned, long sunny afternoon death of the 60s counterculture.
Human Beast, an Anglo-Scottish power trio, initially calling themselves 'Skin' (they quickly and prudently changed their name - what with all those cropped-haired reggae fans beating up students and Hippies, the name was misplaced, to say the least), comprised Gillies Buchan (gtr, vocs), Edward Jones (bass, vocs), John Ramsay (percussion); helped out by their mate David McNiven (of folky trio Bread, Love and Dreams), who not only played clarinet on the LP's opening track but co-wrote most of their songs too.
The LP consists of seven (fairly) lengthy pieces. Side One opens with 'Mystic man' - wah wah to the fore, it's a powerful and superlative example of heavy psychedelia. The stunning Freak Out section ("The Human Beast Sheds Its Second Skin") is marvelously deranged. The second track 'Appearance Is Everything, Style is Everything' takes us down a notch and although it's not a chill-out excursion, it is somewhat mellower & more sublime than most of the LP. It's nice, cosmic Hippie lyrics over some shimmering pseudo-Eastern scales:- Nice! 'Brush With The Midnight Butterfly', which closes the first side is another heavy guitar assault. (But, fear not, faint heart, for although laddled with lashings of guitar bombast this LP isn't agonizingly self-indlugent, and is thankfully devoid of the superfluous riffing that is often at the expense of the song). A terrific version of 'Maybe Someday' opens Side Two - it's another beauty, a slower Eastern influenced piece which lulls us into a false sense of security, cos soon we're off on an STP - fuelled voyage of self-awareness, with the masterful 'Reality Presented As An Alternative' (Love those titles!) and the great 'Naked Breakfast' (yes Please!) and the closing 'Circle of The Night'.
This LP represents all that was good about the tail-end of psychedelia. These guys toiled to make good music, as the drug intake mushroomed (geedit?) and all around was a depressing wasteland of heavy/blues rock and chirpy bubblegum chart-fodder.
GONG - 'Magick Brother' France: (BYG Actuel 529 029), 1970
This beauty has been way too long out in the cold. Let's re-admit it to the UK psych canon. Although enjoying no contemporary UK release this LP was issued within these fair isles in 1977 (Charly CRL 5025) and on CD (Decal CD LIK 31) in 1986, yet it has remained something of a curio, of interest to those (tasteful folks) following the career of Daevid Allen.
In 1967, on attempting to re-enter the UK after some European dates Daevid Allen (an Aussie national) was refused entry (his visa had expire). After some rest and recuperation of a very Hippie kind, he formed Gong. Based in France the band (Allen (gtr, bass, semprini crystal ball, vocs), Didier Malhere (flute, soprano sax), Rachid Houri (drums, tabla), Dieter Gewiffler (contrabass), Earl Freeman (ctonrabass, piano), Bare Phillips (contrabass), Burton Green (Piano, Pianoharp), Gilly Smyth (voices space whisper and words/music), and Tasmin Smyth (voices)), recorded this brain-fucker during September and October 1969. If the Human Beast LP is highly reminiscent of the Sam Gopal Dream, then this LP is indelibly stamped with the trademarks of The Pink Floyd. The influence isnt surprising, both The Soft Machine (when Allen was a member) and the 'Floyd were 'rivals' for the position of "Underground Band Numero Uno", and played the same venues and appealled to the same crowd.
It is evident that Allen (see his autobiography - Gong Dreaming, GAS, 1994), after seeing Barrett performing (with the 'Floyd) at the '14 Hour Technicolour Dream', henceforth adopted Barrett's glissando technique, as well as Barrett's humour and lyrical/vocal stylings. All are evident, on these, the first of his post-Soft Machine releases. Tracks that are particularly Barrettesque are the warped, heavily phased 'Hope You Feel OK', and the intro to 'Chainstore Chant' ("Pockets full of blood, Pockets full of blood"); and most especially on '5 & 20 Schoolgirls the influence of the post-Barrett Floyd (circa 'Sauceful Of Secrets') can be detected on the cosmic space-rock of 'Rational Anthem', 'Princess Dreaming' and the mystical, flutey 'Cos You Got Green Hair'. There's a Soft Machine/Giles, Giles & Fripp feel to 'Ego', a classic song with some mad jazz touches. 'Mystic Sister: Magick Brother', the LP's opener, is another classic. Topped and tailed by some freaky/spacey passages it's a nice swirly acoustic Hippie-vibe number. Only the stoned 'Gongsong', is below average, and even this is quality stuff.
Definitely an eleven-out-of ten album; and a real shame that it's been left to rot amongst the weeds at the far end of the garden, instead of being the fountain-bedecked center-piece that it most assuredly deserves to be.
(Thanks to Anal Titsarse (sorry, Alan Titchmarsh) for the gardening anal-ogy)

From The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations, by Roger St. John:
Entry No. 28: Tony Cox (One half of the duo, The Young Idea)
'Still, I must say I'd like to see the end of the fad-following which plagues us today. It was sad when all the soul groups suddenly went psychedelic and started wearing kaftans and frizzed-hair. It's not that I'm against the hippie business...
From sleevenotes to the Young Idea's 'With A Little Help From My Friends' LP (1968)
- Rather rich, don't ya think, coming from the man who gave us 'Room With A View', the superlative psych pop of 'All The Colours Of Darkness' and a bevy of other Hollies - inspired swinging London pop beauties

Now that J. Barrington Phillips, esq has got his senior citizens' bus pass, he takes another trip to his local library to see what dusty tomes are waiting there to be discovered by anally-retentive nostalgia buffs.
It's the feature we pretentiously call:-
IL LIBRO PSICEDELICO
by J. Barrington Phillips, esq
Underground Graphics, edited by Graham Keen and Michel La Rue, Academy Editions: London, 1970.
This book is a total groove.
Man, when I first bought this at the Academy Bookshop, Holland Street London W8, I had no inkling that the era this book so beautiful encapsulates was almost over. Nor that this book, all but forgotten now 30 years later would command such silly prices form dealers (yeah, Andy baby!).
The bookshop and publisher of this was synonymous with things 'underground' and 'countercultural', and this is certainly a countercultural treat of much visual sweetness. Within its multi-coloured pages are found repros of posters, logos, headers, illustrations from OZ, it, Gandalf's Garden, column headers ('Perfumed Garden', etc.), ads (Granny's, Imprint, Hung on You...). Among the posters we find The Purple Gang, Tomorrow, Pete Brown's Battered Ornaments (by the late and very great Mal Dean), Soft Machine; and even the rare 'Airplane' poster for Tintern Abbey, in which the band (highly stylized) seem to grow from the undercarriage of a 1930's twin-prop. There are many works here used since for the sleeves of dubious psych "re-issues", there's Mike McKinnery's poster for the 'Technicolor Dream' (complete with typo), posters for UFO, a terrifyingly gorgeous one for Middle Earth; works by Michael English and Martin Sharp predominate, but there are others, notably the finely-crafted vignettes of John Hurford, that make this book throb with love and light...
Only major work that's notably missing (for me) was the Middle Earth callendar, designed by Quaser Posters of Dagenham - anybody remember this lil' beauty?
If you don't wanna cough up for an original volume (and baby, why should you?), visit your local library, maybe they'll find you a copy - mine did.

REVIEWS
(Some recent, and not so recent, items)

SAMSON - Are You Samson? (Castle CMRCD 064) CD
It had been a long time since I'd listened to the original album (I must have sold my copy at least 10 years ago), so getting this CD was pretty cool. It's interesting that Castle have chosen this neglected (see (S) FA No 1: 'Out In The Cold') gem from the 1969 prog-psych crossover era, rather than the much trawled '67-'68 boom years. It's a great little album, if the songs are not too stellar, at least we can more than make do with the pleasant artifice and some period trappings (nice sound effects and some competent keyboards). Overall it's a goodie - thumbs up. (NP)
Hot Smoke And Sassafrass: Psychedelic Pstones, Vol. 1 [comp] (Castle CMRCD 255) CD
A great compilation. Sound quality here is STUNNING - I discovered textural details on some of the songs I'd never noticed before from 45s or previous comps. OK so most of these have appeared before; a great slew of them on 'Paisley Pop'. We have left-field gems that Rubble would never have dared to anthologise such as Taxi; 'Counting Time My Way' and Woody Kern, 'Biography' two stunning muvvas that no fan of UK/Irish psych should be without. Top Notch (DT).

OUT OF DARKNESS s/t (Key KL006) CD
Very nice guitar-figures throughout, especially on 'Thank You Lord', 'Closing In On Me' and 'There You See A Stranger'. They must have religiously (sorry) imbided Hendrixian motifs until they could reel 'em off in their sleep, but at the end of the day the "Jesus Freak" angle tends to cast it's shadow across their work. Still, if you can hack it, there's some decent material here. (PH)

THE TREMELOES:
(1) Good Day Sunshine: singles As & Bs (sequel NEE CD 337)
(2) Here come... (NEE CD 468)
(3) Suddenly You Love Me: (NEE CD 469) - the complete 1968 sessions
(4) Master: The early 70's sessions (NEE CD 470)
(5) May Morning (Castle CMRCD 025) - all CD-only
A much-maligned and unfairly neglected group. OK, so they were extremely unhip, but they did manage to produce some worthwhile freak-fodder when they turned (blew) their minds to it. On (1) you'll find their self-consciously 1967 'Suddenly winter; (2) has the proto-psych/hard-beat of as well as their absolutely blinding take on Skip Bifferty's 'On Love' (reviewed some time back on "Marmalade Skies"). 'Master' contains their 1970 LP (variable but with enough psychy moments, plus loads of bonus tracks). (5) is the real treat, a lost soundtrack to a cult 'sixties' movie with a few tasty treats (the fuzz guitar on 'Anything' is as good as any you'll hear), most notably the short (less than a minute) 'Beer Duel', and the wah-wah-dominated 'Hard Time'. (DT)

CORPORAL GANDER'S FIRE DOG BRIGADE - On the Rocks (Green Tree GTR - 056) CD
OK, so it's not exactly new, and it's strictly speaking outside our remit (it's German). However, it's worth your attention as it is very-English in its sound and orientation. Forget the cover versions, there are seven group-originals here that make all the right noises; 'Come Back Here' (great 60s - style Hammond), 'On The Rocks' (a funky prog instrumental); 'Love Song' (great prog-psych); and the piece de resistance 'Run For Life', which is alternatively trippily mellow (flutes, etc) and heavy (nice & violent guitar attacks). It's a shame that Dag Erik Asbjornsen slagged off this album in his otherwise superb Cosmic Dreams at Play, Kraut Rock book. (BP)

KALEIDOSCOPE - The Fairfield Parlour Years (NMC Pilot 56) Double CD
The name Kaleidoscope is invoked here, as a rather cynical (albeit very sensible) marketing ploy. You get the great 'From Home to Home' album the 'White Faced Lady' album plus nine bonus tracks - the two Fairfield (Vertigo) 45s (soft, folky and effortlessly commerical); the I Luv Wight 45 an attempt at a theme (some hope!) for the 1970 festival; a 1976 Prism label 'Kaleidoscope' 45, notable for the mental 'b' side 'Baby, Stay For Tonight' (-what were they on? This fuzzed out little devil is quite unlike most of their other works); and the theme tune to the (now) almost forgotten film 'Eyewitness'. Overall this isn't a bad piece (by the same outfit who gave us those John's Children comps), but it lacks (1) original artwork, (2) decent notes and (3) master track sources for the 'bonus tracks'. It could have been much better handled, it feels a little 'rushed' to me (JK)

JIMI HENDRIX - Experience - OST (Get Back) 180g Vinyl
On February 24th, 1969 the Experience played the Royal Albert Hall, in what turned out to be their last ever UK concert together. This recording (9 tracks), in stunning sound quality, is all that remains of the 'Experience' film project. The film was shown once at UCB, but has long since vanished. Put this platter on, whack the sound up, close your eyes, and you could almost be there...

SYDE TRYPS SEVEN [comp] (Tenth Planet TP052) 170g vinyl, Ltd edn 1000 copies
Mr Wells certainly does his homework. He keeps on turning up the long-buried detritus of a previous age. 14 tracks are on offer here. The Brain give us five (previously unreleased) genre-defying recordings from March/June 67. All are typical of the Giles Brothers' style and wouldn't be out of place on the "Cheerful Insanity" album. They're quirky little numbers. Weird lyrics wrapped in polished, commerical performances and as such they manage to saboutage the 'pop' idiom from within. 'Murder' (yet another version) with its impressive harmonies and discordant backing is probably the most freaky of the set - similar to 'Nightmares In Red' in particular the cacophanous passages; whilst an earlier version of 'One In A Million' is a nice bit of psych pop in a 'Most Peculiar Man' - vein. There are two tracks by Those Fadin' Colours - both sides of an acetate (cut 19/05/67): side one is a VERY Stones-sounding cover of 'Blow Up' by Tomorrow, the other is a very tasty interpretion of The Electric Prune's 'Try Me On For Size' (best version, me thinks). The Fire track included here has turned up previously on the 'Wooden Hill' CD-only comp, and it's a pleasant enough run through of the Moby Grape number. '0099' by The Jygsaw (from a private LP) is more like it: UK fuzz-beat at its best. (It reminds me of 'Trot' by Turnstyle, for some odd reason), and barring a lovely languid break, it's pretty full-on with a tough vocal and great acoustic/electric guitar interplay. But, I gotta ask the question - Are all 'Cam' recordings as low-fi as this and The Klubs? Regarding The Snappers' Smiley's Tram' its a pity its glibness betrays its heart-in-the-right-place psych-voyage sentiments, but overall its pretty good. Their other inclusion here, 'She's A Lover' is a mod-stomper, that's a bit all over the place. Both tracks are from their Swiss-only LP. 'I'm Not Your Stepping Stone' is one of those songs that was covered to excess. And why not it's a superb song. The version here by The Outer Limits (a 45 on the mega-obscure 'snow' label) is outstanding and at odds with their released material. Hard and punchy, its punkish arrogrance, nice tempo-changes and blistering guitar is totally suited to the song.
The bizarrely named 6AX give us that, gorgeous chick, 'Penelope Breedlove' - pretty pop-sike par excellance. Stellar harmonies, lovely chirruping keyboards. It bears more than a passing similarity to 'Jeanette Isabella' by Blonde On Blonde.
Now we get to the Real Deal. This LP is gonna primarily be long-remembered for one track - the final one on side 2, viz Cliff Ward's unknown (til now) demo of 'Path Through The Forest'. Those psych pundits (that includes me) intrigued by the 'Rollings' writer's credits on the Factory's MGM single can now discover that 'Rollings' (the maiden-name of Cliff Ward's wife) disguises Cliff himself. WOW, this first version (recorded 22/03/67) is as different from that by The Factory as it's possible to be. It's much slower, more blissed out, swamped in effects; and the home-studio production is a beautiful example of D.I.Y. psychedelia. It captures to perfection those numb, awe-struck moments of Acid beatitude. A future psych classic. (PH)

THE BEE GEES - 'Deeply, Deeply, Deeply Me'
by Dave Thubon
The Bee Gees, God Bless em'. The very mention of their name can raise a grin. Their embrassure of passing muscial trends is a testament to their instinct for survival (and inate understanding of pop-capitalism). This, however, does not concern us here. NO, what does concern us, is the most illusive of the Bee Gees' 'psych' recordings. Their interesting 'b' sides have long been compiled on a Bee Gees' retrospective; tapes of their BBC sessions (including the original, incomparably marvellous version of 'Mrs Gillespie's Refrigerator', covered by those Stigwood also-rans, Sands) have been doing the rounds amongst the psych elite; and most psychsters are au fait with the first three LPs - 'First' (1967), 'Horizontal' (1968), & 'Idea' (1968) (some even have a sneaking admiration for the fourth, 'Odessa'. Personally, though, I think it's so lushly overproduced that it is the very quitessence of the old adage 'more is less' - BUT, there's still something missing. Only a small minority of the most obsessive psych-heads have ever heard of the psych nugget 'Deeply, Deeply, Deeply Me', and of these the tiniest handful (that belonging to a former bomb squad officer) have actually heard it. I am priviledged to say that I am one of those lucky sods (NO! I don't have a tape of it, Nigel!).
It is quite simply the Bee Gees most explicit and extensive voyage into the mind's eye; far more extreme than 'Every Christian Lion Hearted Man...'; more blissed-out than 'Kilburn Towers'; more surreal than 'World', or 'Lemons Never Forget'; quirkier than 'Barker Of The UFO', more ..., oh, balls I'm running out of superlatives - anyway you get my point.
The guy who owns the only UK copy that I'm aware of (there's an old legend that demos were pressed on Polydor in the Netherlands), has been approached by the "Powers that be" (his words) and offered a hefty sum to part with his copy (He refused!), and was subsequently told to keep the track, "Close to his chest". Paranoid? You betcha! Still, in this John Le Carre world it's patently clear that neither the brothers Gibb nor the Stigwood mafiosi want 'Deeply...' to see the light of day. The owner certainly ain't providing copies - he started to sweat profusely when I casually asked him for a tape ("Do you think they could tap my phone?", he asked)
This track is to the Bee Gees' output, what 'Tomorrow Never Knows' is to The Beatles - the absolute zenith of their flirtation with psychedelia, a dazzling piece of aural magic with great guitar motifs. It is highly probable that when they raided the studio-effects box whilst making this, their acid meisterwerk our colgate-guzzling warblers were totally out of their f***ing gourds. Yet, unlike The Beatles' classic, it is intended that it should remain in the can forever (especially if the guys with the poison-tipped umbrellas get to him first). Shelve it alongside other such long-suppressed gems from '67 as David Bowie's 'Silver Treetop School For Boys', and McCartney's aural collage/freak out for the 'Million Volt Rave'.

FROM The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations
by Roger St John
Entry No. 77 LARRY SMITH - (Drummer of Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band) on UFO
"Ah, yes, I remember it well. We fell into this Irish dance hall, tripping over hundreds of heavenly bodies that had appeared and were scattered across the ballroom floor... It was trippy stuff. And all around and about and above, sliding blobs of coloured shapes like a bad attack of acme, floated peacefully across the faces of those wondrously vacant expressions. It was very ava-gardy.

UK PSYCH (and related) DISCOGRAPHY
Part 37 - Addenda
A few more tiny tiddlers that shook their silvery tails and escaped our vicious dredge-net. Someone (Barry!) dropped our card-index (yes, we are old-fashioned) on the floor, so they're no longer in strictly alphabetical order (he couldnt be bothered to re-file 'em properly).
BIG BERTHA - This World's An Apple/Gravy Booby Jam (Atlantic 584 298) 1969 - Nice, with a raucous edge. Pity they didnt make more like this.
ROGER BUNN - Piece Of My Mind (LP) (Major Minor SMLP 70) 1971 - An interesting album with a delicious sleeve (watch out for it in a future 'Out In The Cold').
CAT'S EYES - All their Deram and MCA 45s have their moments. Inoffensive and quite charming.
FAIRFIELD SKY - s/t (LP) (Or OR 012 (USA issue)) 1996 - From 1973 acetates, sounding much earlier, with some great heavy psych tracks
KELLY - Mary Mary / Reverend Richard Bailey (Deram DM 277) 1969 - much-neglected Deram pop psych gem.
HARLEM SPEAKEASY - Aretha/Sights of Pegasus (Polydor BM 56270) 1968 - 'Nice!' the 'b' side is good quality progressive pop. There are also demo-copies of the withdrawn 45 'Life Is Not All', which is better still.
LOREL - Here And Now (Immediate Acetate) 1967 - If you like Duncan Browne, you'll like this. For 'tis he and his chum, Davy Morgan.
SORROWS - Old Songs, New Songs (LP) (Italy:Miura MIU 10011) 1969 - Great Great Great! Includes versions of tracks by Family (x2), Traffic (x1), and Small Faces (x1); and lovely originals - 'Same Old Road' and 'Mary J'. Bootlegged on psycho many years back.
LEVEE CAMP MOAN - s/t (LP) (Private:Country) 1969 & Peacock Farm (Private:Country) 1969- Two rare old mothers, both are heavy and Hendrix inspired.
SCREW - Nothing known to survive. 'Live' they were the total dogs. Ah, great days...
SILVER EAGLE - Theodore/True As A Brand New Lie (MGM MGM 1345) 1967 - A cheerful little ditty (NOT!), a quite distrubed, downer track.
REBEL ROUSERS - Should I?/As I look (Fontana TF 973) 1968 - Without Cliff Bennett. This is surprisingly good, as are their BBC sessions of the time.
SNAPPERS - Upside down, inside out/Memories (CBS 2719) 1967 - Great Single - we like this!
COLONEL MURPHY'S ELECTRIC TROUSERS - s/t (LP) (Private Pressing) 1969 - This is class-totally metal music. (see a future 'Out In the Cold': Thanks to David for the tape!)
32ND TURN OFF - s/t (LP) (Jay Boy JSL1) 1969 - Hendrix-style wah-wah psych (but not in the same league - obviously).
GUN - s/t (LP) (CBS 63552) 1968 - Includes 'Sitatuion Vacant' and 'Take-Off' - two superb psych pieces. Great Roger Dean cover-art, too (his first).
SWEET CHARIOT - Sweet Chariot & Friends (LP) (De Wolfe) 1972 - Great Stuff! A bit cheesey, but pop psych with a real nice organ (ooh pardon!).
SWEET FEELING - The 45's a classic, but apparently they also cut an (unreleased) LP for Columbia in early '67. Probably gone forever...
IVEYS - Maybe Tomorrow (LP) (Euro/Japan: Apple SAPCOR 8) 1968 - Melodic, Beatles-style pop with some pop-sike overtones, mostly superb; but with a major surprise - the final track 'I've Been Waiting' - its well freaked
(More next time)

FROM The Bumper Book of Psych Quotations
by Roger St John
Entry No. 36 SIMON DUPREE (Nee Derek Shulman) - (with a little help from his friend Brian Matthew) talking about 'Kites'
BM: Can you tell us anything about the song? It's American isnt it?
SD: It's an American number, which our manager, um, picked up in a, a publisher's office...
BM: Mmm?
SD: An' he sort of brought it to us, the demonstration disc, and, er, we were'nt sure about it, I must say. Y'know we were'nt really struck on the number. But the, er, manager said "Do it", and when we recorded it, it seemed to sound really good...
BM: Mmm?
SD: And he said "we'll release this", and we weren't sure still, cos' we had a say on our last three records...
BM: Yeah?
SD: And they didn't really happen very big [laughs], as you can see...
BM: This time you had no say -
SD: This time we had no say and y'know it's happened, which is really good.
BM: So, I guess you'll be listening to him again in the future.
SD: Yeah! [laughs] I should say so! He'll crown me if I don't say anything!
BM: Well we'll "listen to you" right now. Lets hear 'Kites'.
SD: Yeah...
Bet he later ate his words. This was prior to "Simon's" nervous breakdown, supposedly caused by one-too-many performances of 'Kites' to his audience of nubile screaming ravers.

The Shame (Acetate) LP Reviewed
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
It don't exist. We've nothing else to say, other than "Ha!Ha!" the letter to 'Record Collector' certainly got 'em all going!

*** TECHNICOLORED SWAP SHOP***
To list an ad here simply email us with your text - we'll give you a number, and pass on (by email) any replies. It's free and confidential!
3.1 BBC SESSIONS WANTED. UK ACTS pre-1972 many items to swap. Your list gets mine
3.2 WANTED: KEVIN AYERS - Joy of a Toy CD/CDR
3.3 WANTED: BROKEN DREAMS VOLUMES 3&6 STC/condition
3.4 FOR SALE: OPEN MIND/PUSSY/JULY LPs - Originals. All mint/mint minus. Highest bid by 01/12/01 wins
3.5 WANTED: GANDALF'S GARDEN - ALL ISSUES STC (good quality photocopy will suffice - STC)
3.6 LIST: UK/US PSYCH 45s. Many bargains
3.7 FOR SALE: The "JUSTA..." series All 4 LPs £20 each State which no. etc.
Remember, if you have anything you'd like to say (eg. reviews, interviews, opinions, histories, etc etc) or any info (eg. new releases, club/gig dates, etc etc), then let us know - we don't bite (that hard!)

'TIL WE MEET AGAIN...
Left hungry for more? Well, you'll just have to wait for the next issue of our fact & funfilled freebie. We should have a psycho-analytical study of 'The Bitter Thoughts Of Little Jane'(!), 'Out In The Cold', new release info, the return of 'Web Watch', reviews, quotes c/o Roger St John, and all the usual garbage.
Bye Bye for now!
All contents are copyright (c) 2001 (Sweet) FLORAL ALBION.
The Bumper Book of psych quotations by Roger St. John is copyright of the publisher: Tangerine Books (London); Quoted with their kind permission

SFA 2 ( first published Oct 2001 )

2007-12-17T05:44:00.002-08:00

"I pray thee, gentle mortal, sing again.
Mine ear is much enamoured of thy note;
So is mine eye enthralled to thy shape;
And thy fair virtue's force doth move me
On the first view to say, I swear, I love thee."

~Bill Wigglestick (Inspired by John's Children)

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S*F*A* SWEET FLORAL ALBION
~The Journal of UK PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE.
-----------(October 2001)------------(No. 2)--------------(Price: GRATIS!)-----------

Hello Trippers!
We're back again! Hope you enjoyed our first issue- here's the second.
Ok baby- set phasers to 'stun', light the incense, plug in the mellotron, unwrap your mescalin popsicle, get out the sound-effects tapes... and let's away...

SFASFASFASFASFASFASFASFASFASFASFSASFASFASFASFASFASFASFASFA

CONTENTS
O--EDITORIAL
O--OUT IN THE COLD
O--THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS
O--GILBERT GREEN
O--UK PSYCHEDELIA DISCOGRAPHY Continued
O--TRACY TOOK A TRIP
O-- WEB WATCH
O-- YE OLDE TECHNICOLORED SWAPPE SHOPPE
O--'Til we meet again/ Odds 'n' sods

Remember, SFA is also posted on Jim Mac's "Marmalade Skies" web site: "The Home Of British Psychedelia"- http://www.marmaladeskies.co.uk/
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

EDITORIAL
Here we are with issue 2 already out. The scribes and I are keeping our fingers warm by desperately typing away. The landlord won't let us have the boiler on, and last time we plugged in that pre-war electric fire, the dodgy wiring caused Barry's Afro to glow orange. We can still smell burning hair...Anyway, our hearts at least were warmed somewhat the other day by the arrival of a fan letter, as opposed to the usual pile of bills and junk mail which we clamber over every morning in our eagerness to start the daily grind. The letter writer- Julie Stanton- asked us, amongst other things too personal to replicate here, if we had an "agenda". After consulting the O.E.D., and convincing ourselves this word had nothing to do with "pudenda" (look it up, Colin!), we set about trying to formulate a reply. Well, here it is, for Julie and anyone else out there- We want to write an informative mag devoted to UK Psychedelia and its various manifestations. We will try to focus our attentions on amongst other things music that has been marginalised, neglected, and made peripheral, and hope that some of gear can be rehabilitated, and brought back into the fold, where it can receive fresh attention from lovers of psychedelia. Not everything we write about will strictly speaking be "psychedelic", but we hope it will turn on those who have the type of mind that likes to turn on. If it can be fun too, then it's all worthwhile.
~Dave Thubron & Gang.

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OUT IN THE COLD- By Jason Scott

CZAR - Czar (Fontana 6309 009) 1970
Here's another one from the mist-shrouded wastelands of progdom. And yet... open one's ears and what does one hear? Is it the overblown pomposity one would expect? Is it the lush and multi-tracked-out-of-existence Cecil B De Mille productions? Cast of thousands? Moogs? orchestras? Conceptualized lot of fat old muso twaddle? No, it's none of these! What we have here is a tight, neat and precise album of late-60s style, art pop with a progressive (in the best sense of the word)/psych edge. It's at the 'Waterloo' and 'Arzachel' end of the psych-spectrum, not at the opposite 'Mark wirtz' or 'Alan Bown' end. The opening track is magnificent. 'Tread Softly on My Dreams' is a mellotron-dominated pop/rock hybrid with stunning guitar work ( a colleague of mine thinks the riff is like the 'Bat Man' theme slowed down, which I guess, it is, sort of), which epitomises all that was good about underground music in that uneasy period when psych submerged into prog. It manages to retain all that was good about late 60s sound and yet remain a fresh piece of 1970 music. 'Cecilia' is another gem it again is a blend of 60s and 70s, in parts it's reminiscent of Blossom Toes' fantastic 'Love Bomb', but then it goes all ethereal like, yet still holding on to a degree of bombast, again there's a ton of mellotron and even a little touch of electric harpsichord. The best track off the album and the most overtly psych-orientated, in my opinion, is 'Follow Me' (not the Fruit Machine song). Stunning stuff very 60s in arrangement, with some fabulousFleur de Lys -style guitar licks and hammond, great Gods-style harmonies too. There's enough her efor any hardened 60s only fan to enjoy. 'Dawning Of A New Day' is a nice ballad, but now't special. With a title like 'Beyond The Moon' you know where you stand- out there with your feet on the clouds...'Under the stars we have travelled afar / Without the sun in our eyes or the wind and the rain in our hair / Starry-eyed faces from deep in the night / Without food, without thought, without even a glimpse of the light'...skin up and enjoy! 'Today' is the other extreme, whilst 'Beyond The Moon' is ecstatic, 'Today' is a mellotron and vibraphone-lead slice of downer-pop of the first degree. Not recommended for students, those who've recently suffered a break up, or anyone of a sensitive disposition. The final track is 'A Day In September'. Again of a very sixties-persuasion and again another highlight of the LP. A superb trippy opening that has a kind of Mighty Baby-ish feel, leads into the main body of the track, which is fairly restrained, great hammond and vocals that reminds me of The Fruit Machine (them again?), the break is quite freaky and the wee fair ground ending is a nice little extra surprise treat. Like the sixpence your gran used to push into your hand as you were leaving... A Great LP.It' high price reflecting its rarity but also its intrinsic musical worth. The Fingerprint CD version of this LP has 2 bonus (!) tracks- 'Oh Lord I'm Getting Heavy' / 'Why Don't We Be A Rock 'n' Roll Band', ie -both sides of the 45 (Philips 6006 071) from 1970, but they are totally dispensible and have nothing very much going for them.

FAT MATTRESS - Fat Mattress (Polydor 583 056) 1969 This band were called "an unlikely combo" to include in a psych discrography and their 45s insulted, in an old fanzine. "Unlikely Combo"? What? A group from the UK who made great music during the years 1968 to 1970 are an unlikley combo??? No, a group of Yugoslavian hip hoppers from the late 80s would be an 'unlikely combo' to include. It's a shame that some people feel they have to snipe all the time. Primarily cos this bandying around of negative opinion puts people off the music. Some people may not wana investigate stuff, cos its been labelled incorrectly as rubbish, htis kind of thing doesn't do the band, fans or music as a whole any favours. There are some great moments on this LP. Fat Mattress, to remind those of you with Impaired Memory Syndrome, was Noel Redding's first band after split of The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Their music doesn't resemble Jimi's very much. In fact the differences between the two bands are in many ways like the differences between the two halves of Cream's 'Wheels of Fire' LP - You've got studio-crafted psych/pop & blues (sides 1&2), juxtaposed with live 'n' heavy, up-front, guitar-driven rock (sides 3&4). Of the ten tracks that comprise this album only a couple are dull, the rest are quite lovely in one way or t'other. 'Fat Mattress' was recorded at Olympic in August '69, and capture the fag end of the decade to perfection. 'All Night Drinker', the first track on side one, has a title suggestive of relentless pub boogie- not a pretty thought. But the lyrics are really concerned with drinking "your love", as opposed to boozing it up. The track is competent but unexceptional, still there's some attractive flute passages and loads of flanged guitar for lovers of such things. 'I Don't Mind' has blissed out vocals, a psych edge with a faint Byrd feel, some nice balailaika-style gutar and a great echoed-vocal ending. Next, is 'Bright new day'- lyrically it's Ok, but its got a nasty case of the folk/country twangs. Scintillating psych pop is on offer with 'Petrol Pump Attendent'. A tale of an alien who visits earth, mistakes a petrol pump for an intelligent life form (it happens), and ends up working on a garage fore court. Brilliant stuff. "One day soon I think he'll take his ship / And he'll go off on a trip..." Indeed. 'Mr Moonshine'. A Number One hit in The Netherlands! Those guys certainly know a good thing when they hear it. Multi-part song with lots of time changes, a jazz moderne interlude and distorted vocals. 'Mr Moonshine, put a little something in my wine...' Yes, please! 'Magic Forest'- a different (stereo) version to the 45 with a "fuller" sound is pre-empted by silly voices. This is an excellent track. Both lyrically and musically it is spot on. Some 'Path Through The Forest' -type distorted vocals deliver lines such as"Toffee-tasting toadstools flying in the air / When you catch the flavour you know that you are there..." The penultimate song on the album is a finely-crafted slice of baroque flower pop in waltz time- the beatific, pertinently entitled 'Walking Through The Garden'. Lastly but by no means leastly, 'How Can I Live'. A fanastic song, masterfull, understated keyboards and guitar take us through a poignant ode to the fragility of the post-Acid ego. Beautiful and melancholic 'How Can I Live' deserves a wider audience. And that all thing considered, is that. Oh... except that we ought not to miss this opportunity to briefly mention the 45-only 'Irridescent Butterfly', which is another lysergic lovely, which isprobably is best appreciated in unreleased-at-the-time stereo. Two other meritorious unreleased songs are the Small Faces/ Dave Mason -sounding 'Little Girl In White' which is pop psych perfection. And the psych-ish odd ball instrumental 'Eric The Red'. Also the second album- 'Fat Mattress II' (1970) has some interesting moments. Which will doubtless surprise certain people.

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*REVIEW*
CARAVAN- Re-Masteredby Dave Thubron
Caravan, who emerged from the late-60s Underground to become stars of the 70s Canterbury scene, are still with us today, albeit in a "franchised" form and are still cutting the mustard, as anyone who's seen 'em lately will tell you. There's been a major re-mastering programme devoted to their work. From this programme we gonna take a brief peep at the CD of their second album 'If I Could Do It Again I'd Do It All Over You' (Decca/Universal 8829682). In October 1968 the selt-titled debut was issued by Verve ( S?VLP 6011). It was then, and remains today an astonishing, if somewhat inconsistent album. It stands confidently astride the chasm dividing prog from psych, like an heraldic lion. And whilst its steely eye is focused on the future, it paty homage to the psych sounds of the past few years. It included both sides of the first 45- 'A Place Of My Own' / 'Ride' (issued January '69). This was followed in October 1970 by 'If I Could Do It Again...' By now the sound of Caravan had moved on, become more personal (well, self-referential) and displaying dazzlingly adept musicianship and compositions, and was now recognisably a Canterbrigian sound. The album has been digitally re-mastered (believe me it sounds stunning!) and comes with an additional four previously unreleased tracks. The first of these, 'A Day In The Life Of Maurice Haylett', is an absolute treasure. It is included here in its studio version, slightly different from the Top Gear version (14/09/69), which was entitled 'Excerpt From The Daily Life Of Maurice Haylett'.It is an amazing track and for me both versions, together with their BBC-only version of Soft Machine's manic 'Feelin', Reelin',Squealin'' are the absolute pinnacles of their late-60s output. It also, in a very satisfying way, acts as a bridge from the 60s underground sound to that of the more self-indulgent 1970s. Mr Haylett was, of course, Caravan's very dapper road manager. There's a nice picture of the geezer on the back of this LP. Other tracks known from the same BBC session and now made available here for the first time as studio versions are 'Why?'- an earlier version of 'And I Wish I Were Stoned', 'Clipping The 8th'- a demo take on 'Hello Hello', and a demo of 'As I Feel I Die'. To my mind this is a landmark reissue. And with its great restored artwork (Phil Smee), inclusion of ads / band photos and very detailed notes it is also an absolute bargain. Go buy, and savour the sounds of Hippie England cica 1969-70.
Talking of lovely Canterbury things, check out the on-line Canterbury Discography (and loads of related bands too), at perso.club-internet.fr/calyx/cantdisco

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TRACY TOOK A TRIP- by Paul Hodges
'Tracy Took A Trip' by The Executive is another one that gets a right slagging off from those of a "we know better than you do" persuasion. I 'spose it's the need to distinguish themselves amongst their peers, coupled with that hoary old two-pronged devil - a pustullent, swollen ego and a nasty case of 'complexii inferiorensis'. Yeccch! The track itself is, as true fans know, a gemstone of the purest water. It ain't OTT contrived psych, nor is it a fuzzed up freakbeat pounder. It is simply and honestly a piece of pop music with a laddle-ful of wah-wahed "trendiness" poured over it to give it that kaleidoscopic aura of fasionable domestic psychy-ness. Beneath its brass-laden radio-friendly poptastic fantasticness it's as worldy wise and cynical as any 'genuine' artist could ever hope to be. Especially in its caustic and insightful comment on the repellent absurdities of fame! After the two behemoths - 'Prog' then 'punk' had bulldozed over all things pop, we had somehow "lost" our innocence & naivete we winced at all things "twee", "whimsical", "middle class", "poetic", "namby pamby" ... all things that had their place in psych-era pop were now taboo. And this track (and other goodies by The Executive) were placed by the Thought Police's on the 'Hit List', and labelled "bad taste"/"unacceptable"/"lacking-credibility", etc etc, ad nauseum. [Yet those same 'Thought Policemen' praised Tony Crane's 'Patterns In The Sky', which is now't more than M.O.R. ballad with an inappropriately suggestive title!!!- Ed.] Whereas, in fact we should embrace music like this, precisely because it is unacceptable to the 'arbiters of taste', because within its self-consciously multi-faceted Carnaby Street mirror surface we see reflected the hopes and dreams of all those who threw flowers in the face of their 'elders and betters'. Lyrics like these are priceless. All together now...

Look at her there, drifting away down the river
Leaving the clothes that she wore, on the shore
She doesn't need pretty clothes anymore
She has gone
Look at her boyfriend, reading the note that she left him
Holding the flowers he bought her today
He can't believe the unusual way
She has gone

Chorus:-
Tracy took a trip, took a trip down river
She thought she was a boat
But she found she couldn't float
Tracy took a trip, took a trip down river
Goodbye Tracy
Tracy has gone

Look at the people, everyone trying to see her
She was an actress but didn't go far
She wanted so much to be a big star
But she's gone
See the reporters filling their notebooks about her
Asking her boyfriend for somethig to state
She's in the papers, but now it's too late
She has gone

[chorus]
[chorus]

...We've long suspected that the 'City of Angels Suite', from whence this track was supposedly taken, was only a P.R. invention. However, confirmation or additional info, would be greatly apprecited. Mersey buckets.

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Here, one of our dearest readers, viz the rotund but devilishly handsome Mr Tony Burton, of sunny Eastbourne, tells us about the fings wot 'e likes, in a feature we call-

THESE ARE A FEW OF MY FAVOURITE THINGS...

THE ZOMBIES-'Hung Up On A Dream' (Mono)
Hippie dippy Mr Whippy, let's get trippy and don't get lippy! A superlative, creamy slice of classy psych from a superlative, creamy album (Odessey and Oracle). It is one of the great tragedies of western civilisation that The Zombies got better as time went on, and as time went on they sold less records. If their is a God, he certainly didn't come from St Albans, unless his name was Colin Blunstone. Amen.

THE MINDBENDERS- 'Yellow Brick Road' .
Zounds! Zounds! What pretty sounds! To quote Brian Matthew.
THIS is a MONSTER sound! It amazes me that psych fans aren't singing it's praises from the very rooftops. Hold on! I think that's what I'll do! Just got to get mi leg over this guttering..."creeeak"... Oh dear, what was that?..."crack!!" Oh, shiiiiiii..."SPLAT!!!"
McGOUGH & McGEAR- 'Ex Art Student' (Mono).
OK,OK,OK I admit it, I like mono recordings. It don't make me a pervert or nothing. 'Ex Art Student' is more punchy in mono. It's basically a well-crafted, catchily commercial pop song (Nothing wrong with that!), which skips along happily until...the acid cuts in. And man, do things get weird! Jimi Hendrix does hir best Ravi Shankar impression and Paul McCarney does the studio knob-twiddling (Ooh Pardon!). Mental. Then as the incense smoke clears, we're back where we came in, with the radio-friendly poppiness, and you're left thinking "Wha...?"
Readers are hereby encouraged to submit their faves.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

JAGGED TIME LAPSE, bring my nerve back, yeah or, that's the way to do it!!

Jagged Time Lapse Volume 1 (Flashback Records FB001)
Volume 2 (Flashback Records FB002)
Volume 3 (Flashback Records FB003) -CDR compiliatons

When these landed on the doormat of SFA Central Office, we were initially surprised, then suspicious, then finally elated! If one single series of 'privately produced' material can show us the way ahead for UK Psych compliations, then this is IT. We're aware that the 'legits' (eg Tenth Planet, Castle/Sanctuary/Essential, et al) have been, are, and hopefully long continue to issue fine-quality, well-sourced, attractively packaged, fairly-priced products, that are accessible to the consumer. But this stuff, the lower-profile, 'underground' production, is equally deserving of your attentions. This shows us a way out of the impasse in which we've been trapped for 20 years, in which the same old tracks are constantly regurgettated- for example no matter how classic or wonderful a track like 'Red Sky At Night' by The Accent is, and it is both "classic and "wonderful", we simply don't need it comped again. If a legitimate operation can sort out the licensing problems (and man, I know it ain't gonna be easy) and put out these comps officially, then we've made progress in a very real sense and in a very positive direction. Hopeless optimism? Yes, maybe... The person behind this, obviously cares about psychedelia in the same way that Phil Smee cared about his Rubble series, and David Wells cares deeply about Tenth Planet/Wooden Hill products. OK, so JTL has neither the high quality studio production nor the lavish packaging of these professional labels. Nonetheless, the series is very attractively packaged indeed (especially 'Volume 3' , with its cover-art taken from Salvador Dali's painting 'Hallucinogenic Bullfighter' [1969-70] - A superb choice!!!), and as an artistic 'D.I.Y. job' they are without peers. The contents needless to say, once you've read the track-listings (enclosed below), are superb. Bearing in mind that these are 'dubbed from disc' with not even a whiff of a master tape, what they lack in quality of production and musical expertise is more than compensated for by sheer enthusiasm. They quite simply evoke the sheer pleasure one gets from sharing one's treasures with others. The final volume is more mod/club-oriented than psych of the three. But Hey! It's still damned good.Here's the full tracklisting for your delectation - plus a few notes:-

Volume One (Flashback Productions FBCD01)
1 THE CROCHETED DOUGHNUT RING - Get Out Your Rock 'n' Roll Shoes (Wild 'Cool Jerk' riffing raver from Southend's finest)
2 THE FACTORY - Gone
3 THE MOVEMENT - Head For The Sun
4 LEVIATHAN - Second Production
5 NASHVILLE TEENS - Ex Kay One LX (Great sound. Well, compared to other bootlegs)
6 THE DAVE CLARK FIVE - Concentration Baby (Raw 'B' of 'Everybody Knows')
7 PAUL JONES - The Dog Presides (Lovely jubbly! one of our faves)
8 FREEDOM - Where Wll You Be Tonight (Nice mellotron)
9 THE EXCELSIOR SPRING - It (vide 7 above - pure class and until now ignored by the hoi polloi and psych compilers alike)
10 PANDAMONIUM - Fly With Me Forever
11 FRESH WINDOWS - Summer Sun Shines
12 JON - Is it Love
13 APHRODITE'S CHILD - Magic Mirror (Look out for a piece on these Greek gods in a future SFA)
14 NEO MAYA - I Won't Hurt You
15 SLEEPY - Love's Immortal Fire
16 THE SOFT MACHINE - Feelin' Reelin' Squeelin' (Fantastico!)
17 THE BEATSTALKERS - Little Boy (First issued ver of The Action, with fab & wobblicious ending)
18 THE END - Loving Sacred Loving (Alt ver, lifted off Tenth Palent's 'Retrospection' comp- Naughty, naughty!)
19 TURQUOISE - 53 Summer Street
20 THE KOOBAS - Gypsy Fred (A nice old feller. He used to camp in the field behind our house, sold pegs in the village but frightened small children)
21 EPISODE SIX - I Can See Through You
22 BLOSSOM TOES - Postcard

Volume Two (Flashback Productions FBCD02)
1 THE MAGIC MIXTURES - So Sad (Off their LP)
2 BALLS - Fight For My Country (What a song! and best (longer) German 45 ver.)
3 VILLAGE - Long Time Coming
4 BULLDOG BREED - Friday Hill
5 NASHVILLE TEENS - Widdicombe Fair
6 CAT'S EYES - The Loser (Pop-sike treasure)
7 THE NICOLS - She Had A Name To Find Out (Dutch classic)
8 CUBY & THE BUZZARDS - Window Of My Eyes (Dutch)
9 KEITH MEEHAN - Hooker Street (Tony's brother who is credited, although Tony was responsible for this)
10 GRIFFIN - I Am The Noise In Your Head
11 LEVIATHAN - The War Machine
12 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - Which Way To Go
13 LACE - The Nun
14 THE TOWER - In Your Life (Blimey matey, it's nice to see this one! One of our faves. Top ten best ever 60s Dutch tracks!)
15 NITE PEOPLE - Morning Sun
16 THE ORANGE BICYCLE - Last Cloud Home
17 REVOLVER - Imaginations (Another brill tune. From 1970 ... yikes!)
18 HEAVY JELLY - I Keep Singing That Same Old Song (the 45 version)
19 THE MOOCHE - See Through A Light (Great sound quality, by far the best side of a splendid 45)
20 NING - More Ning (Total madness)

Volume 3 (Flashback Productions FBCD03)
1 BEVERLEY - Happy New Year
2 THE ROKES - Ride On
3 THE ROULETTES - Junk (Minor chord instrumental magic)
4 CHRIS ANDREWS - Hold On 5 JULIAN COVEY & THE MACHINE - Sweet Bacon 6 THE DAVE CLARK FIVE - Maze Of Love
7 DAVE DEE DOZY BEAKY MICK & TITCH - The Sun Goes Down
8 LEVIATHAN - Remember The Times
9 NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - Love Me Two Times
10 CATS' PYJAMAS - Camera Man
11 THE STOICS - Search For The Sea
12 THE SYN - Flowerman
13 MANFRED MAN - You're My Girl
14 MUD - You're My Mother (Again, look out for a short piece on these lads' late 60s activities in a futute issue of SFA)
15 THE LOOT - Whenever You're Ready
16 THE BUNCH - We're Not What We Apear To Be (Mod-tastic)
17 THE FRESH WINDOWS - Fashion Conscious (ditto)
18 THE MINDBENDERS - My New Day And Age
19 THE NIGHTRIDES - It's Only The Dog (Pre-Idle Race freakbeater)
20 THE ROCKING VICKERS - I Don't Need Your Kind
21 THE EQUALS - The Skies Above
22 THE SCENERY - Thread Of Time (Superb Euro-only release. Small Faces-style, featuring Miller Anderson and Ian Hunter (see a future SFA for more info)
23 THE SOFT MACHINE - Love Makes Sweet Music
24 JOHN FITCH & ASSOCIATES - Stoned Out Of It
25 THE VIP'S - Straight Down To The Bottom (Mod/soul)
26 THE KINETIC - The Train
(PLEASE NOTE:- we must point out that JTL is a "private" production with very limited circulation, and is Not For Sale, it is therefore strictly speaking not a bootleg.)

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From Roger St John's Bumper Book Of Psych Quotations
Entry No. 2- BILL AITKEN (BBC studio Engineer) on Phasing techniques at the Beeb:-
"...the only way then to get a really good flangeing or phasing effect was to play back two recordings of the sound you wanted to phase off separate tape recorders, and knock one slightly out of phase with the other, by rubbing your fingers against the flange of the tape reel. At the BBC, you never had the time to attempt such convoluted techniques. Consequently we had acquired a little box which attempted to simulate such phasing effects automatically. It didn't work very well, but it was all that was around..."

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GILBERT GREEN - Bee Gees Toy Town Pop, by Paul hodges.
Gerry Marsden, is most infamous as singer of those dreaded "anthems" 'You'll Never Walk Alone' and 'Ferry Cross The Mersey', oh and of course as a "close friend" of the Fab Four. In 1967, with his pop career well and truly on the skids, due in no small part to the nation's temporary adoption of all things brightly-hued and paisley, and just prior to his move into the West End ('Charlie Girl') and kids' TV, Gerry- as we'll call him (pardon our presumption!), attempted this desperate last-ditch assault on the bastions of chartdom- some hope. The Brothers Gibb, recently returned to these shores, with their 15,000 page song book (they were charged extra by P & O for exceeding their baggage allowance), were approached by hard-up Gerry for a hand-out. They blithely tossed him this, one of their many old cast-offs. 'Gilbert Green' is another mini-epic, a Bee Gees toy-town pop classic. It bears all the hallmarks of 'Craise Finton Kirk' and 'Town of Tuxley Toymaker', and whilst it wears its period kitchen sink over-production with pride, it manages- by close degree- to dodge the syruppy excesses of Mark Wirtz's less inspiring Bee Gees-derived efforts, such as 'Grocer Jack', 'Fireman Sam', and 'Rosie and Jim'.

*** UK PSYCH DISCOGRAPHY - Pt 9 (Addenda) ***
Due to the veritable slag heap of complaints letters that have landed on our door-mat since SFA 1 went to press, we find it necessary to state the following- (1) "Psych" is meant in its broadest sense and we're gonna include stuff under this umbrella if we think it fits and if we think 'psych fans' will dig it; and (2) if we want to include "the boring foreign stuff" (as some isolationists have called it), from time to time we will, if you don't like it then we will visit you in the middle of the night and stick a bat up your night-dress. OK ya? See you down the wine bar.

JOHN WONDERLING-Midway Down / Man Of Straw (USA: Loma 45)1968 Here is a REAL treasure and a mystery too boot. Both sides are magnificent productions/arrangements/performances. Topside is the ORIGINAL version of a track more-commonly known by The Creation. To mine ears John Wonderling's version has the edge- beautiful pop psychedelia with echoooooed vocals. 'Man Of Straw' is even better, it's very similar in subject matter to ROB DE NIJS' fabulous-beyond-compare 'Bye Bye Mrs. Turple'- ie "Ha! Ha! You're dead, I'm not" type songs- Spookily enough, they both appear back-to-back on 'Exploiting Plastic inevitable:Lesson II- Globular Lightning' (Yahoo Records), but in truly in shyte sound quality. The identity of John Wonderling is a total mystery. We know of two theories about this record / his I.D. We print them both here, in the hope that the truth will out. Any additional info will be greatly appreciated and will be published in a future issue of SFA, fully credited, of course. THEORY #1- John W was a US citizen. The record a US production. This is probably the most likely of the two. If so, this doesn't explain how The Creation got hold of 'Midway Down'. THEORY #2- John W was a UK citizen. Record was a UK production, but leased to US Warner Bros. It was at the publisher's London office that The Creation / their management came across the song. Unfortunately, I sold my copy years ago so I can't check the labels for any clues. Can any kind person please help with a xerox copy of labels?

GARDEN ODYSSY [sic} ENTERPRISE- Sad And Lonely (Deram DM 267) 05/09/69 Nice to see this back in the fold, after years of neglect (and even hostility in some quarters!). We think it fits even if some know-alls don't. It's a wonderful creation. Effortlessly catchy, Graham Gouldman-penned late 60s pop magic, with Stones-style "doo-doo, dood-doo" harmony vox...and an exquisite guitar break. You can find it most easily on the fine 'The Psychedelic Scene' comp CD ( Deram 844 797-2) 1998.

PURPLE GANG-The Wizard
Magical stuff! One of the Gang's most overtly "psychedelic" recordings. Off their LP. We at SFA are inordinately fond of this track. Was it inspired by delusions of acid omnipotence? Or simply by lead singer Peter "Lucifer" Walker's occult dabblings...? Hypnotic, distant, jingly backing and a vocal pitched somewhere between vibrato and whisper. Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law! (See 'Web Watch' this issue, for more on the Purple Gang.)

HELL PREACHERS INC.- Supreme Psychedelic Underground LP (Marble Arch MALS 1169)
Another one that's at best ignored and at worst treated with disrespect. Because it's a "cash-in" job on crappy vinyl ? Because it's got some weird connection with Deep Purple? I dunno, but it's nice chunky album. It's an extremely freaky, self-assured performance. And, although it's been booted, it would be most agreeable if some enterprising and courageous outfit would grasp the nettle and give this LP the legit and master tape sound quality repackage it most assuredly deserves. We've heard it told that said master tapes are long gone- can anyone confirm, please? Prices for originals seem to be climbing of late... Also, one must ask- Will we ever get to the bottom of the Purple connection, if any? A guy I know who knew Jon Lord well, years back, still swears blind that the Maestro told him en confidence that D. P. were behind it...food for thought methinks. But then, there's that old guy who works down the chip shop who swears he's you-know-who...

ARGENT- Dance In The Smoke Best track off the 'Argent' LP (CBS 63781) 1970, and also CBS Argent was a bit compilation/sampler 'Fill Your Head With Rock.' Most people seem to be of the opinion that Rod crap prove 'em once he left The Zombies, but this track (and others on his first two solo albums-e.g. 'Schoolgirl') wrong. runs and This is very much late-60s style pop, with a tinge of psychedelia, especially the marvelous keyboard delicious re-christened guitar work. Because of its fey Englishness and its beautiful harmonies, it should have been "Six Minutes of Post-Zombie Heaven". Anybody know if Rod still has his shop in Denmark Street?

MINDBENDERS- Airport PeopleSorry! We inadvertently omitted this from it's rightful place, in SFA 1. It's on the 'With Women In Mind' Lp we discussed there. A languid lil lovely, perhaps only bettered by the following...

THE ROULETTES- Airport People (Fontana TF 822) 1967.As above, and a worthy of your love. All / most of the Roulettes' output is great, albeit outside our kandy-koated katchment area, although it must be said 'Junk' is truly scrumptious.

EASYBEATS-Peculiar Hole this In The Sky ( Aussie Parlophone 8892) 1970. This is an amazing piece, especially from band. They could never seem pop to make up their minds what it was they wanted to be, so they veered from classic ('Friday On My Mind') to the vile ('Rock And Roll Boogie') via M.O.R. ('Can't Take My Eyes Off You', 'Hit The road Jack'). And, somehow along the way, they managed to produce this three-minute piece of madness. It manages, like a lot of the best pop psych, to successfully marry Ryan Bros-styled high "camp" absurdity to genuine creepiness and thereby create something utterly compelling. The vocal-distortions in particular are quite eerie. We love it and so will you, we hope. Finding a copy ain't gonna be easy, although it is on the wondrous Ugly Things; Volume 4', which unfortunately is itself now a rarity, especially in the UK and US,so,failing to make any better suggestions, we'll simply wish you good luck and bon voyage! I'm sure it's on at least a dozen Easybeats comps...

DR. Z- Lady Ladybird (Fontana 6007 023) June 1970.Yes, the LP is almost unlistenable and yes it is a super-rare swirly Vertigo jobbie. However, this 45 is somewhat different. It's still off-the-wall, although not in the same way, yet it retains the merest pretence of late-1960s pop commerciality, a sort of post-psych hangover, quite frantic, quite wonderful.

NIRVANA- Oh!, What A Performance (Island WIP 6057) 1969. What a performance indeed! One of their best and least known songs.Superb pop, lead by barrel-house piano with hand claps and a ton of fuzzzzz.

STATUS QUO- Shy Fly. An absolute gem. Off the LP-'Ma Kelly's Greasy Spoon' (Pye NSPL 18344)September 1970. General consensus is that by this time they'd become irredeemably crap...WRONG!!! Checkout this Bubble Puppy-flavored beauty to see how taking other peoples' opinions too seriously can lead you completely astray. Same song also appears, in an ever so slightly less-appealing (acetate) version by Autumn (another great lil' band), on the ever so slightly foul-sounding 'Mynd The Gap'comp.

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GRAHAM GOULDMAN'S HOT LIL' CHESTNUT- by Jon Kerr
Surreptitiously lurking on the B-side of Graham Gouldman's 'Upstairs Downstairs' (RCA RCA1667) 1968, is this velvet-shelled little conker of delightfulness. 'Chestnut' is the type of track that somehow encapsulates all those qualities which the "wish lists" of pop-psych lovers demand from their records. For example:- RHYTHM- Pretty funky and nice 'n' high in the mix. Not unlike The End. Loads of breaks. MELLOTRON- Absolutely loads of it, laid on with a trowel (just you wait!) GUITAR- Twangy, Stax house-style, melody has a slight echo of 'Hey Joe'. HAMMOND- Purring, caressing. Stabs and squiggles a go go, Mmmm. VOCALS- Effete, ethereal English upper crust enunciation, with that excessive degree of otherworldliness . LYRICS- Poetic doggerel with a domestic/London setting-" If all of were doomed to die, When we had lived a minute, I think I know what Anne and IWould wish to happen in it, We'd let our sixty seconds run, Where chestnut blossom's harden, Some early morning in Kensington,When spring is in the garden." 'Chestnut' also appears on the astounding 'Graham Gouldman Thing' LP (USA only), which is choc o' block full of high-quality pop performed by this master songsmith, all superbly arranged, with nice baroque / popsike frills. If anything mars 'Chestnut's' perfection it is that it is far too short. I'd like to have another ten minutes (at least) of the same, please.

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What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object? The unstoppable force stops, the immovable object moves...

WEB WATCH: Cyber-delia Our very own cosmic-naut, Jon Kerr, goes fiddling about in cyber space (Fear not! his mummy is keeping her eye on him, we wouldn't want him checking out those dodgy sites, would we?)

MARMALADE SKIES http://www.marmaladeskies.co.uk/ Up and running since late '99. It is simply the best presented and most informative site on the web devoted to UK Psychedelia. Certainly, by far the only one of any consequence. We also love the new discussion forum- very pithy!

PINK FLOYD http://www.pinkfloyd-co.com/ The largest Floyd site on the web! Find out all you'll ever need to know, and more, about this mighty band. Tons of fine pics too.

PURPLE GANG http://www.thepurplegang.co.uk/ One of the very best band sites we've visited of late. In particular, the recollections by Joe Beard make this site an essential source for psych historians.

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HELP!
We would be interested in contacting the following Down under Dream timers- Glenn A Baker (Oz) D Karakov (Kiwi) John Baker (Kiwi) Hopefully someone knows where these guys are.

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READERS' LETTERS
Dear editor, Pease help! I am suffering from a bad case of halitosis. It usually gets worser when i go to record fairs, or sit on armchairs stuffed with horse hairs. Yours truly, David Culyer (aged 10 and three-quarters)
OUR EDITOR REPLIES- Dear Whiffy, from one David to another I can only really recommend one product, namely "Thubron's Patent Electric Anti-Macassar" (only £99.99, inc p&p). Plug it in twice a day for a fortnight and you'll be wowing the ladies, rather than laying them low with your vile odour. Also, I discern some link between 'fairs', 'chairs', and 'hairs'. Drop all these 'airs' and graces and get yourself a job. Ed.
*** *** *** *** ***
Dear Dave, What can I say? Your mag is amazing! You are a top bloke! I'm very proud of you, son! Love, Mum.
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"come on ladies, I got a dozen of yer Turnstyle demos for two and thrupence, and I'll chuck in a nice fresh Purple Barrier 45 'an all, for nuffink. Jus'ta make yer 'usbands 'appy, come on ladies...
***YE OLDE TECHNICOLORED SWAPPE SHOPPE***
2.01: FOR SALE: US Psych LPs, 45s (1000+ items)
2.02: WANTED: Any Nancy Sinatra memorabilia
2.03: TAPES TO SWAP- BBC Sessions. Your list gets mine. 100s of items.
2.04: PSYCH NITE IN LONDON? Anybody interested in a Psychedelic Night, sort of like Middle Earth (c 1967), The Groovy Cellar (c 1981), or Plastic Bubble (c 1995), with the emphasis on obscurity and a beatifically good time. If there's sufficient interest we will announce details via Sweet FA. (NOTE:- This is in addition to the 'Smashing Time' Xmas Bash.)
****** ******* *******
an half-filled void is an half-empty solid is an half-filled void is an half-empty solid is an half-
'TIL WE MEET AGAIN
Good bye-ee! Afore ye go, here's what to expect next month- A Bee Gees mega rarity discussed, the Discography rumbles on, Human Beast, quotes and all the usual old toss- bet you can't wait!

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Roger St John, The Bumper Book Of Psych Quotations, is copyright (c) of the publisher- Tangerine Books, London, and is quoted with their kind permission.
Sweet FA is published monthly.
All contents copyright (c) Sweet Floral Albion 2001. Mess with us, and by Jove, we'll mess with you, sonny boy.
***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

SFA 1 ( first published Aug/Sept 2001 )

2007-12-17T05:20:00.000-08:00

WHY? How uncanny it's the...
S*F*A*
SWEET FLORAL ALBION
...crew with their bizarre ramblings on the subject of
UK PSYCHEDELIC CULTURE.

O====(August/September 2001)=====(No. 1)=======(Price: GRATIS!)=========O

HELLO and WELCOME to Sweet Floral Albion!
Those of you who know us will understand what we're up to...so, the following is for those of you who haven't had the pleasure:- Basically this is a mag about UK PSYCHEDELIA and related stuff, written by fans for fans. We felt there was a need for a mag like this- certainly among the collectors, fans, dealers, issuers that we know- because (a.) Record Collector 's 'Psych Trip' has been such an astonishing popular success, and (b.) there hasn't been a decent mag devoted to the subject for such a long long time. We'll primarily be concentrating on the music, but will include articles on fashion, art, drug culture, anything really, which we think fits the bill and might be fun, or interesting, or both. We ain't gonna come on all snooty and elitist (WE know we're clever- we've nothing to prove!), but we are gonna tell it straight when the wind -sorry, need -arises. On the whole , though, if we don't like something we'll probably just ignore it- we won't waste your time or ours being nasty- that just gets peoples' backs up and will make us look like a gang of curmudgeonly old gits. Conversely, if we think something is fab, groovy, gear and great...or unfairly neglected, we'll chin-wag about it 'til the proverbial cows come home! We also hope to impart some of our knowledge to others and in return we hope to learn more from YOU. After all, "The colours you give out will return to you". Or so we used to say. At the end of the day this mag is an OPEN HOUSE- we want YOU to write it. All we wanna do is co-ordinate things a little. If you do -or even if you don't- like what we're doing tell us why. Come aboard! All are welcome-
Dave Thubron (Editor)

Jon Kerr
J. Barrington Phillips, Esq
Paul Hodges
Lucy Nation
Jason Scott
} Humble scribes one and all

This *PREMIER grand cru ISSUE* contains the following, though not necessarily in this order~
O--OUT IN THE COLD
O--LIBROS PSICEDELICOS- Book Reviews
O--E.L.O.- An undiscovered psych gem
O--UK PSYCHEDELIA DISCOGRAPHY Continued
O--LYRICS
O-JUNE '68: a Trip on the Thyme Machine
O--TAGES: Sweden's Finest
O-TECHNICOLORED SWAP SHOP
O-'Til we meet again/ Odds 'n' sods -

OUT IN THE COLD
by Jason Scott
A long-neglected treasure is given a brisk wipe with an EMItex cloth and put on the Dansette for a quick reappraisal...

KEVIN AYERS-Joy Of A Toy (Harvest SHVL 763), originally released Nov '69.
In the entry for "Soft Machine" in Record Collector's 'British Psychedelic Trip', David Wells refers to the 'Joy Of A Toy' LP as a 'magnificent solo debut', and one of 'two' [the other being Syd Barrett's 'The Madcap Laaughs',] 'of the final flourishes of British psychedelia from two of its most important figures'. Whilst I whole-heartedly agree with this summing up, itis sadly apparent that Ayers' profile- outside of the cognoscenti- has sunk beneath the cold grey waters of neglect and indifference. The comparison with Barrett serves to high-light the disparity, in terms of media attention and fan appreciation, between these two very significant talents. That we don't know his work better is regrettable but perhaps unsurprising, given Ayers' reluctance to play the role of "rock star". It seems, that for most psych fans,when Ayers left the Soft Machine, he ceased making music of any interest to them. Whereas, in fact, Joy Of A Toy is both one of the great long-lost UK Psych LPs, and de facto a great Soft Machine album .The rest of the band helped Kevin out on this, his first solo LP, much as they also were also helping out Syd Barrett on his solo debut in the same studios (Abbey Road) at the same time (summer '69). In fact, the musical spirits of the Soft Machine AND Syd Barett both dominate this LP, as they came to dominate much of Ayers' career. This LP is far closer to psych/prog/pop territory than it is to the then prevalent prog/jazz/rock mood then smothering the underground.(Ouch!!) Where do you begin with an LP that contains such a surfeit of treasures? Why, at the beginning of course... Them old Abbey Road frequency test-tones pipe us aboard the magical carousel of 'Joy Of A Toy Continued'- absolutely nothing like its earlier (Soft Machine) near namesake. It's a la la la oompah oompah toy town extravaganza, replete with flute, kazoo, and "Here come the elephants and tigers/ Here come the kangaroos" lyrics. Pure bliss. 'Town Feeling', is a very stylish ballad, mellow and infused with piano, coronet and a tasty distorted guitar refrain. Next up, is 'The Clarietta Rag'- a five star pop psych marvel. Just dig the words- "Have you seen Miss Clarietta/ Riding round on her Lambetta/ On the mountainside". psycho-mod-elic. Although it's 'too late' for some psych folk, this is very much a product of the UFO years. Superb, subdued keyboard flourishes and a fandabbydozy stinging guitar break too.'Girl On A Swing' is a sublimely beautiful tune, with shimmering guitar and electric harpsichord wrapped around observational lyrics that typify English poetic whimsy-pop. Also, particularly nice are the sped-up vocal interlude and the way instruments move in/ out of the mix. Bloody lovely. 'Song For Insane Times' is a (censored) slightly re-titled re-vamp of a track the Soft Machine performed live, c. 1967-68. Again, it's a wonderful piece, a lyrical precis of "Swinging London". Keyboard (organ and piano interplay) dexterity to the max, and a "niiice" jazz vibe to top it off. 'Stop This Train' starts and ends, funnily enough, like a train, as the tape speed goes from "stop" to "sluggish" to "full throttle". Nice 'Path Through The Forest'-style vocals, and some trippy effects tastefully sprinkled like fairydust over the song. 'Eleanor's Cake (Which Ate Her)': What can you say that does this song justice? Nothing. Except perhaps that it out-drakes Nick Drake! Next song- 'Lady Rachel'- another song, another classic. The fuzzy muzzy backing track creates a claustrophobic ambience, perfectly suited to this creepy somnabulistic tale of nocturnal horrors. 'Oleh Oleh Bandu Bandong'. Weird title. I know what you're thinking- don't sound too promising does it? WRONG!!! Its off-kilter drum track and repetitive mantra-tastic queasiness is quite disturbing. Super duper doo we say! If this had been issued as a 45 in '68, it would certainly be up there with the big boys...Oh, by the way, do bendy endings get any better? Nice way into 'All This Crazy Gift Of Time', which rounds off this LP nicely in an anti-Dylan, down home sorta way. Oh yeah, Kevin Ayers has produced heaps of good music. Psych-Heads should also listen out for the dada-influenced 'Lunatics Lament, Pisser Dans Un Violon', on his second ('Shooting at The Moon') LP- marvellous stuff with some stunning psychedelic guitar licks from Mike Oldfield (Yes! Him!) plus a ton of tripped-out ravings. 'Oh! Wot A Dream' (from 1972), is Ayers' endearing tribute to Syd Barrett, a wonderfully evocative Cambridge-styled pop psych ditty it is too. Mr Ayers: We salute you!

LIBROS PSICEDELICOS
J. Barrington Phillips,Esq visits his local library and has a sniff around among those dusty tomes- dirty old sod...

Acid: The Secret History of LSD, by David Black (Vision: London,1998.)
This is great . Well-researched, but still very much a product of those silly, paranoid conspiracy theory head-games we played back then. It would appear that Mr Black is of the op[inion that the whole Hippie/LSD thing was part of a ploy by the US Intelligence-Defence monolith to undermine Western democracy and thus strengthen their position. It is well documented that LSD was a mind-control weapon, part of the military's arsenal of "incapacitants", utilised to undermine the enemy's will to fight. This book covers all aspects of this story- from the CIA-fronted research project to the Leary-weather Underground imbroglios;from the "Great British LSD Plot" (Frendz, the Angry Brigade,et al)to the much revered Sam Hutt (Boeing Duveen)and his tincture of cannabis scam (celebrated on the front cover of IT no. 31, May 3-16 1968 ,with the slogan- "Cannabis legalis in Britanniae est"). And at the centre of it all is the enigmatic Ron Stark, a master puppeteer - an acid alchemist with links to both organised crime and the secret service (ie. a VERY heavy geezer). There's a fascinating quote from acid-guru Michael Hollingshead, which states that there may have been a significant difference in quality between the LSD of the early 'sixties and the mass-produced variety of the late sixties/early seventies'. The earlier LSD (d-LSD-25) was 'a semi-synthetic substance which required natural ergot for its synthesis. Because the illegal labs had to use the synthetic ergt known as ergotamine tartrate from 1966 onwards, the subjective effects are really very different from those reported at Harvard.' This goes some way towads explaining all those fried brains - its was the 'nasty', artifical (non-biological) powder that washed those brain cells whiter than white, or maybe it was 'BZ' - a chemical called Quinuclididinyl (US army manufactured) - 10 times stronger than LSD!!! Scarey stuff indeed.

Psychedelia Britannica, Edited by Antonio Melechi (Turnaround: London, 1997)
Another fine book. This one covers various aspects of UK psychedelia - literary (Alice), Psychiatric (R.D.Laing), Messianic (Holligshead); and chapters 6 ('Altered Sounds'), 7 ('Return to Eden'), and 8 ('Ecstasy Evangelists and Psychedelic Warriors') cover the musical side of things. There's a brief history of how those uptight little mods became 'really' cool and turned on, how indolence, pastoralism and infantillism was the real subject of UK psychedelia (ISB, Barrett, Donovan, et al). Sound techniques are discussed ("an overall emphasis on timbral sound (blurred, bright, tinkly, overlapping, associated with the intensification of colour and shape experience when tripping). Upward movement in pitch (and the comparison with an hallucinogenic high)..." They even include Tintern Abbeys 'Beeside', Virgin Sleep's 'Secret', The Beatles 'I'm only sleeping' and Soft Machine's 'Why Are We Sleeping?' as examples of the English route to enlightenment via indolence. They could have also included The Mirage's 'Lazy Man' (once referred to as their version of 'Rain' by The Beatles) as well as dozens of others. Also, nice to read again are Alex and Lyn Trocchi's LSD experiences, but overall this book is full of facts and theories, dreams and nightmares and is one of the best 'scholarly' works on the subject.

E.L.O.- An Undiscovered Psych Gem
by Paul Hodges

Yeah weird eh? If Jeff Lynne is thought of in connection with psych it's as part of the Idle Race and their late-60s attempt at pop success. Some hope. Well, dig a wee bit deeper and you'll unearth a 24 carat nugget who goes by the nane of Nellie. She can be found hiding on E.L.O.'s eponymously titled debut album (Harvest, 03/12/71). 'Nellie Takes Her Bow', clocks in at a chunky six minutes in length. It kicks off with a backwards string crescendo, before moving into typically rather bloated E.L.O. over-produced piano-lead ballad fashion. It continues in to move in and out of this mode for the rest of the song. The lyrics are typical domestis pop psych fare and it is a syle derived from Lynne's 'Walrus'-era Peatles strimg arrangements, with the odd reversed tape coming and going. It seems that the weird demons are fighting the straight demons for possession of the song. There's a very freaky cello-driven middle eight that is frigheningly intense, with avant garde pretensions (too much bleedin' Stockhausen) and psychedelis aspirations (too much bleedin' Acid) all rolled into one, this is followed by a section lifted almost note from note from the melody to "10,000 words in a cardboard box"! This blurs into God bless ye merry gentlemen. Then our Jeff's back again, distorted Lennon-like vocals and it gets a bit like "Fight for my Country" - Balls (another Brummie treasure)More strings, a French horn, some tinkling ivories a long held note and it's all over. Not your typical E.L.O. track (although they often strayed into UK whimsy pop territory - Horace Wimp etc) and not typical UK psychedelia either - simply a marvellous oddity by a band too long dismissed out of hand. (Note: This LP was reissued (on CD) by EMI in Dec. 2001 (30th anniversary) as a 2-CD package with loads of bonuses (alt. takes, Quadraphonic mixes, live performances, etc, etc) : EMI Harest 533 3730

UK PSYCH DISCOGRAPHY - Part 18

THE MINDBENDERS - Little Nightingale - Far Across Town
The first of these 2 goodies is off the '66 eponymously titled LP (most famous for 'A Groovy Kind Of Love'). Not a particularly uncommon album, but this track which is Mod-going-Odd, has been ignored for too long. The track, a cover, on the surface doesn't appear too promising but its echo-laden spookiness, sustained (minor) chords, whiney guitar solo and aura of wired nonchalonce manifest the right spritit of adventuorous experimentation a true treasure of '66 Beat-psych. 'Far Across Town' was the 'b' side of the truly awful 'We'll Talk About it Tomorrow' a song with absolutely no redeeming qualities and no chance of chart action, and an untypical lowpoint for this excellent band. '.. Town' sort of falls between two stools- the lyrics ('I will be happy there/I will not have a care/There I'll lose my mind...) hints at the changing times (ie 1967) as does the Who-flavoured melody and arrangement in general, but the 'Peggy Sue' guitar sound is very 'old hat'. However, overall it's a little gem (that's a good tune, not a small lettuce).
THE KINKS - Fancy Off the 'Face To Face' LP (Pye NSPL/NPL 18149) 1966.
It's another excursion into Indian Raga drone territory- first tried out by Davies & co on the seminal 'See My Friends'. This is similar in feel and deserves more attention from an uncaring world.

MAIL - Omnibus (Parlophone) 1971.
This received some typically disparaging remarks on Vol 3 of the dodgy 'Purple Heart Surgery' set. They said: "a fairly dire single"- WHAT??? We say: "Poppycock! It's a fine version of a bloomin' fine song. Very out of fashion for '71. It was most likely cut in '68, when they did 'Blueberry blue'. From the Lemon Pipers' bubble-psych to Move sexual innuendo in a quick foxtrot- clever chaps! Whatever happened to 'em?

THE SWEET- Mr McGallagher (Parlophone R5848) 1970.
OK, OK...so it's another one from the dreaded seventies. Well, we like it a lot.In point of fact, it's so good you'd never know it was from those chinny chap glam merchants. 'Time' ain't so bad, and 'The Juicer' has a certain rough-house charm. But, it's this one that's the stand-out from a triumvirate of quality 'B'sides. Love the lines "Mr McGallagher, my what a character/ I've got a feeling that you'll go far/ In a menagerie of limited capacity/ Teachin' himself to be a superstar"and "If you should think of a magical show/ An incredible show you would like to see/ Just go and see the mechanical hat/ of the magical cat in his menagerie..." Lovely organ, esp in the break, and delicious guitar embellishments. Sort of punchy post-psych pop going prog-pop going...where? In to the deletion bins, unfortunately.

LEE KINGS - Orient Express (Swedish 45) 1967.
BLIMEY!!! This is the dogs' ! If you can imagine the result of The Sea-Ders locked in Abbey Road for a week-end, driving the engineer to distraction with their piggin English and endless Arabic guitar runs, until finally the poor bleeder loses his marbles, speeds up the master tapes, adds burps, pops and slapstick nonsense to it, before running from the studio screaming... then you're more than half-way towards appreciating this. A minor beat-psych masterpiece. It's on one of the international 'Pebbles' volumes, I seem to remember.

PANDAMONIUM - No Presents For Me - The Sun Shines From His Eyes
No! Not the obvious, well known cuts issued on CBS 45s, but ALTERNATIVE VERSIONS and STEREO too!!! Oh, yes yes yes! Both are truly fantastic and available only on a cash-in LP issued in the Netherlands- 'Beat Scene: Color In Pop- Vol 17' (Palette MPB 53204), 1968. The only interesting volume we've discovered in this series, thus far, in case you were wonderin'...
ANAN - Madena [sic] (Pye 7N 17642) 1968. Misprinted on the label- it should read "Medina", don't you know. It beats us why some folk (R.C., 117) seem to think that this is a trifle "ordinary". It is in reality, a fragile beauty. OK, it ain't as mental as 'I Wonder...'. But what it lacks in contrived self-conscious silliness, is more than compensated by wobbly psych pop perfection. Understated, under-appreciated and under consideration for comping, we believe- let's hope so.

MANFRED MANN - She's My Girl.
Delicious bendy pop, with a great creamy dollop of proto-psych. On the otherwise just OK 'As Was' LP (HMV 7EG 8962) 1966. (See our review of the JTL series in SFA 2)

THE STRAWBS - Queen Of Dreams.
An ode to opium. And, man this is a forgotten PSYCH CLASSIC if ever there was one. It's on the lovely (but, on the whole not this lovely) 'Grave new World' LP (A&M AMLS 68078) 1972. 'Queen Of Dreams' has got THE LOT- very creepy sound effects, backwards guitar, tons of mellotron...It truly is a mind blower and although ti's obviously displays 70s multitrack production values, it's five years behind the times. Look out for a Strawbs appreciation in a future issue of SFA. Let's bring 'em in from the cold, cold world of folkdom and sit 'em by the psych hearth, to bathe in the warming glow of our adoration.

+STOP PRESS+STOP PRESS+STOP PRESS+STOP PRESS+

Extra items for Discography:Here are some quality albums, all containing Lysergic treasures-

LOVE SCULPTURE - Forms And Feelings (Parlophone PCS 7090) 1969.
THE GODS - To Samuel A Son (Columbia SCX 6372) 1970.
FAT MATTRESS - Fat Mattresss (Polydor 583 056) 1969.
All three LPs were criminally ignored by Record Collector's 'British Psychedelic Trip'. Tracks by the latter two acts were also treated in a shamefully derogatory manner by a now defunct "Mr Angry" psych-zine. Why??? Surely, one must wonder- Do these self-appointed psych "experts" ever actually listen to music??? See future issues of SFA for less discouraging reviews of these three (and other) great LPs.

FOOTNOTE:- Love Sculpture's 'Blues Helping' which, ironically, WAS included in R.C.'s 'Trip', has not even a modicom of psychedelia within its grooves! It is,as the name of the LP doth clearly state, simply a blues LP, and none too inspiring at that...

'Or, Am I Dreaming' - THE STRAWBS

The fragile gentle butterfly with multicoloured wings
Settles on the toadstools in the midst of fairy rings
Midsummer sound of tinkle bells as Sweet Titania sings
Or, am I dreaming?
Or, am I dreaming?
And I will have a castle with a draw-bridge and a moat
And light my open fires with a brand new five pound note
And go off on a winter cruise in a bright red sailing boat
Or, am I dreaming?
Or, am I dreaming?
Pick the golden casket and you'll get what you deserve
Guard the pure white chiffon falling in a graceful curve
Crystal clear-cut chandeliers orchids in a bowl
Mulled wine by the fire and the finest ermine stole

The watermelon moon makes gentle progress in the sky
Upside down it's floating as the satellites go by
And you can hold a conversation if you're not too high
Or, am I dreaming?
Or, am I dreaming?
The magic mountain music man is really rather shy
Or, am I dreaming?

'Imagine' - ARGOSY

Imagine all the colours of the rainbow in wine
Eleven foot wide and black inside
Imagine that the sound of someone calling your name
is like a tuneless song that breaks the communal whirl
where there are flowers growing
on the ceiling in thousands
And colours you taste, oh my God what a waste
And your mind will find that the flowers won't wait
They will disintegrate and the rainbow is bad "hello rainbow!"
Well, have you ever sat upon a rainbow's end
Admiring the view and tasting it too
And ever read the diary of a fairie Queen
Its summers nights she felt alright in her world
With corduroy toadstools growing on the ceiling
With Pixies who sing all day long
The same sad song Which man's ear cannot hear
And the children, they feel that the fairies are real
But the children must grow
Oh No! But this is where I am happy and nothing is wrong
People call it fairy land
It's a one way ticket and you've got to believe
And I'll take you away to a place where the sun shines
On whistling waves of sand
And we'll dance and we'll sing for a year and a day
To a sergeant pepper band
To a sergeant pepper band
To a sergeant pepper band...

From The Bumper Book Of Psych Quotations, by Roger St John
Entry No 3-

DAEVID ALLEN, original member of Soft Machine and leader of the legendary, stoned Gong collective, gives a few words on his smoking habits (vide SFA3 for a review of the first Gong LP):- "Je ne fume pas des Bananes".

'Och Doctor, have we landed yet?' 'Yes, Jamie' 'Where has the THYME MACHINE taken us, Doctor?' 'Why, I do believe we're back in the present, dear boy. The monitor tells me it's...
JUNE 1968

It's almost a year after the 'Summer of Love'. In the meantime we've had the Tet Offensive, the Paris uprising, and the Grosvenor Square anti-US demo. The dream was meant well & truly to be over, and it must be said, things were not promising for the ivory-towered, head-in-the-clouds world of Brisith Psychedelia. Storm clouds were on the horizon. In fact things were pretty grim all round. Still, it was a vintage month for UK music, as some idealistic souls still tended the sacred flame whilst the wider world became bogged down in heavy politics and even heavier violence, and the Beatles got stuck into the difficult work of recording the "White Album", these releases leaked out onto the market and (mostly) instantly fell into the depths of oblivion...

ANAN - I Wonder Where My Sister's Gone
THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN - Fire / Rest Cure, and the LP (s/t)
DEEP PURPLE - Hush / One More Rainy Night
THE EPICS - Henry Long (pop sike with a perv-tastic "flasher" theme!)
FREEDOM - Trying To Get A Glimpse Of You (beautiful man, really beautiful)
THE HUSH - Elephant Rider / Grey
JULY - My Clown / Dandelion Seeds
JUNIORS EYES - Black Snake
THE MOODY BLUES - Voices In The Sky / Dr Livingstone, I presume
THE MOVE - Something Else (EP)
NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY - Gotta Get Away (excellent)
THE NICE - Diamond Hard Blue Apples Of The Moon (wowzer!)
ORANGE MACHINE - Three Jolly Little Dwarfs / Real Life Permanent Dream (two super-duper covers of Tomorrow)
THE PASTORAL SYMPHONY - Love Machine (mental Aussie prefab psych)
PENNY PEEPS - I See The Morning
PURPLE GANG - Kiss Me Goodnight Sally Green (oddball Jug band class)
RIFKIN - Continental Hesitation (a mickey take? genuine stuff?who cares?it's superb)
SCRUGG - Lavender Popcorn
SPOOKY TOOTH - Love Really Changed Me
STATUS QUO - Picturesque Matchstickable Messages (LP)
SWEETSHOP - Barefoot And Tiptoe (Mr & Mrs Wirtz silliness)
THE SYMBOLS - The Best Part Of ... (LP)
TAGES - Like A Woman (see elsewhere in this issue)
THE WHO - Dogs (altogether now - "There was nothing in my life bigger than beer...")
THE ZOMBIES - I Love you
ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

TAGES - Sweden's First !

First things first. That name. I ain't no linguist but I have got a Swedish buddy who put me straight- It's not "Tay-jez" or "Taygs". It's pronouned "Tar-ges" (with a hard 'g' as in 'Gary', 'Go', 'Get' and 'Gravy'). Right that's settled, onto the music.
They started out as a five-piece and were very much a product of the beat era amongst the self penned gear you get covers such as 'Got My Mojo Working', 'Dimples', 'Hitch Hike', 'I'll be Doggone' (ie formulaic beat fare- white boys copying black R&B/soul), and other songs that most bands did then, especially as part of a live set. By '66 their profile in their native land was rising fast and with EMI Sweden's desire, to encourage experimentation, they rapidly became psych-pioneers and, contemporaneous with the Beatles' 'Revolver' - era psych voyages for EMI (UK), dived into the deep end. The first evidence of their newly found technicolor mind set was found on tracks such as 'Secret Room' and 'In my Dreams' and .. anyway a band history and a full discorgraphy would be rather tedious and unnecessary and rather pointless for most of all UK readers - you won't find many of the Swedish releases anyway. Even in Stockholm's best 'Collectors Shop' (Hi Kenneth!) copies are drying up. What we've done is list, in chronological order, our choice of the best, most "psychedelic" tracks with some pertinent details/descriptions. All are recommended to fans of UK psychedelia. And hopefully you can check these out on the 32 track vinyl comp and Dutch 3-volume EMI CD package (all quite hard to find now...)

1966:

In My Dreams (folky, melodic, hippie flute thing)
Miss Mac Baron (Revolver style pop nice guitar sound & ending)
Secret Room (Great early psych pop voyeuristic subject, backwards drums. In 1966 Sweden leads the way with psychedelic musical exploration! weird eh?)
One red, One yellow, One blue (pop ballad with a lyrical hint of psych)
Extra (sped up vocal; strange, bendy and mad)

1967:

Every Raindrop Means A Lot (pop/psych with mad effects quite commercial)
Look What You Get (Bendy pop)
Fuzzy Patterns (Great pop/psych)
Hear My Lamentation (Bendy pop/psych)
You're Too Incomprehensible (fantastic! OTT psych pop)
Prisoner 763 (nice, fairly unusual ballad)
Treat Her Like a Lady (camp pop, embellished with psychy passages)
Have You Seen Your Brother Lately (pop-psych)
It's My Life (excellent. Tougher "Hey Bulldog" style recorded at Abbey Road)
Like A Woman (god pop/sike nie wobbly guitar sound)
She Is A Man (Amazing. Lola-esque theme which was very risque for 1967, check out the lyrics) Top class psychedelia with backwards tapes and loads of effects
Seeing With Love (what can you say? simply one of their best- very "UK-psych" in style)
It's In a Dream (Again, recorded at Abbey Road very classy, nice middle-eight with a lyric nicked from The Smoke's "Sydney Gill"!)
The Old Man Wafwer (Off-kilter orchestral bendiness, kind of 'Walrus' like)

1968:
There's An Old Man Playin' Fiddle In the Street (Bee Gees - style pop/sike)
Fantasy Island (Wowzer! Another of their premier league psych masterpieces)
To Be Free (Great! especially the ending)
I Read You Like An Open Book (Very catchy pop with sike leanings included on the Nugget II package)
Halcyon Days (A Mike Hurst production. Recorded at Olympic. A cover version of "Fairy Tale" by The Herd. Superb)

Also of note are the following: Hey Grandma (Swedish T.V., live cover of Moby Grape) Most Likely You'll Go Your Way I'll go Mine (Demo. Cover verison of the Dylan song) I See The Rain (heavily phased demo verison of Marmalade great guitar work) America (nice demo of the Paul Simon song) Love Loves To Love (superb demo version of Lulu that is sooooo much better than the original)
UK Release Info:-
A side : Treat Her Like A Lady
B side : Wanting
Label : Parlophone
Year : 1967

A side : Theres a Blind man...
B side : Like a woman
Label: Parlophone
Year: 1968

A side : Halcyon Days
B side : I read you
Label: MGM
Year : 1968

Later in '68 Tommy Blom (lead singer) left and the rest of the band became BLOND who recorded in the UK a mega rare LP ('The Lilac Years') for Swedish Fontana. Overall, it's high-class 1968 pop (that should have given The Herd a run for their money), with some baroque/hippie moments, although it does at times skip rather too gailly into expansive, lush Bee-Gees-pastiched, orchestrated pop-ballad territory. However, the opening track, 'Six White Horses' (not to be confused with the Sundragon's 'Five White Horses'), has some punch to it. And 'Sailing Across The Ocean', could weirdly enough, be a Sundragon out-take. Both tracks, and others on the LP, have Ritchie Blackmore-style guitar work... Pleasant enough, but not as good as their earlier work issued as Tages.

"come on ladies, I got a dozen of yer Turnsyle demos for two and thrupence, and I'll chuck in a nice fresh Purple Barrier 45 'an all, for nuffink. Jus'ta make yer 'usband 'appy, come on ladies...

***TECHNICOLORED SWAPSHOP***

If you've got anything to sell, or anything you want to buy, let us know we'll give you an ad number and pass on your replies (confidentiality will be respected)
1.01 FOR SALE: original LPs- July, End, Piper (mono), Magna Carta (Mercury). Trades considered
1.02 WANTED: Flower Scene mags wanted, or p/copies thereof, STC
1.03 FOR SALE - limited edn pressing (500 copies) 'Berts' Balsam' by The Clinch. Previously unreleased '6 psych-pop acetate. £8 inc. P&P
1.04 TAPES TO SWAP: BBC sessons - Your list gets mine, 100s of tracks
1.05 FOR SALE: US psych 45/LPS (1000 items +). All reasonable prices/good condition

'TIL WE MEET AGAIN

Dear reader,
We hope you've enjoyed our psychedelic test flight, and don't think our mag is a pile of soggy old chip wrappings.

Next issue we'll have more of the same, including articles on The Executive, Czar and anything else we can cobble together within the next 4 weeks.
Do come again, Mr Watson, for some more tea and toast.

Love & beauty Dave T & his lowly minions xxx

Would Edward Woodward've taken wood-work? Yes, Edward Woodward would've taken wood-work. Why, 'cos Edward Woodward was good with wood.

And, afore ye go, spare a thought for those poor folks who, smitten by the Human Instinct's wonderful Deram 45s, happily forked out their hard-earned for the same band's later New Zealand recordings. Only to find that they bore no relation to the band's earlier incarnation...in fact bore no relation at all to decent psychedelia. BE CAREFUL OUT THERE.

Sweet FA is published monthly. All contents copyright (c) Sweet Floral Albion 2001. Mess with us, and by Jove, we'll mess with you.