Ah, sweet psychedelia is in bloom on my speakers. Here is Fantasy Island - the uber-fine A-side for the 1968 single by Swedish band Tages. The track kicks off with a fuzzy descending guitar riff that grabs me by the throat and will not let go. The drummer puts in his best clomping Ringo licks and a fiddle adds texture to the middle eight. The chorus harmonies are infinitely lovely. Then at 1:10 a riff out of Yardbirds heaven breaks open the skies.
The B-side - To Be Free - is a lovely piano driven Beatleish tune that would have fit nicely on Magical Mystery Tour. Wish it was available on Youtube so that I could share it. If I had to pick a year that was the peak of the 45rpm single it would probably be 1968.
Based on what I read at Tages they were the predominant pop/psych band in Sweden in the mid 60s. Based on a dozen tracks I downloaded a few years ago I can see why. Tuneful, great harmonies, and production work nearly on a par with the best UK bands. Many of their later tracks were recorded at EMI/Abbey Road studios in London.
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2 comments:
Strange that I should never have heard of this band back in the day. They're not half bad. Did they get any airplay in the States?
As far as I know Holly they never made a dent in the US or UK charts. But its fun to discover these little lost international gems from the flower power period.
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