I can't rest while the sun & the stars are so bright

To get in the mood for summer I have been delving into that mutant strain of the Summer of Love - British Psychedelia.   I am finding myself amazed at every turn, with one discovery leading to another.  Much of this music was quickly rushed to market to capitalize on the sudden interest in all things psychedelic, likely thanks to the Beatles (Strawberry Fields, Sgt. Peppers, etc.)  Because there was so much product being released a great deal of it completely missed the charts and received little to no radio play.

Tintern Abbey is one such band.   Their short recorded history - one 45 rpm single - is cataloged in the linked Wikipedia article.    Even though the single made no known chart, nowadays the original UK 45 on Deram is fetching in excess of 1000 pounds.   Although the asking price is clearly a reflection of supply and demand, there is no argument on my account that this is one of the tastiest pieces of popsike out there.  Beeside (which was the A-Side) is one of those multi-part mellotron driven tunes, with very odd lyrics relating to bees and their pursuit of flowers during every moment of daylight.  A central falsetto / piano / oboe section takes the action in a different direction for a few seconds.  Quite the sweet dreamy little nugget.

I Haven't Seen A Thing Like This Since You

There is a particular guitar sound that one sometimes finds on a mid 60's pop song.  I refer to it as "rubber band" guitar.   Today's tune is a perfect example of what I am referring to.  This is not meant as a derogatory description, as in this particular case the notes being played are crazy genius work.

I am referring Look At The View, yet another amazing track from The Action's Rolled Gold LP.  After the guitar intro, the first verse adds vocals and bass.  But on the second pass, the drums come in and this turns into one hell of a great 60's stomp rocker.  At 2:45 the song goes off into quavering Strawberry Fields land with hazy high vocal harmonies with organ accompaniment.  If only this had made it past demo stage, one can just imagine what George Martin's production wizardry could have done for this track.  But no complaints from me - their demo more than shows what excellent rockers and melody writers they were.

Remember Me

Two chords.   Generally my tastes call for lots of chords, with interesting progressions and odd harmonies.   For years Elvis Costello tried to write a song with only one chord - but always ended up using at least two.   Two of those are amongst my favorites.  "Beyond Belief" spills over with word associations and builds to a fevered pitch.  And "Uncomplicated" begins with thunder and cuts to the bone.  Those two gems are about the only two chord songs that I would care to list amongst my favorite songs.  Until last week.  When I discovered the long lost Rolled Gold LP by the mod British rockers The Action.

For a bit of background on that album, they were produced by none other than George Martin, and released less than half a dozen singles on Parlophone Records, none of which made a dent in the UK charts.  But they had a large mod cult following, apparently not so far behind The Who and The Small Faces.   About the time that they were dropped by Parlophone in 1967, they were working on demos for an album.  By this point they had graduated from American soul covers to writing their own acid drenched rockers.   Many of the songs had fully fleshed out melodies and harmonies, but the lyrics were just placeholders awaiting further tuning, and the arrangements were still quite spare.  No Martin magic had yet been applied.

Thirty years passed and the LP never saw the light of day.  Then an ex-band member released an acetate to a small label that put it out on CD.   The quality was poor but it piqued some interest, then another ex-member acknowledged that he had the master tape in his possession.   Finally released in its full yet spare glory, it sat there for about fifteen years waiting for me to discover it over at the excellen Monkey Picks blog.  There are many truly great songs on this album that never was.

That was five days ago.  And since then I cannot stop playing it.  Especially the song that inspired today's post.  "Brain" is that holy grail - the two chord song that has everything it needs.   The chiming rhythm guitar and a phased lead set the environment for alternating loud and soft sections.  Thrust forward by some just killer drumming, the song pummels and pleads.  And best of all is the passionate vocal by lead singer Reg King.  His voice is almost a ringer for Pete Hamm of Badfinger, but with even more soul.   It is all still new to my ears, but I can guarantee you that I will playing it loud for many years to come.

Take your brain it's time to go
You don't have long to go
Remember me (re)member me
Cause I'm the one that made you see
(re)member me

So Why Did You Have To Be So Nasty?

Ah, the ongoing animosity of the Brits for the Germans.   Here is a little early punk nugget from Adam & the Ants that extols the virtues of "curls of the Deutscher Girls".   Deutscher Girls was originally from the soundtrack of the 1978 Derek Jarman film "Jubilee" but in 1982 was released as a single A side with overdubbed vocals due to the risque subject matter  -"nazi" has been changed to "nasty" and "Camp 49" to "lover of mine".

In my book that opening guitar salvo is one of the most breathtaking openings to any pop song.  Ever.

You Don't Know Me So Well

Here's a little forgotten power psych single from 1970 - Crabby Appleton with "Go Back".   Somehow it flew under my radar until just this week, but it is a fine little jaunt betwixt the Hollies and something considerably more heavy.

I'll Give You Fish

Today's posting is short but to the point.  I have been on a B-52s listening binge recently, and no song of theirs floats my boat more than Give Me Back My Man.   Cindy Wilson begins in her lower range, vibrato-less and yearning for the man that got away.  By the time she gets to the chorus it is abundantly clear that there is not much that she will not do go retrieve her guy.   The great video shows her barefoot in her little black party dress, eventually dancin' and fruggin' next to spastic Fred.   And then on the last pass through the chorus she lets loose a furious set of pleas. 

If words could speak they'd mean even less

Any time is the right time for a dose of Jellyfish.   Absolutely one of my all time favorite bands, so very talented and yet they only made two albums before disbanding.  This nugget is from their first LP Bellybutton - The King is Half Undressed.  The vocal harmony work is top notch, and Jason Falkner delivers some amazing guitar licks.  A perfect song to bring my day to a close.