Underrated pop masterpieces from the psychedelic era

Hello, my name is Simon. Robin and I had this idea that it’d be a mighty combo attack if we fused our music blogs, but it ended up with me just posting on his old one like a foreign sidekick. I’ll mostly do recommendations/lists/compilations on various musical styles here, starting with five songs in the subject just mentioned, in chronological order.

Sagittarius - My World Fell Down (1967)

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Superior psychedelic sunshine pop cover of the pop trio The Ivy Leagues original featuring possibly the best multi-harmonic vocals in the genre, and a prime example of how sunshine pop sounds best when it’s melancholic yet unsentimental. It’s pretty much a laboratory product by producer Gary Usher who previously had written songs for the Beach Boys and here seem to have been inspired by Brian Wilson's ballad works on Pet Sounds and the experimentation of the Good Vibrations single. The altogether atmosphere of the song is very interesting and similar to that beginning to move on from the death of a near and dear, with sadness always dwelling at the bottom but not really bursting out directly. Even the explosive and rather upbeat first part of the chorus still manages to keep the songs melancholic feel intact. As a warning there is a completely unnecessary bridge of awkward stock sounds lasting for twenty seconds. Perhaps to represent ‘’the world falling down’’ or just to appear more psychedelic, remember, this is the 60’s after all. But it’s forgiven when the second bridge interrupts with it’s cold, eerie chant which Usher wrote himself and may be the best part of the song.

The Fairytale – Lovely People (1967)

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Gentle, base driven song about rainbow colored people washing each other which sung in death sincerity. Supposedly the band attempted to catch the spirit of the times and hoped for this to become a hit as a hippie anthem, though Scott McKenzie’s San Francisco took that spot and Lovely People has fallen into obscurity. But the fact that all the greatest melody slings the band ever produced compressed into this single song shows that it was a real ambition.

The Smoke – My Friend Jack (1968)

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Cool blues-rocking freakbeat with the wall-of-sound qualities that made the British psychedelic scene unique. Unlike most of even the most critically acclaimed pop hits there is not a single weak moment here, no filling out just to deliver some single awesome riff or chorus the song centers around. It’s pure compositional perfection, and would probably be appearing on Rolling Stone lists, be used as one of those stock song on TV shows whenever someone get’s high and what not had it been recorded by a more famous band.

Argosy – Imagine (1969)

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Roger Hodgson who would later become vocalist and key songwriter for Supertramp is the singer and writer of the orchestral flower power piece Imagine, another flawless pop composition which echoes The Logical Song he’d write ten years later both melodically and lyrically, only that here we find him still refusing to leave the magic of childhood and urging others to find back to it, rather than being sentimental about the loss of it. This was the B-side of the only single Argosy released (Mr.Boyd/Imagine) with the A-side featuring Elton John and some of his studio musicians.

Time Machine – Turn Back Time _ Bird In The Wind (1971)

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French song which borders nightmare fuel. Deals with the subject of turning back time to ask H.G Wells how to turn back time, if turning back time was possible, which the singer don’t believe. The actual music is separated into two parts, the first featuring song with a strong feeling of wondering accompanied by reversed rhythmic, interesting use of violins, pan-flutes and a thumping beat. The second half of the song is all reversed except for the vocals and a dark piano melody.

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Tracklist:

Count Five - Psychotic Reaction (1966)
The Electric Prunes - I had too mutch to dream last night (1966)
Sagittarius - My World Fell Down (1967)
Living Daylights - Lets live for today (1967)
The Fairytale - Lovely People (1967)
Blues Magoos - Tobacco Road (1967)
Mark Wirtz - Here's our dear old weatherman (1967)
The Smoke - My Friend Jack (1967)
Californians - Golden Apples (1967)
The Marmalade - I See The Rain (1967)
See My Love - Gentle Soul (1968)
Staccatos - Butchers And Bakers (1968)
Spencer Davis- After tea (1968)
The Status Quo - Pictures Of Matchstick Men (1968)
John's Children - A Midsummer's Night Scene (1968)
Ramases And Selket -Mind's Eye (1968)
Timebox - Gone Is The Sad Man (1968)
Fox - Hey Mr Carpenter (1968)
Turquoise - Woodstock (1969)
The French Revolution - Shoo-Doo-Bee-Do (1969)
Kevin Ayers - Girl On A Swing (1969)
Argosy - Imagine (1969)
We All Together - It's A Sin To Go Away (1970)
Time Machine - Turn Back Time _ Bird In The Wind (1971)

Some tracks can hardly be considered ''lost'' really, just not played to death like White Rabbit, My Green Tambourine, Incense and Peppermints etc. But enjoy nevertheless.

Guided By Voices - Devil Between My Toes

Mulling over Robert Pollard's perplexing one-thousand-plus discography of sing alongs, it becomes apparent that any argument lives and dies by personal preference. With six albums pinned down for 2009, his mind couldn't stretch to an expansive limit. This sort of becomes a problem for fans; Pollard, now extended limit to limitless, cares more about releasing than writing. And this is a problem to anyone that can see through new projects such as the drunk haze of Boston Spaceships or the copious, ever present solo work. With Guided By Voices, the split came for exactly this reason - his 'tiring' of being a ringleader. Unfortunately, any fan of that deranged lo-fi era of indie icon albums (Bee Thousand, Alien Lanes, Under The Bushes Under The Stars), a 'personal preference' equates to wanting the old way back. Those days when a drunken fool would stumble around the stage and chant 'HEY KIDS!', as opposed to the drunken fool who stumbles in and out of a studio.

It'd be useless to ask for a reunion, since the questions would be trivial: Which lineup is he gonna call? Where's Tobin Sprout? What will they play? Still, as he keeps on expanding and keeps never diversifying, it's important to remember old habits. The oldest, of course, are no better than the newest; Devil Between My Toes is the debut album from the Ohio group, with the oldest of lineups chanting songs that sound more R.E.M. than Murmur ever could. Tracks such as "Discussing Wallice Chambers" almost idolise the group, Pollard's vocals more a tribute than anything else. It's an underrated, silly 'n' tickled fan-album, but it shares some distinct qualities with anything up until the band's final release: pop off-the-wall and overly revealing lyricism that ends hollow and fun. Above all, it has all that indiosyncraticy - so who cares who they're ripping off.

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