The Orange Groove – Crystal Blue Persuasion And Other Sounds Of Today (1969)

Artist: The Orange Groove
Title: Crystal Blue Persuasion And Other Sounds Of Today
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Somerset

Released by the L.A. based Somerset label which was apparently part of Alshire Records, 1969′s “Crystal Blue Persuasion and Other Sounds of Today” is actually a little different from other exploito albums in that nine of the ten tracks are uncredited originals.

Like other exploito offerings, the set is anonymous – generic packaging with no performance or writing credits. It was clearly conceived as a throwaway product aimed at wringing disposable income out of unknowing consumers. That said, the title track is a rote cover of the Tommy James hit, while the nine originals all exhibit a goofy, low-tech charm.

Exemplified by material like “Down Home Baby”, “Sockerina” and “Poppy’s To Be Picked” about half of the tracks are throwaway, keyboard propelled instrumentals. Far more interesting are psych-ish numbers like “Can’t You See I’m Right”, the fuzz guitar propelled “Troubled People” and “Street King”(the latter sounding like The Chipmunks on a bad acid trip). Love to know what ‘Land of Fusan’ is about … swamp-rock meets Korea? (Bad Cat)

Track Listing

1. Crystal Blue Persuasion
2. A Bad Trip Back To ’69
3. Can’t You See I’m Right
4. Down Home Baby
5. Street King
6. Sockerina
7. Land Of Fusan
8. Poppy’s To Be Picked
9. Troubled People
10. More Than Now
    

Sagittarius – The Blue Marble [Original Vinyl] (1969)

Artist: Sagittarius
Title: The Blue Marble
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Together

The Blue Marble bears the stamp of producer Gary Usher (mostly remembered from his work with the Beach Boys and the Byrds) who “dresses” his pop with sophisticated baroque arrangements (strings, brass, glockenspiels, organs, moogs, chorals).

Check the panoramic harmonies of “In My Room”, the lush sunshine-pop “From You Unto Us”, the sugary r’n'b “Will You Ever See Me”, the kaleidoscopic funfair “Gladys”, the dreamy lullaby “I Sing My Song”, the breathy teenage fantasy “Blue Marble” etc.

The only problem is that the second half of the album is weaker (“Lend Me A Smile”, “I Still Can See Your Face”, “I See In You”), both in memorable melodies and interesting arrangements. However fans of Ladybug Transistor or Belle And Sebastian should take note and check the original thing. The first six tracks are well worth a download. (ILY RYM)

Track Listing

1. In My Room
2. From You Unto Us
3. Will You Ever See Me
4. Gladys
5. I Sing My Song
6. The Blue Marble
7. Lend Me A Smile
8. I Still Can See Your Face
9. I See In You
10. Cloud Talk
    

October Country – October Country [Original Vinyl] (1968)

Artist: October Country
Title: October Country
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Epic

October Country was a short lived “band” fronted by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band leader/virtuoso Michael Lloyd (For another great Lloyd album, see the January 9th, 2010 post of The Smoke).

Lloyd wrote, produced, sang lead and background vocals and played all kinds of instruments on the record. The record itself was engineered by Roy Halee, a legendary west coast engineer who worked on the Millennium’s “Begin” album as well as some historic Simon and Garfunkel cuts.

If you’ve heard “Come to the Sunshine”, (the Van Dyke Parks‘ produced track), by the Harpers Bizarre, then this record will ring some familiar bells as you’re playing it. Most of the album resonates on the same frequency as those west coast pop “divas” work; cheery twee-pop that bounces and jingles with light subject matter intended to make it’s listener smile

Ultimately I have found though, that the lack of a direction that too much “sky-high-airy” music brings catches up with discerning listeners, resulting in every track feeling and sounding very VERY similar.

If the production were on the same par as say, Gary Usher produced Sagittarius, then this album would have been a classic; unfortunately it lacked a dedicated producer at the controls to reign it all in. Inventive lyrics and fun arrangements, however, do abound on the album in similar Gary Usher or even Curt Boettcher style, even if the production doesn’t elevate them to the plateau that those 2 producers often reached in their 60′s productions.

(Imagine a Goldenbriars-themed Boettcher simply continuing on in that vein of style and sense and it isn’t a stretch to think he could’ve done this album. Luckily, though… he moved onto bigger and better things.)

Needless to say, this album rubbed me the wrong way at first; (I’m personally not too much of a fan of the Harpers Bizarre and similar sounding groups), but after I realized that Lloyd sang/wrote/produced the WHOLE album… my opinion changed somewhat. If you treat this album as an essential “solo” album for Lloyd with some semi-competent background musicians and an occasional horn arrangement…then it is a pretty impressive feat indeed.

He is a competent, (if not overly underachieving) vocalist, good guitar player and arranger. He understood at a young age exactly how a record should sound, and calling him a prodigy for that fact isn’t a misnomer. The only studio personality that I can think of that is similar in feel and design to Lloyd would have to be the aforementioned Curt Boettcher of the Millennium.

Unfortunately for Lloyd, though, he never got a true opportunity to work with someone as gifted as he in terms of songwriting (Boettcher always surrounded himself with the likes of Lee Mallory, Sandy Salisbury etc)… so he hasn’t and probably never will get the credit he deserves in that respect. (William Bourque)

Track Listing

1. October Country
2. Painted Sky
3. Little Boy Smiling
4. She’s Been Away
5. Good To Be Around
6. I Wish I Was A Fire
7. Cowboys And Indians
8. I Just Don’t Know
9. End Of The Line
10. My Girlfriend Is A Witch
11. Caryle’s Theme
    

Peppermint Trolley Co. – Peppermint Trolley Co. (1968)

Artist: Peppermint Trolley Co.
Title: Peppermint Trolley Co.
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Atca

The Peppermint Trolley Co. were formed in 1966 in Redwoood , California and consisted of
Bob Cheevers (vocals, guitar), Jimmie Faragher (bass, guitar, saxophone), Danny Faragher (keyboards), Casey Cunningham (guitar, flute) and Greg Tornouist (drums).

“This goes to prove sunlight is so very much more than the physical object that illumines the corners of your dawn morning room as you awaken to a wintery wet windy windswept grey england. In other words a little sunshine – however fake at the time – can come in all sorts of shapes and sonic manifestations.

And wherever you are and whenever you are, art and music is there with some kind of daft love to give promise and FUN. If only what the guys are wearing on the cover was the uniform of da cops, teachers, engine drivers, taxmen, scientists, biologists, thinkers, drinkers and kinkers everywhere.

We know arch cynic Frank Zappa would have said it was the worst kind of uniform, but hey, vertical stripes will be way cool for ever and ever, no matter what anyone says. Yeh, you got the cover image to support your likes/prejudices, and the music may not blow your mind entirely, and we don’t wanna lord it over naff LP ‘s, but you know you gotta like this really you hep cats, and like be on the scene, in the scene, be now NOW, and FREAK TO THE PEAK!!!” (mykepsych RYM)

Track Listing

1. I’ve Got To Be Going
2. Baby You Come Rollin’ ‘Cross My Mind
3. I Remember Long Ago
4. Put Your Burden Down
5. Reflections
6. Beautiful Sun
7. Trust
8. Sunrise
9. Free
10. Pat’s Song
11. Fatal Fallacy
12. Lollipop Train [bonus 1966 Valiant single]
13. Bored To Tears [bonus 1966 Valiant single]
14. Original Brady Bunch Theme [bonus]
    

The Lewis And Clarke Expedition – The Lewis And Clarke Expedition [Vinyl] (1967)

Artist: The Lewis And Clarke Expedition
Title: The Lewis And Clarke Expedition
Year: 1967
Format: LP
Label: Colgems

1966 found Travis Lewis (aka Michael Martin Murphey) and Boomer Clarke (aka Owen Castleman) paying their bills as songwriters for Screen Gems. Originally from Dallas, Texas, Lewis/Murphey was a passing acquaintance of Mike Nesmith.

The connection helped the pair place one of their compositions “What Am I Doing Hangin’ Round” with the Monkees, in the process bringing them to the attention of Colgems which quickly recognized their potential and signed them to a recording contract.

Produced by Jack Keller and built around the talent of Lewis and Clarke (the line up rounded out by multi-instrumentalist Ken Bloom, guitarist John London and drummer Johnny Raines) actually debuted with an instantly obscure 1966 single for the small Chartmaster label.

While parallels to The Monkees were apparent,there were also some major difference; notably the fact the band were all capable musicians and namesakes Lewis and Clarke were responsible for the majority of material.

That said, their debut was easily as good as anything in The Monkees catalog. Musically varied, the set included stabs at shimmering top-40 pop (“I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)”), folk-rock (“This Town Ain’t the Same Anymore”), vaudeville (“Everybody Loves a Fire”), raga (“House Of My Sorrow”), ecological messages (“Chain Of Flowers”) and Byrds-styled jangle-rock (“Blue Revelation”).

Rounded out by strong melodies and tight harmonies, mid-1960s pop simply didn’t get much better. Highlights included the goofy ‘Spirit of Argyle High’ and the extended suite “Memorial To the American Indian” which included one of the first covers of J.D. Loudermilk’s “(The Lament Of) The Cherokee Reservation Indian” I’ve ever heard (coming a full three years before The Raiders’ hit).

Unfortunately, with Colgems devoting most of it’s energy to marketing The Monkees, neither the band nor the LP or much in the way of promotional support. Needless to say, it failed to chart. (Bad Cat)

Track Listing

1. Windy Day
2. Freedom Bird
3. Spirit Of Argyle High
4. This Town Ain’t The Same
5. Everybody Loves A Fire
6. House Of My Sorrow
7. I Feel Good (I Feel Bad)
8. (I Call Them) Lies
9. Destination Unknown
10. Chain Around The Flowers
11. Blue Revelations
12. Memorial To The American Indian: I. Legend Of The Creation II. Send Me Rain III. Red Cloud’s Farewell To His Tribe IV. (The Lament) The Cherokee Reservation
13. Daddy’s Plastic Child [bonus]
    

The Inner Dialogue – Friend (1970)

Artist: The Inner Dialogue
Title: Friend
Year: 1970
Format: LP
Label: Ranwood

“Friend”, the second album by the Inner Dialogue (see June 21, 2010 post for their first LP) is not nearly as interesting as their debut being a bit more on the commercial side (it contains a few covers such as “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head” and “Carolina On My Mind” which were targeted for single release), but still a pleasant LP with it’s syrupy sweet, female vocal harmony flower pop and mild lounge flavor. It’s got tons of period flavor. (tymeshifter RYM)

Track Listing

1. Where’s The Love
2. Portrait Of Me
3. Made To Measure
4. Cry, Baby, Cry
5. Raindrops Keep Fallin’ On My Head
6. Friend
7. Carolina On My Mind
8. Loving
9. Together
10. Too Much For Me
11. Chairs
12. Where It’s At
    

The Tuneful Trolley – Island In The Sky (1968)

Artist: The Tuneful Trolley
Title: Island In The Sky
Year: 1968
Format: LP
Label: Capitol

Just when you think every collector has discovered every album in the Capitol records catalog,
then out of nowhere pops up something that was overlooked somehow. An example of this would be the album by The Tuneful Trolley, “Island In The Sky” originally released on Capitol records (1968).

The Tuneful Trolley were six high school kids from Suffolk County, Long Island who went from playing dances and restaurant gigs to a brush with the big time when they were discovered by Sandy Yaguda of Jay & The Americans fame.

Yaguda took the band under his wing, gave them their name (they had been “The Mark of Quality” when Yaguda first heard them), got them a deal with Capitol Records, and produced their first and only album, 1969′s Island In The Sky.

After the record Island In The Sky sank in the marketplace, the Tuneful Trolley split up, and most of the members did little or nothing in music afterward, which is surprising when you hear the album — Island In The Sky is hardly a masterpiece, but given the group’s age and inexperience(all of which were under 18 years of age at the time), it’s impressive stuff, full of engaging pop tunes (most written by the group), solid vocal harmonies, tasteful arrangements well-executed by the band, which are of professional quality!

Personally, this sounds a little more to me like it would be on the sunshine pop genre side of things, as opposed to psychedelic pop, but regardless, there is still much to be cherished about this album with the high quality in the songwriting and how a group of teens with little musical experience could amazingly pull off such a high quality album, sounding prematurely advanced for it’s time!

Currently, this has been reissued on cd, but if you prefer to find an original, they will cost you from anywhere from $50.00-$70.00 currently on the collectors market. I have seen them for much cheaper in other places, but are still getting hard to find for a reasonable prices nowadays.

Definitely one to check out for both psych and sunshine pop fans if you haven’t heard this before and is worth seeking out. A collectible 60′s treasure to be cherished…………… (RecordFanatic)

Hey hey we’re the Monkees?….oops Trolley cos they’ve pumped up the bump and toned down the teenydom by, once again, focussing in on the vibe from ‘over the pond’?

‘Theme’ kicks off with a mundane singing but with fierce fuzz backing and manic samba timpani and we close off with doo-wop oooh ahhs! ‘Hello Love’…has piano intro and breathy vocals, in comes the fuzz guitar….and the drummer kicks up a storm….this is poppy…..we get treated to some trumpet Mexicali….pop with a twist….
‘Sunny Days’…takes us into sunshine-pop land….chunky and catchy for Sunday morning listening…..

‘Georgianna Peach Pie’…..another slice of a chunky and catchy pop song….with comic touches…the guitar on show is out of the Bert Weedon guitar tutor….

‘Lady’….starts out and stops and kicks in with a new tune and an earnest singer piling in the ‘dreamy’ side of the ‘psyche and such’ on show…the horns come in and pump up a distant Sagittarius feel….the piano player has a field day…there is a lot going on here and the song’s structure is the most complex on show…so far…

‘M.A.C.K’….is an anthem to motherhood…sounds like an outtake from a Marmalade album….this will go down well in the homes of white/Christians….. ‘Lovely Day’…has a heavier vibe going on with an insistent beat and it takes us back into days of constant ‘sunshine’…..but the song goes nowhere special?

‘Written Charter’ has a noble keyboard entrance which again cuts out into a fuzz guitar tune and the vocalist disappears beneath the ‘smoke’….the song takes us into a manic lawyer’s office…and there is a nod to the Brits…(and their influence is written all over The Tuneful Trolley?)…hey hey the boys are out to be ‘socially relevant’ here……

‘I Got You Around’ has the boys inside a pretty little tune with their girl on their arm…let’s head out for some sugar candy and let’s sip a cool lemonade….we are back within the safe cosy world of smooth as silk ‘pop’……
‘My Apple Pie’…has a stronger, huskier voice on show and the arrangement is tuffer….this is a weird little organ/guitar fest….THIS IS A STAND OUT FOR ME….

We’ve had an anthem for Mom…now we are treated to a treatise on her brother, ‘Uncle Joe’s Armada’…we have a bit of ‘backward’ taping fuzz…Beatle type Penny Lane trumpets…and into a bit of a comedy record of complicated lyrics mouthed at break-neck speed…this track is kooky and a fine way to end this fine album of pretty straight pop songs played with a ‘psyche n such’ edge…Recommended listening to lovers of fuzz and whimsy…. (Cy at Pck)

Track Listing

1. The Tuneful Trolley Theme
2. Hello Love
3. Sunny Days
4. Georgianna Peach Pie
5. Lady (With The Tangerine Blouse)
6. M.A.C.K. (Mother’s Authoritive Collection Of Knowledge)
7. Lovely Day
8. Wrutten Charter
9. I Got You Around
10. My Apple Pie
11. Uncle Joe’s Armada
    

Fargo – I See It Now (1969)

Artist: Fargo
Title: I See It Now
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: RCA Victor

Salt Lake City-based psych-pop duo Fargo teamed Tony Decker and Dean Wilden. After debuting in 1968 with the Capitol single “Robins, Robins,” the pair signed with RCA in 1969 when their LP “I See It Now” was released.

Produced by Martin Cooper and arranged by Al Capps, who was best known for his work with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, among others, their album met with virtually no commercial recognition (probably due to poor promotion), and soon after Fargo dissolved.

“In the words of Frank Zappa: “It can’t happen here”, a lyric lifted from a piece on his 1966 album, Freak Out, he was just merely questioning whether or not a music scene could have existed in other places of the U.S. during the 60′s besides Los Angeles. How about Salt Lake City, Utah?

As much as Salt Lake City, Utah would seem like the most unlikely hot bed for any music scene to occur, yes it did happen there………

Fargo were a duo who released one album entitled, I See It Now, for RCA Victor in 1969. The album is pleasant psychedelic pop, with some great vocal harmonies, and the musicianship, along with the orchestral backing in spots is quite strong.

The down side of the album, though, is that there aren’t really any real stand out tracks, and can take some time to grow on you. However, once you listen to the album and it gets inside of your brain, then you’re hooked.

With that said, the album may not be a classic or masterpiece, but all in all is a very wise purchase not just for the psych collector in mind, but it is also not a musical disappointment either.

With the price online being no more than just a mere $15.00-$30.00, the album is also a wise investment that could appreciate in value one day as it draws more attention to a larger audience.

Not too much is known about Fargo, other than the group consisted of the duo, Tony Decker and Dean Wilden. The album did not really sell by any stretch at the time, due to lack of promotion from RCA records. Fargo dissolved thereafter.” (RecordFanatic)

Track Listing

1. ‘Round About Way Of Describing Our Situation
2. Long Goodbye
3. Sound Of It
4. Places Everyone
5. Castles In Wales
6. Talks We Used To Have
7. When The Dew Drops Change Into Teardrops
8. Promises Of Love
9. You Need Me
10. Cross With No Name
11. I See It Now
    

Forever & Ever – The First Look At….. (1967)

Artist: Forever & Ever
Title: The First Look At….
Year: 1967
Format: LP
Label: Jubilee

A poetry of words and music had not beeline of the legacies of rock ‘n roll’s influence on the pop music scene until the recent development of folk rock. When performers came from the field of “pure” folk music and found an eager and hit-making audience among much of the beat generation, it was as predictable as the ending of a western whose hero stands tall on a white horse that a fusion of folk and rock would materialize.

It is my belief that what could have been an artistic holocaust has proven to be extremely beneficial to both musical forms. Folk has rewarded rock with intelligence, insight and melodic interest, while many fascinating rock concepts have come along to underscore the many emotional levels on which fine folk material can be written. Folk music has helped rock ‘n roll come of age. Rock, in turn has provided folk material with an orchestration it has long been in need of.

A fortunate sign that we have by no means heard the last of talented folk-rock performers appears in the arrival of a new duo, FOREVER and EVER. Like their fellow talents in this bag, they are 20th Century minstrels, for Bob Corbin and David Hanner write and render their own material and are thus masters of their own fate in the world of entertainment.

Once “Lost Lambs,” a straight rock group that tried to buck the hard rock market over a two year period, Corbin and Hanner ventured into the folk-rock area in 1966, pooling their versatile talents as singers, musicians and writers to develop vocal arrangements of songs whose poignancy lend such haunting quality to this album.

These songs entail an entire complement of varied folk-rock themes, which, as students of the idiom recognize, involve impressions of a highly personal and imagery-loaded nature. There is, however, less propaganda or, as the euphemists might put it, “protest or message” song material from the pens of Corbin & Hanner than one has been conditioned to expect from this field. Nevertheless, their songs reflect the feelings of talents who are sensitive to man’s relationships with man and certainly, woman.

Happily, the boys do not take everything seriously. There is a charming number here, “Early Morning Bath,” which bathtub tenors should take delight in.

Whether one is inclined toward folk or rock he is likely to have the impression that FOREVER and EVER know what they are writing and singing about. They’ve got a sound and outlook that seems destined to be an important part of a great pop music force, the wide-wide world of folk-rock. (IRV LICHTMAN, Editor In Chief, Cash Box Magazine)

Track Listing

1. Friday Woman
2. Saints And Sinners
3. I Love
4. Travelin’ Man
5. Little Sister
6. And I Love Them
7. The Beautiful Night
8. I’m A Loner
9. Peggy
10. Early Morning Bath
    

The British Casuals – Hour World (1969)

Artist: The British Casuals
Title: Hour World
Year: 1969
Format: LP
Label: Mainstream

Unquestionably the most disappointing rock release on this highly collectable label. The (British) Casuals produced ultra-commercial male vocal pop with horns and orchestration.

The “British” was added to their name for releases on the Mainstream label in the U.S. to differentiate them from the American band, Ronnie and The Casuals. They formed in the UK in the early 60′s, and transfered to Italy in the mid 60′s, returning to Britain after their single “Jesamine” became a hit. (tymeshifter RYM)

Originally formed by John Tebb (piano and vocals) and Howard Newcombe (guitar), they added Don Fortune (drums) and Zenon Kawolski (bass), and became The Casuals in 1961. Upon turning professional in 1962 Fortune and Kawolski left, to be replaced by Mick Brey and Ian Good.

In 1965 they won the TV talent show Opportunity Knocks three times, leading to a recording contract with Fontana Records who issued their debut single “If You Walk Out”, which was unsuccessful. In 1966 Alan “Plug” Taylor (bass) joined, and the band moved to Italy, where they signed with CBS in Milan to record Italian language covers of British hit singles.

These included a #1 Italian single covering the Bee Gees’ “Massachusetts”. Good left in mid 1967, and was not replaced, but when Brey left later that year, Bob O’Brien joined on drums.

In 1968, whilst still in Italy, The Casuals switched to Decca Records, who released the single “Jesamine” which charted, so the band came back from Italy to promote the record, which reached #2 on the UK Singles Chart late in 1968.

“Jesamine” was a cover version of The Bystanders’ “When Jesamine Goes” issued in February 1968, and was co-written by Marty Wilde and Ronnie Scott (the Bystanders’ manager, not the famous jazz musician), under the pseudonym Frere Manston and Jack Gellar.The follow-up single, “Toy” (written by Chris Andrews) also made the Top 40, peaking at #30.

They were also successful in Germany, where “Jesamine” hit #9, and “Toy” went to #27, but their first and only album, Hour World, was issued too late to capitalise on these successful singles. Chris Evans stood in for Newcombe when he was ill, and when Taylor and O’Brien left in 1970, Evans became a permanent member, along with Lloyd Courtney. None of the following four singles managed to chart, and the group was dropped by Decca in 1971.

They signed to Parlophone in 1972 and released “Tara Tiger Girl”, but the single went nowhere, nor did a single “American Jam” for which the band was renamed ‘American Jam Band’, although, as both singles had the same B-side, the link was obvious. They left Parlophone for Dawn Records in 1974, but after their final single, “Good Times”, flopped, they disbanded in 1976. (Wikipedia)

Track Listing

1. Jesamine
2. Toyland
3. Never My Love
4. Fool’s Paradise
5. Now You Can Be
6. Daddy’s Song
7. Hello It’s M
8. Someday Man
9. Touched
10. Sunflower Eyes
11. Hey-Hey-Hey