The Cyrkle: Neon (1967) MONO CL 2632

Folk Pop band The Cyrkle hit it big in 1966 with the Paul Simon penned "Red Rubber Ball" and also had a minor hit with another tune, "Turn Down Day". The band's first album featured those two singles and a mix of more jangly folk pop tunes and frat rock. It was a bit of a mixed bag as only a handful of tracks really stand out.

But they really improved the quality of their material on their second and final album Neon, released on Columbia records in 1967. The folk pop sound is still there, but the sunshiney-ness of their debut record is now replaced with darker, slightly psychedelic undertones, especially on the hypnotic psych-folk tunes "I Wish You Could Be Here" and "Don't Cry, No Fears..." and the gorgeously mellow, bossanova inflected "The Visit". But, songs like the band original "Weight of Your Words" and their cover of the Beatle's "I'm Happy Just To Dance With You" still retain that jangle that made the band a hit a year prior to this. There's a great rendition of a Burt Bacharach tune "It Doesn't Matter Anymore", originally performed by Ricky Nelson, but the Cyrkle turn in a more subtle and grooving version of this great jazzy folk song. The highlight of the album for me is the final track, "I'm Not Sure What I Wanna Do", a bouncy little psych-pop tune with great farfisa organ work and a galloping rhythm track. A really fun album and one of the better lost psych-pop records from the era.

The version I'm presenting you with here is the rare mono mix, ripped by me from an original vinyl copy pressed in '67. The mono mix is pretty different from the stereo mix in that it offers substantially more clarity and the rhythm section is much more prominent in the mix, giving it that classic mono punch. Since the mono version has been out of print for years, I figured I'd share it here: http://www.mediafire.com/?iq265xjhmr4c8ma

Converted from the .WAV files by dbpoweramp using LAME 3.97 into 320 VBR. Enjoy.

-Casey

The Association: Birthday (1968) Now Sounds Mono Reissue

The Association are one of those bands that still get frequent airplay on oldies radio stations and at the same time are highly regarded within Sunshine Pop collector and fan circles. The six (and sometimes seven) piece band out of L.A. hit the top of the charts twice, first in 1966 with the chiming ballad "Cherish" and the following year with the choral pop hit "Windy". They nearly hit the top spot a third time with the classic "Never My Love" which hit the #2 spot in 1967. But their deeper album cuts were often as good, and in many cases better than their hits.

Their first record is an oddity. Produced by the legendary Sunshine Pop guru Curt Boettcher, And then...Along Comes the Association (1966) was an unusual mix of the band-preferred folk rock and Boettcher's signature experimental instrumental and vocal blends. Curt, however insisted that he use studio musicians to play the band's instrumental tracks which, of course, led to the ultimate parting of ways, even though the album managed to climb to #5 on the Billboard LP Charts. Their second album, Renaissance, was a much different sounding affair, and much more in tune with the band's folk roots. It lacked a legitimate hit single though, as the band chose the brilliant acid-pop song "Pandorra's Golden Heebie Jeebies" as the lead-off single. Needless to say, it was a little bit too much for the teeny boppers to handle (especially in 1966!) and failed to make any real impact on the pop charts. The rest of Renaissance fails to live up to that song though as many of the tracks come off as a bit bland. The lack of a focused and innovative producer was probably the reason for the sophomore slump the band experienced with Renaissance, but that was soon remedied as the established hit-maker Bones Howe stepped in to produce their third and fourth albums. 1967's Insight Out was their best album to date and it produced the two aforementioned massive hits "Windy" and "Never My Love". Although neither of those two tracks were written by the band themselves the rest of the album's were by and large original compositions from the band members, often writing songs individually.

I really think Bones Howe saved this group, he gave the Association a sound that was much more suited to the band. While Boettcher's production was densely layered and tightly packed (which in itself was a very interesting sound), Howe's production gave the band's expansive vocal harmonies room to breathe among the loose and breezy instrumental tracks, played mostly by the famous Wrecking Crew.

This brings us to Birthday, released in 1968, was the Association's finest album statement. The album was mostly made up of original band composition's mainly by guitarist Jim Yester and vocalist/recorder-ist Terry Kirkman, although Russ Giguere, Larry Ramos and drummer Ted Bleuchel each contributed one song. But it's the album's sound that to me is most alluring. The band's harmonies are clearly the star of the show as Howe's production smartly keeps them front and center. The instrumental blends are nice and subtle, mostly loose drumming from Hal Blaine, some catchy bass lines from Joe Osborne and great echoey, spaced out electric guitar from studio legends Mike Deasy and Tommy Tedesco. Even the orchestral touches are far away from the foreground of the mix, almost barely audible in some places but adding a nice ambiance to the sound scapes.

The album opener "Come On In" (one of the three tunes on the record that is not an original band composition) sets the scene perfectly. Cascading waves of vocal harmonies along side a driving bass line really makes this a highlight of the album. Other fantastic tunes are Kirkman's gorgeous "Everything that Touches You", probably the best example of the sheer complexity and versatility of the 6 part harmony sound that these guys were known for. "Toymaker" and "Rose Petals" are loungey slow burners each with a fantastic vocal from Yester and soothing, airy backing harmonies from the rest of the gang. Yester's "Barefoot Gentleman" is truly a haunting song, with a somber mood and philosophical lyrics that, according to the liner notes, evoked sobs from those who came into the studio to hear the band record the track.  Although the album art suggests psychedelia, this album is Sunshine Pop at it's purest form and may be one of the best examples of the genre.

Now Sound's Mono issue is truly the best way to hear this album as the stereo mix suffers from many errors that would plague other stereo mixes from the era, most notably the dreaded "instruments on one channel, vocals on the other" mix. The mono mix strikes the perfect balance as the harmonies are so "wide screen" that even in the mono mix they really engulf everything, so listening on headphones is a pleasure. Pick it up at specialty record shop or just go on amazon and order a copy.

-Casey (twitter.com/thewaykpsu)

The Smoke (US): S/T (1968)

After the talented songwriter/vocalist Michael Lloyd left the fabled psych-pop outfit the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band in 1967, he soon formed another group called October Country. Mostly a solo project, they released a few singles and one LP on the Epic label in late '67/ early '68 to little fanfare. He continued on however, signing to Sidewalk records and forming a new "group" (still basically just a Lloyd solo project) called the Smoke. The Smoke released one very nice Soft-psychedelic LP in 1968 that went nowhere commercially and has since remained forgotten, and it still hasn't been given a proper reissue, which is a shame because its a nice album.

Most of the songs on this album are in the lite-psych/soft pop vein, baring a pretty strong Beatles influence at times and also shares some similar qualities to other then popular LA avant-pop acts like Harpers Bizarre and Van Dyke Parks. The production and arrangements are very well done, done by mostly Lloyd who at the time was only about 20 years old. Lloyd's vocals are pretty great throughout, a great breathy high tenor that cuts through the mix nicely. At times the album plays like an uptempo psych-pop/rocker with tracks like "Gold Is the Color Of Thought", "Fogbound" and "October Country", with plentiful vocal harmonies, sparkly guitars and blasts of hammond and farfisa organ. At other times the album can be sparse and introspective (Songs like "Self Analysis", "Umbrella" and "Looking Through the Mirror"). And also by employing the use of strings and interludes to divvy up some of the tracks in a very Van Dyke Parks-esque way, you can tell he's aiming for a Song Cycle type feel in certain places, especially in the opening track, "Cowboys and Indians", an episodic piece about the expansion of the American West, driven by a descending "Lucifer Sam"-esque guitar riff and crashing drums and "Odyssey", the closing track featuring heavy use of an electric harpsichord (probably a Roxichord) and a great brass arrangement. Although the results aren't quite up to the standards of Parks' monumental debut album, the results are still great throughout the record.

Unfortunately, the album didn't stand a chance, given that it was on a no-name label and there was zero promotion to speak of. The Original LP is very hard to track down, and it hasn't been legitimately re-issued on CD, although it has been bootlegged by several small collectors' labels. 

Highlights: Gold Is the Color of Thought, Odyssey, Umbrella, Cowboys and Indians. 

While we patiently await the release of this album in a legitimate re-issue format, you can listen to my copy of Acid Ray's CD bootleg copy that I tracked down at a record store a few years ago. Ripped in EAC at 320 vbr by yours truly: http://www.mediafire.com/?ainw0r55whzp5s5

-Casey (twitter.com/thewayKPSU)

Orpheus: S/T (1971)

The Boston based band Orpheus is another one of those strange lost bands from the 60s that still hasnt quite found a resurgence in interest from even fans of the sunshine and baroque pop genres. The group's sound, produced by Alan Lorber, had a distinct and heavy orchestral sheen to it, on almost every track, a trademark of the genre, although the band's songs were mainly rooted in folk music. Their biggest success came early in their career as they scored a hit in late '67 with the beautiful song "I Can't Find the Time to Tell You", written by the band's lead singer and frontman Bruce Arnold. Along with Arnold, the band featured Jack Mckennes on guitar, Eric "the Snake" Gulliksen on bass and Harry Sandler on drums (although mostly studio musicians would play on their first album). Signed to MGM records, who at the time were trying to create a music scene in Boston that would rival the then wildly popular psychedelic San Fransisco music scene, Lorber dubbed the scene the Bosstown Sound. MGM had signed acid rock acts like the Ultimate Spinach, Beacon Street Union and the psych-popsters Chamaeleon Church to appeal to fans of the new psychedelic sound, and although Orpheus was the main act for this new Bosstown Sound campaign, they were hands down the least psychedelic and most radio ready band that Lorber had to offer. But, they were probably the best out of those groups, due to Arnold and his writing partner Steve Martin (no relation to the actor/musician/whatever he thinks he is) consistently producing good original material for their albums. Their first two albums, (Orpheus S/T (1968) and Ascending) were fine examples of baroque pop as Alan Lorber's production is top notch, although, if youre not a fan of orchestral accompaniment those albums are probably not for you as strings and brass dominate the instrumental backing tracks. Their third album, Joyful, was a bit of a departure from the first two, a bit quieter and baring obvious folk and jazz influences, but it may have been their strongest yet. By 1969, Orpheus were struggling for a repeat of their early commercial success, although they had established considerable regional popularity in New England and were known as a solid live act (apparently they blew The Who off the stage when they opened for them in Boston). Orpheus broke up briefly in 1970 (I think), but Arnold and his collaborator Steve Martin still were playing together in a band called Two Foot Lamb Door. They had written some new material and got the OK from Alan Lorber to continue on using the Orpheus name. So they went back in to the studio to record album number 4, this time as basically a duo consisting of Arnold and Martin, backed up by Lorber's studio musicians.

The album that resulted was a very unusual album, and one that certainly was the furthest departure from their earlier sound. The material here is dark and brooding, as opposed to their earlier "lovestruck" themed material. Martin is even featured as lead vocalist on a few of the albums best tracks and his eerie vocal delivery contrasts starkly from Arnold's low tenor croon. The album kicks off with a fantastic song, "Big Green Pearl", a big, soaring Baroque/Folk number with a terrific hook, mystical lyrics and nice vocals and harmonies from Arnold. Lorber's orchestral touch is most evident on this track. I believe this was the single they attempted to make a comeback with, but it didnt make much chart impact. The next track covers very different territory, "Monkey Demon", is a Steve Martin song and vocal. A slow burning folk number, with some jazzy electric piano and nice brushwork on the drums. Martin's vocals here are really cool and moody. The next track, "It Gets Worse Everytime" finds Orpheus at their most stripped down, just acoustic guitar, bass, drum and another nice vocal from Martin. The songs got a bit of a Stones vibe, probably the closest Orpheus ever got to recording a blues-rock tune, and its not too bad. But the follow up track, Arnold's "I Wanna Be Your Lover" is a gorgeous folk-pop tune. No rhythm section in this one, just a couple acoustic guitar tracks, some surprisingly tasteful steel drums and marimbas, and a wonderful vocal from Arnold, one of his best ever. The mid point of the album may be the weakest section as "Nunnery" and "Sweet Life" are kind of out place bare bones rock tunes that dont particularly suit Lorber's production and Martin and Arnold's vocals very well. But the album finished with some very fine tracks, "Tomorrow Man" is a haunting psych-folk song with another stripped down arrangement, letting Arnold's precise and deliberate vocal take center stage. "Rainbow Peddler" is another album highlight. Starts off with a quiet and creepy Martin folk intro then builds in to a big stirring chorus where the song turns in to a full bore psychedelic roots rocker, with a prominent (and awesome) harmonica track. Very cool song. Next up is "I'll Be There", another throwback to the Orpheus sound of old and a very solid one at that. A heavenly melody and vocal from Arnold is accompanied by some nice orchestra work from Lorber. The album finishes with a stripped down reprise of "Big Green Pearl", with Steve Martin on vocals, slowing the tempo down with just an acoustic guitar and touch of piano. Very appropriate close to a pretty odd, but very interesting album. This album takes a few listens to really sink in, as it its cold exterior can be a little off putting the first time through. But give it time, and you'll find some very rewarding material on here.

Because of the extremely limited availability of Orpheus's material on CD, I am posting my own personal vinyl rip here, sourced from an original copy. This is only intended to be a preview for the listener so he or she can buy the record themselves.
https://rapidshare.com/files/2855702197/Orpheus_1971.rar

WARNING: the song "Sweet Life" didn't transfer so well during the rip so that one skips like crazy. The other tracks sound good though, better than the impossible to find re-issue CDs.

-Casey (twitter.com/thewaykpsu)

Harpers Bizarre: The Secret Life of Harper's Bizarre (1968)

The Harpers Bizarre may be of the most misunderstood and wrongfully ignored bands from the 60s. Well...they may not have been a band in the typical sense of the word to begin with. Autumn Records signed the Tikis in 66 or 67, who were then composed of Ted Templeman, Dick Scoppetone, Dick Yount, John Petersen and Eddie James. Apparently, Randy Newman was said to have been a member of the Tikis for a brief while. When Autumn Records was bought by Warner Bros. in 67, budding producer Lenny Waronker picked the Tikis to do a version of Paul Simon's 59th Street Bridge Song. Waronker's version featured an orchestral woodwind backing track and thick layers of choral harmonies sung almost entirely by Templeman and Scoppetone. One of the most breathtaking moments of 60s AM radio pop occurs when the instruments drop out at the one and a half minute mark of the song, leaving the only angelic, interweaving vocal harmonies. The band's name was changed to Harpers Bizarre and the single was released to very good commercial reception, peaking at #13 on the Billboard Hot 100. After the success of the single they recorded their debut album named after the hit single called Feelin' Groovy. The record featured songs by the likes of Van Dyke Parks and Randy Newman, as did the follow up LP issued later that year called Anything Goes, a pseudo-concept album centered around the motif of Cole Porter's classic ragtime-jazz tune of the same name. Few of Templeman and Scoppetone's fine original tunes would make the first few records and according to Scoppetone they had to fight tooth and nail with Waronker and WB to get their originals on the albums. However, the B-side to their rendition of Glen Miller's "Chattanooga Choo-Choo", which was a minor hit in late 1967, was a dazzling, horn and string laden cheery, broadway-type tune called "Hey, You in the Crowd" ,penned by Templeman, that did enjoy some chart success in a few markets across the country.

The sound the Harpers and Waronker were going for were far removed from what was considered "cool". This is not a rock 'n' roll band by any means. Drawing inspiration from the music of 1920s, particularly George Gershwin and the Tin Pan Alley sounds, they sought to meld those influences with the burgeoning sound of complex studio pop of the mid-1960s. Templeman and Scoppetone, often singing duel lead vocals on almost all of their songs, both sing in high tenor voices not unlike what some people might describe as "choir-boy" esque. As un-hip as they may have seemed in the public eye, they were surrounded by some of the most innovative and challenging talents that the LA music scene had to offer, most prominently the aforementioned Randy Newman and Van Dyke Parks. Templeman revealed in an interview in the late 1990s that Newman and Parks often played and sang on the Harper's records, but went uncredited. Harry Nilsson even wrote a song specifically for the Harpers called "Poly High" and was released as a single (that flopped, despite a fantastic vocal arrangement from the Harpers), a song that would eventually end up the soundtrack to Nilsson's made-for-TV animated special, 'The Point!' in 1971.

By 1968, the band's popularity had waned, but were still one of the bigger draws on Warner Bros. Waronker and the Harpers went on to release their third album entitled, 'The Secret Life of Harpers Bizarre', which many Harpers fans consider to be their finest album statement. Although they had already dabbled with the concept album on 'Anything Goes', 'the Secret Life...' was a full on concept album, with each song effortlessly flowing into the next (not unlike, say, Dark Side of the Moon). The concept you ask? Well, there may not have been one. The best way I can describe the feel of this record is that it's as if you're listening to the score of some dreamy, and mildly psychedelic, broadway musical that takes place in a dream. The song selection is obscure, but fantastic. It starts with a stirring rendition of "Look to the Rainbow", a song that was indeed originally from a successful broadway musical called 'Finian's Rainbow' that was first performed in 1947. The blissful opening passage of the album quickly takes a sharp detour into much different territory as the Harpers do a fine version of the country classic 'the Battle of New Orleans' made famous by Johnny Horton in 1959. Banjo and gunfire sound effects are used to great affect as it captures a feeling of early Americana. The next song, 'When I Was a Cowboy' is in a similar vein, but instead of the chaos of the war of 1812, we find the Harpers gently drifting across the western plains. The song is anchored by a rustic and delta-bluesy guitar riff, propelled by fantastic brush work on the drums, a baritone sax, and the Harpers typical soft, angelic vocal harmonies. What follows is an album highlight, a delicately soft and dream like version of the Doris Day standard 'Sentimental Journey'. The song's sparkling guitars and gorgeous harmonies float alongside the quiet lead vocal and subtle organ track. Just beautiful. It next segues into a Templeman-Scoppetone original, 'Las Mananitas'. A very nice tune that fits perfectly along side of the rest of the album's more standard oriented material. A short, peaceful song with marimba, accordian and mandolin and another great duel lead vocal from Dick and Ted. Another highlight. The first side of the record closes with a Newman composition, "Vine Street", that showed up as the lead off track on VDP's debut album 'Song Cycle' and "Me, Japanese Boy", a Burt Bacharach song, done much better here by the Harpers than by Bobby Goldsboro, who had first done this Bacharach tune in 1964. The record is spliced together with "interludes" which are mostly brief and heavily reverberated samples of earlier Harper's tunes, giving a feeling of the band faintly remembering the past as they roll through uncharted territory.

The second side begins with the Gershwin tune 'I'll Build a Stairway to Paradise', which features a terrific orchestral arrangement from producer Lenny Waronker and again, great, soft vocals from the band. Another great original tune from Dick and Ted follows called 'Green Apple Tree', very similar in mood to 'Las Mananitas'. The next song, 'Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat', a number from the Guys and Dolls musical may be the one weak link on the record. It's a nice arrangement but the gospel singers featured on the song dont contrast well with the vocals from the Harpers. But after another interlude, the album begins it's magnificent closing stretch with another home-spun song that captures that early Americana feeling, 'I Love You, Mama'. The song was written and arranged for the band by former Beau Brummel member Ron Elliot. Two tracks later, 'Mad', another standout of the album is a peppy little horn driven number written by Dick and Ted, once again proving that their originals were just as strong as the standards and classics they were covering.

Perhaps the albums finest moments come just one track later, as a reprise of 'Look to the Rainbow' segues into the albums majestic closing number, 'The Drifter', written by the brilliant Roger Nichols. The song is about the most appropriate finale to an album that has taken us all across the country, in different eras and regions from the Louisiana Bayou, the Midwestern Plains, sunny California and the Broadway stages of New York. 'The Drifter' lyrically is about the inner desire to keep on moving, despite his intentions to settle down. Lenny Waronker pulls out all the stops with the arrangement on this one, with fantastic brass and woodwind interplay that complements the ethereal harmonies of Templeman and Scoppetone. A perfect finish to a nearly perfect album.

The Harpers would go on to release one more album, 'Harpers Bizarre 4' (another very good record, with the most input from band members thus far) and then split up until a brief reunion in the mid seventies. Templeman claims he didn't enjoy the recording sessions of 'the Secret Life' as much as he did their other albums, but they were in good hands with their producer Lenny Waronker, who crafted much of the album's flow himself. To me, this is the Harper's finest album statement, which has been sadly forgotten by all but the truest sunshine and baroque pop enthusiasts. It's a must listen.

-Casey (twitter.com/thewayKPSU)