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)