The Chain Rattlers Orchestra - Winchester Cathedral
Terry Black - Only 16
The Ugly Ducklings - Epilogue
The Majestics - Sweet Soul Music
he big selling point of Toronto’s Yorkville label sampler CTV After Four is, of course, the very FIRST Pink Floyd cover ever, a KILLER crude garage psych take on “See Emily Play” by Three To One, whoever they were. Amazing, too, considering it was a cover recorded the SAME YEAR as the original, which means that Three To One were stealing from the Floyd THIRTY FIVE YEARS before Mars Volta got around to it. That’s some foresight. And while I can’t take anything away from the original (it’s a classic), I kinda prefer this even trippier version, the addition of an avalanche of Star Trek special effects and a little girl who asks “Everyone know how to play” are two nice touches. And for a band to improve on the psychedelic quotient of 1967 Floyd, well, that’s quite an accomplishment, isn’t it?
But there’s more to CTV After Four than that. Scarlet Ribbon’s “Four in the Morning” is a growling garage punker that rides a cool spy theme riff (think a crude teen band take on “Lucifer Sam“ again with the Pink Floyd referencing). And the legendary Ugly Ducklings surprise us with a very unique, orchestrated baroque psych track, “Epilogue”, very different from their album and very British, like, er, that band with Syd Barrett. Am I sensing a THEME here?
There’s also a trippy hippie version of “Downtown” with echoed-out vocals and strumming mandolin performed by one Patricia-Anne, and redubbed “Changin’Time”. And the oddly-named Willapuss Wallapuss turn in a superb Beatles-meets-Brian Wilson slice of harmony pop called “To Jone” stoned soft pop vocals riding on a bouncy bed of banging barrelhouse Paul McCartney piano. So you can see, not EVERYTHING here brings to mind Pink Floyd. But if you’re one of the handful of people who believe Syd Barrett’s not REALLY dead, you might wanna start by checking the phone directories in Toronto. Something’s going on up there. (Collector’s Frenzy)
As promised, this is the sequel album to the album I posted yesterday, Yorkville Evolution, which came out the years before. Both of these LPs were "samplers" that were released on Canada's Yorkville label and they each showed the range of a variety of artists from the Great White North in the late '60s. Both of these albums, by the way, are long out of print but these rips used to be all over the Web. That was a long time ago, however, and they've eince disappeared, so I elected myself to bring 'em back to the people.
Like the previous LP, this one has some familiar names. Canada-only sensation Terry Black turns up again with a cover of Sam Cooke's "Only 16." The Sugar Shoppe checks in with a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter" which is recast as a psychedelic harmony number in the style of the Mama's & the Papa's. Not bad, actually.
Journeyman rocker Ronnie Hawkins also puts in an appearance with a remake of his own "Mary Lou" (a Top 30 U.S. hit) retitled "Mary Jane." It's got slightly different lyrics and a somewhat psychedelic arrangement, but it's still the same song musically and thematically -- i.e. this new girl is also stealing from him. Maybe Hawkins needed to start meeting girls in church or something.
But to my ears the best track is the Willapuss Wallapuss' Beach Boys-styled "To Jone," a gorgeous "pocket symphony" with organs, harpsichords, beautiful harmonies, and an absolutely rousing chorus. Who was this band? According to the folks at Garage Hangover, they were actually an Ontario group called the 5 Rising Sons who recorded under the name Willapuss Wallapuss "for fun" just for this record! That must have brought out the creativity in them because the track is now a minor late-'60s classic and, as such, was immortalized on Volume 15 of the beloved Fading Yellow series. #various
МЕЛОМАНЧИК !
Various-CTV’s After Four 1968
But there’s more to CTV After Four than that. Scarlet Ribbon’s “Four in the Morning” is a growling garage punker that rides a cool spy theme riff (think a crude teen band take on “Lucifer Sam“ again with the Pink Floyd referencing). And the legendary Ugly Ducklings surprise us with a very unique, orchestrated baroque psych track, “Epilogue”, very different from their album and very British, like, er, that band with Syd Barrett. Am I sensing a THEME here?
There’s also a trippy hippie version of “Downtown” with echoed-out vocals and strumming mandolin performed by one Patricia-Anne, and redubbed “Changin’Time”. And the oddly-named Willapuss Wallapuss turn in a superb Beatles-meets-Brian Wilson slice of harmony pop called “To Jone” stoned soft pop vocals riding on a bouncy bed of banging barrelhouse Paul McCartney piano. So you can see, not EVERYTHING here brings to mind Pink Floyd. But if you’re one of the handful of people who believe Syd Barrett’s not REALLY dead, you might wanna start by checking the phone directories in Toronto. Something’s going on up there. (Collector’s Frenzy)
As promised, this is the sequel album to the album I posted yesterday, Yorkville Evolution, which came out the years before. Both of these LPs were "samplers" that were released on Canada's Yorkville label and they each showed the range of a variety of artists from the Great White North in the late '60s. Both of these albums, by the way, are long out of print but these rips used to be all over the Web. That was a long time ago, however, and they've eince disappeared, so I elected myself to bring 'em back to the people.
Like the previous LP, this one has some familiar names. Canada-only sensation Terry Black turns up again with a cover of Sam Cooke's "Only 16." The Sugar Shoppe checks in with a cover of Tim Hardin's "If I Were A Carpenter" which is recast as a psychedelic harmony number in the style of the Mama's & the Papa's. Not bad, actually.
Journeyman rocker Ronnie Hawkins also puts in an appearance with a remake of his own "Mary Lou" (a Top 30 U.S. hit) retitled "Mary Jane." It's got slightly different lyrics and a somewhat psychedelic arrangement, but it's still the same song musically and thematically -- i.e. this new girl is also stealing from him. Maybe Hawkins needed to start meeting girls in church or something.
But to my ears the best track is the Willapuss Wallapuss' Beach Boys-styled "To Jone," a gorgeous "pocket symphony" with organs, harpsichords, beautiful harmonies, and an absolutely rousing chorus. Who was this band? According to the folks at Garage Hangover, they were actually an Ontario group called the 5 Rising Sons who recorded under the name Willapuss Wallapuss "for fun" just for this record! That must have brought out the creativity in them because the track is now a minor late-'60s classic and, as such, was immortalized on Volume 15 of the beloved Fading Yellow series.
#various