25 March 2020

VARIOUS ARTISTS – A Band For All Seasons (Songs from the four seasons of Love 1966-1969) (2020, 4CD Fruits de Mer Records)

It was back in 2018, October the 8^th, where Fruits de Mer Records threw in the “vinyl” market a remarkable and astonishing 3LP record set entitled “The Three Seasons – The Spring, Summer and Autumn Of Love (1966-1968)” [read my Review here:]. “A Band For All Seasons” is a Super Extended version of that triple record, the 27 songs of the initial release were now increased to 61 (!!!), courtesy to that thing called polycarbonate plastic… Bands covering tunes from the most exciting musical era of mankind, 1966 to 1969!

The press release reads: “A Band For All Seasons is a hugely extended version of our 2018 3LP set ‘The Three Seasons – songs from 1966-68’, which sold out pretty much instantly. For the new version, we’ve extended the remit to 1966-69 so we can fit in all four seasons of psychedelia (hang on, what a great name for a band/album…) from its early flowering to the breakdown at the end of the decade – and everything this time is crammed onto 4 CDs – with something like 4½ hours of music in total; producing a 7-LP set seemed a bit excessive, however tempting.
All manner of artists are involved – from bands that weren’t born in the sixties to bands that were very much part of the amazing music being produced 50 years ago.
There’s a story behind many of the tracks – such as Marc Brierley’s first visit to a studio in nearly 50 years, to record a new version of his classic, ‘Welcome To The Citadel’…
…to The Purple Gang recording what was supposed to be their follow-up to ‘Granny Takes A Trip’ – Syd Barrett’s ‘Boon Tune’ (whatever happened to the acetate Syd sent them with four possible songs on it for them to choose from, in 1967?)…
…or cult prog/folk band Fuchsia revisiting Pink Floyd’s ‘See Emily Play’…
…or The Pretty Things’ ‘Loneliest Person’, which they first let me include as an ending to ‘Sorrow’s Children’, a Fruits de Mer tribute album to ‘SF Sorrow’ (the album title being suggested by Phil May and Dick Taylor) – a fitting end to the 4CD set from a band that bowed out in style after over 50 years as one of the UK’s greatest bands.
The sleeve artwork is by the rather wonderful John Hurford (who was also there-at-the-time), and the set comes with a 28pp booklet. Even if you don’t usually buy CDs, this has got to be worth £15 of anybody’s money!”

So, in this wonderful “embryonic” journey back to the 60s psych era that lasts 4 hours 38 minutes and 56 seconds, you will not only find yourself wandering around the 28 pages booklet, you will actually going to be “beamed” back to the Magical 60s, to a period that “Everything Happened”… To beginners, I suggest this: After listening to this compilation, go and search the Web (YouTube) and check the original versions of the songs that are covered on “A Band For All Seasons”, a new colorful window to “another world” will be opened wide, you will feel like entering that magical closet in Narnia… As far for the Experienced listeners, simply Do enjoy the new breath that was given to the old creations…

Lastly, I need to mention that I’m doubly proud of 2 of the participant bands here. The Purple Gang – yes, the “Granny Takes A Trip” ones – are performing the song “Boon Tune”, a song that Syd Barrett gave them back in the day, a song that the Purple Wizard of the Acid Jug (Mr. Joe Christopher Beard of The Purple Gang) kindly offered, to “adorn” the CD compilation of TimeMaZine Issue #4, completing in this way the interview that we did back in 2008. Also, in this compilation, the fantastic amazing psychedelicious Greek band of Echo Train is taking part with their SUPER-PSYCH and OUT-OF-THIS-WORLD reinterpretation of “Portland ‘69” (originally by Hunger, 1969), a song that was firstly released as part of the TimeMaZine 7-inch Vinyl Single Series, for TimeMaZine Issue #10, Autumn 2017. Step inside and let it happen! TimeLord Michalis

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Fruits de Mer Records

Format: CD, Album, 4CD Set + 24pp booklet

Release Date: 20 March 2020

The full tracklisting is:

CD1
1. The Past Tense – Magic In The Air (originally by The Attack: recorded 1967)
2. Anton Barbeau – Sunshine Superman (originally by Donovan: VERY late 1965!)
3. Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder – Amelia Jane (originally by Made In Sheffield: 1967)
4. LoveyDove – Bedazzled (originally by Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations: 1967)
5. Jack Ellister – Aquarius (originally by The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds: 1967)
6. Rob Gould – Granny Takes A Trip (originally by The Purple Gang: 1967)
7. Mark McDowell – Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (originally by The Small Faces: 1966)
8. The Electric Prunes – 7 and 7 is (originally by Love: 1966)
9. Moonweevil – Child Of The Sky (originally by The Deviants: 1967)
10. Kris Gietkowski – A-Minor Explosion (originally by Don Shinn: 1966)
11. Jay Tausig – Time Has Told Me (originally by Nick Drake: 1968)
12. Starlings Planet – The Story (originally by Please: 1968)
13. Bhopal’s Flowers – I Feel Free (originally by Cream: 1966)
14. Spygenius – Paper Sun / Love Is Only Sleeping (originally by Traffic / The Monkees: 1967)
15. The Jeremy Band – Pictures Of Matchstick Men (originally by Status Quo: 1968)
16. Cat Frequency – Flameout (originally by 101 Strings: 1968)
17. The Yardbirds – Think About It (live in 2016) (originally by The Yardbirds: 1968)

CD2
1. The Locker Room Cowboys – We Love You (originally by The Rolling Stones: 1967)
2. King Penguin – White Bird (written in 1967, released by It’s A Beautiful Day: 1969)
3. Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin – Solitary Man (originally by Neil Diamond: 1966)
4. The Luck Of Eden Hall – Reflected (originally by Alice Cooper: 1968)
5. The Honey Pot – Kites (written by Hackaday/Pockriss; recorded by The Rooftop Singers / Simon Dupree and the Big Sound: 1967)
6. London Underground – Mercy, Mercy, Mercy (originally by Cannonball Adderley: 1966)
7. Mysterious Clouds featuring Your Friend – Mobius Trip (originally by H.P. Lovecraft: 1968)
8. Permanent Clear Light – Refugees (originally by Van Der Graaf Generator: 1969)
9. Cary Grace – 1983…(A Merman I Should Turn To Be) (originally by the Jimi Hendrix Experience: 1968)
10. Echo Train – Portland ’69 (originally by Hunger: 1969)
11. Moon Goose – It Ain’t True (originally by Faine Jade: 1967)
12. July – My Clown (live in 2016) (originally by July: 1968)

CD3
1. Sidewalk Society – A Saying For Today (originally by The Action: 1968) (4:04)
2. Jay Tausig – Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (trad. recorded by Anne Briggs: 1963 / Pentangle: 1968)
3. Magic Bus – Tribal Gathering (originally by The Byrds: 1967)
4. Proud Peasant – Down At Circe’s Place (originally by Touch: 1968)
5. Icarus Peel’s Acid Reign – Beck’s Bolero (originally by Jeff Beck Group: 1966)
6. The Green Ray – Dusty (originally by John Martyn: 1968)
7. Ex Norwegian – Winter (originally by Family: 1968)
8. Consterdine – Fly (originally by J.K. & Co: 1968)
9. The Gold Needles – The Smell of Incense (originally by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band: 1967)
10. I Am Voyager 1 – I Never Asked To Be Your Mountain (originally by Tim Buckley: 1967)
11. Elfin Bow & Gary Lloyd – Autumn Stone (originally by The Small Faces: 1968)
12. The Telephones – I Can Hear The Grass Grow (originally by The Move: 1967)
13. Fuchsia – See Emily Play (originally by Pink Floyd: 1967)
14. The Purple Gang – Boon Tune (originally by Syd Barrett: 1967)
15. Mr.Armageddon and the Suicide Society – We Are Normal (originally by The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band: 1968)
16. Vert:x – Emotions (originally by Love: 1966)

CD4
1. Chad and Jeremy – Rest In Peace (unplugged) (originally by Chad and Jeremy: 1967)
2. Schizo Fun Addict – Dedicated To The One I Love (originally by The “5” Royales: 1957 / The Mamas and The Papas: 1967)
3. Hanford Flyover – Just Another Day (originally by Neon Pearl: 1967)
4. Us and Them – What Did You Do To My Life (originally by Neil Young: 1968)
5. Nathan Hall – Please Read Me (demo) (originally by the Bee Gees: 1967)
6. Cat Frequency – Ski-ing (originally by George Harrison: 1968)
7. The Alain Pire Experience – Only A Northern Song (originally by the Beatles: 1967)
8. Cranium Pie – Baby You’re A Rich Man (originally by The Beatles: 1967)
9. LoveyDove – Gently As You Feel (originally by The Flies: 1967)
10. Crystal Jacqueline Acoustic Band – Granchester Meadows (originally by Pink Floyd: 1969)
11. Back Street Carnival – Pretty Song from ‘Psych-Out’ (originally by The Strawberry Alarm Clock: 1968)
12. Claudio Cataldi with Aldo Ammirata – White Light, White Heat (originally by the Velvet Underground: 1968)
13. The Lemon Clocks – Crimson & Clover (originally by Tommy James & The Shondells: 1968)
14. Marc Brierley – Welcome To The Citadel (solo in 2018) (originally by Marc Brierley: 1968)
15. I Am Voyager 1 – Sky Children (originally by Kaleidoscope: 1967)
16. The Pretty Things – Loneliest Person (live at the Half Moon in 2010) (originally by The Pretty Things: 1968)