JEREMY AND THE LEMON CLOCKS – Side-By-Side (2023, 2CD/Lathe-Cut LP Fruits de Mer Records)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Fruits de Mer Records

Format: LP, Album, Limited Edition, Lathe-Cut

Format: CD, Album, Limited Edition

Release Date: late 11 Oct 2023

Well, let me start by saying that this is one of the very few times that you will hear me saying “Go grab this CD”… I’m an analog guy, a vinyl lover (a fanatic one) but in this case here, I will have to urge you to go and obtain this piece of polycarbonate plastic, actually 2 pieces (hehe) as it is a double CD. And it’s getting more serious if you consider that the label which is releasing this album, is a 99%-based-on-vinyl-releases label, the famous – by now – Fruits de Mer Records! So, this must be Special you may think. Yes! It is more than Special, I have to confirm… But, enough with talking, here’s a little info from Keith (Head of FdM Records) about who, how, and why…

“Fruits de Mer Records is/are pleased to announce the forthcoming release of a double CD of classic 60s psych covers by Michigan-based artist, songwriter, and producer Jeremy Morris. Jeremy runs JAM Records in the USA and is one of the most prolific artists I’ve worked with.
Although his back catalog is full to overflowing, Jeremy has recorded many of the tracks on ‘Side to Side’ specifically for this release – playing tribute to bands such as The Pretty Things, The Lemon Pipers, Pink Floyd, and The Byrds.
CD one includes three massively extended versions of ‘Green Tambourine’, ‘Spirit In The Sky’ and ‘Crimson and Clover’, plus the one original track on the complete set, ‘Revolution #7’; CD two ends with a take on ‘Peter Gunn’ – a bit outside the remit of the project but just a fun way to end things.
Although Jeremy plays live regularly with his band The Lemon Clocks (who have featured several times over the years on the Fruits de Mer label), on this set all bar ‘Crimson and Clover’ are credited to Jeremy alone (although he roped in various friends to join him in the studio).
There is so much music contained across the two CDs, a full-blown vinyl release would have required a four-LP box set – a bit of a stretch in these cash-strapped times – but there WILL be a limited run of lathe-cut LPs produced at the same time as the double CD, containing two of those extended tracks – ‘Green Tambourine’ and ‘Crimson and Clover’.
Over to Jeremy to say a few words on “Side By Side”: “The progressive psychedelic music of the 1960s and 1970s spawned a revolution. It blew minds, opened doors, and transformed generations. We who champion these amazing sounds are dedicated to keeping them alive. For this project, we celebrate some of our favorites and sprinkle some fresh fruit into the groves. So, get ready for an audio feast! Eat to the beat, suck it, and see… and may your cup overflow”…

So, what we have here is a double CD called “Side By Side” with 19 tracks in total, 18 of them are cover versions from the ’60s period while there’s 1 original tune. The 1^st CD includes only 5 tracks, among them the band’s original tune “Revolution #7” written by Jeremy Morris. The opener is a reinterpretation of “Green Tambourine” originally by The Lemon Pipers (1967)… Well, the first 2:22 minutes are quite close to the original version, but after that, the unsuspicious listener is witnessing a tremendous super-delicious version of the song which lasts for almost 18 minutes! A huge dive into that fascinating colorful psychedelic side of the US West Coast… AMAZING! What comes next is even more fascinating! The band ‘executes’ the Tommy James and The Shondells’ original hit “Crimson and Clover”, lengthening it from the 5:26 original version to the astounding 17:10min! The band not only makes a huge dive into the sunny side of the folk-psych late Californian 60s but also manages to go even deeper, creating one of the best-ever cover-versions of “Crimson and Clover”! “Pictures Of Matchstick Men” was originally released in 1967 by Status Quo, and here Jeremy And The Lemon Clocks give it a new fresh breath of air while leaning upon it with much respect and love, but in just 5:03min… The lengthening continues on the next one though, “Spirit In The Sky” was originally a 3:57 song released in 1969 by Norman Greenbaum, and here it gets a fantastic dynamic marvelous 24:17min (!!!) treatment! It’s really unbelievable to describe what in God’s shake is going on inside! Psych, Boogie Woogie, Prog, Space, Folklore, Hard Rock, and Country Rock are magically blended together resulting (AGAIN) one of the best reinterpretations ever made to “Spirit In The Sky”! The last track, as I have already mentioned, is a new one called “Revolution #7”, an 11:32min song, starting as a balladesque one, becoming progressively trippy with a fascinating backward loop, entering a Spacey experimental acoustic soundscape, becoming ambient-flirting, with a cinematically futuristic ending… Wow! The 2^nd CD contains only cover versions, 14 in total, 4 by the Beatles (“It’s All Too Much”, “Tomorrow Never Knows”, “Dear Prudence”, and “While My Guitar Gently Weeps”), 3 by The Byrds (“So You Wanna Be A Rock’n’Roll Star”, “Why”, and “The River Flows”), 2 by The Pink Floyd (“Obscured By Clouds” and “Interstellar Overdrive”),  2 by The Pretty Things (“It’ll Never Be Me” and “I See You”), and 1 by The Move (“Do Ya”), 1 by Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young (“Everybody I Love You”), 1 by Henry Mancini (“Peter Gunn”, which by the way is the psychedelic-est version you will ever hear from this instrumental classic). So, Jeremy And The Lemon Clocks performed these covers with too much passion, love, and respect of course! In conclusion, all you ‘old farts’ out there you will find both of the CDs pretty amusing and you will remember tunes from the 60s that you may haven’t listened to for a long time… As far as for all you ‘youngsters’, do yourself a favor and treat this release as a “window” to the glorious 60s era, a kind of a “musical dictionary”, go search for the original bands, listen to their records, buy their stuff, be a better person! (You can thank me later)…TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Links

Get a copy through FRUITS DE MER RECORDS Web

Alternatively, grab it via SHINY BEAST Mailorder

Visit THE LEMON CLOCKS Facebook