The Pretty Things In Session At The BBC – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable

The Pretty Things – went through metamorphosis #2 in 1967.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Pretty Things – BBC Session – Nov. 27, 1967

One of those bands that hves been largely overlooked by the mainstream when it comes to talking about influential groups of the 60s. The Pretty Things were always considered just a little too “edgy” for the tastes of the conventional Pop world. As I said in an earlier post about them – had fate gone differently, The Pretty Things would have boasted the likes of Mick Jagger as vocalist, and their fortunes may have been considerably different. But that’s all speculation. The bottom line – The Pretty Things were a great band who have undergone changes over the years. Still together, but with a much different lineup, even from this 1967 incarnation of the band.

By 1967, The Pretty Things, like many bands who survived the first wave of the British Invasion, fell under the spell of Psychedelia. With a new label (EMI and the fledgling Harvest label) the band enlisted the talents of Norman Smith, who also produced the first efforts of Pink Floyd, and emerged with some memorable gems.

Tonight it’s a session the band recorded for The BBC on November 27, 1967 and it featured much of the fruit of the Norman Smith collaboration.

Here’s what’s on the player:

The Pretty Things In Session – BBC

November 27, 1967

1. Turn My Head

2. Defecting Grey

3. Walking Through My Dream

4. Balloon Burning

A far cry from the days of Midnight To Six Man and many years before the Silk Torpedo period. The Pretty Things were at that pivotal period when music was turned upside down one more time. And one more time they had something to say.

Really . . . turn this one up.

Melody’s Echo Chamber – Live At London Calling – 2012 – Nights At The Roundtable: Rock Without Borders/Mini-Concert Edition

Melody Prochet of Melody’s Echo Chamber – French for Ethereal.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Melody’s Echo Chamber – London Calling 2012

A band that have gotten a lot of positive attention of late. Melody’s Echo Chamber is the brain child of Melody Prochet, who has mixed elements of Electronica, 70’s Progressive, Alternative, a bit of Psychedelia and French Melody into one delightful mosaic of sound. Aided by Tame Impala‘s Kevin Parker, Melody’s Echo Chamber just released their new album (Melody’s Echo Chamber) on Fat Possum Records out of Mississippi and have been touring quite a bit since late last year, and are getting ready to start another tour for the Spring and no doubt coinciding with Summer Festival season.

Here they are, recorded live at the Paradiso, Amsterdam, during the London Calling Festival 2012 by the venerable VPRO Radio outlet in Hilversum, Holland.

A good, ethereal way to kick off the week. No?

John’s Children – In Session – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable

John’s Children circa 1967 – blame it on the guy in the front row on the right.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: MarcBolan1967-1969EarlyBroadcasts 1

A band more people have probably heard about than actually heard, John’s Children were one of those fabled “you-had-to-be-there” bands that loomed high in the pantheon of Psychedelia, but in fact released only one (sort of) album and a string of singles and became largely known as the band that springboarded Marc Bolan‘s career.

Their singles were banned from The BBC almost at the get-go. So their appearances there were rare, to say the least.

Here is one, from The Saturday Club at The BBC, broadcast on June 6, 1967.

And here’s what’s on the player:

(John’s Children – Saturday Club June 6,1967):

1.Jagged Time Lapse

2.The Perfumed Garden

3.Daddy Rolling Stone

4.Hot Rod Mama

Bolan would leave the band soon after and launch the career that made him a household name. But in 1967, it was all still very experimental.

Technical note – this broadcast sounds amazing – except for Daddy Rolling Stone, which is from another source. But rather than leave it out, it’s included because of the sheer historic importance of this appearance.

The Moody Blues In Concert – 1969 – Past Daily Backstage Weekend

The Moody Blues – the image of the band standing under what appeared to be a giant mushroom did not fall on blind eyes.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: 1969-12-17 Dave Symonds BBC In Concert (Moody Blues)

Most people have relegated The Moody Blues to a sort of caricature status in recent years – the epitome of the airey-faerie Hippy-love and tie-dye stereotype of the 60’s. Their music has been limited to the almost exclusive playing of Knights In White Satin or Tuesday Afternoon, their two biggest hits from the period, on most Oldies stations. And they’ve been pigeon-holed.

But you have to remember that when The Moody Blues made the sweeping change from mid-60’s Beat Group to pioneers of Symphonic Rock in 1967 nobody else was doing it. And when Days Of Future Past was released it was a huge revelation and a massive step in the change of direction for Rock music. Along with The Who’s Tommy, The Beatles Sgt. Pepper, Days Of Future Past signaled a beginning in what would become known as The Concept Album. And it became a form which many bands emulated over the next 20 or so years. But with all the emulation came new insights and new points of view and more elaborate musicianship and The Moody Blues contribution during this time got relegated to curio status and that has been unfortunate.

Bear in mind too, that when The Moody Blues first toured with this new concept, and introduced the Melotron as an integral part of the band, it wasn’t met with a lot of acceptance on the parts of many musicians. I remember when they first played Los Angeles in 1968, The Musicians Union had set up pickets to protest the use of the Melotron, saying it had replaced an entire string section of working musicians and that was deemed unfair by the powers-that-were.

But most of that has been forgotten and, for the most part, marginalized with passing decades.

So as a reminder of just how influential the band was during the first years of their sweeping change, here is a concert they did for The BBC. Recorded on December 17, 1969, featuring the lineup of that time, performing songs that were new then and heard with a different set of ears.

If you aren’t familiar with The Moody Blues, here’s what you missed. If you are, here is reminder of what you may have forgotten about.

Play it loud, because that’s how we heard it at the time.

The Artwoods – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable.

The Artwoods (with Jon Lord, second from right) – A serious attack of talent.

Click on the link here for Audio Player:Artwoods-InTheDeepEnd – 1967

One of those bands in the 60’s that evolved into many different things while being highly respected. The Artwoods, with legendary keyboard player Jon Lord started life as The New Art Wood Combo in the early 60’s and then morphed into The Artwoods. Briefly morphing into The St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and then becoming Santa Barbara Machine Head. Briefly morphing into The Flowerpot Men before Jon Lord left to form Deep Purple.

The rest, as they say, is history.

Tonight it’s one of the tracks from The Artwoods – a single cut for the Parlophone label in 1967. In The Deep End is that mixture of Psych/Blues and Pop. And while it didn’t score in the charts, was another one of those tracks that offered further evidence The Artwoods were a seriously talented band.

The Misunderstood – 1966 – Nights At The Roundtable

The Misunderstood – Originally a surf band from Riverside, found a champion in John Peel and a calling in groundbreaking Psychedelia.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: The Misunderstood – I Can Take You To The Sun – 1966

Probably one of the saddest stories in the annals of Rock, The Misunderstood were originally a surf band from Riverside California who drew the attention of British DJ John Peel who urged them to settle in the UK. Between Riverside and London The Misunderstood underwent a dramatic change. And what emerged was one of the truly groundbreaking bands of the Psychedelic period.

Their first single was released in 1966. Let Me Take You To The Sun, was met with enthusiasm from critics and the audience alike, with Peel proclaiming it one of the greatest songs ever written. But just as the band were poised to achieve great success, tragedy struck. In this case it was the Draft Board, first taking lead singer Rick Brown into the Army and Vietnam and then taking lead guitarist Greg Treadway into the Navy. The band splintered and fell apart, with the remaining members discouraged and demoralized. What had started off with huge hopes and expectations dissipated, leaving a handful of singles and a lot of potential.

Here is that debut single. If you haven’t heard Let Me Take You To The Sun before, or only heard vaguely about The Misunderstood, here’s a chance to get acquainted.

The Mickey Finn – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable

The Mickey Finn – had it not been for the involvement of a very young Jimmy Page (Top right), they might have languished in obscurity for a long time.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: The mickey finn – garden of my mind

Had it not been for the inclusion of a very young Jimmy Page (who left, incidentally before tonight’s single came out), The Mickey Finn may have languished in obscurity for a very long time.

Not to be confused with Mickey Finn (of T. Rex fame), The Mickey Finn didn’t really achieve a lot of success during their tenure. Having released a string of singles to luke-warm reaction and virtually unknown outside of their native UK, The Mickey Finn were one of the staples of the Freakbeat Movement (as it was later to be known).

Tonight it’s a single released in 1967. Rumored to have Jimmy Page putting in a final appearance before exiting for The Yardbirds, Garden Of My Mind is pure Psychedelia, and it’s baffling why it wasn’t more popular at the time of its release.

But then, you could go crazy trying to figure out why some songs make it and some don’t.

So in case you missed them, or heard about them but never actually heard them – here’s a taste.

The Bee Gees In Session – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable

The Bee Gees – In 1967 their Disco metamorphosis was seemingly a lifetime off.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: BeeGees1967-07-21RadioHousStudiosStockholmSweden

Some early Bee Gees tonight. Long before their transformation into one of the Disco icons of the 1970’s, The Bee Gees were an extremely popular and well-regarded band in the mid/late 1960’s. Straddling the worlds of Pop and Psychedelia, The Brothers Gibb crafted a massive catalog of memorable songs which, not only they recorded, but were recorded by numerous bands both in the UK and their native Australia.

This short set, recorded on July 21, 1967 for Sveriges Radio in Stockholm features a rare early live version of their huge U.S. hit, New York Mining Disaster – 1941.

Here’s what’s on the player:

Bee Gees
Sveriges Radio – Radiohaus Studio,
Stockholm,Sweden
July 21,1967

1-In My Own Time
2-Band Intros
3-New York Mining Disaster 1941
4-Cucumber Castle

If you’ve never heard The Bee Gees pre-Disco, you’re in for a surprise. If you remember The Bee Gees during this period, you’ll know why there was a lot of head-scratching when Stayin’ Alive hit the airwaves.

Bands, like people, can always change.

Related articles

• Bee Gees – Main Course (oldgamereviewer.com)
• Music History #8: “New York Mining Disaster 1941″ (mentalfloss.com)
• Robin Gibb Estate: Staggering Value of Late Bee Gee’s Assets Revealed (spinner.com)

Toy In Session – 2012 – Nights At The Roundtable

Toy – the band to watch in 2012 – keeping their promise.

Click on the link here for Audio Player: Toy – In Session – BBC 6 Music 2012

I first heard about Toy last year when their first single was released and they were being touted in most UK music press as “The Band To Watch In 2012”, and I agreed with them. Certainly a lot of pressure to fulfill expectations, but just this past week their first album was released, and to promote it they made a guest appearance on the Lauren Laverne Program at BBC 6 Music on September 12th.

Here’s that session and here’s what they play:

Toy on The Lauren Laverne Program – BBC 6 Music
September 12, 2012

1. Lost My Way
2. Kopter

I don’t think they’ve signed a deal in the States yet and I haven’t heard anyone play their previous singles on any of the non-mainstream stations (i.e. KCRW here in L.A.). But I think the band is great and they’ve fulfilled my expectations. How the rest of the world feels and how you feel is another story.

But if you haven’t heard them yet, or have only just heard about them – now’s your chance to get acquainted.

The Red Crayola – 1967 – Nights At The Roundtable

The Red Crayola – The world was ready for them, but was Texas?

Clink on the link for Audio Player: The Red Crayola – Hurricane Fighter Plane – 1967

Further evidence the heady days of 1967 were not the exclusive domain of L.A., San Francisco, New York or London. The Red Crayola, probably one of the most wildly influential yet strangely un-commercial bands to emerge from that period, came from Texas. In fact, they were in that classic mold of Art-School/Avant-Garde/free-form and really didn’t aspire to become commercial hot-shots.

Lucky for the world they didn’t, because I used to jealously guard my knowledge of them when they first surfaced out of fear they’d be discovered by the mainstream and turned into a hit machine, or badly misunderstood as bands like Sopwith Camel and Moby Grape were.

No, they maintained their sturdy underground roots, and have grown in stature over time and are often pointed to by other bands and musicians as prime inspirations. So clearly, they did something right.

Tonight’s track is one of their signature tunes. Hurricane Fighter Plane is Red Crayola at its best and most adventuresome. If you aren’t familiar with them, by all means check them out, and check them out even further via the Amazon.com link below.