A real up-beat number for a very cerebral tune! All AK's records are full of wierd moments and odd delights, this is the one from the set that aim's to please! It starts out with the groups signature harmonies in a acapella almost swingle-like mode, and then kicks in to a hybrid pop groove from heaven, with castanets clacking away ... And the lyrics are wild ! :..." What's the difference being different when it's difference now that looks alike, you say i'm changing and i'm not so sure it's wrong..." " It's just that centerline on this highway runs up my banjo neck, and I feel somehow that it's natural to be gone..."
Written by John Hartford. A name i've seen before, but i'm not familiar with his work. I'd like to know more if anyone knows his definitive recordings!
09 Jan 04 ·rio: John Hartford was a regular on The Glen Campbell television showof the late 60s, he wrote "Gentle on my mind" among other pop hits done by other artists.. talented writer and musician.. 18 Apr 07 ·artlongjr: Hartford was a favorite of mine as a kid, I used to see him on the Smothers Brothers and Glen Campbell shows, where he was somewhat of a regular. He was a celebrity back then for writing "Gentle on My Mind" which became a 60s standard. I do recall that he was a riverboat captain as well as a musician. He died a few years ago, which I was sorry to hear, but I've seen a number of his CDs that were on the market. I love his 60's stuff, he had a great laconic style.
Another awsome but forgotten vocal group from 60's California that deserves a proper re-issue!The Collage were a vocal quartet(2 boys & 2 girls)with a very cool sound.Not enough to set them apart from the pack,but very groovy out of their context.The sound is as good as re-discovered groups like Free Design, or Millenium.In fact,Curt Boettcher wrote one of the songs on the LP,as well as Roger Nichols!
This song has a kind of"love awareness" message that seems just as relevant in today's troubled world: "...Look at a baby,what do you see?What do you see,lookin' at a baby?/I can see the world the way that I would like the world to be!..."This song,as the opener on the LP,has a lot of power, with that great 8th note stomp and a big,boomy,bass line with harpsichord.The arrangements are by the great Perry Botkin Jr.,and he gives the whole record a nice swirling,magical quality.And the rest of the album is just as impressive, and should be worth the high price for any lover of the genre.
19 Jul 04 ·kwan_dk: Great song! I was lucky enough to find their album for 1 (!) dollar at a garage sale and loved that great opening track... 09 Feb 05 ·rum: I heard a version of this track on that excellent rhino handmade 'Hallucinations' compilation. It was by the Collectors. I'm not sure whether it was the original or not, but it's really good. I remember looking at a picture of the band and thinking that if these 'collectors' started peering over into my baby's pram, I'd be wheeling him away to the nearest bobby. Ah such was the carefree innocence of the 60s that shabby young men could spend balmy afternoons in the park staring at young children. 12 Feb 06 ·maya: I love this album! I may post some recs once I've listened to it a few times more...and since the year has a question mark, it's from 1967! they've got such a soft, sweet sound, that it's hard to resist. 17 Apr 07 ·artlongjr: This song and band are great, no doubt. They were Canadian and later evolved into Chilliwack (who I haven't heard). I have their first LP which contains this song, and is excellent, it's a classic of West Coast psychedelia. I had a chance to hear their second
album from a friend of mine who works in a record store, it's terrific! I think I heard that the name "Collectors" was given to them by a manager or record executive...but please, overlook the dorkiness of the name! This song is getting around, I now have it on two comps.
Man! Out of all the dollar-bin records i've bought in the last six months this one takes the prize. Amazing vocal pop ala' Harpers Bizarre or The Vogues, but more like the latter, due to the sheer genius production and selection of material.
This is a song by the great Box Tops that gets played all over your local "oldies" radio station, only made more superior with better production and beat. It has that misty sunshine appeal of HB, with cooed almost whispered verses, but then takes it higher with their own trademark choir-loft harmonies and effects. It supersedes the original by a longshot, bringing together sly shuffles and baroque arcs of genius.
The album has too many great versions to mention, but look for a review on their version of The Doors "Touch Me" coming soon, with a clip.
A must for fans of HB, Classics IV, Association, Cyrkle etc.
25 Jul 04 ·delicado: yeah, this one has been on my list to recommend for a while. Superb stuff! 18 Apr 07 ·artlongjr: I used to hear this song back in the early 70's, I didn't know who it was back then but it did get airplay. This group's first hit I really like and recommend, it's called "Symphony for Susan" and came out in 1966.
Does anybody really know what's going on here? Probably one of the oddest records you will ever hear, unless you are completely jaded by Japanese noise & IDM. A legend to those who know him, but if you have only heard his collaborations you need to hear this, because it explains nothing. I chose this song merely because it's playing right now... This album is a giant standing on the shoulders of giants, the (pen?) ultimate of LA studio excess. What more can you say?
02 Nov 04 ·n-jeff: What more can you say?
What would be the ultimate, then?
;�) 02 Nov 04 ·konsu: There's always something more, I guess I confused the context? (see parentheses)
Wow! I have been consuming a lot of baroque pop and jazz recordings lately, and while some of them are just nice, this one is astounding! Just imagine Bach-boogaloo, and you have most of the picture here. This piece sounds as fresh today as it did in the 60's! The arrangement is wild as all hell, and has to be heard to be believed. They also do great versions of "Sunshine Superman" & "Up, Up and Away"!
from Mariano & The Unbelievables (Capitol ST 2831)
08 Nov 04 ·delicado: This does indeed sound fantastic. The harpsichord break in the middle of your clip sounds very like Hugo Montenegro's 'Lady in Cement' theme. I understand they had other albums; have you heard them? Are there any vocals? Thanks! 08 Nov 04 ·konsu: Yes. They did another for Capitol the same year called "The 13th Hour". Haven't gotten around to picking it up yet, but from what I can gather it's the same affair, no vocals I'm afraid... Hugo's stuff is great for funky harpsichord cuts, I love that soundtrack!! 08 Nov 04 ·konsu: Sorry delicado, it's "The 25th Hour". I had it mixed up with another album, and another increment of time it seems...
