50th Post!

So, Real Crazy Apartment has reached it's 50th post! Nice. Therefore, i'm going to post my top 5 (5 as in 50, wittily, isn't it?) British freakbeat/psych singles of the 60s.

5: PETER & THE WOLVES: Woman On My Mind/Old And The New

Woman On My Mind

4: JOHN'S CHILDREN: Desdemona/Remember Thomas A. Becket

Desdemona

Remember Thomas A. Becket

3: LES FLEUR DE LYS: Circles/So, Come On

Circles

So, Come On

2: WIMPLE WINCH: Save My Soul/Everybody's Worried 'Bout Tomorrow

Save My Soul

1: TINTERN ABBEY: Vacuum Cleaner/Beeside

Vacuum Cleaner

(HOLY FUCK, that one's worth £1000!!)

Beeside

(Of course, there's a lot other great UK Psych (Dantalian's Chariot, Kaleidoscope etc etc), but this is my personal top 5)

The Honeycombs • Eyes

Psychedelia before psychedelia. That's a good description of The Honeycombs third 45 from '64. Rumours say that the song actually is about loneliness in a gay bar when being gay was illegal. However, it's a very heavy song for coming from such a Pop oriented band. Mysteriously, the record flopped when it came out in '64, probably because the world wasn't ready for psych yet.

The Longboatmen • Take Her Anytime

The Longboatmen, another Swedish 60's group, formed as The Steampacket in 1965, but they had to change their name to avoid confusion with the R&B/Blues group with the same name. So they changed to Steampacket II. But, when they were going to tour in England they were forced to change their name again, this time to The Longboatmen. After these name changes, they recorded this brilliant garage/psych 45, "Take Her Anytime".

Kaleidoscope • Jenny Artichoke

British psych gods Kaleidoscope released this catchy little psych song in 1968. One of my favourites by them.

The Move on French Tv, early 1967

Just had to share these two amazing early Move clips of them performing "Night Of Fear" and "I Can Hear The Grass Grow" on French Tv in early 1967.

(Some fit young French 60s women in that video)

Tages • Fantasy Island

Sweden's own Tages are best known for their 1967 masterpiece Studio. At the same time, they released their best (and most psychedelic) single, "Fantasy Island". It has great vocal harmonies and a nice organ. Sounds very much like The Zombies did when they released "Oddesey & Oracle". ('Studio' and 'Fantasy Island' has another thing in common: both are recorded in the Abbey Road studio). Their bass player Göran Lagerberg is also my apartment neighbour, which is pretty great.

Göran and Freddie (Skantze) with Chuck Berry.

Tages' psychedelic stage show

60'S Pop Duos Part 3: Svensk

Svensk actually means "Swedish" in Swedish. However, these two guys are not from Sweden. They're from Liverpool and released two great psych singles on the Page One label, owned by The Troggs producer Larry Page. Svensk consisted of Roger Hopkins and Jason Paul.

"Pojkarna Svensk är från - England!" means "The Svensk boys
are from - England!". Looks like we got pretty confused there.

Chances Are- Fragile Child

The Chances Are only released this great toe tapper on Columbia in 1967, but it went nowhere and the group faded into obscurity, which resulted in very little information about them. That's life, lads.

Ad for the group's only 45

Denny Laine- Say You Don't Mind

Dutch picture sleeve. (note how they forgot to write 'the' between 'ask' and 'people')

Denny Laine, a real jack-of-all-trades, or at least a jack-of-all-genres or something like that, and yet he's so underrated and he's been a member of so many groups (The Diplomats, Moody Blues and Wings etc.). In 1967, after quitting the Moodies, he released this piece of freakbeat/popsike on the Deram label.

Ad from a newspaper.

'Say You Don't Mind' is a great example on the music scene in 1967, and one of my favourite records from that year. It failed to chart when it was released but climbed to #15 on the UK Singles Chart in 1972 when The Zombies vocalist Colin Blunstone covered it.

Denny tripping on some LSD/pot while performing the song on French TV in -67

Things to Come - Sweetgina/Speak Of The Devil

Things to Come - Sweetgina/Speak of The Devil (US 1966)

Things to Come hailed from Long Beach, California. Their original lineup was Steve Runolfsson (vocals), Lynn Rominger (lead guitar), Larry Robinson (rhythm guitar), Russ Ward (drums) and Bryan Garofalo (bass), and they released three singles.

However, Runolfsson was fired after their first and best single, 'Sweetgina/Speak of The Devil'. With it's Farfisa organ, wheezing harmonica, fuzz guitar and Steve Runolfssons snotty, Van Morrison-esque vocals, 'Sweetgina' would probably be the result if you put 'Gloria' and 'Green Onions' in a blender. You can find it on 'Garage Beat '66 Vol. 2: Chicks Are For Kids'.

The B-side, Speak of The Devil, is also an masterful acid punk tune, that sounds like a meeting between Them and Iron Butterfly, and you can find it on complications like 'The Chosen Few Vol. 1' and 'Garage Beat '66 Vol. 6: Speak Of The Devil...' (Yes, they even named the complication after the song!).

Russ Ward would go on to a highly successful career as a session drummer under his real name, Russ Kunkel.

Things to Come at The Marina Palace, Seal Beach, where they were the house band.

Hear 'Sweetgina': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfgJU-CxaUw

Hear 'Speak Of The Devil': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jO0rN0GJmEY

Pandamonium - No Presents For Me/The Sun Shines From His Eyes

Pandamonium - No Presents For Me/The Sun Shines From His Eyes (UK 1967)

Pandamonium started out around 1963 as The Pandas, and after signing to CBS in 1966, they changed their name to Pandamonium and recorded a cover of Donovan's 'Season Of The Witch'. This single was followed up by what often is called the group's best record, 'No Presents For Me'.

'No Presents For Me' is, with it's backwards fuzz guitar and distortion, a pure psychedelic masterpiece. Recorded at Pye Studios, the single was released in 1967, and has, just like 'Baby Your Phasing Is Bad', been included on numerous 60s psych complications, such as 'Nuggets II' (Disc 4), 'Psychedelic Archives: UK Psychedelia Vol. 1' and  'Electric Sugarcube Flashbacks 1'.

The B-side, 'The Sun Shines From His Eyes', is as good as 'No Presents For Me', and has been included on 'Rubble 20: Thrice Upon A Time (Nothing Is Real)'. 

However, a disagreement with CBS led to that the group faded out in obscurity, and all their three singles are today very rare and sought-after.

Hear 'No Presents For Me': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iF4sMWP45qo

Hear: 'The Sun Shines From His Eyes': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RFGVMOiQaw

Caleb - Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad/A Woman Of Distinction

Caleb - Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad/A Woman Of Distinction (UK 1967)

Okay, so this is some mega rare stuff we got here. It's also one of the greatest pieces of British psych ever. I bought a reissue of this 45 today, in a record store called Got To Hurry in Old Town in Sweden, which i can recommend if you happen to visit Stockholm. It's a great record store if you want to buy some 60s grooves.

As you can tell from the name, Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad has got that insanely psychedelic phasing effect that you can find on many other british late 60's psych records, such as 'Itchycoo Park' by The Small Faces and 'Pictures of Matchstick Men' by Status Quo. The song has been featured on many 60s psych complications such as 'Rubble Vol. 1 - The Psychedelic Snarl',  'Nuggets II' (Disc 2) and 'Chocolate Soup for Diabetics' (Disc 5).

The B-side, 'A Woman of Distinction', is also a great song, even if it might not is as good as 'Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad'. It is also avaliable on 'Rubble Vol. 1 - The Psychedelic Snarl'.


That the single hasn't gained more fame through the years is a mystery to me, since Caleb became a session musician later and worked with Elton John, Mick Jagger, Pete Townshend etc. under his full name, Caleb Quaye.

Hear 'Baby Your Phrasing Is Bad': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PGVOhGnut-4

Hear 'A Woman Of Distinction': http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ri1b9VvSoBM