SINGLES

I See The Rain - Marmalade

THE ACT-Here Come Those Tears Again/ Without You (Columbia)
BEE GEES-Massachusetts/ Barker of The UFO (Polydor) #1
CIRCUS-Sink Or Swim/ Gone Are The Songs Of Yesterday (Parlophone)
CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN-Devil’s Grip/ Give Him A Flower (Track)
DEAD SEA FRUIT-Love At The Hippiedrome/ My Naughty Bluebell (Camp)
THE FAIRYTALE-Lovely People/ Listen To Mary Cry (Decca)
FLEUR-DE-LYS-I Can See The Light/ Prodigal Son (Polydor)
THE GOLDEN FLEECE-Athens 6 A.M/ Gift From Syracuse (Decca)
HOLLIES-King Midas In Reverse/ Everything Is Sunshine (Parlophone) #18
THE IDLE RACE-Imposters Of Life’s Magazine/ Sitting In My Tree (Liberty)
KALEIDOSCOPE-Flight From Ashiya/ Holidaymaker (Fontana)
MARMALADE-I See The Rain/ Laughing Man (CBS)
DAVID McWILLIAMS-Days Of Pearly Spencer/ Harlem Lady (Major Minor)
MINDBENDERS-The Letter/ My New Day And Age (Fontana)#42
MOODY BLUES-Love And Beauty/ Leave This Man Alone (Decca)
NIRVANA-Pentecost Hotel/ Feelin’ Shattered (Island)
PEEP SHOW- Your Servant, Stephen/ Mazy (Polydor)
PICCADILLY LINE-Emily Small(The Huge World Thereof)/ Gone Gone Gone (CBS)
PROCUL HARUM-Homburg/ Good Captain Clack (Regal Zonophone) #5
RENAISSANCE-Mary Jane/ Daytime Lovers (Polydor)
SANDS-Mrs Gillespie’s Refrigerator/ Listen To The Sky (Reaction)
SLENDER PLENTY-Silver Tree Top School For Boys/ I’ve Lost A Friend And Found A Lover (Polydor)
THE SYN-Flowerman/ 14 Hour Technicolour Dream (Deram)
TANGERINE PEEL-Every Christian Lion-Hearted Man Will Show You/ Trapped (UA)
TOMORROW-Revolution/ Three Jolly Little Dwarfs (Parlophone)
23RD TURNOFF-Michael Angelo/ Leave Me Here (Deram)
THE VIRGIN SLEEP-Love/ Halliford House (Deram)
ZOMBIES-Friends Of Mine/ Beechwood Park (CBS)

Flight From Ashiya - Kaleidoscope

ALBUMS

THE KINKS-Something Else (Pye) #35
AL STEWART-Bedsitter Images (CBS)

HAPPENING!

 

 

WATCHING!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

REVIEWS

DotCircus

Gone Are The Songs Of Yesterday: A heavy plod beat combines with a harpsichord, horns and impassioned bluesy solo vocal in this intriguing number. Fascinating scoring. Produced by Mike D'Abo.

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown

Devil's Grip: There is an element of pantomime demon in this evil tale of the attempts of the world to put a devil's grip on everybody, including Mr Brown. Lyrically and melodically there is nothing particularly revolutionary happening, but the atmosphere is exciting. Arthur sings in his strange and hideous fashion, while the organist and drummer freak-out admirably. Well, I like it anyway.

Devil's Grip: Yes, I love this one. Anyone who's ever seen Arthur Brown work will know what to expect--good, strong pounding beat, powerful voice and an excellent production by Pete Townshend and Kit Lambert. Stands a very good chance of being a big one.

DotHollies

King Midas In Reverse: What exactly is the origin of this idea of making records that come from out of the blue skies? Forsooth now The Hollies skip gaily through the white cloud with another even greater, more beautiful sound to follow through the valleys and up the hills as the music of the pied pipers and seahorse strings echo back into the sky. The colourful army of summoning brasses and flutes, so sensitively arranged by Johnny Scott, gives this new Hollies composition the very edge, the very sunburst that's necessary to bless such an excellent, burstingly climactic song. This is fresh, young Hollies to warm your heart--and blast the chart.

King Midas In Reverse: Pop's consistent hit-makers have done it again! It must go shooting up. Opens gently enough and builds beautifully to a really dramatic finale with everything happening--a real mind blower!

DotIdle Race

Imposters Of Life's Magazine: How many more times are we going to hear speeded up trumpets squealing out of massed session men? About a dozen times a week for the next three months I suppose. There's a touch of The Move about this group, and a touch of The Stones as well. It certainly has the Pop 30 sound but it doesn't add anything to what so many groups are doing. A pity because they obviously went to a lot of trouble. One good original idea would have made a lot of difference.

Imposters Of Life's Magazine: Reminds me very much of I can Hear The Grass Grow with voices recorded in a tissue box. Funny little instruments pop in and out and make it rather jolly.

Imposters Of Life's Magazine : The boys generate a tingling, quivering sound in this highly original up-beat number. Unusual lyric set to a strident, earthy backing, and quite a good tune, too.

DotKaleidoscope

Flight From Ashiya : A big find for Fontana are Kaleidoscope, a new pink Freudian group from London. Their first single Flight From Ashiya is pretty damned supernatural baby, and I love it. In fact I played it three thousand times on the trot as I mastered transcendental medication with the rats in the attic. You can practically smell the Ally Pally incense on this freeky, compelling record, with its pounding belly-rumble bass line, beautiful shimmering, attacking guitar work, and apostolic harmonies to blow all minds. Definately for tomorrow! Kaleidoscope write their own material and if it's all half as groovy, as this, we're in line for some wonderous works.

Flight From Ashiya: The first time I played this one I didn't quite know what to think about it, but after a few spins I found a certain fascination in it. The type of song which reminded me of something that Jonathan King might have been involved with. Maybe not terribly commercial but very intriguing.

DotMoody Blues

Love And Beauty: The Moodies' Fly Me High met with great success up and down the country from pop fans who caught on to the catchy melody. This new sound is bigger and better but isn't quite as catchy, maybe because of its complexity. Written by Mike Pinder the sound is deep and echoey boosted well by strings, a dipping bass, and the big full vocal sound. A pretty, sweeping sound of a record crashing through the rain-clouds and full of surprises. It could be a giant hit providing it gets enough plugs to allow us to become familiar with the sound and lyrics. They're continuing to make good, good sounds.

DotNirvana

Pentecost Hotel: I can't make up my mind about this. Strange eastern sounds, a mid-record change of mood, a lead singer with the confidential style of Steve Marriott and a good bit of record engineering make this an impressive first single. I like it anyway.

Pentecost Hotel: Please excuse me while I go quietly mad about this group and about this record. I loved their first, which was a beautiful piece called Tiny Goddess. This is equally lovely and in a way unbelievably ethereal. They are certainly a group to watch for. They write their own material, which is far ahead of most. It's a sound wild and unearthly. What I especially love is the way they make things sound grand and disturbing. The production on this beats all with a madness on strings at the end that reminds me of Pat Arnold's First Cut Is The Deepest. Please go out and buy this and listen and love. They deserve to be recognised for their writing in an age when lesser talent has more notice taken of it.

DotPiccadilly Line

Emily Small: "On The Third Stroke" was a nice record and now The Line follow it up with a less forceful, gentler little song. This slowly builds into a catchy and groovy number. The sound is clear and clean and there's sensible use of brass which cuts nicely into the sound without drowning it. Lazy sound, good lyrics and who knows, maybe a giant hit?

Emily Small: A rhythmic ballad about a girl who's drifting through life without realising her full potential. Catchy beat and an inspired lyric--but like so many discs, the tune's gone for a burton!

DotProcol Harum

Homburg: There's very little to say about something beautiful while you are still bathing in its radiance and absorbing its being. How can you criticise a record whose words have not yet been learnt by heart and mind and understood? This is the follow-up you have all been waiting for. It is a sad song that sweeps over you like waves of energy and loneliness and life and "signposts that cease to sign," and so much more. An honest, incredible sound!

Homburg: This follow-up to Harum's No 1 could well have been titled A Paler Shade Of White, because it's very similar to the group's first disc. The chordal structure is much the same--and so is the fusion of contempary lyrics with a Bach-Handel fugal strain. But whereas the last one owed a lot to Air On A G String, this latest effort seems to lean heavily on Sheep May Safely Graze. The main melody line is taken by a clanking piano, with that spine-tingling organ playing a background role--and the beat, emphasised by crashing cymbals, is more pronounced than before. It's another disc that gets right into your blood--obviously a smash!

Homburg: The first time I heard this nearly two months ago I really couldn't see any close association with Whiter Shade... though, of course, now listening to it properly and not in those odd circumstances it is clearly a close follow-up. And why not indeed? It is equally well done with lovely piano that you sometimes get on really good French instrumental records. I like the words on this much better than Whiter, probably because I could understand these rather bitter lyrics and I really never fully understood was Whiter was all about although as an atmosphere piece it couldn't be beaten. Obviously a lot of the novelty is lost but you will find this a well made record and worth having around, so buy it.

DotThe Syn

Flowerman: A reminiscent melody but rather well produced - la la lah treatment of the title word

DotTomorrow

Revolution: "Happiness is hard to find, we just want peace to blow our minds", and once again the sky opens and the music pours into the world, heralding today, Tomorrow with a twisting, licking ocean of sounds. Written by lead singer Keith West and guitarist Steve Howe the song planes on several levels incorpating a riddle at the beginning, a building, running fade-out from Steve, a rousing and chirping brass band and a deep urging chorus, with guitar patterns weaving through the calling vocals. Tomorrow have made a complex, driving record full of power and feeling and it should chase Keith's "Opera" success up the chart and out into the sunlight for all to dig.

DotThe 23rd Turnoff

Michaelangelo: Sounds like someone got hold of a highly original lyric, and then scored it in brilliant Deram style--but somehow forgot about the melody.

Michaelangelo: A very well-written song, done excellently with a kind of controlled sadness. I really enjoyed the words of this which made me feel sorry. Yes!

DotVirgin Sleep

Love c/w Halliford House: Dreamy sort of drawled treatment here. Something compelling about it but the actual number is a bit draggy.

Love: Has a moody, mystical quality, enhanced by its Eastern-type chord structures and sitar effects. Unusual and not everyone's cup of tea.

DotThe Zombies

Friends of Mine: This group seldom gets the success it deserves from British fans and in an attempt to remedy that I'm told the boys have taken six months off to re-think their pop approach. Here they make excellent use of their harmony talents on this happy, driving number. Could well be the break they're looking for, hope so.

 

 

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