Rick Sanders of Intro reviews the latest discs. Published in the magazine during December 1967

LAURA’S GARDEN—THE ORANGE BICYCLE:

This is a nice one. A warm, rich sound with smooth double bass, “friendly piano, more than a touch of Swingle Singers’ harmonizing, all moving calmly towards a finale of massed tremolo violins. What you might call centrally-heated envelope music, if you’ll forgive the expression.

ROCK ‘N’ ROLL WOMAN—THE BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD:

John Brown’s been raving about The Buffalo Springfield from his penthouse on top of the Statue of Liberty for at least fifteen light years. I’m now converted, although so many West Coast progressive groups seem to have spent more time thinking of wild names than learning to play their instruments. This group is twenty-two carat stuff. Rock ‘n’ Roll Woman is intelligent, inventive and a complete gas from start to overpowering finish with great fuzzy guitar and unfuzzy singing in between. This is the stuff to fight the big deal gloomy scene with!

HELLO, GOODBYE/ I AM THE WALRUS—THE BEATLES:

The A side, Hello, Goodbye is, of course, brilliant, with a particularly rumbustious Polynesian-style ending. And I do believe I heard a mouth organ—shades of Love Me Do! But compared with I Am The Walrus, it’s no more than what we have come to expect from The Beatles. Walrus, I think, is the best thing they’ve ever done, both musically and poetically. There’s so much in it, you could listen to it solidly for a month and still not get everything out of it. John Lennon rips out bitter, ironic images from the tragic farce of modern life: everyone doing, getting hung up on, being defeated by illogicalities and trivialities.

At least, that’s what this shattering record means to me. I could write a book, it’s so unbelievably full. How on earth, or Heaven, for that matter, do The Beatles manage to mean so much? And how does Lennon get so much precise, powerful meaningfulness from his voice? How can you possibly convey the experience of listening to genius? And how can you accept that some people won’t get a thing out of this record? Ask the walrus. He knows all about it.

IN AND OUT OF LOVE—DIANA ROSS AND THE SUPREMES:

Oh, girls, what have you gone and done? If anyone had told me a week ago that Diana Ross and companions were capable of turning out a rhubarb record, I would have respectfully directed them to the nearest free brain surgeon. But horrors! That is what has come to pass. In And Out Of Love is terrible because of the boing-boing-tinkle backing sounds, because the previously infallible Holland-Dozier-Holland team have written their most soul-less song ever and, most tragic of all, even Diana gets drowned in the noise and sounds like a pale imitation of her former fantastic self. And after their last fantastic record too.

DO YOU HEAR WHAT I HEAR? —MIKE SAMMES SINGERS:

Tin Pan Alley insists it’s time we had yet another Christmas, so I thought it would be nice to review a Merry Christmas record. Happy New Year! (RICK SANDERS 02/12/67)

PARADISE LOST—The Herd:

Fasten your safety belts and open your ear-holes for what has to be a top ten shot from The Herd. Steaming full-speed-ahead in the wake of From The Underworld, Paradise Lost starts off by hitting you full in the face with a blast of burlesque show/strip tease music. Then the mood changes and we’re back to the pop-classical sound featured on the first hit. Great noises—and lead singer Peter Frampton throws himself into the fray with vocal guns blazing. From which you’ll guess that this single isn’t in the dark, moody vein of Underworld; but you can bet your last devalued halfpenny it’ll go bombing up the charts just the same!

SHE’S STILL A MYSTERY—The Lovin’ Spoonful:

It surely is a small mystery why a great group like The Spoonful suddenly dropped out of chart favour after such hits as Daydream and Summer In The City. Still, that’s the way it is, and I don’t see this single winning back the missing millions. It’s nowhere near as good as previous stuff. Written by lead singer John Sebastian, it seems to have become bogged down in the muddy arrangement. The heavy backing just doesn’t get off the ground, and the record gets smothered in its own sound. The Spoonful are at their best with either powerful beat or whimsical tunefulness. This falls between the two and misses out all along the way. A pity.

WARNING—Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation:

It’s another field day for blues addicts. And yet again it comes from a group headed by a refugee from the John Mayall band. This time, it’s drummer Aynsley Dunbar. Warning is just what the title suggests: a hard, brooding song with a stop beat and menacing singing from Vic Brox (who used to have one of the best groups in England himself a couple of years ago). Lead guitarist John Morshead is impressive with his neat, wailing riffs, and all told, Retaliation have made a more than impressive record which should blow many minds.

BALLAD OF YOU AND ME AND POONIEL—Jefferson Airplane:

This wondrous single should attract a horde of Airplane worshippers. It’s a driving up-tempo number with a great beat, biting bottleneck guitar (where the guitarist puts a metal tube on little finger of his left hand and instead of conventional fingering, slides it on the strings—like Little Red Rooster). But the outstanding feature of this single is the singing—a glorious tapestry of sound with exciting, intertwining harmonies. The only thing to fault is the feedback; they overdo it somewhat. However, it’s still a fine record and should increase The Airplane’s reputation as one of the best groups in the business.

BALLAD OF BONNIE AND CLYDE —Georgie Fame:

What a record! It’s the epic of Bonnie and Clyde put into a chunky song, full to the brim with wry, tragi-comic lyrics and played in a style that’s a mixture of Country and Western, Dixieland and beat. Not forgetting the rattle of machine guns, police sirens and screeching cars! Like the film, this record has an original flavour. Bonnie and Clyde have reached folk-hero proportions now; Georgie Fame is singing and playing with no holds barred, and sounds as if he’s really enjoying it. Adds up to what must be one of Georgie’s biggest hits. (RICK SANDERS 09/12/67)

TANGERINE DREAM—Kaleidoscope:

This is it! Kaleidoscope have presented us with a masterpiece for their first LP. Their fantastic single Flight From Ashiya didn’t make it, but Tangerine Dream will set that to rights quality like this just can’t go un-noticed. Every track would make a better single than ninety per cent of the present top thirty. The words that come to mind are all played out—words like creative, fabulous (in the true sense), dream-weaving, moving, poetry. The group have made their own completely original scene, with the name Kaleidoscope providing the key to it all. The sounds on this record are shifting colours settling for a moment into a beautiful stained-glass pattern, then shifting again into a fresh and still more beautiful pattern. All wondrous stuff—and certainly not too far out for mere mortals. It is important music—as singer Peter Daltrey says on the lovely sleeve notes, the collective subject of their songs is simple—the life and people. What more could anybody want?

ON SE QUITTE TOUJOURS—Francoise Hardy:

This is typical Francoise- pure voice, romantic backing, nothing overdone and altogether very pleasant. There’s nobody quite like her on the English scene but though this is a most enjoyable, easy-on-the-ear record so beloved of the late-night DJ’s, it probably won’t do very well.

For a start, it’s in French, and what’s the last record sung in French that you can remember getting into the charts? It’s a shame—but the only way that records like this will get anywhere over here is to have records set for 0 level French!

PROCOL HARUM LP:

A good album, but a bit of a let-down after the two singles—it’s too much the same all the way through—slow and mysterious. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t get off the ground, though. Two tracks are terrific —Cerdes (outside the gates of) and Repent Walpurgis. These are the long ones that close each side, Cerdes being an atmospheric semi-blues sound picture, and Walpurgis a beautiful organ-based tune which meanders and swells into a crescendo that gets you right in the stomach.

Robin Trower‘s guitar is superb all down the line—but I’m beginning to get doubts about Gary Brooker‘s voice. He hasn’t sounded the same since A Whiter Shade; also Keith Reid‘s words aren’t so good when you sit down and listen. They sound nice—but do they mean anything? The trouble with the Harum seems to be that they hit on one very individual style which gave them a massive hit, but haven’t bothered to develop it. They aren’t pulling out all the creative stops—and the end product doesn’t justify the air of pretentiousness they put out. But it’s not a bad LP really—just that they could have done much more with it.

BEDAZZLED—Peter Cook and Dudley Moore:

Dud and Pete get their satirical paws on psychedelia. It had to happen one day! This song—if song is the right word—was written by Mr. Cook and Mr. Moore for the film of the same name, and it’s got all the super trendy sounds. Great organic beat—really and they make a big thing of the Itchycoo Park-style fading, like you used to get listening to Luxembourg on the short wave. Above a girl chorus, all of whom are dying with passion for him, Pete recites some lovely lines telling them to leave him alone; lines like: “I’m self-contained” and “you fill me with inertia.” What a larf—and it’s actually a very fine sound. Top twenty, I should think.

GLAD TO BE UNHAPPY—Mamas And Papas:

This just isn’t on the same plane as Creeque Alley and Monday, Monday, the reason being the song itself. It’s non-descript and isn’t their scene—maybe for one track of an album, O.K., but certainly not a single. Especially when it only lasts one minute forty seconds. (Rick Sanders 16/12/67)

MR. FULL STOP/STING ME—The Original Africans:

Here’s a record that’s a must for every turned-on party. Super-cool West Indian magic to dance the night away to—both sides feature the great ska beat in a new disguise which rejoices under the name, Full Stop. This is a new dance in the wake of the Rock-steady which just might catch on—a great happy sound with a lot happening musically and a fine sardonic vocal telling you how to do the dance. If this is a hit—and it could well be—it’ll be a breath of fresh air for the top twenty.

INSIDE OUT—The Association:

Yet another of those American groups who turn out good records, get hit after hit in their own country but don’t mean a thing in merrie England. It’s a sad thing —some of the stuff on this LP is good indeed—particularly Windy which was a big U.S. hit. The Association produce a clean-cut typically un-British sound. This set is made up of unforced harmony singing full of lyricism, a touch of the freak-outs, a sniff of good old rock and roll, and even a sitar creeps in on one track. They seem to know what they’re doing and this is a nice album well worth a listen. And it has a good cover too.

JENNIFER’S RABBIT/THE MARVELLOUS TOY—Tom Paxton:

Children’s records are usually the biggest drag since Danny la Rue, but this one by Tom Paxton isn’t like that at all. It’s about animals—rabbit, turtle, kangaroo and monkeys—and is full of quiet charm and softness. And it isn’t sloppy or sentimental in the least. The flipside The Marvellous Toy is in the same mood, this time about a toy that makes strange noises! Its a beautifully-produced record with class sticking out a mile; a children’s record that won’t be bought just by children.

TEN YEARS AFTER (LP):

People have been saying a lot of nice things about Ten Years After, a blues group currently going down beautifully in the clubs. Listening to this LP you get an idea why. It’s honest, unpretentious blues all along the line. The lead guitar of Alvin Lee is very good indeed—dazzling intricate solos one minute and long wailing breaks the next. Mind you, there’s nothing revolutionary about this group-they’re very much part of the tradition set by John Mayall, the old Yardbirds and others. But within that framework, they’re extremely good all round. Judge for yourself with a nine-minute version of the Sonny Boy Williamson classic Help Me. It’s a moody, overpowering experience. The best of the lot, a shattering I Can’t Keep From Crying Sometimes.

OKOLONA RIVER BOTTOM BAND —Bobbie Gentry:

Far and away the best of a pretty chronic set of singles this week is this follow-up to the fantastic Ode To Billie Joe by the extremely gorgeous Bobbie Gentry. Totally different to the haunting mystery of Billie Joe, this is a full-blooded torrent of sensuality in the Deep South, with a strong brassy backing and a violent beat. Bobbie’s breathy, tough voice just oozes with sexiness—and it looks as if she’ll be a big name for some time to come. Anyway, Okolona River Bottom Band should have no trouble at all in making the charts; it’s a real scorcher. (RICK SANDERS 23/12/67)

AXIS: BOLD AS LOVE (LP)—Jimi Hendrix Experience:

After playing this a few times you realize that Hendrix is next in line for immortality. At first I thought that Axis was just a load of undisciplined electric noise; but after a while the anarchy falls into place, giving lyrical beauty and raw power. Wild talking guitar, wild talking drums and wild talking bass all speak volumes. The guitar spits, sings, wails, urged on by Noel Redding and Mitch Mitchell—and above it all yet right at the heart, a philosophical Jimi tells the stories. If you don’t already have Axis, get it; if you have it—buy one for your friends. If they have it sit back and blow your mind. You are happy.

EVERYBODY KNOWS (LP)—Dave Clark Five:

You get your thirty-odd bob’s worth on this one O.K.—no less than sixteen tracks, including the big title hit plus previous singles Tabatha Twitchit and You Got What It Takes. Produced by Dave himself, nobody could accuse this of being progressive —it’s good simple pop with no pretensions. Everybody Knows is a well-balanced mixture of the familiar bashing DC5 beat, ballads, minor freak-out, and a C & W track Sitting Here Baby. Bound to be lapped up by droves of hard-core pop fans. Thumbs down, however, for the corny lyrics.

PONY WITH A GOLDEN MANE—Every Mother’s Son:

A beautiful madrigal-type beginning equally fine olde-worlde chorus, and a soft lead voice make this story of a boy and his golden-maned pony into a quiet, com-mercial poem. Medium-paced and very relaxing—except for a very strange bit in the middle. Weird, way out of tune tootings (Is it a voice? Is it a trumpet? Is it Superman?) go against the grain of the song. I’ve probably failed to grasp some deep significance—but despite that, it’s a very good record to unwind to after a tiring day at the workhouse.

THE BEST PART OF BREAKING UP—The Symbols:

Out of the wilds of Romford come The Symbols, a fave rave group in Denmark with telly, radio and all the gear. They aren’t a big name here, but Breaking Up may well change that. It’s an old Phil Spector song (big hit across the pond a few years ago) done by the group in late 50’s rock and roll cum Beach Boys’ style. Pounding beat, great harmony singing, and altogether a very impressive piece of black plastic.

GREEN ONIONS/HANG ON SLOOPY—Count Basie:

Bet nobody expected to see Count Basie in this column. But, for the five hundredth time this decade, big bands are coming back. You might think it a bit off that an oldie hero like Basie should lower himself to pop—but it isn’t like that at all. Great beefy orchestrations, and both sides swing like . . . well, more than plenty of so-called pop discs. This is a fine big sound.

IF YOU GO AWAY (LP)—John Walker:

The superb cover photo is guaranteed to set practically every female heart in Britain fluttering. John sings like never before, putting loads of feeling and quality into the songs, which are mostly night-clubby ballads. With support from the sensitive Reg Guest backings, John looks all set to enter the realm of high-class semi-jazz singers. Yes, a great leap forward for John. (RICK SANDERS 30/12/67)