My sneaky suspicion is that the list of Lutheran ministers who’ve also made top drawer psychedelic pop albums is a pretty short one. It’s possible, even, that John Ylvisaker‘s name may be the only name on that list! Looking for all the world like the 3rd Proclaimer and posessing a voice not unlike Edwyn Collins reaching for Scott Walker, Ylvisaker cut a couple of smashing lps for Avant Garde in the late ’60s. The first of these, “Cool Livin’”, is a breathless procession of crisply produced, vaguely tripped-out toppers that would sound just dandy blasting forth in the club scenes in “Coogan’s Bluff”. There are usually a few copies of the lp to be had eBay so I you like the sound of “Who Cares For The City” and have a spare $80-$100 then I can’t recommend “Cool Livin’” highly enough to ya!

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I’ve been DJing some pop nights a but lately, which has gotten me digging through some old records that I haven’t listened to much in a while. Jumping straight to the top of the stack is the self-titled 14 Iced Bears album, a firm favorite back when it came out (1988?) and still sounding great today. A tidy way station between their pure jangle-pop and more psychedelic tendencies, this album was reissued by Overground a while ago as part of the Let The Breeze Open Our Hearts cd and is more than worth whatever efforts you may have to make dig up a copy. “Hay Fever” is one of my fave tracks on the record, a gorgeous slice of come-down melancholy that still gets me all swoony. Take three minutes out of your busy day and let it take you somewhere else entirely.

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This guy makes me sick.

In 1968 (when he was 18) Michael Lloyd created The Smoke’s eponymous (and only) album. He’d already co-founded, recorded one album with, and left, the legendary West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band, and helped out Curt “The Association/Millenium/Sagittarius” Boettcher in The October Country . He’d produced, written for and played in, dozens of bands at his garage studio since the early sixties.

Like i say, a real dick.

He almost single handedly created this Psych Pop Horse Opera alone- handling heavenly harmonies, guitar, bass, keyboards, string and horn arrangments. Less ‘wacky’ than the WCPAEXB, the song conciously echoes the western themes that Brian Wilson had dallied with on the (by then dead) “Smile” project, and Van Dyke Parks on his as ambitious “Song Cycle” album. Like those records, it too, died commercially; you could say it dissapeared in a puff of Smoke (ouch)…  

AFAIK, this album’s never yet made it to CD. A real shame- there’s a Smoke shaped hole (a Smoke ring?) in the catalogs of Sundazed or Rev-Ola. It may yet happen- it only took decades to get the reissue of “Pacific Ocean Blue” (by fellow LA dreamer Dennis Wilson) sorted out.

And Michael? After this singular acheivement, he was made Vice-President of A&R at MGM Records, winning his first Grammy (producing Lou Rawls ‘Natural Man”), at the tender age of 20. He then went on to coin it in during the 70′s and 80′s with The Osmonds, Barry Manilow, Belinda Carlisle, and (yes!) the “Dirty Dancing” Soundtrack. He’s probably sitting in a McMansion now; on a still Bel Air night, you can probably hear the sound of his laughter- at the memory of a callow youth who sang about the wild west.

Talented bastard.

More smashing Jamaican soul, this time from the legendary Alton Ellis. With an incredible career stretching from the 50s r&b scene through ska, rocksteady and straight up to today, Ellis is a true pioneer and original. And a world class soul singer, as these tunes will attest. With a strong, supple voice Ellis can stand tall with Marvin Gaye and David Ruffin as truly top-notch purveyors of emotion and soul. “Girl I’ve Got A Date” dates from 1966 during his tenure on Treasure Isle where he was a key singer in the development of rocksteady. This version (and there are several others) is available on numerous Treasure Isle comps, and on Trojan’s excellent double cd Ellis overview Be True To Yourself.

“The Picture Was You” was recorded during Ellis’ second stint on Studio One around 1969/1970, and is available on Heartbeat’s reissue of Sunday Coming. Just a lovely album.

The flexi theme continues with this little gem. I don’t know much about The Seers; my hazy memory has them tagged as an almost-grebo band who made a string of increasingly worrying rock records back in the late 80s, kind of a Senseless Things with less pop suss. Please correct me if I’m wrong. In any case, they did have at least one fabulous song, “Flyaway,” which was featured on a Bucketful of Brains flexi, then re-recorded for a later proper record. This flexi version came out of left field for me and remains one of my favorites. It’s a fragile, yearning little tune with some ragged harmonies and fuzz guitar. And the tambourine on each snare hit? Love it. A mini classic.

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The Boy and The Cloud recently wrote a great post over at Heaven Is Above Your Head about the wonders of HoneyBunch. Of course HoneyBunch are one of our favorite pop bands ever; their mix of Jeffrey’s brilliant tunes and the band’s effortlessly smooth twang ‘n’ jangle is peerlessly suave. I could rattle on for days about them and what an honor and pleasure it was working with them, but check out the Boy’s post for a great intro. The tune you find here, “Nothing But Trouble,” is pretty rare, only appearing on a flexi that came with Ty Jesso’s short-lived Milky Way fanzine. Digging it out yesterday to rip this tune really brought back a whole flood of memories and was quite inspiring. Expect more flexi rips and possibly ‘zine scans on this blog in the near future.

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60s US soul wielded a huge influence on the development of Jamaican music, and The Temptations were right up there with The Impressions in the pantheon of groups that inspired and provided a model (and songs) for aspiring Jamaican vocalists in the mid 60s. A personal favorite is this sublime take of “Born To Love You” by The Sensations, who notched a few hits around 1966/1967 and featured a young Cornell Campbell on lead vocals. The Slim Smith version of this tune may have been a bigger hit, but this Sensations’ version (produced by Bunny Lee) is as perfect a slice of rock steady as you will hear. Pure class.

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While I won’t even try and pretend to be an expert in Brazilian music, but who doesn’t like a little samba in their Sunday morning? Baden Powell was a legendary guitarist with a long and storied career, Google him for more info. This great take of “Samba de Um Nota Só” is taken from a 1966 LP he made with swing drummer Jimmy Pratt and it’s one of my favorite versions. The effortless drive and swing is so emblematic of Brazilian jazz, and you can’t beat Powell’s lyrical playing.

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When I think about UK power-pop, which I probably do more than is healthy, it’s always the first Vapors album that I come back to. Sure, there’s plenty of stuff by The Yachts, The Jags, Joe Jackson, etc etc that I dig and you will almost certainly hear more of here, but there’s something about the wiry new wavey flavor of New Clear Days that seems so right. Unjustly overshadowed by mega-hit novelty “Turning Japanese,” the album is actually stuffed full of quality tunes that stick in your head for days, or in my case years. A resemblance to mid-period Jam is not coincidental; the album is produced by Jam producer Vic Coppersmith-Heaven, and The Vapors were protegées of The Jam early on. So give it a try, and keep an eye on those $1 bins.

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I Don’t really know anything about BlackBlack. These LA/CA based young ladies and gent seem to be part of the scene based around all-ages indie/punk/noise beacon ‘The Smell’- alongside HEALTH, No Age and other window rattlers. This song is coming out on a 7″ later in the year. Apparently. Hell, i’m not even sure it’s called “Waiting For Magic”.
One thing I do know is that this song is a DESTROYER.
Imagine if Jenny Toomey fronted DFA 1979, and you’re not even close. It’s also completely atypical; their other stuff is decent enough, post-Breeders pop- but one amazing song is one more than most bands create. Cherish it.
BlackBlack, “Waiting For Magic”