Saturday, November 22, 2014

THE APPLETREE THEATRE - WHAT A WAY TO GO / LOTUS FLOWER, MARCH 1968



No need for any sweet talking, 'What A Way To Go' by The Appletree Theatre is a gorgeous tune with gorgeous lyrics, and I'm quite thrilled to know it.  It's a perfect fit for those of us who are 'world weary' and prefer to 'get lost in the soundscape' so to speak.  Brother Terrance Boylan was the primary writer of the song and was most assuredly going for a 'Day In The Life' feel.  He succeeded in doing so as this song closes out the Appletree Theatre's Playback album perfectly.  Zal Yanovsky of the Lovin' Spoonful was also featured on this record.

The flipside 'Lotus Flower' is a more upbeat instrumental number featuring some killer backwards tape effects.

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

SAN FRANCISCO EARTHQUAKE - FAIRY TALES CAN COME TRUE (HAVE YOU HEARD ABOUT LUCY) / SU SU, JUNE 1968



Here we have another delightful single from Kenny Young's 'tinkertoying' San Francisco Earthquake.  'Fairytales Can Come True' is a lightweight bouncy pop ditty which is worthy enough to have had a compilation named after it.  The lyrics are fairly disposable, but it's a nicely arranged tune with multiple parts and variety of instrumentation to keep things interesting.

The flip 'Su Su' evokes a sort of spoken word dictation from Mr. Young concerning a fascination with one Su Su.  Once again the lyrics can be less than impressive, but another nicely arranged backing track with some nice bits of lead flute and other assorted implements make this one a keeper.

I especially enjoy the odd pink promo label on my copy which compliments the music quite nicely...  Both tunes will be featured in an upcoming Drifting Radio Broadcast.