Wednesday, December 3, 2014

THE MARMALADE - MAN IN A SHOP / CRY (THE SHOOB DOROORIE SONG), JANUARY 1968



Although unsuccessful at release (late 1967 in the UK) this pair of originals from the Marmalade has much to offer.  Both sides are very much in the pop song vein full of strings, horns and sugar coated harmonies, but 'Man A The Shop' is given a distinct edge by the inclusion of what is presumably a backwards fuzz guitar riff that is featured throughout the song.  This is psych at it's lightest, but extremely pleasing nonetheless.

Monday, December 1, 2014

THE CYRKLE - PENNY ARCADE / THE WORDS, JULY 1967



This non LP single from The Cyrkle barely cracked the Billboard top 100 in the summer of 1967 which isn't too surprising.  They had a lot of competition, to say the least.  

'Penny Arcade' written by Denny Randell and Sandy Linzer (a songwriting duo who also wrote a few lightweight numbers for the Monkees) is a decent piano driven pop number with lyrics that could be described as 'typical' for the times.  Some nice harmonies and handclaps are provided from the boys.

The spotlight belongs to the flipside, an original number written by founding member of the Cyrkle Tom Dawes. 'The Words' is lead by some classic folk rock jangle and backed with thumping bass, electric sitar, and treated harmony vocals.  This tune ranks among the best from this short lived group and should not be overlooked.