Technicolour Dreaming

Serendipity is a much-touted term, but when it happens, it really makes you realise that everything (in the musical world, anyway) is connected - sorry, I'm getting all mystical here! Quite unintentionally, my serendipitous connection this week is a fellow by the name of Allan Crockford - and he pulls all the strings together by being an original member of The Prisoners, producer of the first album by fellow-Medway scenesters The Dentists, and he's currently writing and performing with The Galileo 7. All bands which I played this week, with The Galileo 7 having just released their new album "Live-O-Graphic", which was recorded in a working lithographic press (in the workshop, not the actual press itself).

I don't normally do reviews, but these "nearly live" tracks are as good as it gets - compared to "really live", that is! A stupendous amount of energy drips from every cut - a touch faster than the originals, but every bit as accomplished. The swirling organ is a highlight, along with the precise vocal harmonies and pounding, volcanic drums and bass powering it all along - if this is "nearly live", then being at an actual performance would obviously be an event that will endure in the memory, for those ever lucky enough to see the band in the flesh (sadly, the Antipodes are a touch far away for me to get to a gig in the UK). This is The Galileo 7 as you've never heard them recorded before - and as fantastic an introduction to their back-catalogue as you could ever hope to own. And so endeth my rave.

Also on the show (phew, I'm out of breath - and words), I featured the first installment of the Mega Dodo Singles Club - 2 limited-edition slices of 7 inch vinyl goodness from The Octopus Syng and The Honey Pot (the former a lovely strawberry-red colour - I do love my coloured vinyl!), complete with a membership card, colour band picture-postcards, download cards, sticker and a tiny bee! And I'm not even going to get started on the "A Seance at Syd's" hardback book and double-CD combo (also from the nice people at Mega Dodo records) - think I might leave that til next week, so I can do it justice - it's just such a lovely thing to behold!
Ok, enough of this ranting - here's the playlist, with some moving pictures.... 

Vibravoid - What You Want  ("Psychedelic Blueprints: An Introspection of the Years 2000-2013" Dusseldorf, Germany 2016)

Robyn Hitchcock - I Want You (She's So Heavy) [Beatles] (7" split single [with Terry Edwards] 2011 UK)

Night Beats - The Other Side  ("Night Beats" 2011 Seattle, Washington USA)

The Octopus Syng - Flaming [Pink Floyd]  (7" single [b-side to "Reverberating Garden No. 7" ] 2016 Finland)

The Honey Pot - Lisa Dreams  (7" single 2016 UK)

The Galileo 7 - Don't Fly Too High  ("Live-O-Graphic" 2016 UK)

King Penguin - Thoughts and Words [Byrds]  ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)

The Dentists - Burning the Thoughts From My Skin  (7" single [b-side to "Strawberries Are Growing in My Garden (And it's Wintertime)"] 2014 re-issue, The Medway, UK)

The Luck Of Eden Hall - Another High Speed Blowout  ("The Acceleration of Time" LP [to be released 1 June 2016] Chicago USA)
The Paperhead - She is Above Me  (7" single [b-side to "Pictures of Her Demise"] 2012 Nashville USA)

The Dead Skeletons - Psycho Dead  ("Live in Berlin" 2016 Reykjavik, Iceland)

Sproatley Smith - Pixieled ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)
Beaulieu Porch - The Colour 55 ("A Seance at Syd's" 2 x CD and Book 2015 UK)

Balduin - Everything  ("Choose Balduin" 2011 Switzerland)
Jacco Gardner - Notus  (7" single [b-side to "The End of August"] 2013 Netherlands) 

Graham Day and the Forefathers - 30-60-90  (7"single  [b-side to "Love Me Lies"] 2014 UK)

Beaulieu Porch - Keep On Screaming  ("Beaulieu Porch" 2012 UK)

Chevalier Avante Garde - Young  (7" single 2011 Montreal, Canada)

Dark Ocean Colours - When Both Our Worlds Collide  (digital single 2013 Toledo, Ohio USA)

Torpa - Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Theme  (digital single 2013 UK)

Flavor Crystals - Ivan in the Park  ("Three" 2012 Minneapolis, USA)

Forever Pavot - Christophe Colombe  ("Forever Pavot" 7" EP 2014 Paris, France)

Happy Dagger - Waves  ("Happy Dagger" EP 2014 Portland, Oregon USA)

Has A Shadow - Can't Stop the Fall  ("Sky Is Hell Black" 2013 Guadalajara, Mexico) 

MIMICO - Man from Japan  ("MIMICO" 2013 Toronto, Ontario, Canada)
New Electric Ride - Bye Bye (Baton Rouge) ("Balloon Age" 2014 London UK)

Prince Ruperts Drops - This Evening's Arms  ("Run Slow" LP 2014 Brooklyn, New York USA)
Quilt - Open Eyes  ("New Hampshire Freaks" split 10" [with MMOSS] 2013 Boston, USA)

Technicolour Dreaming

Robyn Hitchcock is in town this week for the first show of his latest Australian tour, playing at the Gov on Friday night, and we interviewed him by phone from Sydney during the latter part of ‘Technicolour Dreaming’. He has had a long, interesting career, beginning with the Soft Boys in the 1970’s, and following through with umpteen solo albums and collaborations to his present position of an unofficial “UK national treasure”. Our conversation ranged from reflections on the role of psychedelia in the 60’s to jokes about pith helmets and Victorian gentlemen-explorers and other diversions. He really is a charming person and, needless to say, a brilliant musician, so don’t miss his shows during this tour. Using Robyn’s music as our starting point, we moved into a variety of other delights, some related, some not. His fondness for Syd Barrett’s music led us to Captain Sensible’s unique take on Syd’s “Octopus”, whilst his trip to Greenland, publicising the effects of climate-change, led to us playing Iceland’s Singapore Sling – a slightly vaguer link, I’ll admit! We also continued to plunder the wonderful “Love, Poetry & Revolution: a journey through the British psychedelic and underground scenes 1966-72”  boxset which we mentioned last week, with songs by Tuesday’s Children and the Mirage, as well as a song by the Fut from 1970 which has often been erroneously credited to John Lennon – Yoko even tried to copyright it in 1985 – but which was in reality a recording by Maurice Gibb, Tin Tin and others... an early try for an “Australian Beatles Tribute Band” perhaps?..... or not!  Throw in some Pinkunoizu, Pugwash, Los Saicos and others and there you have it – another edition of Technicolour Dreaming done and dusted.....

..... and here is the playlist with associated visuals, including the song by the Fut.....

the Soft Boys – Mr Kennedy      (“Nextdoorland” 2002 UK)

Sons of Hippies – The Soft Parade      (“A Psych Tribute to the Doors” compilation 2014 USA)

Pugwash – There You Are      (“The Olympus Sound” 2012 Ireland)

the Beach Boys – Caroline, No      (“Pet Sounds” LP 1966 California, USA)

the Sand Pebbles – Natalie      (orig. on “Atlantis Regrets Nothing” 2006 Australia – this live version rec. 2007 – taken from “Tomorrow Is Today: a tribute to the Australian psychedelic scene 1966-70” compilation 2007 Australia)

Gravenhurst – The Prize      (“A Ghost In Daylight” 2012 UK)

Pinkunoizu – Down in the Liverpool Stream      (“The Drop” LP 2013 USA)

Tuesday’s Children – A Strange Light from the East      (7”single 1967 UK – taken from “Love, Poetry & Revolution: a journey through the British psychedelic and underground scenes 1966-72” compilation boxset 2013 UK)

the Mirage – The Wedding of Ramona Blair      (7”single 1967 UK – taken from “Love, Poetry & Revolution...” compilation boxset 2013 UK)

the Fut – Have You Heard the Word      (7”single 1970 UK – taken from “Love, Poetry & Revolution...” compilation boxset 2013 UK)

Spider 72 – Thursday Sound Revival      (“Seven” 2012 UK)

Robyn Hitchcock – I Want You (She’s So Heavy) [Beatles cover]      (“Mojo : Abbey Road Now” cover-mount-CD compilation 2009 UK)

           ****   Phone conversation between Robyn Hitchcock in Sydney and the Cat & the Brat in Adelaide, prior to his appearance with Steve Kilbey on Friday night, 25^th April, at the Gov    ****

the Soft Boys – Underwater Moonlight      (“Underwater Moonlight” LP 1980 UK)

Captain Sensible – Octopus [Syd Barrett cover]      (“Mojo : The Madcap Laughs Again” cover-mount-CD compilation 2009 UK)

Los Saicos – Demolición       (7”single 1965 Peru – taken from ”¡Demolición! - The Complete Recordings” anthology 2010 USA)

Bob Irwin & the Pluto Walkers – Joker’s Wild [Ventures cover]      (7”single 2012 USA)

Medicine – It’s Not Enough      (“To The Happy Few” 2013 UK)

 the Auras – The Peacock      (“The Auras EP” 2012 Toronto, Canada)

the Sunchymes – Through My Eyes      (mp3 single 2013 UK)

Morgan Delt – Mr Carbon Copy      (“Morgan Delt” 2014 California, USA)

Singapore Sling – Make Us A Fire      (“Perversity, Desperation & Death” 2010 Iceland)