I swear when the Velvets decided to reform and tour Europe in 1990, it was pretty tempting to sell everything I had at the time and go follow them around. Friends can attest to that aborted plan. It didn’t happen and I thus still own the June 1970 issue of Circus below. I have derided Circus in the past, but occasionally, there were some astute pieces. The cover story on the Airplane was set to go to press almost at the exact time Spencer Dryden was being ejected/retired from the group. Luckily, the editors found that photo of Joey Covington to slap on the cover as Dryden is still mentioned in the pages as drummer. That said, Covington’s contribution “Thunk” from the underrated “Bark” is one of the better Nashville Skyline/doo wop/funk hybrids out there and a reet track to boot. Unfortunately, when Dryden left so too did all of his early Zappa-inspired creations ("no man is an island!"). As I have said previously on these pages re early JA up through "Bark": file next to Royal Trux. And why the fuck is the Howling Hex not hitting these shores this year? A future post on the greatness of even the concept of a Victory Chimp audiobook when I hear it.
But I digress. When Clinton Heylin published his Velvets reader All Yesterday's Parties, he did include the great piece below on the Velvets just on the cusp of releasing “Loaded.” In the end, Chris would have been a better choice to edit the thing and methinks Heylin knows that in his bones. But as I have said before, it is far better to SEE and read the primary source. It must have been weird in that spring of 1970 to now have all these folks claiming they were always fans of the Velvets. Nothing could be further from the truth but just look at the critical consensus gaining speed when you read them all together in All Yesterday's Parties. Where were all these hacks when Cale was around? At least Gleason reprinted his SF Chronicle VU swipe in his Airplane book. And why is Richman so prissy as to not have his Velvets juvenilia reprinted in Heylin’s book – I may need to scan it myself and post. I have been listening again to the essential “Fully Loaded Edition” from a few years back and the outtakes are fantastic to hear in better fidelity than the late 1970's boots. The whole thing just warms you up like that Plastic People of the Universe live tape of all Velvets covers from 1971 (or '72 or is it as late as '73?) which reeks of broken pint bottles sloshing around the floor - the atmosphere is that good and thick as to rival the Live at Max's lp . This Circus article hit the newsstand and drugstore racks in June 1970, Brigid Polk records the band at Max’s on August 23, 1970 and Lou is out of the band within weeks. Go figure.
So the back cover of the June 1970 Circus is an ad for the soundtrack to Zabriske Point. You would get the impression after reading How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life that Fahey would at least get a mention in the ad. This is all the excuse I need to post the Mel Lyman "cult stars" of the film Mark Frechette & Daria Halprin schmoozing and doing the creepy crawl with the irrepressible Dick Cavett – and Mel Brooks and Rex Reed (most action post the 7 minute mark).
According to Jorma, "Embryonic Journey" dates from 1962 as part of a guitar workshop in Santa Clara. Yet, clearly Jorma and Fahey would have crossed paths in the Bay Area pre-1965 (by which point Fahey was there) and Jorma would have seen him and Basho playing? Similar influences bring us back around to close to the same place but not quite. Still like Jorma's Quah lp (great cover art on that one out of the Liquorball/Blackjack Records variety) and his electric guitar work on those first 5-6 JA albums is as underrated as Neil Michael Haggerty. Anyway, my first introduction to the American Primitive method though I just didn't know it at the time. The second version of the major label variety is none other than the great Leslie West who managed to sneak in this piece amongst all the O Rex approved heaviness on 1970's Climbing. Readers, lets hear of more major label examples in the comments.
I swear when the Velvets decided to reform and tour Europe in 1990, it was pretty tempting to sell everything I had at the time and go follow them around. Friends can attest to that aborted plan. It didn’t happen and I thus still own the June 1970 issue of Circus below. I have derided Circus in the past, but occasionally, there were some astute pieces. The cover story on the Airplane was set to go to press almost at the exact time Spencer Dryden was being ejected/retired from the group. Luckily, the editors found that photo of Joey Covington to slap on the cover as Dryden is still mentioned in the pages as drummer. That said, Covington’s contribution “Thunk” from the underrated “Bark” is one of the better Nashville Skyline/doo wop/funk hybrids out there and a reet track to boot. Unfortunately, when Dryden left so too did all of his early Zappa-inspired creations ("no man is an island!"). As I have said previously on these pages re early JA up through "Bark": file next to Royal Trux. And why the fuck is the Howling Hex not hitting these shores this year? A future post on the greatness of even the concept of a Victory Chimp audiobook when I hear it.
But I digress. When Clinton Heylin published his Velvets reader All Yesterday's Parties, he did include the great piece below on the Velvets just on the cusp of releasing “Loaded.” In the end, Chris would have been a better choice to edit the thing and methinks Heylin knows that in his bones. But as I have said before, it is far better to SEE and read the primary source. It must have been weird in that spring of 1970 to now have all these folks claiming they were always fans of the Velvets. Nothing could be further from the truth but just look at the critical consensus gaining speed when you read them all together in All Yesterday's Parties. Where were all these hacks when Cale was around? At least Gleason reprinted his SF Chronicle VU swipe in his Airplane book. And why is Richman so prissy as to not have his Velvets juvenilia reprinted in Heylin’s book – I may need to scan it myself and post. I have been listening again to the essential “Fully Loaded Edition” from a few years back and the outtakes are fantastic to hear in better fidelity than the late 1970's boots. The whole thing just warms you up like that Plastic People of the Universe live tape of all Velvets covers from 1971 (or '72 or is it as late as '73?) which reeks of broken pint bottles sloshing around the floor - the atmosphere is that good and thick as to rival the Live at Max's lp . This Circus article hit the newsstand and drugstore racks in June 1970, Brigid Polk records the band at Max’s on August 23, 1970 and Lou is out of the band within weeks. Go figure.
So the back cover of the June 1970 Circus is an ad for the soundtrack to Zabriske Point. You would get the impression after reading How Bluegrass Music Destroyed My Life that Fahey would at least get a mention in the ad. This is all the excuse I need to post the Mel Lyman "cult stars" of the film Mark Frechette & Daria Halprin schmoozing and doing the creepy crawl with the irrepressible Dick Cavett – and Mel Brooks and Rex Reed (most action post the 7 minute mark). Enjoy.
A couple of random facts about the late, great Claude Bessy. Claude Bessy's first acid trip was seeing the Jefferson Airplane in 1967 ("Cocktails With Claude," LA Weekly 1979 interview w/ R. Meltzer). Second fact: there was a late 70's meeting(s) between Claude and P.K. Dick with Germs manager Nicole Panter and artist Gary Panter at Dick's Orange County home, with photographic evidence that ranks up there with the great 70's photos including the Nixon/Elvis photograph and Iggy Stooge and Robert Plant c. 1973. Third, Claude had a recurring cameo on the Hardy Boys tv show playing bad boy rocker "Frenchie" (hey Claude - easy on Paul Williams there!)
Seeing Claude 20 feet high with fucked teeth spewing his rock philosophy (and with Catholic Discipline - get that great Artifix cd) - at the Sherman Theater (RIP) in Sherman Oaks during the spring 1981 original theatrical run of the Decline of Western Civilization was one of the more indelible memories of my pre-teen years. Claude is clearly someone who needs both a compendium of his writing and a critical biography.
I had originally thought I would do a big write up on the Jefferson Airplane given how much time I had spent listening to everything up through "Bark" and live recordings up to that time as well. Figured out what Kantner was on about with Pooneil. Duh, he likes Fred Neil and A.A. Milne. I reread the Ralph J. Gleason 1969 paperback "The Jefferson Airplane and the San Francisco Sound" (Ballantine Books, New York, (1969), which reprints excerpts of his 1966 slam of the Velvets and the Tamarkin book (even the Slick autobio - did she actually type any of it?). Watched the great "Fly Jefferson Airplane" dvd. Godard and the pre-Let It Be NYC rooftop shoot was a revelation.
But in the end, I just think I was wrong to skip the records other than "Takes Off" and "Surrealistic Pillow" until now. Make no mistake, Skippy WAS really one of the creative forces in the band - they even cut his tunes after he left the band. I think I have to thank Haggerty for forcing me to stick it out through "Bark" via the cover of "Law Man." Those first six records - including the live one - have golden moments. Maybe hearing "Miracles" in the 70's so many times forced a reaction to shun them. Thank the Coen Brothers as well for inspiring a recontextualizing/revisitation of what those records meant at the time and Coley's PSF interview last year.
I always felt that Byron Coley was kidding when he wrote of Marty Balin's "crooning hambone essence," or referred to him like an "underground" version of Bob Hope. See Spin, Jan. 1993, Blue Light Special: Jefferson Airplane. After reading Jeff Tamarkin's book, I kinda felt sorry for the guy for having his band practically taken from him by a science fiction obsessed ego-maniac and a totally soused, limo liberal. I mean, the guy could have been considered an east coast pal of Meltzer at the height of the JA's creative and commercial peak circa '67-68. See Meltzer, R. "Marty Balin: Artist as Madman" (Rock, 1970). That said, I am deep enough in to keep an eye out for "Blows Against the Empire" and "Sunfighter" in the dollar bins. Here is JA at the Filmore '66 with Signe (looks like Dryden and not Skippy on drums) doing a number from "Takes Off," an lp that Meltzer I think correctly referred to as "post" folkrock:
Marty's lyrics are not Dylan's, but hey, the guy could write a great simple love song. For some reason, I think I had always steered clear of the band owing to the stench of the forced agitprop as well. But, like I have said before, "Volunteers" sounds great today and Jorma's Fahey-esque playing on "Embryonic Journey" on the Jerry Garcia coined title "Surrealistic Pillow" is near perfect.
Is the creative peak "After Bathing at Baxters"? George D. Henderson of the great and underrated NZ band the Puddle cites "Crown of Creation" as a top 10-er. I can imagine George having his mind blown in 1970 Invercargilll in his off time from the movie theater job. My vote for best Great Society cover is the Salvation Army's cover of "Grimly Forming." Here is the Grace Q&A from Hit Parader 1967.
Richard Meltzer is going to be 65 this year. When the oracle chooses to write about music, one needs to pay close attention. Even his toss offs are great. Case in point is this column for the San Diego Reader from June 1999. Too late for inclusion in "A Whore Just Like the Rest," Richard still riffs on his favorite Doors, Monterey Pop versus Woodstock, the Byrds and the Association. He is a bit too harsh on the Monkees for my liking - their records have aged nicely. As Eddie Flowers has said (or a paraphrase as such): "Headquarters"= summer! Growing up those lps were some of the only "rock" lps in the house. But what the fuck do I know - I wasn't at Monterey. I came across this barn archival piece in connection with research on Meltzer's take on the Jefferson Airplane. According to Tamarkin's book, the Monkees' "Headquarters" was firmly lodged at Number 2 on the charts after the Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" in '67, thus keeping "Surrealistic Pillow" blocked permanently from the top spot. Though a no show at Monterey, Macca did head to SF in '67 and spent a day being shown around SF by Marty, Jack and Jorma, and also did acknowledge the incredible playing of Jack - did Jaco Pastorius copy prime Casady or what. Apparently, Jack jammed with Hendrix till dawn the night of Monterey whilst both were tripping. Meltzer where were you and Pearlman hanging out? Anyone sat through the entire Moneterey Pop Pennebaker dvd box set to report whether it is worth seeking out?
“Like the early San Francisco bands, Hawkwind are vitally linked to the community that spawned them, the hip subculture of London’s Notting Hill district. Also in the tradition of their mid-60’s San Francisco progenitors, they’re as eager to play for love as for money, having performed free more than any other group in Britain . . ." (emphasis added). Whoever came up with this ad copy at least got it right that SF possibly peaked in '65-66. Been working on an upcoming short post on the much maligned Jefferson Airplane - just finished Gleason's 1969 trade paperback on JA in which he repeats his insipid VU trashing (why out yourself AGAIN as a MORON on the subject of the VU for a NATIONAL book as late as 1969 when nobody outside of the Bay Area read your 1966 bash in the first place and could have left it at that - was that one syndicated like his other columns?). Not a horrible book all in all but a bit fawning and self-congratulatory (surprise surprise when the subject is the JA). And yeah, please don't lump in Hawkwind with the self-important crew that RUINED the reputation of the JA try as I might to disassociate the music makers from the music (Volunteers even sounds as good to my ears as Briggs-era Royal Trux at the moment.) Anyway, as to the barn scans, I remember buying a box of various issues of Phonograph Record Magazine from 1972-1974 from Greg and Suzy Shaw about 20 years ago. Before they all fall apart, I copied some and hope to post more of my favorite reviews and ads here soon.
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