Good Trip or Bummer? U.S. Psych Bands Doing "Old-Timey" Songs on Their Albums

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I hate that song 'Granny takes a trip.'

Tripmaker (SDWitzm), Thursday, 27 October 2005 14:17 (eighteen years ago) link

Let's just blame Ian Whitcomb then. For the music hall stuff AND the rinky dink rudy vallee stuff. he was doing it as early as 1965 AND he was on two highly influential garage/psych labels: Jerden & Tower!

scott seward (scott seward), Thursday, 27 October 2005 14:25 (eighteen years ago) link

Yeah, the Gong singalong is one of the ones I was thinking of. I think there's one on the Bannanamoon album too.

walter kranz (walterkranz), Thursday, 27 October 2005 14:41 (eighteen years ago) link

http://www.chickenonaunicycle.com/Piano%20Drop%201.jpg

terry lennox. (gareth), Thursday, 27 October 2005 14:52 (eighteen years ago) link

I just put on Kaleidoscope and I realize that they even sing some of the psychedelic songs in old-timey voices. Question: am I the only one who thinks that the vocal hook from their "Please" may have been lifted by Mick Jones for "Train In Vain"?

k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 27 October 2005 14:57 (eighteen years ago) link

how this thread got this far w/o one single mention of the Lovin' Spoonful is beyond me

Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Thursday, 27 October 2005 15:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Do people think of them as a psych band?

k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 27 October 2005 15:14 (eighteen years ago) link

Upon listening to most of the Kaleidoscope ouvre, I cast my vote as "dud."

k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 27 October 2005 18:07 (eighteen years ago) link

Upon listening to most of the Kaleidoscope oeuvre, I cast my vote as "dud."

k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 27 October 2005 18:10 (eighteen years ago) link

Using the word oeuvre without knowing how to spell it = dud.

k/l (Ken L), Thursday, 27 October 2005 18:11 (eighteen years ago) link

Special Agent Dale Koopa (orion), Thursday, 27 October 2005 19:30 (eighteen years ago) link


The 90's equivilant of this is the "Size Of a Cow", "Digsy's Dinner" style rinky-dink knees-up tune. Not too sure exactly when that trend finally faded, but thank god it seems to be gone.

everything, Thursday, 27 October 2005 19:49 (eighteen years ago) link

eight years pass...

lol at "Magnolia Simms" actually having the record muffle, scratch and "skip back" for a last repeat of the chorus. Mike Nesmith's yodel attempt is cute too.

Doctor Casino, Thursday, 25 September 2014 19:12 (nine years ago) link

two years pass...

dunno where else to put this
http://bittersoutherner.com/from-the-southern-perspective/southern-music/when-the-hippies-came-to-nashville

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 15:48 (seven years ago) link

Awesome, thanks for posting. Bought it when it came out, still one of my alltime favorite records.

I don't really like any of these albums (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:22 (seven years ago) link

one of its major virtues (idk if this gets talked about at all) is the beautiful sound they got on this record. It's a happy coincidence that they were able to get so many old school country giants in the same room *and* take advantage of the peak of analog recording technology. Don't get me wrong I love the Carter Family and Flatt & Scruggs etc. but a lot of their classic recordings sound like what they were: rough, primitive, made with one microphone, that kind of thing. But here you get this fantastic, detailed, crystalline recording, you can really hear what everyone is doing.

Οὖτις, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:29 (seven years ago) link

Yeah, it's beautifully done. I love how they left the little bits of conversation in there too.

I don't really like any of these albums (Dan Peterson), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:32 (seven years ago) link

Never heard that record, must rectify that.

Punnet of the Grapes (Tom D.), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:33 (seven years ago) link

the chatting is great, doc watson b.s.ing about autoharps with maybelle carter, can't beat that

global tetrahedron, Wednesday, 26 April 2017 17:38 (seven years ago) link

not US but UK psych. Bill Wyman-produced The End doing "She Said Yeah" with psych barbershop vocals and a nice New Orlean jazz style sax solo.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nt2Zm-I5Hss

AdamVania (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 26 April 2017 21:34 (seven years ago) link

one year passes...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwVu54JKgHY

Tommy James & The Shondells - Papa Rolled His Own

Hazy Maze Cave (Adam Bruneau), Sunday, 1 July 2018 00:19 (five years ago) link

two weeks pass...

The Mamas and the Papas win this, too, with "Words of Love!"

timellison, Saturday, 21 July 2018 19:13 (five years ago) link

some of the "old-timey" songs are fucking awful, some of them are quite good (just like the songs they're calling back to!). it depends on the song. "on with the show" by the stones is fucking great. "anything goes" by harper's bizarre is quite good. "granny takes a trip" is winking bullshit.

Arch Bacon (rushomancy), Saturday, 21 July 2018 19:45 (five years ago) link

I wonder how much the Old-Timey vibe (which I think also partially stemmed from folknik interest in the same - hence your Jim Kweskin Jug Bands and so on) went on to inform hippie-derived beardy kids' performers in the 70s and beyond. Thinking of the vo-vodie-oh type quality to "Skinnamarinky Dinky Dink" or whatever, as performed to close out Sharon Lois & Bram's Elephant Show, or IIRC some Sesame Street/Schoolhouse Rock stuff. Did Raffi ever do this?

This is a total Jeff Porcaro. (Doctor Casino), Sunday, 22 July 2018 03:56 (five years ago) link

The Mothers, "Bow Tie Daddy" (all 36 seconds worth)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NHWdlN9d35M

Chase Knobbe? Have you Courtney Cox? (Tom D.), Sunday, 22 July 2018 09:43 (five years ago) link

Romance Is on the Rise by Genevieve Waite sort of fits here. More of John Phillips (her husband and songwriter) channeling Tin Pan Alley than jug bands, but it sticks to gentle old melodies while maintaining a 1974 glam of satin hot pants and tinsel boas.

Mungolian Jerryset (bendy), Sunday, 22 July 2018 13:29 (five years ago) link


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