1968: A Different Wave

With a Little Help from my Friends

Joe Cocker and Leon Russell.

The frontman of Grease, Joe Cocker, a band formed along with keyboardist Chris Stainton and drummer Bruce Rowland, enjoys the rising success of his group, with the single Marjorine, the most successful hit of Grease until then. Furthermore, he joined Asylum Choir, of musicians Leon Russell and Marc Benno, eventually merging both bands into The Greasy Asylum, adding Alan Spinner in the bass guitar.

Greasy Asylum was one of the first bands which arouse the interest of Apple Records. Managed by Denny Cordell, Cocker and Russell were greeted by Brian Epstein to sign along the new-established label. Accepted by Cordell, the group started to record their debut album at the Olympic Studios. The band was backed by Yardbirds' Jimmy Page and Procol Harum's Matthew Fisher and B.J. Wilson.

"Back to '68, after a performance in East London... If I remember, Brian [Epstein] came along with me and Leon, chatting about music and our likely future, when he came up with the idea to sign with Apple. We were one of the firsts, along with The Iveys, you know, and our manager was about to sign us with Regal. Actually we all saw the opportunity to rise quickly by joining The Beatles' side, and it was pretty much of it."

-Joe Cocker, 1998. 

It's a Saucerful of Secrets

Pink Floyd, 1968.

Pink Floyd entered at the De Lane Lea Studios in October 1967 to record Paintbox, written by Richard Wright, before taking a break on recording, and subsequently started their first US tour. The tour, entitled Pink Floyd World Tour, spanned from February 1968 until December of the same year, and by June, the band started to promote their second album, Keep Smiling People. Pink Floyd's tour was considered average by the band, except the stolen instruments near San Francisco, in the US leg of the tour.

"The tour was particularly nice, but we had those issues with freaks robbing our instruments, except for Rick instruments and some amplifiers, and we needed to recuperate them. But we stood at a home of Alice Cooper, and we borrowed their instruments. Actually they were very kind with us, and we could recover the instruments later. Some of them were damaged, but we did it, though."

 -David Gilmour, 2015, Wider Horizons.

Pink Floyd entered at the De Lane Lea again in January to rehearsals of Waters-penned songs. On 24-25 January, the band recorded throughout these days, "The Most Boring Song I've Ever Heard Bar 2" (later renamed to See-Saw), Let There Be More Light and Corporal Clegg. In February, the band recorded Wright's It Would Be So Nice and Waters' Julia Dream. In a conflict with Blackhill, the band resolved to release Wright's song and Waters' Corporal Clegg as a double A-side. Both singles were released in April, with It Would Be So Nice peaking in number 11 in UK Singles Charts, but failing to chart in the US.

"It was hard to come with songs for the album. We actually weren't great songwriters at the time, we had written... ten songs at the time, I guess? Counting both Projection and Keep Smiling People, because Gilmour in fact 'borrowed' Michael Magne's compositions. And for a while, King and Jenner saw Wright as the true figure of a frontman for the band, goddamn."

-Roger Waters, 1984.

With not enough material, the band recorded at the studio a jam which was being performed by the band throughout the tour called Keep Smiling People, at the time. In the final sessions, the band added lyrics to the track, changing the name to Careful With That Axe, Eugene. Keep Smiling People was retained as the name for the album. The group also recorded an experimental, avant-garde piece called The Massed Gadgets of Hercules, which was also performed on the tour. Both tracks angered producer Norman Smith, who alleged that the band couldn't fill the rest of the album with a bunch of unintelligible noises.

Avoiding complications with the band's management, Let There Be More Light was released as single b/w the edited section of Syncopated Pandemonium, being successful in the US, peaking in number 29, and peaking in number 11 in UK Singles Charts. It was the lead single for Pink Floyd's second album. The band resumed the tour shortly after finishing to record the album.

Pink Floyd – Keep Smiling People

Pink Floyd - Keep Smiling People (1968)

Genre: Space rock, psychedelic pop, experimental

Total: 39:29

Side A - 20:12

1. "Let There Be More Light" (Roger Waters) - 5:38

2. "See-Saw" (Richard Wright) - 4:36

3. "Careful With That Axe, Eugene" (Waters, Wright, David Gilmour, Nick Mason) - 5:45

4. "Corporal Clegg" (Waters) - 4:13

5. "Julia Dream" (Waters) - 2:37

Side B - 19:17

6. "The Massed Gadgets of Hercules" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason) - 11:57¹

a. "Something Else" - 3:57

b. "Syncopated Pandemonium" - 3:07

c. "Storm Signal" - 1:34

d. "Celestial Voices" - 3:19

7. "Paintbox" (Wright) - 3:33

8. "It Would Be So Nice" (Wright) - 3:47

Keep Smiling People was produced by Norman Smith and recorded by Pink Floyd, being their second studio album, released on 29 June 1968. It was the second album released under the Blackhill Records label, a subdivision of EMI Records. Although less raw than the debut album, Keep Smiling People is filled with experimentation by Pink Floyd mixed with Psychedelic pop. The Massed Gadgets of Hercules was called a Space anthem. The lyrics of the album vary from Fantasy, troubled relationships, war-themed songs and the everyday.

The album received better reviews than Projection, such as a firmer release by the band, with Psychedelic pop original tunes that go well along with the space and experimental themes through the record. Keep Smiling People reached number 9 in UK Album Charts and went to number 132 in Billboard, slightly better than the last album. David Gilmour played the lead guitar and kazoo, Richard Wright played keyboards and vibraphone, Roger Waters played bass guitar and Nick Mason the drums. Side A is oriented to pop tunes while Side B is mostly filled with The Massed Gadgets of Hercules.

For the fans, the album was acclaimed at the time, with Pink Floyd playing on its own entirety at the Hyde Park concert on 29 June 1968, on the same day that the album was released. Then, the group resumed again with the tour to promote Keep Smiling People across continental Europe. The album was a hit in France and West Germany.

Thank you, Jim, for our exposure to the crowd

Jimi Hendrix with Kevin Ayers, 1968.

After a tour in France, Soft Machine was preparing for the return for the United Kingdom when lead guitarist Daevid Allen had his entry denied. Allen was Australian, and not satisfied with the situation, Kevin Ayers decided to return to France with Allen, while Mike Ratledge and Robert Wyatt returned to the UK. The moment was considered a brief break-up to the band, but in three weeks, the group reconciled, and Soft Machine reallocated their activities to France for the next two years.

Though the incident, the group was reformed after an invitation of Jimi Hendrix to open the concert for the band during the US leg of the tour. Approved by the band, the band performed across the United States with Jimi Hendrix. Soft Machine performed on their set, the extended play with a few more, unreleased, songs, about to be recorded during the break. During the break, the band entered at the Record Plant Studios in New York and recorded the album through the entire April 1968. Through the recordings, they encountered David Bowie, who was also recording his debut album there.

The management of the band decided to release A Certain Kind as single, backed with Jet-Propelled Photograph. The single was approved by the band, the producer and friend Brian Hopper, and by Jimi Hendrix, who called the song a romantic, raw and energetic song. A strong hit in Britain, the single topped the UK Singles Charts while it peaked in number 8 in Billboard Hot 100. The band become quite famous thanks to their new single.

"I felt funny when the song became a hit. Actually I just released for fun, it was really something that I was waiting for. I recall that Hendrix came to me when the song went famous like, 'I knew it, it was a great song, hah!'. It was a good moment, to be honest."

-Kevin Ayers, 2008 

Got to go to a Sunday drive

Bee Gees – Marley Purt Drive

Bee Gees - Marley Purt Drive (1968)

Genre: Baroque pop, country rock

Total: 39:49

All songs written by Barry, Robin & Maurice Gibb, except when noted.

Side A - 19:42

1. "Idea" - 2:51

2. "Jumbo" - 2:07

3. "Whisper Whisper" - 3:24

4. "Indian Gin and Whisky Dry" - 1:55

5. "Marley Purt Drive" - 4:26

6. "Kitty Can" - 2:31

7. "Such a Shame" (Vince Melouney) - 2:28

Side B - 19:07

8. "Let There Be Love" - 3:28

9. "Words" - 3:13

10. "Edison" - 3:07

11. "The Singer Sang His Song" - 3:07

12. "Swan Song" - 2:55

13. "The British Opera" - 3:17

Marley Purt Drive was released as the fifth studio album by the Bee Gees. Produced by the Bee Gees and Robert Stigwood, the album was released amidst tensions between the group and the sessions for what would become the next album. The album is oriented from the traditional Baroque pop that the band was widely known at the time, but some of the tracks were influenced by other styles, such as the title track, Marley Purt Drive, and Such a Shame to country music, and the symphonic remnants of The British Opera.

Barry Gibb frequently calls the album as the leftovers of City on the Black Sea, since most of the songs of both albums were written and recorded around the same period. The record features the only track which wasn't written by a Bee Gee, with Vince Melouney's Such a Shame. The themes of some songs, such as Swan Song and Such a Shame itself reflects the tensions inside the studios. Maurice Gibb participated the most on the production of the album, although it was credited to the band and manager Robert Stigwood. He also played the bass guitar, piano, organ, and the mellotron. Barry Gibb played rhythm guitar, Vince Melouney played the lead guitar, Robin Gibb played organ and Colin Petersen played the drums. Maurice is featured in the cover.

With the release, the album reached number 4 in UK Albums Chart while peaked in number 17 in Billboard. The album is remembered by its successes such as Idea, Jumbo, and Words, the last one being a hit in the United States, Latin America, and Brazil. After the album, the Bee Gees proceeded with the tours and recording City on the Black Sea. Most memorable songs from the album were Words, Idea, Jumbo, and Kitty Can.

Notes:

[1] The Massed Gadgets of Hercules is OTL A Saucerful of Secrets.