1970/1971: A breath of fresh air

Don't try to take me if I can't return

Shagrat (sans Steve Took) recording Quatermass, 1970.

After passing through several bands and working as a session musician, Steve Took finally settled down in Shagrat, first performing in underground concerts and at the Phun City rock festival. The group was signed into Blackhill Records in late 1970, which caused the postponement of recording their first songs. After the early months, Blackhill finally scheduled a short tour across the UK and France, giving attention to the band of the remaining member of Rubber Band.

"The early days were such a mess because we needed to tour, but we had no managers, and my contract with Blackhill was almost expired. This is when I approached Syd and Peter to return to the company with my band instead, which they agreed. But it took quite long to sign another contract, because... of a lot unnecessary bureaucratic bullshit, you know?"

 -Steve Took, 1974

Quickly, Blackhill arranged a last-time concert for Shagrat in the Hyde Park Festival of 1971, looking to promote their soon-to-be newest act. "That's what we could do for a moment, as we couldn't afford to arrange any tours for Shagrat at the time due to no contract with them.", Andrew King. The band was first presented to a wider audience at the festival, performing a set comprising their songs and standards.

The group recorded their debut album in-between Abbey Road and Strawberry Studios, with songs written by each member, hiring Dick Taylor as a suggestion from Hawkwind's Dave Brock. The album would be recorded between August and December 1970, when the band left the studios to go on another tour in Europe, and then in the American West Coast.

"In the first moment, there was some lack of consensus of what our next album would be. Would it be folk? Hard rock? or the new wave of prog rock? So Hammond said 'well, why not everything? I'm sure we can work out with all this stuff.', so we pretty much agreed with him as we didn't have another choice."

-John Gustafson

Quatermass was quickly announced, although with no singles. The group received a wider attention from hard rock fans, generally associated with the emerging heavy metal scene with Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Despite that, Shagrat denied being labeled as another fellow rising heavy metal band, though the group kept in pace with Deep Purple (John Gustafson was a friend of the group and later join the Ian Gillan Band).

Shagrat - Quatermass

Shagrat - Quatermass (1971)

Genre: Hard rock, progressive rock, freak folk

Total: 41:13

Side A - 19:09

1. "Scorpius/Steel Abortion" (Steve Took, Larry Wallis) - 4:30

2. "Up on the Ground" (John Gustafson) - 7:11

3. "Amanda" (Took) - 3:18

4. "Punting" (Gustafson) - 7:10

Side B - 22:04

5. "One Blind Mice" (Gustafson) - 3:10

6. "Seventh Sign" (Took) - 5:37

7. "Make Up Your Mind" (Hammond) - 8:44

8. "Beautiful Deceiver" (Took) - 4:33

Quatermass is the debut album of British rock band Shagrat, being released in 23 February 1971 by Blackhill Records in the United Kingdom and Europe and Capitol Records in the United States and the rest of the world. The album would be produced by Pretty Things member Dick Taylor, becoming the first work of former Rubber Band Steve Took in three years of semi-hiatus.

The album would be noted by the crossover between acid, hard rock, freak folk and progressive, symphonic rock music, labeled by the critics as 'inconsistent, yet powerful'. Shagrat appeared in the list of the most promising bands of 1970 and 1971. Later, the album would establish a cult following of prog-rock enthusiasts, being considered a classic from the first wave of progressive rock.

Despite the hustle towards the record, the numbers in the charts would reveal a great disappointment to the label, reaching number 20 in the UK Album Charts and number 174 in the Billboard 200, falling down quickly, as well as the disastrous West Coast tour that would eventually lead Blackhill to more financial problems in the 1970s.

All things must pass away...

John Lennon and George Harrison recording the guitar parts of Wild Life (if I'm not wrong, lol).

Following the release of Get Back, The Beatles could finally rest for a while, not before renewing their contract with Apple/NEMS and EMI, which I mean by settling their differences aside and marking a new era within the band. The longstanding partnership Lennon-McCartney was disbanded, with both songwriters (mostly Lennon) seeking creative freedom over his lyrics. The Beatles also agreed in releasing their albums in a two-year period, after a successor for their previous album, focusing on their personal lives and projects. In the meantime, Paul and George came into terms regarding George's songs and Epstein's equal share.

In the following four months, the band entered into a "semi-hiatus", as some of them resumed into recording solo projects, where a few contributions would be set aside to an eventual Beatles record. Despite recording their solo projects, all of the albums would be released only next year, a few months before All Things Must Pass. The band would, inevitably, resume their activities in August 1970, without Paul, as John invited George and Ringo to participate in a session.

"It was more or less like this. John invited George and I to play on some songs he was recording to [John Lennon/]The Dirty Mac, but in reality we were just fooling around the whole session when George said 'oh hey, we are recording for the Beatles right now?'. John answered something like 'I guess?', and this followed for a few days when we called Paul back to the studio."

-Ringo Starr, 1998

The album would turn out to be the last record with songs written during their stay in India, with Junk and Teddy Boy written by Paul, and Look at Me written by John Lennon. All Things Must Pass had an equal share of songs between Paul, John, and George, with It Don't Come Easy being sung by Ringo, earning him a songwriting credit as a parody of the Lennon-McCartney partnership, "Harrison-Starkey". The group also recorded a jam that would evolve to the side closer Wild Life, credited to Paul.

"I believe that All Things Must Pass was the first time in a long time that I felt that my contributions were actually being well used. The process was enjoyable all the way through, no peer-pressure from Get Back or A Doll's House, just a very laid back recording process which I believe we've all benefited from. It personally encouraged me to suggest the idea of the Concert for Bangladesh for the band."

-George Harrison

It's Johnny's Birthday would be featured as a secret track right after Harrison's I Live for You, a song based on Cliff Richard's Congratulations. The song was recorded by the group per request of Yoko Ono to John Lennon's 30th birthday. The idea to include the 49-second track in the album came from John himself as a novelty song, which all of the band agreed to do, even if the album came out seven months later.

The first single to be issued was George's What Is Life, released on February 1971, featuring the prominent use of a stripped-down Wall of Sound becoming a top-ten hit in the United States, the United Kingdom and elsewhere, backed by an instrumental version of Junk in the New World while backed by Teddy Boy in Europe, except for West Germany (backed by Watching Rainbows).

All Things Must Pass would be announced in early April 1971, with the release of the second single, Maybe I'm Amazed, becoming the Beatles' first smash hit of the seventies, backed by Isolation, and eventually a classic and signature song of the Beatles in the 1970s. Later in France and Latin America, Wild Life was released as a single, with Dig a Pony as the backing single.

The Beatles – All Things Must Pass

The Beatles - All Things Must Pass (1971)

Genre: Rock, pop, folk rock

Total: 43:38

Side A - 23:08

1. "Instant Karma! (We All Shine On)" (John Lennon) - 3:18

2. "All Things Must Pass" (George Harrison) - 3:44

3. "Teddy Boy" (Paul McCartney) - 2:22

4. "What Is Life" (Harrison) - 4:22

5. "Isolation" (Lennon) - 2:51

6. "Wild Life" (McCartney) - 6:31

Side B - 20:30

7. "It Don't Come Easy" (Harrison-Richard Starkey) - 3:00

8. "Oh My Love" (Lennon) - 2:44

9. "Maybe I'm Amazed" (McCartney) - 3:53

10. "Look at Me" (Lennon) - 2:53

11. "Junk" (McCartney) - 4:28

12. "I Live for You" (Harrison) - 3:35

13. "It's Johnny's Birthday" (Bill Martin, Phil Coulter) - 0:49

All Things Must Pass is the fourteenth studio album by the British band The Beatles. The album marks the return of the band in the production, with co-writing credits to George Martin and Phil Spector in some tracks, being released in 17 May 1971 by Apple Records, and being distributed by EMI. It is considered the first album from the Seventies era, after the Get Back sessions, of more mature songwriting in a back-to-the-roots style.

The recording sessions of All Things Must Pass started as solo sessions from each member, reserving a contribution that would feel suitable to a Beatles' album. The group reunited in two occasions in 1970, and the last two months in 1971. In contrast with the sessions of Get Back and Abbey Road, the sessions of All Things Must Pass were considered 'laid-back' and 'inspiring' by the members, who were also working on their solo records.

The themes of the album are considered a response to the hard times that the group had during the previous years, particularly the title track, relating to George's, and ultimately, the band's point of view. Besides that, love, existential and social themes are also common throughout the record, avoiding politics and religion, which the band was widely associated at the time. Wild Life is the third-longest Beatles song by length, after I Want You (She's So Heavy) and Hey Jude.

Initially, the album received negative reviews by the critics, who've characterized the mixing and production as 'lo-fi' and 'unfinished'. Nevertheless, All Things Must Pass was a big success as always, topping and alternating the top spot of Billboard 200 with Carole King's Tapestry, and later, the Beach Boys' Landlocked. In the United Kingdom, the same case happened with the Rolling Stones' Sticky Fingers. Four singles were released, and the most successful of them was Maybe I'm Amazed, becoming a classic Beatles tune.

In general, All Things Must Pass remains as a favorite record between the members, but mostly John Lennon, in an interview with Playboy in 1981, and Ringo Starr, who reverenced the equal share of tracks between the Beatles (Lennon and McCartney contributed four songs each, George contributed with three songs plus one in a partnership with Ringo).

The Beach Boys Go Dark

The Beach Boys (sans Brian) performing at the Central Park, 1971.

Despite having gone a long way, The Beach Boys seemed shaken up in the last few years, even with the success of Smile and Wild Honey, the disappointment of the last two records, plus the mental condition of the main songwriter Brian Wilson, made the band hire Jack Rieley as their manager. The move was instigated by the band themselves as a way to revitalize their public image along the turning of the decade

First measures were appointing Carl Wilson as the band's leader and spokesman, as well as ending the group's practice of wearing matching stage uniforms. Rieley also encouraged the band to record more socially conscious lyrics, as well as lyrics more centered on their actual feelings, instead of the sunny and happy themes that covered the band's prior catalog.

"Jack really helped us a lot to modernize our image, to stop making us looking like douchebags, stuck in the sixties. We needed that bump, to talk about more serious themes and be in touch with not only our audience, but our generation in general. I don't wanna sing about a happy day without thinking about Vietnam. That's the thing."

-Dennis Wilson

The policy of Jack Rieley to the band's first album under his management was to synthesize their feelings to music, relieving their frustrations. Most of them, unsurprisingly, about war, love, existentialism, hope and nostalgia. The major opponent of the idea was Mike Love, who argued that most of the lyrics weren't about the standard Beach Boys, being rebutted as that the album was a way to the group to reinvent themselves and keep in pace with their generation.

Mike's presence in the album was widely diminished, despite his presence in the sessions, with Dennis being favored as a potential songwriter. Love's major contributions in the album were Sound of Free (co-written with Dennis), Don't Go Near the Water (with Al Jardine), and the excluded Student Demonstration Time (an altered version of "Riot in Cell Block Number 9"). He also influenced in the decision to make "Won't You Tell Me" as the final track, as a bittersweet ending to the record.

"I'll be honest, it's a good record, but the sessions had some troublesome moments. Mike and Bruce kind of regretted the decision of having Jack as a manager, Brian was rock bottom, no treatments at the time, while Dennis was emerging and starting a feud with Bruce, and I had to maintain the order. It was good to me because I needed to grow some balls and be a leader who would guide the band to deliver the best product as possible in the end."

-Carl Wilson

The first experiences with Landlocked were written in Music Maker's report "Hold the Waves! 'Surf' is definitely 'Up' to the Beach Boys!", following an interview with Carl, Al Jardine, and manager Jack Rieley. Landlocked was controversially promoted with the magazine claiming that the band abandoned the 'saccharine music reminiscent from the Carpenters' towards a more progressive and conscious sound.

"I really was surprised of how Landlocked had such a hype across the people. That album made me willing to be more open to new experiences, helped me a lot to see that the audience wasn't the main way to see what the people was really listening to. Yet, I still feel a little uncomfortable with a lot of the lyrics and all the comparisons at the time. But I have learned my lesson, haha."

-Mike Love 

Long Promised Road was issued as a promotional single reaching number 2 on both the Billboard Hot 100 and UK Singles Charts, backed by Student Demonstration Time. The song was well-received, becoming a song generally associated with hope during hard times, similar to the situation the band and the world was at the time. The album was announced as "Landlocked.", as the band seemed to ditch once for all the previous surf sound from the sixties.

The Beach Boys – Landlocked.

The Beach Boys - Landlocked. (1971)

Genre: Progressive pop

Total: 38:23

Side A - 19:48

1. "Sound of Free" (Dennis Wilson, Mike Love) - 2:23

2. "Don't Go Near the Water" (Love, Al Jardine) - 2:39

3. "Lady (Fallin' in Love)" (D. Wilson) - 3:11

4. "Feel Flows" (Carl Wilson, Jack Rieley) - 4:44

5. "Fourth of July" (D. Wilson, Rieley) - 2:44

6. "Disney Girls (1957)" (Bruce Johnston) - 4:07

Side B - 18:35

7. "Long Promised Road" (C. Wilson, Rieley) - 3:30

8. "Lookin' At Tomorrow (A Welfare Song)" (Jardine, Gary Winfrey) - 1:55

9. "A Day in the Life of a Tree" (Brian Wilson, Rieley) - 3:07

10. "(Wouldn't It Be Nice to) Live Again?" (D. Wilson) - 4:38

11. "'Til I Die" (B. Wilson) - 2:31

12. "Won't You Tell Me" (B. Wilson, Murray Wilson) - 2:54

Landlocked (stylized Land Locked.) is the sixteenth studio album by the American band The Beach Boys, released on 30 August 1971 by Brother and distributed by Island Records. It was the first album of the Beach Boys under the management of Jack Rieley, that would become known later as the Rieley Trilogy. The cover and artwork was widely based on James Earle Fraser's sculpture "End of the Trail", becoming one of the most remarkable album covers of all-time.

With personal problems, such as Brian Wilson's conditions, and the poor response for Add Some Music for Your Day, Jack Rieley was hired as the band's manager. As a therapeutic exercise, Rieley suggested the group to make a record to relieve their frustrations, also encouraging the group to approach more socially conscious lyrics, as many groups at the time. The idea was accepted among the band, except for Mike Love and Bruce Johnston, who emphasized the themes of  'summer and love', thus becoming the album with the least Mike Love contributions.

Ironically, Landlocked remains as one of the Beach Boys' best-selling records. At the time, it ultimately became a smash hit by the band, making it their first release since Beach Boys Concert to top the Billboard 200, and the UK Album Charts. Won't You Tell Me and Long Promised Road were released as singles, with the latter being the most successful, although Sound of Free had a fair share of success.

The album addressed topics that were previously never addressed by the group such as environmental, social and psychological issues, adding to the repertory of love and nostalgia, becoming considered The Beach Boys' darkest record to date, according to NME's article 'The Beach Boys Go Dark'. The bittersweet tracks like Long Promised Road and (Wouldn't It Be Nice) To Live Again? are considered the greatest definition of the album as a whole. It is also considered the album that consolidates Dennis Wilson's emergence as a songwriting power in the band.

In the end, Landlocked remains a crucial piece and a quintessential record that defines Progressive pop as a genre, influencing the Neo-psychedelic movement, shoegaze, synth-pop and the alternative music scenes. The band was nominated to the 1972 Grammy Awards in three of the four major awards, with Carl Wilson's Long Promised Road winning the category of Song of the Year in a controversial victory over Carole King and James Taylor's You've Got a Friend.

Author's notes:

Hey everybody, hope you're doing well. Sorry for the sudden absence, my computer broke a while ago, but now I'm back and I'll resume with the blog. The cover design of Landlocked is originally from soniclovenoize's version. The Beatles' All Things Must Pass was made by andrewskyDE.

Sources:

• Shagrat - Quatermass
• Quatermass - s/t
• Steve Peregrin Took - The Missing Link To Tyrannosaurus Rex
• Shagrat - Lone Star
• Shagrat - Pink Jackets Required
• The Beatles - All Things Must Pass
• George Harrison - All Things Must Pass
• Paul McCartney - McCartney
• Wings - Wild Life
• John Lennon - John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band
• John Lennon - The John Lennon Collection
• Ringo Starr - Blast from Your Past
• The Beach Boys - Landlocked.
• The Beach Boys - Surf's Up
• The Beach Boys - Feel Flows: The Sunflower & Surf's Up Sessions 1969–1971

1969/1970: A brief recapitulation...

Author's note: From this post, A Crazy Gift of Time will be posted once a week/two weeks. I have a couple more posts already written, and this will give me time to concentrate in college and to write more stuff. Anyway, I hope you enjoy your stay in this crazy gift of time, thank you for reading this timeline! :)

To where you once belonged

The Beatles, ca. 1969.

As 1969 progressed, the tensions between the band were high at the point that in every session the band wasn't entirely present. Consistently, there were Ringo and George, sometimes Paul, sometimes John, and sometimes the reverse. For Brian Epstein, the situation in the management was almost the same too, as a rift between him and Allan Klein became very apparent.

"For a time, it was just me who was very wary with Klein. Then, Brian [Epstein] said to me some stuff that he was discontent with his work there, he wanted to replace Klein, but wanted the band to secure his action. I immediately stood up for him. Then, Ringo joined us, then John and George."

 -Paul McCartney, 1988

At the time, Epstein's visits to the studios became less and less frequent, as he had to deal with Apple Records. And with this, the situation in the studios became more and more chaotic, with the presence of their families, mostly Yoko and Linda, and sometimes their kids too. For the first time, the band had other producer than George Martin to the Get Back project, Phil Spector, to finish the overdubs.

Apart from production, John Lennon briefly left the Beatles between 19 to 26 September 1969, a fact that was known a year later when Klein was fired from Apple. John would still return because of Epstein, who talked to him during meantime. As for the others, with the end of the sessions, Paul would begin to record his debut solo album, entitled McCartney, in secrecy, as did the other Beatles. Ringo still would participate in sessions with Spector.

"John wanted to scrap the film, but Paul and Brian vehemently rejected the idea. 'Doing all of that work for nothing?', they asked. And they were quite right, we are human beings, and that would be the sign that in the studios, the things were a lot different than publicly."

-Ringo Starr

In February 1970, dissatisfied with the turn that the label was going, John and George, the remaining members, were convinced by Brian Epstein to dismiss Klein. "He thought a lot about that, and we knew that he wasn't wrong. The Apple venture was something that we weren't prepared for, and Klein was a weight on his back.", George Harrison. Officially, Klein was dismissed in March 1970, two months before the release of Get Back and the premiere from the movie.

After the release of the album, Lee Eastman was appointed officially to replace Klein in the management. As for the Beatles, the band decided to enter in a hiatus for a year, deciding to record the album in a two-year period. However, the EMI label demanded a last album after Get Back before the management company signed a new contract with them. And at last, Lennon and McCartney decided to dissolve their partnership. Finally, The Beatles were renovated, a new band diving into the 1970s along with other bands altogether.

Get Back was finally announced, alongside the documentary with the same name in April 1970. At the time, rumours said that The Beatles were about to break-up since the dismiss of Klein from Apple, and as the movie was released, it would only confirm those claims to their public. As some tracks were released as singles mostly in the previous year, I've Got a Feeling and The Long and Winding Road were released as a double A-side single, topping the UK Singles Chart and reaching number 3 in the Billboard Hot 100.

The Beatles – Get Back

The Beatles - Get Back (1970)

Genre: Rock, pop, blues rock, film soundtrack

Total: 84:22

Disc One - 41:56

Side A - 21:27

1. "The Palace of the King of the Birds" (George Harrison, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, Richard Starkley) - 5:04

2. "Get Back" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:09

3. "Dig a Pony" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:54

4. "Two of Us" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:33

5. "I Me Mine" (Harrison) - 2:26

6. "Old Brown Shoe" (Harrison) - 3:21

Side B - 20:29

7. "Come Together" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:20

8. "Don't Let Me Down" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:35

9. "Sour Milk Sea" (Harrison) - 3:50

10. "(You Know) It Ain't Easy" (Lennon-McCartney) - 2:59¹

11. "Octopus's Garden" (Starkley) - 2:51

12. "One After 909" (Lennon-McCartney) - 2:54

Disc Two - 42:26

Side C - 21:01

13. "Medley I: Sun King/Mean Mr. Mustard/Polythene Pam/She Came in Through the Bathroom Window" (Lennon-McCartney) - 6:41

14. "For You Blue" (Harrison) - 2:32

15. "Watching Rainbows" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:08

16. "I've Got a Feeling" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:37

17. "Let It Be" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:03

Side D - 21:25

18. "You Never Give Me Your Money" (Lennon-McCartney) - 4:02

19. "Across the Universe" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:48

20. "Isn't It a Pity?" (Harrison) - 4:45²

21. "The Long and Winding Road" (Lennon-McCartney) - 3:38

22. "Medley II: Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/The End" (Lennon-McCartney) - 5:12

Get Back is the thirteenth album by the British rock band The Beatles. It was produced by George Martin, Glyn Johns and Phil Spector and released in 8 May 1970 by Apple Records and distributed by EMI. Part-studio album, part-live album, and part-film soundtrack, the double album contains the material recorded during the sessions of the documentary with the same name, Get Back, plus more songs that didn't appear in film.

The album was recorded in a difficult time for The Beatles, as the band needed to resolve the management issues in Apple Records with manager Brian Epstein and Allan Klein. Paul McCartney gave the idea for a documentary showing how the albums were done, and also a back-to-basics routine for the band. Throughout the year of 1969, the tensions between the members of the group remained high, prompting to John Lennon's brief departure from the band in late September.

With the release, the album was met with universal acclaim by music critics and by fans, topping the charts in both sides of the Atlantic, Billboard 200 for almost 30 weeks and the UK Album Charts for 21 weeks. Get Back is considered another album that blew up expectations by the band, with journalists claiming that "even after eight years, The Beatles never cease to impress us". The album is considered among the Beatles' best, alongside Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, A Doll's House, and Band on the Run.

Beatles' Get Back is considered among musicologists a landmark on music's history, and on the band's history itself. The album cover mirrored the band's debut album, Please Please Me, and also became  one of the most imitated in popular music. In 2020, it was ranked fifth in Rolling Stone's list of the greatest albums of all time. The album has also been ranked as one of the Beatles' best-selling, including a multi-platinum certification by the RIAA.

Still, Get Back wasn't free from criticism of the Beatles themselves. Paul McCartney considered Phil Spector's embelishments unnecessary in most of the songs, while John Lennon felt that the album lacked authenticity. The record also is the last record with the iconic partnership between John Lennon and Paul McCartney, which after that, both members would be credited individually for their songs.

Shagrat the Vagrant

Steve Peregrin Took, somewhere in the 70s.

As 1969 was passing, Steve Took — former member from Rubber Band and now the former drummer from Syd's touring band as he was backed by Tailboard — started to connect with more members from the now-crumbling British Underground, forming the 'Pink Fairies Rock'n'Roll Club'. Some of the members included the Deviants (such as Mick Farren), former members from The Pretty Things, and sometimes even Syd himself, who was mostly absent because of touring.

Throughout the year, Took collaborated with two songs on drummer Twink's debut solo album Think Pink, "Three Little Piggies" and "The Sparrow is a Sign", and also collaborated with former The Deviants Mick Farren's solo record Mona – The Carnivorous Circus. And that is where he could find his future band.

"So, after breaking up with Rubber Band, after leaving Syd's band, I was quite lost in my way. I wanted to be in a group so bad, I had written a couple songs to do something, but I was missing my opportunity to shine. And that's why I am thankful to Mick helping me by meeting with Shagrat."

 -Steve Took, 1976

During the sessions for Mona, Took met bass player John Gustafson and keyboardist Pete Robinson. Gustafson was a member of Episode Six as Roger Glover left to join Deep Purple, together with Mick Underwood, who didn't participate in the sessions. However, asked if he wanted to join a group John was forming, Steve gladly accepted, suggesting Shagrat as the name for the group, accepted by them. However, this time, Steve filled up the role for guitarist, and eventually, a frontman for his new group alongside Gustafson.

All the people having dinner inside

Os Mutantes, ca. 1970.

The group Os Mutantes was a band heavily linked to the Tropicália movement back in Brazil, and the country's greatest revelation for rock music at the time. The band pioneered the use of electric guitar in traditional Brazilian music, seen as 'blasphemous' to the more conservative and puritan elements of music. (And when I say 'conservative elements', they even did a march against the electric guitar, I mean, what were they thinking?) Anyway, back to the story...

Os Mutantes were formed in 1966 by the high-class friends Rita Lee and brothers Arnaldo Baptista and Sérgio Dias. They were a part from a larger musical group called Six Sided Rockets, which was reduced to the trio in a year. And since 1967, the group released three albums: Os Mutantes (1968), Mutantes (1969) and A Divina Comédia ou Ando Meio Desligado (1970, recorded in 1969).

Between 1969 and 1970, Os Mutantes would go touring in the psychedelic melting pot of France, and invited by Carl Holmes, the band started to record an album, at the Des Dames Studios, to attract an international audience to the band. At the time, the band was signed with Polydor Records. The album would be released as Technicolor, and released for international markey only, reaching Brazil under a reissue in the 1980s.

Still, winds of change affected the Brazilian music scenario as the military dictatorship was getting harder and harsher against the opposition, resulting in the exile from famous musicians at the time, such as Chico Buarque, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, the last two, the main figures of Tropicália alongside Os Mutantes. One of the effects of the persecution was the bittersweet ending of the Tropicália movement, as their main figures distanced themselves from the 'tropical, psychedelic-esque' sounds, moving towards the typical Brazilian Pop Music (MPB, for short).

However, for Os Mutantes, they would remain for a while with a foot on Tropicália territory, but as time progressed, the group would be more influenced by the growing progressive rock scene and by hippie ideals that came (quite late) to Brazil, eventually moving to a hippie settlement throughout the 1970s. For many artists, including them, that period was considered the post-Tropicália era, fuelled by a bitter sentiment against the military regime and by previous influences, quite like a transitionary stage.

"Since we were one of those major figures in Brazilian music at the time, the military government was keeping an eye on us constantly. It was the most common thing at the time to a musician to have a song prohibited by the censorship offices. That happened to us, and to everybody, to Taiguara, to Milton [Nascimento, Caetano [Veloso]... It was awful."

-Rita Lee, 1992

Year of the rooster

Carl Palmer, also somewhere in the 1970s.

At last, there is Atomic Rooster. A new, democratic, incarnation from the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, the band was initially composed by Arthur Brown (vocals), Andy Dalby (lead guitar), Nick Graham (bass guitar and vocals), Vincent Crane (keyboards), Carl Palmer (drums), and one of the most promising acts with their newest material infusing heavy psychedelia, progressive, and experimental rock music.

The group would start to perform around London, headlining at the London Lyceum in August 1969, with the opening act by Deep Purple. Atomic Rooster signed with Blackhill Records, replacing the former incarnation of the group. Andy Dalby officially joined the group as he was found by Arthur Brown when he was looking for a touring band. The band would start to record their debut album in December 1969.

In January 1970, the non-album single Friday the 13th, written by Vincent Crane, was released, with Gypsy Escape as the backing single. The single reached number 14 in the UK Singles Charts and didn't chart in the United States, and despite being considered an average song by the critics, the song passed unnoticed by the public. "That's when we knew that we needed the help from Blackhill.", Nick Graham.

The album was announced as Galactic Zoo Dossier by Blackhill, featuring a lot of promotion by the label as the new incarnation of the 'successful' Crazy World of Arthur Brown. From the hit single "Fire", not the album "Strangelands". One of the acts was to put the group as a headliner at the upcoming Blackhill's Hyde Park Festival in July 1970.

"Not gonna lie, I was quite nervous with the album, after what happened with Strangelands. And that was the first album without some considerable leadership, even if I was the frontman for the group, haha."

 -Arthur Brown, 1981

Atomic Rooster – Galactic Zoo Dossier

Atomic Rooster - Galactic Zoo Dossier (1970)

Genre: Progressive rock, space rock, hard rock

Total: 43:58

Side A - 21:31

1. "Internal Messenger" (Arthur Brown) - 5:08

2. "Space Plucks" (Brown, Crane) - 3:21

3. "Galactic Zoo" (Brown) - 2:32

4. "Broken Wings" (John Mayall) - 5:47

5. "Devil's Answer" (Crane) - 4:43

Side B - 22:27

6. "Banstead" (Crane, Nick Graham, Carl Palmer) - 3:30

7. "Medley (Galactic Zoo/Space Plucks/Galactic Zoo)" (Brown, Crane) - 3:18

8. "Decline and Fall" (Crane, Graham, Palmer) - 5:45

9. "Simple Plan" (Brown) - 3:03

10. "Sunrise" (Brown, Crane) - 6:51

Galactic Zoo Dossier is the debut album by the British band Atomic Rooster, and the first album of most members after the failure of Strangelands. The album was released in 23 February 1970 in the United Kingdom and 5 March 1970 in the United States and the rest of the world. Galactic Zoo Dossier is one of the first conceptual albums of the first wave of Progressive rock, and considered a primal example of space rock.

The album was recorded after the American tour as the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and after the release and the critical reception of Strangelands, the group reformed into Atomic Rooster. The band started to tour around London and the United Kingdom before gathering and recording Galactic Zoo Dossier plus a few more tracks which were released a few years later in reissues.

Atomic Rooster's Galactic Zoo Dossier would be released to a great appraisal by the critics and well-received by the public in general. The album would peak in number 3 in Britain while it would reach number 86 in Billboard 200. Devil's Answer would be released as a promotional single, reaching number 8 in the UK Single Charts and number 10 in Billboard Hot Rock Charts, backed by Space Plucks. Galactic Zoo Dossier would be considered a 'redemption album' after the disastrous Strangelands.

It is the only album to feature drummer Carl Palmer and bassist Nick Graham. Palmer would later leave Atomic Rooster to form the supergroup Emerson, Lake and Palmer with Keith Emerson and Greg Lake, while Nick Graham moved to Skin Alley, replacing Thomas Crimble. The remaining members would form the main core of Atomic Rooster for the rest of the first era. The album would receive a lot of appraise by its contemporaries.

"Galactic Zoo Dossier was the shit at the time, probably Blackhill's greatest venture at the time. Vincent [Crane] and [Arthur] Brown did a great job with that album. That would be one of the things that I would stop everything I was doing and listen to while high."

 -Syd Barrett, 2013

"That stuff was... mind-blowing when I first listened. It's hard to tell how Galactic Zoo Dossier was influential for me in several aspects. Probably there wouldn't be a Ziggy Stardust without that record."

 -David Bowie, 1999

Author's comment:

And here we are in the 1970s! At least with a foot on it, welp. And we have the introduction of a new band, Os Mutantes! A Brazilian band, very successful at the time, and they have quite an interesting scenario to work with. As for Arthur Brown, finally here it is a new reintroduction to Atomic Rooster and their debut album, Galactic Zoo Dossier, based on the OTL album with the same title, from Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come.

Sources

The Beatles - Get Back:

• The Beatles - Abbey Road
• The Beatles - Let It Be
• The Beatles - Past Masters
• George Harrison - All Things Must Pass

1. '(You Know) It Ain't Easy' is 'The Ballad of John and Yoko'.
2. 'It Isn't a Pity' is the second version in the All Things Must Pass album.

Atomic Rooster - Galactic Zoo Dossier:

• Atomic Rooster - Atomic Roooster
• Arthur Brown's Kingdom Come - Galactic Zoo Dossier

1967/1968: Forever and Ever

A magical and mysterous tour...

The Beatles filming Magical Mystery Tour.

Between the Sgt. Peppers the Transcendental Meditation, The Beatles initiated the project Magical Mystery Tour with Paul McCartney. Most of the filming occurred between 11 and 25 September 1967, while the soundtrack was conceived between the Sgt. Peppers sessions and 7 November 1967. The sessions have been characterised by some biographers as aimless and unfocused, with the band members overly indulging in sound experimentation.

The Beatles finished working on Magical Mystery Tour by November of that year, and decided to strenghten the ties with the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi. The band stood in Bangor for ten days, leaving Bangor and directly going to film the movie. Plans to take part on Maharishi's training course in Rishikesh were made to late October, however, at Epstein's urging, they postponed the trip until the new year to work on their Magical Mystery Tour film project.

With the end of the filming sessions, the soundtrack for Magical Mystery Tour was set to be released in 27 November in the United States (as a LP) and 8 December in the United Kingdom (as a double EP). The movie was premiered at BBC1 in 26 December 1967, ultimately becoming The Beatles' first critical failure and commercial flop, albeit the album was generally successful.

The Beatles – Magical Mystery Tour

The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour (1967)

Genre: Psychedelic rock, art rock

Total: 34:47

All songs written by John Lennon & Paul McCartney, except when noted.

This is the LP version of Magical Mystery Tour, originally released in the United States.

Side A (film soundtrack) - 19:05

1. "Magical Mystery Tour" - 2:48

2. "The Fool on the Hill" - 2:59

3. "Flying" (Harrison, Lennon, McCartney, Richard Starkey) - 2:16

4. "Blue Jay Way" (Harrison) - 3:54

5. "Your Mother Should Know" - 2:33

6. "I Am the Walrus" - 4:35

Side B (singles) - 15:42

7. "Hello, Goodbye" - 3:24

8. "Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!" - 2:37

9. "When I'm Sixty-Four" - 2:37

10. "Baby You're a Richman" - 3:07

11. "All You Need Is Love" - 3:57

A premature end

David Bowie and Marc Bolan, a shot of Marc's TV show. An encounter that would only happen in 1977.

After a brief European tour to promote There is a Happy Land, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Steve Took, and Syd Barrett returned to the studios to record Rubber Band's second album. Teaming up with guitarist Big Jim Sullivan, keyboardist Vincent Crane, and producer Norman Smith, the band already had songs enough to the album. It seemed a perfect scenario if the group simply didn't want to take the band into different directions. While Syd and Took wanted to bring the band in a step to an experimental direction, Bowie preferred to follow a baroque, progressive-esque way, similar to the debut album, and Bolan suggested to go into the psychedelic, folk-y way, resorting in more acoustic and tribal-sounding music, instead of feedbacks and reverberations of Syd and the lushed arrangements of Bowie.

"In the following years I stopped to think about that period, regretting so many things that I said, thinking how would have been different if we shared the same vision, but it was, and still sometimes is, really sad that we didn't follow with Rubber Band. But I'm really grateful for what the guys did with me, and how Rubber Band was a pretty interesting part of our history."

-David Bowie, 2001

"The thing is that, following the sessions, I didn't see neither Bowie, neither Bolan as partners anymore, and I presume that both of them neither. We just became a... group of friends who were desperately seeking for a way to dispatch the Rubber Band quickly. Coincidentally, we improved our relations after we dissolved the band *laughs*. It is kind of ironic though... since the album has experimental and baroque songs of each members, you know?"

-Syd Barrett, 2007

The sessions of The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, otherwise from the debut album, were exhausting for both members. The group ended up co-leading a short tour in the UK with the Crazy World of Arthur Brown, and later entering into an indefinite hiatus, with both members focusing on their solo careers, to an eventual end. The album was released in April, with lead single See Emily Play, a big hit in United Kingdom and France, and Love You 'till Tuesday, a minor hit in Britain, while a big hit in Italy.

In early 1968, Syd Barrett tried to negotiate a return to Pink Floyd Sound, being denied by the band, more because of his deteriorating relationship with Roger Waters. In February, Syd Barrett entered the studios with the same backing band from The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and began to record his debut solo album, provisionally entitled Just a Syd Barrett Album.

"Roger was still angry with Syd, and we already had David replacing him, and it worked fine. Roger then became kind of mad when he saw Syd crawling back to us, and as the leader behind-the-scenes he immediately denied it. Nick and I were quite uncomfortable due to after all that stuff that happened in less than a year before, and David... well, he was there. He didn't talk too much during the early years."

-Richard Wright, 2005

As for David Bowie, he started to record his debut album at the Record Plant Studios, in New York, with overdubs made at the Trident Studios, in London. Tony Visconti, producer who was producing with Tyrannosaurus Rex was recommended by Marc Bolan to help Bowie at the Trident. Tony indicated new people to work with, remaining only drummer Willie Wilson to record the drums for a few songs.

Rubber Band – The Piper at the Gates of Dawn

Rubber Band - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1968)

Genre: Psychedelic rock, psychedelic pop

Total: 41:12

Side A - 19:37

1. "Astronomy Domine" (Syd Barrett) - 4:12

2. "Hippy Gumbo" (Bolan) - 2:28

3. "Lucifer Sam" (Barrett) - 3:07

4. "Eastern Spell" (Bolan) - 2:46

5. "Chapter 24" (Barrett) - 3:42

6. "When I Live My Dream" (Bowie) - 3:22

Side B - 21:35

7. "The Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith" (Bolan) - 2:45

8. "Silly Boy Blue" (Bowie) - 4:36

9. "See Emily Play" (Barrett) - 2:53

10. "Silly Crazy Child" (Bolan) - 2:27

11. "Sell Me a Coat" (Bowie) - 2:58

12. "The Bike Song" (Barrett) - 3:21

13. "Please Mr. Gravedigger" (Bowie) - 2:35

Produced by Norman Smith, the second and final album of the British band Rubber Band was released on 12 April 1968. Recorded during an unstable period which resulted in the break-up of the group, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn was noted by the fairly better production than the debut album by Norman Smith, by the wide experimentation in some music, and by the pop ventures of the group. The lyrics are noted by the acid humor on some tracks, such as Please Mr. Gravedigger, and the mysticism on Chapter 24.

The album was better received than There is a Happy Land, providing two last performances of the group at John Peel Sessions, where both announced that the break-up was likely. Though, the singles See Emily Play and Sell Me a Coat were successful, with the first peaking in number 15 and the second in number 28 in the United Kingdom. The album reached number 4 in the UK Albums Charts and number 85 on Billboard Top LPs.

Piper at the Gates of Dawn is regarded as one of the most influential records in the UK Underground and in the Neo-psychedelic scene and remains as the most popular album of Rubber Band. The band would reunite for multiple times, such as in 1972, at the end of Ziggy Stardust tour (with noted abscence of Marc Bolan), in 1977 at Marc Bolan's TV show, in 1985 in Live Aid, 1996/98 in a reunion tour, and for the last time in 2012.

Prominent band, ambitious project

The Bee Gees in 1967.

L-R: Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb, Vince Melouney, Maurice Gibb, and Colin Petersen.

Noted by the press by their Beatles-esque sound, the Bee Gees were rising as a prominent 60's band filled with baroque and psychedelic sounds reminiscent of Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's, Beach Boys' Pet Sounds, and vocals influenced by Roy Orbison and Frankie Valli. Enjoying the success of their hit singles such as New York Mining Disaster 1941, To Love Somebody and Massachusetts, the band's frontman, Barry, along with his brother, Maurice, envisioned an ambitious project which was called 'an opera inside an album'. The intended album would be postponed by manager Robert Stigwood, who booked new sessions after the Christmas holiday for another album.

Though part of the members of the band didn't want to start the project too soon (Vince Melouney and Robin Gibb), the group ended up starting to record a big amount of songs besides the ones for the upcoming album. The unceasing disagreements between the members, mainly between Melouney and Barry occasioned on the only Bee Gees' track written by one besides the Gibb brothers, with Vince's Such a Shame, recorded for Marley Purt Drive.

"It was a really hard routine, Robert [Stigwood] was a pain in our back. Record something for Marley Purt Drive, then a tour in the UK, then another in Germany, record new things, then a TV performance back in England, it wasn't healthy, and then Barry comes with that Opera-concept for an album, it was really too much pressure."

 -Vince Melouney, 1973.

"Frequently Robin, Maurice and I met at my house to discuss about the songs that would fit for the album [City on the Black Sea]. Songs that were discarded, were recorded for Marley Purt Drive, so then I believe that the album is a bunch of leftovers from City on the Black Sea, though Robert wanted us to record some of the songs we left for the opera."

-Barry Gibb, 1996.

The last session of Marley Purt Drive is considered 25 June 1968, when the group finalized recording Jumbo and quickly proceeded into recording more tracks for another album, with the working name An American Opera. In between the sessions, the Bee Gees toured in the United Kingdom and West Germany performing the songs from Marley Purt Drive, Horizontal, Bee Gees' 1st, and a set of covers.

Eat up, eat up honey

Beach Boys, 1968 sans Brian.

Once finishing Smile, the band already started to record the follow-up, with the working name Smiley Smile. In a month, the group recorded only four short songs at Brian Wilson's home studio. Some of the tapes recorded were later recalled as The Bedroom Tapes, released in future boxsets. At the same time, the group was recording the sequel, they were worried about the psychological conditions of Brian Wilson in his performance at the studio and/or at the concerts.

"We didn't have done pretty much anything but recorded four short songs at that time, and also we were in a hurry to perform at the Monterrey Pop Festival, and then Hawaii. After those sessions at Wally Heider, we reassured to make a standard studio album, as a normal band, like before 'Pet Sounds' or '[The] Beach Boys' Today!'".

-Mike Love, 1985.

"Technically, Mike and I took the lead role on Wild Honey, that's why the album has a wide R&B influence, a different style compared to Smile, Pet Sounds, and even 20/20. We wanted to step back, because the last album was somewhat too much perfectionism of Brian. But still the work had a massive influence of Brian's arrangements."

-Carl Wilson, 1981.

Moreover, Brian Wilson was becoming tired of produce to the Beach Boys, requesting to Carl and Dennis to help in the process. In a break of the sessions, the Beach Boys also joined the course of Transcendental Meditation of the Maharishi, which influenced the tracks recorded after February. Al Jardine recalls that after Maharishi's course, the behavior of the group, and even Brian Wilson, had a significant improvement. Mike Love returned from his retreat a few days after the band, and the band started to record a few remaining songs.

"Then I noticed that... the label [Brother Records] wasn't going well too. We had a distribution contract with Capitol, but we were accumulating debt, sustaining the label without any notion of business. So we needed to call for help from somebody."

-Carl Wilson, 1981.

The Beach Boys – Wild Honey

The Beach Boys - Wild Honey (1968)²

Genre: Psychedelic pop, blue-eyed soul, R&B, lo-fi, bedroom pop

Total: 63:34

Side A - 15:21

1. "Meant for You" (Brian Wilson, Mike Love) - 1:50

2. "I Was Made to Love Her" (Henry Cosby, Sylvia Moy, Lula Mae Hardaway, Stevie Wonder) - 2:05

3. "You're With Me Tonight" (B. Wilson) - 2:17

4. "Friends" (B. Wilson, Carl Wilson, Dennis Wilson, Al Jardine) - 2:32

5. "Aren't You Glad" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:16

6. "Rock and Roll Woman" (Stephen Stills) - 2:19

7. "Little Bird" (D. Wilson, Steve Kalinich) - 2:02

Side B - 15:47

8. "Darlin' (Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby)" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:12³

9. "Transcendental Meditation" (B. Wilson, Love, Jardine) - 1:51

10. "How She Boogalooed It" (Love, Bruce Johnston, Jardine, Wilson) - 1:56

11. "Gettin' Hungry" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:27

12. "A Thing or Two" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:40

13. "Be Here in the Mornin'" (B. Wilson, C. Wilson, Love, Jardine) - 2:17

14. "Passing By" (B. Wilson) - 2:24

Side C - 15:54

15. "Wild Honey" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:37

16. "Here Comes the Night" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:41

17. "I'd Love Just Once to See You" (B. Wilson, Love) - 1:48

18. "When a Man Needs a Woman" (B. Wilson, D. Wilson, C. Wilson, Jardine, Steve Korthof, Jon Parks) - 2:07

19. "Lonely Days" (B. Wilson, Love) - 1:45

20. "Anna Lee, the Healer" (B. Wilson, Love) - 1:51

21. "Busy Doin' Nothin'" (B. Wilson) - 3:05

Side D - 16:32

22. "Diamond Head" (Al Vescovo, Lyle Ritz, Jim Ackley, B. Wilson) - 3:39

23. "My Little Red Book" (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:48

24. "Let the Wind Blow" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:19

25. "Be Still" (D. Wilson, Kalinich) - 1:24

26. "Country Air" (B. Wilson, Love) - 2:20

27. Their Hearts Were Full Of Spring" (Bobby Group) - 2:33

28. "Wake the World" (B. Wilson) - 1:29

Wild Honey is the thirteenth studio album of The Beach Boys. The album was produced by Brian and Carl Wilson and was the first studio release under the Brother Records label, distributed by Capitol. It was released on 24 June 1968. The album was recorded as an attempt to 'redefine Beach Boys as a democratic band'. Although numerous compositions by Brian Wilson, the album is noted by the significant contribution of the members of the group in the lyrics, and by the Wilson Brothers and Mike Love leadership, since Brian was temporarily away from his functions.

The album was firstly received with mixed to negative reviews by the critics but ended up well-received by the fans and public in general. It was observed a different style since the previous album, by bringing R&B and Soul influences to the album, mixed with general psychedelia similar to the albums which precede Smile and Pet Sounds, named as "exquisite, unorthodox mainstream pop music". The lead single, Darlin', has shown that the popularity of the band was slightly increasing since the stylistic change, hitting number 5 on Billboard Hot 100. Wild Honey topped the UK Album Charts and reached number 7.

Regarded as one of the prettiest Beach Boys albums, Wild Honey is recalled as a step back of Brian Wilson's ambitiousness merging into an oddly satisfying, low-budget record, being sometimes considered even better than Smile. It is considered one of the most influential records on Indie and Lo-fi music.

Notes:
[1] Tracks sourced from Pink Floyd's The Piper at the Gates of Dawn and David Bowie's self-titled debut album.

[2] Tracks sourced from Wild Honey, Smiley Smile, Friends, and Wake the World: The Friends sessions. Meant for You is an alternate mix including the session intro.

[3]  Thinkin' 'Bout You Baby is the original name of Darlin'.

Author's addendum:
Yeah, ladies and gentlemen, the first break-up of a group. Although were friends, Syd and Bowie couldn't reach an agreement to stay as a competent duo, needing to put into an indefinite hiatus.
And here is the first not-so-common band in alternate histories, Bee Gees! It would be an interesting plot to see what if Robin Gibb didn't briefly leave the band, and what if the Bee Gees' Odessa would've fulfilled its proposal. I've done a little plot with Bee Gees in my other timeline, Projection, but this time I want to work further into a new, and prolonged plot.
And for The Beatles and Beach Boys, I wanted to give roles reversed in a way... with Beach Boys releasing a double album in 1968 instead of Wild Honey and Friends, and set The Beatles to release two albums instead of the White Album.

1967: Psychedelic Boom

Considered by many as the year of the boom of Psychedelic music, in 1967, Blackhill Enterprises saw many of their artists debuting in the music industry. Considered the peak of the 60's Counterculture, Summer of Love occurred that year. Throughout the year, Blackhill signed with the psychedelic band Tomorrow, garage rock band The Deviants and especially, the psychedelic band Pretty Things.

"It was insane to see many underground artists moving to Blackhill when in the previous year was, like, only Pink Floyd and Soft Machine. [Peter] Jenner and [Andrew] King did an impressive job by signing with a lot of groups."

-John Peel, 1994

Taking Four to Know

Promotional photo of Rubber Band, 1967. (L-R: Steve Took, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, Syd Barrett)

For Rubber Band, the success of Arnold Layne and Rubber Band's Theme reflected into their managers, who saw the group as potential golden-egg layers. The band produced the songs during the recording sessions of their debut album, There Is a Happy Land.

For the album, the band had Rick Wills and Willie Wilson, then from the Flowers backing them, and keyboardists Richard Wright, who was invited by Syd to help eventually, and Vincent Crane, who was recruited from the gigs in the British Underground. Mike Vernon was guaranteed to help the band to produce the album. Syd and Bowie recorded the album from 14 January to 25 April 1967, being released two months later.

"[...] I invited Rick because we still talked since that day when I left Pink Floyd and we had a cordial friendship. Vernon offered us other people, but Rick was quite fun to work with."

"When I still was in Pink Floyd, we recorded a session with our tunes, but we actually never released it until 2015, when Gilmour and I wanted to do it. I had other couple of new songs written, but I can say that about a half of my songs on There Is a Happy Land were written before 1966."

-Syd Barrett, 2018 (A Breath of Fresh Air - The Music Times)

The duo got old songs to record them, with Syd bringing old songs such as Lucy Leave and Candy and a Currant Bun, while Bowie brought his singles which failed to another opportunity, like Baby Loves That Way and You've Got a Habit of Leaving, recorded with his previous bands as Lower Third and The Buzz, while Marc Bolan brought his set of songs that haven't been recorded as demos. Steve Took was the only member that had any songs.

"I've seen a lot of potential coming in those songs, but it wasn't at the right time, y'know, and I felt that re-recording them would make'em better known. I also had a few new songs, as Syd had, because Jenner and King wanted a new set of music to perform to the public, so we shown a few new tracks."

-David Bowie, 2003

The recording sessions finished with the last takes and overdubs to the title track, There Is a Happy Land. Four days later, the group, backed by Vincent Crane (now a member of the Crazy World of Arthur Brown) and the Flowers, would present themselves at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream, performing the entire album plus the then-unreleased Interstellar Overdrive (without David Bowie), and unreleased songs of the next album, The Piper at the Gates of Dawn.

Rubber Band – There is a Happy Land

Rubber Band - There is a Happy Land (1967)

Genre: Psychedelic pop, acid rock, mod, novelty, proto-punk

Total: 39:53

Side A - 20:28

1. "Lucy Leave" (Syd Barrett) - 2:53

2. "You've Got the Power" (Marc Bolan) - 2:35

3. "The London Boys" (David Bowie) - 3:20

4. "Matilda Mother" (Barrett) - 3:58

5. "You've Got a Habit of Leaving" (Bowie) - 2:31

6. "Desdemona" (Bolan) - 2:25

7. "Snowing" (Barrett) - 2:46

Side B - 19:25

8. "There is a Happy Land" (Bowie) - 3:11

9. "Mustang Ford (Go Go Girl)" (Bolan) - 2:37

10. "Let's Roll Another One (Candy and a Currant Bun)" (Barrett) - 2:45

11. "Rubber Band's Theme" (Bowie) - 2:17

12. "Midsummer Night's Scene" (Bolan) - 2:35

13. "Baby Loves That Way" (Bowie) - 3:03

14. "Arnold Layne" (Barrett) - 2:57

Released on 25 June 1967 and issued in both mono and stereo sounds, Rubber Band's debut album, There is a Happy Land, was received with mixed to positive critics. The characteristics of the album flirted with/merged Psychedelic music, folk tunes, blues sets and vaudeville into, mostly, novelty songs. Entirely written by Syd Barrett, Marc Bolan and David Bowie, the album is remembered by their unusual themes for the time, such as adultery, transvestism, explicit lyrics, which some critics harshed the content of the album.

The album was produced by Mike Vernon, with Syd Barrett playing the lead guitar, David Bowie playing the acoustic guitar, backed by The Flowers, composed by the former members of Jokers' Wild, the bass player Rick Wills, and drummer Willie Wilson, and featured the participation of Pink Floyd keyboardist Richard Wright.

There is a Happy Land had two songs released as singles before the album, the double A-side Arnold Layne and Rubber Band's Theme, backed by Candy and a Currant Bun. Both songs on A-side were successful. After the release, Bolan's Desdemona was released as single, being initially banned, but later was unbanned after the explicit verse was altered.

The album reached number 6 in UK Album Charts and number 126 in Billboard 200. In the following years, the duo expressed favorable opinions about the album, as did the members of Pink Floyd. John Lennon's opinion on the album was favorable, regarding it as the best thing that came out from 1967. There is a Happy Land was very well-received by the public, mostly by the UK Underground, and in later years, it outstands as one of the records of the Summer of Love.

"After the sessions of A Coeur Joie, Michael [Magne] came to me and Nick and said commented how There is a Happy Land, mostly Arnold Layne, Desdemona and Rubber Band were big inspirations to write the soundtrack for the film. We shared that Syd was our friend and Rick contributed for the album."

-David Gilmour, 2015

Still, the Rubber Band didn't stop going to the studios. A week after the Games for May concert, both started to record their second album with the working name, Astronomy Dominé, working in the scheme of touring and recording the album. The band also began to tour in France, Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden, and Denmark.

Pink Floyd in 1967, before a BBC Session.

And the Pink Floyd saw the surprising success of their former frontman, so then Roger Waters demanded to record Pink Floyd's debut album. Norman Smith was hired as Pink Floyd's new producer, mentored by engineer Pete Bown.

During the sessions, musician Michael Magne approached the band to record two songs in the soundtrack for the upcoming film, A Coeur Joie. Obliged to stay at the EMI Studios, Magne and the band reached a deal, with Rick needing to record the songs with the Pink Floyd . The band recorded two Magne's compositions, I Must Tell You Why and Do You Want to Marry Me?. Later asked, Magne agreed to let the band to feature the songs in their debut album.

In the same week, Pink Floyd recorded two jams, both entitled Nick's Boogie and Reactioning, the first one credited to the entire band, and the second to the entire band plus Syd (since the group performed it with him before). The last song to be recorded was Rick's Remember a Day, when the There is a Happy Land sessions ended, with Norman Smith playing drums, since Nick couldn't play the right part. The name, Projection, was suggested by Syd, after a private listening with Gilmour and Wright.

"The sessions of Projection were really different from There is a Happy Land, it looked like an alternate universe, or something. Whilst the time I passed with Syd and Bowie remained happy and mellowed, the sessions with Pink Floyd were... a bit cold, y'know? Certainly Roger was competitive, and with Syd, the man who dared to leave the band, surely it wouldn't be so different." 

-Richard Wright, 2001 (Wearing the Inside Out: Stories Inside the Pink Floyd)

"I never broke my ties with the guys [members of Pink Floyd]. Me and Roger we technically avoided each other since that day. We just started to talk with each other again... two years later, I guess. Even I suggested to them the Projection name, it surely combined with the amazing album that was."

-Syd Barrett, 2007 

Although Pink Floyd finished the sessions in the first week of June, they've performed the album in its entirety at the 14 Hour Technicolor Dream and Games For May. In the first, the band co-headlined with Rubber Band, performing at the festival around 5AM after a concert in the Netherlands on the same night. In the latter, both bands performed the albums, with Pink Floyd featuring Syd Barrett and without Roger, performing Reactioning and Interstellar Overdrive. The concert was known by both bands being banned from the Queen Elizabeth Hall and the steal of the mixer, the Azimuth Co-ordinator.

Blackhill Enterprises released I Must Tell You Why b/w Nick's Boogie, peaking in number 10 in UK Singles Charts, and being Pink Floyd's debut and first hit in France. One month after the release, Pink Floyd decided to release Remember a Day b/w Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk. Remember a Day peaked in number 4 in Britain, while the backing single failed to chart.

Pink Floyd – Projection

Pink Floyd - Projection (1967)

Genre: Psychedelic rock, freakbeat, experimental

Total: 40:39

Side A  - 21:32

1. "Remember a Day" (Richard Wright) - 4:33¹

2. "Walk With Me Sydney" (Roger Waters) - 3:11²

3. "I Must Tell You Why" (Michael Magne, David Gilmour) - 2:36³

4. "Take Up Thy Stethoscope and Walk" (Waters) - 3:054

5. "Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun" (Waters) - 5:27¹

6. "Do You Want To Marry Me?" (Magne, Gilmour) - 2:40³

Side B - 19:07

7. "Nick's Boogie" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Nick Mason) - 11:49²

8. "Reactioning" (Waters, Wright, Gilmour, Mason) - 7:18²

Pink Floyd's debut album, named Projection, was released on 4 August 1967 in the United Kingdom by EMI Records. The album had a controversy when Tower Records, responsible to distribute the album in the US, released the first pressings as an Extended play, omitting the entire second side. Fulfilling the contract with subsidiary Tower, the distribution in the US was briefly interrupted until the creation of Blackhill Records and signing with the main label, Capitol, when the albums started to be released with Side B. The extended play pressings became a rare item in the following years.

The album was promoted by Syd Barrett, having mixed opinions about the wide different sound from Rubber Band's There is a Happy Land. Two of the songs were featured in Serge Bourguignon's Two Weeks in September (À Coeur Joie), credited to guitarist David Gilmour and composed Michael Magne. Highlighted songs were Remember a Day, released as single, and Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun, and the Side B on its entirety. The lyrics verge between being sick, love and nostalgia, while Side B are two experimental instrumentals.

Produced by Beatles' engineer Norman Smith, Projection peaked in number 9 in UK Album Charts and number 177 in US Billboard 200. David Gilmour played the lead guitar, Roger Waters was the bass player, Richard Wright played the keyboards, and Nick Mason played the drums (except Remember a Day).

In contemporary opinions, interviewer Hans Keller blamed the album for being too loud, and Syd Barrett expressed his passion for the album. In later opinions, Iggy Pop said the album was highly influential on The Stooges, while Nirvana's Kurt Cobain affirmed that Projection is one of his favorite albums. David Gilmour and Roger Waters later expressed their dissatisfaction with Projection, contrasting with the opinions of Richard Wright and Nick Mason.

Author's addendum:
And there are the first debut albums! Syd, Bolan and Bowie, as a group, manages to rise into an early fame in Britain and throughout Europe, while Pink Floyd still tries to carve their path to success in Europe (for a while in the United Kingdom and France). In the next part, there'll be the plots of Soft Machine, Beatles and Beach Boys.

Track sources:
Rubber Band - There is a Happy Land:
[1] Pink Floyd - The Early Years: Cambridge Sta/tion
[2] Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn
[3] David Bowie - Early On (1964-1966)
[4] David Bowie - David Bowie (1967)

Pink Floyd - Projection:
[1] Pink Floyd - A Saucerful of Secrets
[2] Pink Floyd - The Early Years: Cambridge Sta/tion
[3] Michel Magne ‎- Bande Originale Du Film "A Cœur Joie"
[4] Pink Floyd - The Piper at the Gates of Dawn