London psychedelic rockers
Blossom Toes' 1967 debut
We Are Ever So Clean was released at the height of a certain wave of acid-influenced flower power rock, arriving around the same time and bearing some tonal similarities to classics like
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band and
Love's Forever Changes. Second album (and what proved to be their last)
If Only for a Moment was released just two years later, but displayed a much bleaker, hard-edged side of the band's sound, one that leaned into aggressive songwriting, overdriven hard rock guitars, and lyrical themes of confusion and unrest. Apart from a few drummers coming and going,
Blossom Toes' hadn't undergone any massive personnel changes between their first, lighter album and
If Only for a Moment.
Brian Godding and
Jim Cregan were still acting as the band's principle songwriters, but the shift in the style is pronounced and dramatic. While
We Are Ever So Clean had 15 quick songs of whimsical
Who-esque pop, here the band stretched out on just eight slow-burning and intricate tracks. Songs like "Love Bomb" and "Listen to the Silence" bring together the slick, moody grooves of Bay Area psychedelia and progressive rock song structures with lyrics that address social woes. Traces of late-period
Hendrix can be heard in the pensive, oozy guitar leads of paranoid funk workout "Billy Boo Gunman." The song also mirrors some of the songwriting changes
the Beatles were exhibiting on
The White Album, which had been out for about eight months before
If Only for a Moment surfaced. Perhaps the starkest example of how
Blossom Toes were changing on
If Only for a Moment is opening track "Peace Loving Man." The song's dissonant riffing is dangerously close to early metal, while the exaggerated, bellowing vocals on the verses and sarcastic tone of the overly saccharine choruses point to the influence of both
Beefheart and
Zappa. Repeated references to confusion, war, and disillusionment are a far cry from the light and daydreamy songs
Blossom Toes were making just two years prior.
If Only for a Moment is just as strong a document of late-'60s psychedelia as its predecessor, just from another camp. While the band's debut fit nicely alongside bright records like
Small Faces'
Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake or quirky fare like
Tommy Roe's foray into hip sounds on
It's Now Winter's Day,
If Only for a Moment can be shelved with albums like
Love's
Four Sail and
the Groundhogs'
Thank Christ for the Bomb, albums that reflected the darkness and frustration young people were experiencing worldwide as the Summer of Love faded into more bewildering times. ~ Fred Thomas