Like the late '60s that had just come to a shuddering close, 1970 was a confusing time for music in the U.K. (and everywhere else too). Psychedelia was fading out, bubblegum was on its last bounce, prog was getting fired up, and bands were getting heavier, moving to the country, and searching for mellow vibes. An expansive overview of the year would make for some very eclectic listening; the
Grapefruit label chose to narrow the scope down just a bit on their three-disc collection
New Moon's in the Sky: The British Progressive Pop Sounds of 1970. The bands they chose were operating on the fringes of the pop scene; some of them were old hands like
Honeybus, the
Marmalade, and
the Hollies, some were superstars caught on the rise (
the Sweet), and the large majority of them were lost to the sands of time. Check names like Rusty Harness, Hard Meat,
Ancient Grease, or She Trinity, and if you remember them, you were probably a member. Some of these obscure groups provide highlights:
Stray's "Around the World in Eighty Days" is rambling, post-
Byrds psych-pop; the Seychelles' "I Will Be There" is a fun mashup of swinging '60s pop and easy listening vocal harmonies;
Affinity's tender Brit-folk ballad "United States of Mind" is one of the few songs with a female vocalist;
Bachdenkel deliver an amazing proto-metal fantasy rocker with some truly fiery guitar leads on "An Appointment with the Mater"; and Putney Bridge come through with a grown-up stick of bubblegum on the singsong "What's It All About." Along with these lost gems are fun songs by bands on the cusp of prog but not quite there yet (
Barclay James Harvest's rollicking "Good Love Child"), settling into their denim-clad role in life (
Status Quo's "Shy Fly"), dipping into metal by way of some evil psych-blues (
UFO's "Treacle People"), or getting ready to launch into space (
Hawkwind's folky "Hurry on Sundown"). Overall, the songs chosen for the set show that there was a healthy bit of experimentation and freedom in the air and everyone here took a deep breath. If a band wanted to make music that sounded like an elevator ride to the moon soundtracked by
the Beach Boys --
Harmony Grass' "I've Seen to Dream" -- they went for it. If they thought slapping some unhinged
Syd Barrett-style guitar freak-out on a grooving country-rocker worked -- Kevin Ayers & the Whole World's "Singing a Song in the Morning" -- they let it rip. It makes for an extremely fun collection of musical weirdness that's tied together by a strong pop sensibility. No matter how weird the song, these groups still thought they had a chance at a hit. Of course, there are no hits here, but the collection itself is a smash. A few decades too late for the bands, yet just in time for lovers of oddball pop, off-kilter productions, and stylistic leaps of faith. ~ Tim Sendra