Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CDXXXVII--The Chambers Brothers: Time Has Come Today

 Alas, my two loyal readers, this week's post is not a day early...rather last week's is almost a week late.  Time and circumstance, friends, time and circumstance....

A few years back this week's tune roared back into my consciousness...and for the life of me, I can't remember why.  All I know is I heard it somewhere, added it to my TIDAL (fuck Spotify) playlist, and have been enjoying it ever since.  My guess is a movie or TV show (it's been featured in many), but no matter--a great song is a great song however it came into my musical world....

The Chambers Brothers honed their skills in their native Mississippi playing in church choirs before eldest brother George (Lester, Willie, and Joe were the other brothers, with non-brother Brian Keenan joining the band on drums) moved to Los Angeles following a stint in the military.  His brothers would join him in L.A. and from 1954 until 1965 they toiled musically in relative obscurity.  Originally a folk outfit, they eventually, like many other bands from that era, went electric, and later landed a record deal.  They had a modicum of success (and one huge hit single), before disbanding in 1972, and then reuniting in 1974.  For their career, the band released six studio albums, seven live albums, ten compilations, and ten singles.  Through the years the band has toured intermittently, and all of the brothers continued playing music either solo or in various bands.  Sadly drummer Keenan passed away suddenly in 1988, and eldest brother George died in 2019.

Fun Fact:  The band recorded an album in 1972 that was never released called Oh, My God!  and it remained as such until finally being released last October, over fifty years after its making.  And that, folks, is perseverance personified.

"Time Has Come Today" was released in 1967 on their album The Time Has Come.  Both would become the biggest hits of their career--the single peaked at #11 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album hit #6 on the Billboard 200.

I've written a time or two (or three or four...) about artists who come together and produce a moment of magic, and this is one of those moments.  I've never heard another song by the Chambers Brothers but judging from their short heyday and lack of other high charting singles I'd guess "Time Has Come Today" was their moment of genius.  A call to arms (literally), Lester's lead vocals scream of its urgency with the highlight being the band members screaming "Hey!" after each line early in the song and then "Time!" later in the song.  Instrumentally it was ahead of its time and may be the first song on Jukebox to feature cowbells.  In the end, many consider it to be a watershed song of the psychedelic era and that's much higher praise than any of my words could muster.

Lyric Sheet:  "I've been loved and put aside (Time!)/I've been crushed by a tumbling tide (Time!)/And my soul has been psychedelicized (Time!)..."

Enjoy (There are three different lengths to "Time Has Come Today" and in my infinite wisdom I chose the one that was the biggest hit):

Republicans = Nazis

Peace,

emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCLXIII--The Byrds: Eight Miles High

It's hard to imagine in this day and age of corporate rock that had this week's song been released in 2020 it would have even sniffed contemporary radio--let alone reached the top 15 on Billboard.  A hit among the cool kids, sure, but to the average American radio listener...very doubtful.

The Byrds would have had a noteworthy resume had they just been the progenitors of psychedelic rock...but their album Sweethearts of the Rodeo is also considered the forefather of the country rock movement.  They formed in 1964 in Los Angeles, and over the course of their careers have been known for folk, folk rock, raga rock, and country, as well as the aforementioned psychedelic and country rock.  While their commercial sales were up and down after their first three albums (all of which were top 25 hits), the band has continued off and on in dozens of different incarnations up until now, though many of them were one off performances.  Noteworthy members have included the original lineup of Gene Clark, Roger McGuinn, David Crosby, Chris Hillman, and Michael Clarke, as well as Gram Parsons.  The Byrds released twelve albums between 1965 and 1973...and nary a one after.  They do most definitely hold the Friday Night Jukebox record for most compilations, having released forty-eight--you read that right, forty-eight--of them.  Many of the members had success either solo or in other groups (especially David Crosby who eventually joined up with Graham Nash and Stephen Stills to form Crosby, Stills, and Nash), and sadly, many of them have left us for the Great Rock Concert in the Sky.  The Byrds were elected into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in their first year of eligibility, and it was the last time the original members played together.

"Eight Miles High" was released in 1966 on the Byrds album Fifth Dimension.  It would peak at #14 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, while the album would reach #24 on the Billboard 200.

While I was previously familiar with "Eight Miles High," it's only been the past few years when it's dawned on me what a tremendous song it truly is.  When it was originally released the band said the song was simply about flying over London, and vociferously denied that it had drug references...but as time went on the band admitted it was a bit of both.  Beginning with a wobbly bass before an eastern influenced lead guitar joins in, the band waxes philosophic about flying into the U.K. for the first time and the sights they see as well as their emotional toll.  As with most Byrds' songs, the harmonies are exquisite, notably for their pregnant pauses...especially amazing as the song has no chorus, and is really just three stanzas of random thoughts.  There's even a couple of off the beaten path guitar solos that come, amazingly enough, straight out of the sixties counterculture.  I noted a while back that every now and again a song comes along that makes the listener put on his big boy pants and dig a little deeper into a song's soul--"Eight Miles High" is definitely one such song and while not maybe the Byrds' most popular song, is certainly their greatest.

Lyric Sheet:  "Eight miles high and when you touch down/You'll find that it's stranger than known..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CCXXXIV--Kula Shaker: Tattva

Not sure what it is about Great Britain of late, but this will be the fifth straight FNJ that features a band from across the pond, as they say.  It's also a week late because...life.

Kula Shaker had its beginnings in 1988 and had several incarnations with several different names before finally becoming the band that would have some success in the late nineties.  Led by frontman Cripian Mills (grandfather John Mills and mother Hayley Mills were actors/actresses of some note), the band became known for its psychedelic rock and being heavily influenced by Indian mysticism and spirituality.  They had a good deal of success in their native U.K. from 1995-1999 at which time they split--they reunited in 2004 and have been together ever since for the occasional LP release and golden oldies tours.  Over the course of their career, Kula Shaker released five albums with two going top ten in the U.K., and released 18 singles with five reaching the top ten.  For whatever reason (U.S. pop radio and record labels suck?), the band had virtually no commercial success in America, but that hasn't stopped them from having a 30+ year run of making music for a living.  Beats the hell out of the grocery business!

Fun Fact:  Kula Shaker is named for King Kulashekhara, one of the twelve Alvars (saints) of south India.  The band chose the name because a) Crispian Mills has much interest in Indian culture, and b) invoking the King's name is thought to be auspicious and the band needed a lucky break to get their career going.  I'd say it turned out to be quite auspicious....

"Tattva" was released in 1996 on their album entitled K (that's it--just the letter K).  The single would reach #4 on the U.K. charts (it had some AOR play in the States but nothing else), and the album would reach #1 (it topped out as low as it possibly could have on the Billboard 200, reaching exactly #200).  That a song such as "Tattva" reached #4 is proof positive that there are so many cool kids in the U.K....

We have another first here on FNJ in that the chorus for "Tattva" is in Sanskrit:  "Acintya bheda abheda Tattva," which translate roughly as "Truth, Mystery, difference non-difference, Truth."  Alrighty then....  Needless to say, we're not dealing with your average top 40 love song this week (and it makes singing along to the chorus a bit difficult unless you're fluent in Sanskrit).  Still, the chorus is actually quite catchy and in between the intonations there are some very nice psychedelic rock verses, some solid guitar work, and an overall vibe that can best be described as otherworldly.  Also of note is that a song such as this could easily veer off into Novelty Song territory, but the band manages to keep it from that path with its no nonsense playing and Mills straightforward vocals.  While spiritual enlightenment may not be everybody's cup of tea in a pop song, "Tattva" definitely makes a case for repeated listens and would be a fine addition to the Quirky Song Hall of Fame (if such a Hall existed). 

Lyric Sheet:  "For you will be tomorrow/Like you have been today/If this was never ending'What more can you say?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. CC--The Secret Machines: Sad and Lonely

You'd think for #200 that I'd have come up with some super special single--nah, just another rock solid tune from a small band who did their part, like so many other bands, to bring a little musical joy into my life.

The Secret Machines started out in Dallas in the late 1990's, moved on to Chicago where they released their first EP, and eventually landed in New York where buzz about their music brought them interest from Warner Brothers and shortly thereafter they released their first LP.  The trio's music has been described as krautrock (new to me--experimental music from German bands of the late 60's...so many cool kids in Germany!), shoegazing (also new to me--experimental music from Brit bands of the late 1980's...so many cool kids in Great Britain!), psychedelic rock (see also, Zeppelin, Led and Floyd, Pink), and they themselves describe their music as space rock (experimental music by the Secret Machines...so many cool kids here in the States!).  David Bowie (who really should have an FNJ tune of his own by now...someday!) was a big fan of the band.  Since 2002 they've released three LP's and four EP's and while the last was in 2010, the rumor mill has another one just around the corner (or not).  Original members Brandon Curtis and Josh Garza still remain, though sadly, other founding member Benjamin Curtis (brother of Brandon) died in 2013 at the all too young age of 35 from lymphoma.

"Sad and Lonely" appeared on the Secret Machines debut album Now Here Is Nowhere  (great title) in 2004,  and although it was released as the album's second single, never made any dent on the Billboard charts..  I've often felt, though, that if it had been released in the 1970's. it would have been a staple of FM radio for the last forty years.

The first thing I'd note about "Sad and Lonely" is...how it doesn't really seem like the type of song that would make a list of my favorites.  The Secret Machines have been compared to Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd, both of which rank right up there with The Doors for three of my least favorite bands of all time (as millions of 70's hard rock fans think to themselves, "emaycee sucks!").  The song opens with over a minute of instrumental, and originally it was the drumming from the intro that got me hooked on the song.  There's some nice industrial guitar throughout, and though the vocals are awfully reminiscent of Zeppelin's Robert Plant, there's an urgency to them that draws you into the song.  "Sad and Lonely" closes with roughly a minute of what could best be described as ethereal ambience--space music for the masses.  All in all, it's one of those out of left field tunes that continues to surprise me with each new listen, for both its simplicity and its complexity--and how much I just love the song despite its not being much like my usual musical tastes.

Lyric Sheet:  "And it feels like those around want you to die/Well sometimes you feel just like crying/You're still in love with me and you don't know why..."

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee