The Freak Explosion, Part Two – An Xperience Column

The Freak Explosion, Part Two – An Xperience Column – by Johnny Mystery.

You might be wondering why we need a part two. A good many music lovers probably are not even aware of the term, freak beat. Like so much in the world, as we go down the time tunnel, we tend to give names and numbers to different eras in history. Anything that was rock n roll or soul, or any other type of music was just called what it sounded like. The fact is freak beat got applied to the last great form of rock and roll before it got serious.

When rock and roll got serious, it stopped being fun. It’s so sad. The color ran out. The bloom was off the rose. “A Hard Day’s Night” turned into “Let It Be.” “Having A Wild Weekend” turned into “Altamont.” Are you following me? Then you know the frustration of having basic, caveman crazy, three chord party music turned into an artsy fartsy form. If the song selection comes down to, “Louie, Louie” or “For What It’s Worth,” I’m going with The Kingsmen. You know, it’s just the way I’m wired, and I think most of the basic blues people were thinking the same way. Outsmarting ourselves seems to be the human condition thru all of history. Why should rock be any different….

I’m not here to preach but life is just too short to listen to bad music. That is why I’m only going to bring up the good stuff. If you pick up something you haven’t heard of here, let the buyer beware. It might be pretentious on my part but there it is.

The Creation became one of the first art rock aka freak beat bands to come out of this era. Under the production of Shel Talmy, who was also responsible for most of the early Who records, made some radical noise. Keep in mind, they were not going to make full scale rock operas. That would eventually be left up to Pete Townshend. This was the time of two and a half minute wonders that were bound for commercial radio. Their first record,” Making Time” was an actual hit in England and elsewhere in Europe. Slashing choppy chord intro with a drumbeat that sounded almost like charging horses, thumping down a battlefield was unlike anything teen fans had ever heard and they managed to keep it pretty basic. That is no easy feat.

The kicker on “Making Time” was the use of a violin bow being dragged across the strings, masterfully done by guitarist Eddie Phillips. The word around the campfire is that this was the first time this technique was used in a rock recording. Somehow, I think Jimmy Page would want to take issue but let’s face it, Zep’s first album was a few years down the pike at this point and I don’t think Page is losing any sleep over it. The list of tunes put out by The Creation are of legend and lends to the credibility that they are one of the best bands you never heard of. Look up songs like,” Painter Man”, “Through My Eyes”, “How Does It Feel to Feel”, “Biff Bang Pow”, and you’ll wonder how these guys stayed under the radar. They never made any real ripples in the U.S. so don’t be ashamed if this is the first you ever heard of them.

Personally, I’ve been obsessed by The Eyes ever since I heard The Fleshtones cover one of their songs, namely, “When The Night Falls.” That song is like a psychotic blues number. Drenched in reverb with a lonely, wailing harmonica, expounding the lament of a singer who does not want to leave his cheating girlfriend. Crying out; “Don’t be coming to me with your blues, because baby I’ve suffered too, when the night falls.” There are no earth-shattering guitar solos but there is an interesting interplay going on between all the instruments. A lot of use of relative notes played against alternate chord structures that shouldn’t work but somehow does. Check out their tunes: “You’re Too Much,” “The Immediate Pleasure, ”I’m Rowed Out,” and “My Degeneration.” All top tunes!
If you can believe it, The Syn have been referred to as a precursor to prog-rock group Yes and I’m not buying it. The only connection being that future Yes bassist, Chris Squire was a member. They were featured in the “Fourteen Hour Technicolor Dream” concert in 1967 along with Pink Floyd and a dozen other outfits from that era. In fact, they released a song about that show with the same title as said show. No need to complicate things right fellas…. My favorite record by them is called “Grounded.” It was a hit in England and also released in the U.S. but of course no hit here. Too bad it never made it kids. It had up front soulful vocals and some tasty guitar work, not to mention some cool Farfisa organ. The bass, courtesy of Chris Squire turns out to be a driving force with some very cool lines! “Grounded” also has the distinction of being covered by Boston faves, The Lyres. Mono Man and his band play it true note per note, and you know that can’t be bad….

Lastly, The Birds were a crack R & B type outfit who counted the great Ron Wood as their lead guitar slinger. Kind of a short-lived band with not a big catalog but they knocked it outta the park with a killer version of “Leaving Here.” Mr. Wood went on to make noise with The Faces and eventually The Stones, where he remains to this day. Play on brother!!!!

Once the freak beat ran its course and it did not take long, groups started getting sensitive and writing about inhumanity, clean water, flowers and a whole bunch of other stuff the typical working class would never play on a jukebox while tipping down a pint at the end of a working day. Strange how it all ended up on the radio though. It would take a long time before we got three chord bashing groups back in charge again. Wish they were in charge now, but I remain hopeful.

Get out and support your local record dealer please. I’ll come up with some more stuff for next time. Till then see you at the shop!!!!

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