JINGLE JANGLE MORNING – THE 1960’s US FOLK ROCK EXPLOSION
I’ve been looking forward to this new 3 CD compilation from the excellent Strawberry Records. It delivers exactly what the title says. An odyssey of over 4 hours of wonderful songs kicking off in 1965 with the birth of folk rock exemplified by the opening classic ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ with its famous ‘jingle jangle’ sound of Roger (Jim) McGuinn’s Rickenbacker guitar which gives this new set its title & a song that inspired 100’s of other bands that followed in The Byrds wake. I’d agree with the accompanying Press Release that this is the most comprehensive collection I’ve yet to see of the genre. Its packed with goodies, classic hits, overlooked obscure gems, rarities & some wonderful covers. The set has also been nicely sequenced. with regard to its running order, illustrating as it does, early folk rock as it becomes over time more influenced by psychedelia. CD1 kicks off as aforementioned with The Byrds followed by another cornerstone of the whole movement, Bob Dylan, with ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ more big names follow with tracks from Tim Hardin, The Lovin Spoonful, The Mamas & Papas, Judy Collins, Barry McGuire & more. There are early examples of future stars Linda Ronstadt & Grace Slick with their respective bands The Stone Poney’s & The Great Society. Great to also hear forgotten tracks like Sonny Bono with ‘Laugh At Me’ & The Leaves with their spirited take on ‘Hey Joe’. Other notable tracks come from the pre Mamas & Papas band The Mugwumps featuring Cass Elliot & Denny Doherty & We Five with ‘You Were On My Mind’ better known here in the UK by Crispian St Peters hit version. CD2 gets off to a fine start with another classic from Buffalo Springfield & ‘For What Its Worth’. The big names that follow include Richie Havens, Big Brother & the Holding Company. Jefferson Airplane, Scott McKenzie, Tim Buckley, Gordon Lightfoot & more. Notable tracks on this disc come from The Beau Brummels, Jesse Lee Kincaid & The Youngbloods to name but a few. One of my favourite artistes of the period Bob Lind best known for his hit ‘Elusive Butterfly’ also puts in an appearance with ‘English Afternoon’. Another favourite band I always believed were undervalued are H P Lovecraft, who contribute ‘The Drifter’ as the sound moves closer to the psychedelia I mentioned earlier. Indeed Disc2 closes with what I consider the ‘poster child’ band for psychedelia, Love, with the classic ‘Alone Again Or’ from that greatest of all albums ‘Forever Changes’. Disc3 like Disc2 also starts with Buffalo Springfield & ‘Rock n Roll Woman’. The big names following include, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Dion, Judy Collins, Poco, Tom Paxton & Michael Nesmith amongst others. There are some rare & seldom heard (if at all) tracks from Lamb, The Lemon Drops & Stone Country. As the compilation draws to a close there are entries from the wonderful Melanie with ‘Leftover Wine’ which will please many listeners, including Alan the founder of this site (SMART) whom I know is a big fan of the song. And speaking for myself it couldn’t end on a better note than it does with a track from one of my all-time favourite bands of any genre, not just folk rock, the ever-great Nitty Gritty Dirt Band with what I consider the definitive version of ‘Mr Bojangles’. This is an altogether wonderful collection of gems which provides hours of blissful listening for fans like myself & anyone remotely interested in this golden period. As ever, the compilation includes a magnificent accompanying booklet crammed with information & artwork. Enjoy.
Andy Qunta… My kinda music! Thanks for the review, Colin.
Colin Bell… Cheers Andy!
Will Cornell… It’s GOT to have Jackie DeShannon, please? And which tune? She single handedly invented “Jangle Pop” with her own “When You Walk In the Room” and her close work with both the Byrds and the Searchers.
Colin Bell… Hi Will, I’m afraid there are no tracks by Jackie, who I agree is a valid artist for this genre. However, this may be purely down to Cherry Red (Strawberry Records) being unable to licence any of her work for this compilation
Will Cornell… Yeah she was spread out among quite a few labels, mostly Liberty UA for her best stuff though. Not only kickstarting that Rickenbacker jangly sound, she wrote songs with Eddie Cochran’s girlfriend yielding hits for Brenda Lee and later, herself….A Burt Bacharach interpreter second only to Dionne Warwick….she wrote songs with her UK boyfriend that gave hits to Marianne Faithfull and a few others…oh and that boyfriend, Jimmy Page, later wrote a song for her on his album Led Zeppellin III (“Tangerine”). She also helped usher in New Wave with “Bette Davis Eyes” for Kim Carnes. A heluva resume and most of the R&RHOF voters probably never heard of her. Maybe this label can come up with a box set on her alone. I’ve developed my own collection but a good, well researched and annotated Jackie boxset would be a real treat. PS: If it’s to include “Splendor in the Grass” include the version she did with the Byrds as well as her solo take.
