The 45 RPM was introduced by RCA in 1949 as a durable, higher fidelity alternative to the brittle 78. By the end of the 1950’s the monaural upstart was completely dominant in the music stores and the period known as the “Golden Age of the 45” reigned until the later 60’s.
Perhaps the most interesting point in history for the 7” disc was the mid 60’s, when commercial artists often featured their more experimental, less accessible works, on the B-side. Imagine the young teen who purchased the bouncy Third Rail hit “Run, Run, Run” only to flip it over to find the oddly psychedelic, deathbed experience of “No Return”. Or flipping over the poppy garage single “It’s Been A Long Time Comin’” and listening to the Off Set’s raga-psych experience of “Xanthia”.
The 45 was often a doorway to altered perceptions for young teens who might not otherwise experience the more deeply trippy LP experiments of their favorite bands. But by the very late 60’s, with the advent of FM and growing perception that the 45 was for the bubble gum set, the slow decline of the portable vinyl was in the cards.
And now... enter through this doorway to an alternate dimension of perception... a euphonious voyage with mind bending ports of call:
1 Warner Brothers Vinyl Promo
2
Mary Jane - EVERLY BROTHERS
When 1967 rolled around, the Everly Brothers golden path of harmony-laden hits lay behind them. Like so many former teen music sensations from the early 60’s, the duo valiantly tried to modify their approach to more closely match the sounds currently emanating from car radios.
However, instead of attempting to craft the songs and style themselves, the brothers relied on a variety of individuals to provide the hip veneer on their newest release,
The Everly Brothers Sing. Terry Slater, their bassist, contributed the most overtly psychedelic track “Mary Jane”, which Warner Brothers featured as the A-side on a single from September 1967.
3 L.S.D. 25 Ou Les Métamorphoses De Margaret Steinway - LES 5 GENTLEMEN
The 5 Gentlemen were a French mod outfit originally known as Les Ambitieux. The young garçons recorded a string of très chic singles and EP’s on the Riviera label during 1966 and 1967. “LSD 25” was written by the group’s vocalist and bass player Jean Fredenucci and was featured on the B-side of their 1966 single “Qu’As-Tu Katioucha”. They also released recordings in both Italy and England under the alter ego “The Darwin’s Theory”.
4 Legend Of A Mind - MOODY BLUES
The bulk of the Moody Blues catalogue is littered with brutally pretentious prog rock, though occasionally they journeyed into a pleasant mind expanding territory. Recorded in January 1968, and featured on their LP
In Search of the Lost Chord, “Legend” was written by the band’s flutist Ray Thomas, and is noteworthy for its complex structure of signature changes.
5 Soul Sitar - SOHAIL RANA
Sohail Rana is a Pakistani known primarily for the prolific soundtrack work which graced multiple films in his homeland throughout the 60’s and 70’s. In 1970, Rana attempted a concept album designed to musically evoke the imagery of a freight train traveling through Pakistan. The resulting LP
Khyber Mail has since become a cult classic, due in part to its success with straddling multiple genres.
6 Lovely City (When Do You Laugh?) - CAT STEVENS
“Lovely City” was recorded during some contentious production skirmishes on Stevens sophomore LP
New Masters. The songwriter had just dismissed producer Mike Hurst, leaving the studio a literal battleground between lawyers and Decca records execs. Some attribute the album’s uneven nature to this litigious minefield. The platter performed miserably on the charts, though fared better when re-released in the US years later. “Lovely City”, was ultimately left off that LP, but released as a single in Europe, Australia and New Zealand.
7 Walkin’ - SILVER APPLES
1967 saw the emergence of a truly unique duo specializing in the newly blossoming electronic genre. Utilizing a homemade synthesizer (consisting of a patchwork of oscillators, filters, and radio equipment), keyboardest Simeon Oliver Coxe III and drummer Danny Taylor became a cause célèbre in the underground music scene as Silver Apples.
The band was signed to Kapp Records and saw surprising success with their first release Silver Apples, surfing the Billboard Top 100 for seven weeks. After production was complete for their third long player The Garden, Kapp found itself in turmoil as their owner UNI was consumed by MCA. Because of the corporate chaos, the LP would not see the light of day until two decades later.
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| It's never a good sign when the pilots seem poised to eject |
8 Burn Like A Candle - PAUL REVERE & THE RAIDERS
Something Happening was Paul Revere & The Raiders’ eleventh LP since their inception in 1962 and marked the debut of front man Mark Lindsay at the production reigns. This was also the first platter recorded after the resignations of Phil Volk, Mark Smith and Jim Valley; their departures coinciding with Paul Revere’s ever fading presence.
The album, released by Columbia in October of 1968, continues where
Revolution left off and features several pleasant, breezy flights into a treacle-layered psych atmosphere. “Too Much Talk” and “Don’t Take It So Hard” were released as singles to promote the long player, which peaked at a disappointing 122 on the Billboard Top 200.
9 Scarecrow - PINK FLOYD
“Scarecrow” was written by Syd Barrett and debuted as the B-side of Pink Floyd’s first single, the brilliant “See Emily Play”. It would also appear a couple months later on their album Piper At the Gates of Dawn. The song features a twelve string acoustic guitar and cello layered upon a baroque framework.
U.S. label Tower attempted to to entice record buyers no less than three times with the 7” (all listing the artist as “The Pink Floyd”) with little success. The band also shot two promo pieces for “Scarecrow”, one featuring the original line-up, and one a year later replacing Barret with Roger Waters.
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