1966-1968 : arguably the golden era for music. ‘The Three Seasons‘ is a bit of a tribute to the psychedelic era – the first buds forming in ’66, the summer of love and the comedown in ’68.
Some of Fruits de Mer‘s best-known artists are joined by some new faces and a few who were actually there at the time and were personally responsible for some of the amazing sounds that we’re celebrating in this vinyl love-in.
The Three Seasons has taken rather a long time to grow into the 3 LP set that will be presented for your consideration in early October – although, in the end, some heavy pruning was necessary to fit everything onto six sides (it could so easily have been a 4LP set, but someone had already knicked the ‘four seasons’ title).
The music ranges from pop-psych to acid-folk, heavy rock to prog, from classic songs to the long-lost – the kind of thing Fruits de Mer was designed for.
So, who is responsible for the two hours+ of music between the grooves? Step forward:
side 1
- The Past Tense – Magic In The Air (originally by The Attack : recorded in 1967)
- LoveyDove – Bedazzled (originally by Drimble Wedge and the Vegetations : 1967)
- Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder – Amelia Jane (originally by Made In Sheffield : 1967)
- Jack Ellister – Aquarius (originally by The Zodiac:Cosmic Sounds : 1967)
- Rob Gould – Granny Takes A Trip (originally by The Purple Gang : 1967)
side 2
- Mark McDowell and Friends – Up The Wooden Hills To Bedfordshire (originally by The Small Faces : 1966)
- Anton Barbeau – Sunshine Superman (originally by Donovan : 1965)
- The Electric Prunes – 7 and 7 is (originally by Love : 1966)
- Moonweevil – Child Of The Sky (originally by The Deviants : 1967)
- Kris Gietkowski – A-Minor Explosion (originally by Don Shinn : 1966)
- The Yardbirds – Think About It (live in 2016) (originally by The Yardbirds : 1968)
side 3
- The Locker Room Cowboys – We Love You (originally by The Rolling Stones : 1967)
- King Penguin – White Bird (written : 1967, released by It’s A Beautiful Day : 1969)
- Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin – Solitary Man (originally by Neil Diamond : 1966)
- The Luck Of Eden Hall – Reflected (originally by Alice Cooper : 1968)
side 4
- The Honey Pot – Kites (written by Hackaday/Pockriss; recorded by The Rooftop Singers / Simon Dupree and the Big Sound : 1967)
- Cary Grace – 1983 (A Merman I Should Be…) (originally by the Jimi Hendrix Experience : 1968)
side 5
- Sidewalk Society – A Saying For Today (originally by The Action : 1968)
- Jay Tausig – Let No Man Steal Your Thyme (trad. recorded by Anne Briggs : 1963 / Pentangle : 1968)
- Magic Bus – Tribal Gathering (originally by The Byrds : 1967)
- Proud Peasant – Down At Circe’s Place (originally by Touch : 1968)
- Icarus Peel – Beck’s Bolero (originally by Jeff Beck Group : 1966)
side 6
- The Green Ray – Dusty (originally by John Martyn : 1968)
- Ex-Norwegian – Winter (originally by Family : 1968)
- Consterdine – Fly (originally by J.K. & Co : 1968)
- The Gold Needles – The Smell of Incense (originally by West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band : 1967)
- The Pretty Things – Loneliest Person (live at the Half Moon, 2010) (originally by The Pretty Things : 1968)
The other new vinyl release comes from Kris Gietkowski, who created the wonderfully-mad solo instrumental version of Egg‘s first album last year from FdM. He’s back and it’s as if Egg have never been away – on ‘Symmetric Communication‘, he moves onto their second album with a cover of ‘A Visit To Newport Hospital‘ and then creates two new compositions that are heavily influenced by the band – again it’s all instrumental and the work of one man – and I think it’s damn good (he said modestly).