V.A. - "The Freakbeat Scene" 2 x Vinyl, LP, Compilation, 2019 (Decca)

I'm a firm believer in book publishers as well as record labels.  If the label has some history or vision, I will buy that record.  Decca, which is enormous, always been of some interest to me.  Especially anything released in the 1960s and British.   Decca this year and the previous 12 months have been releasing these compilations focusing on the Mod and Psychedelic British 45 rpm singles, that if one tries to trace down would be very expensive and time-consuming.  So, the Decca compilations are very good and overall excellent for the pocketbook.  "The Freakbeat Scene is 25 songs by various bands, that mostly failed in getting that hit.  This is a collection of songs that didn't even get close to getting airplay in the UK, or on the charts.

Still, genius is in the details, and there is a lot of brilliant series of moments on this double-album.  Some are so-so, but that only adds to the excitement when you hear an incredible song.  Freakbeat by definition is the crazy part of The Who when their guitar goes all feedback, Keith Moon is slashing at the drum cymbals, and distorted bass.  On the other hand, The Who is not on this compilation, but we do have The Small Faces, who are always magnificent.  Beyond that, everyone here is very obscure.   Which is not to say that their recording deserves a wider (and wilder) audience, but fate is sometimes someone asleep at the wheel or the entrance to success.

The genius track here is by a band called The Fairytale, and it's "Run & Hide."  A very ugly song lyric about a girl who is 'bad' and the male singer sounds psychotic, still a remarkable record.  I have their other three songs in other collections and formats since they only released two 45 rpm singles.  Then they disappeared.   In fact, most of the bands here disappeared, but there were some successes in later life, for instance, Chris Squire and Peter Banks who were members of Yes, but here they're The Syn.  And although there is no clue to the future sound of Yes, still an excellent record. Even a young Marc Bolan has a song here, but one would not recognize the Bolan vocal, until the chorus where you can hear that vibrato in his voice.

The mystery track here is by Shel Naylor, which one suspects is Dave Davies of the Kinks, with Jimmy Page on guitar.  Naylor himself is a phantom.  In fact, this album is full of ghosts and spirits.  "Come on Back" by Paul & Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames is a Joe Meek production.  So that's always good.   It's excellent that Decca, such a mega-label, still had the nerve to release somewhat weird records.

Yes - "The Yes Album" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1971 (Atlantic)

Taft High School.  That should be the title of "The Yes Album."  I never owned this album due that every student at Taft High School had a copy of this record.   I kind of liked it that I was the 'only' person on that campus who didn't have a Yes album, especially "The Yes Album."  Overall my teenage life got better in the year 1971.  I loathe my Junior High School, but I have very few complaints about Taft.  The fact that I was fundamentally a C- student throughout the three years there, yet my social life was total straight A's.  The girls were pretty, the guys intriguing, and to base one's whole day on lunchtime at Taft was my primary goal on a daily basis.   So in that sense, I was a total success.  Still, I avoided "The Yes Album" like the plague. 

It wasn't until the year 2017 that I realized that I'm a snob.  If a great percentage of the population likes something, I'll hate it.  Clearly, as a teenager, Yes (the band)  was a major part of the machinery of teenage life.  All five members of Yes (at the time) were extremely great musicians, so it was the first fling of a well-tuned and proper recording artist that one can respect for their skills.   The thing was, I never cared for skilled musicians at the time.  I was more impressed with the imagery of a band or artist than how will they put together a song.  

Steve Howe (guitar), Chris Squire (bass), Bill Bruford (drums), Jon Anderson (vocals) and Tony Kaye (keyboards).   One can swear that all of them had proper music lessons as children.  The truth is, when one wasn't looking, I secretly admired their songs when it was played on the FM radio.   I liked "All Good People."   Even now, not listening to the album, I can hear the whole track in my mind.  It's the perfect pop ditty that stays in one's head, even when they are taking a hot bath, and your brain is just floating on top of the oiled bath water.   

A few months ago I found this album at Rockaway Records (in Silver Lake) for $4.99.  I couldn't resist buying the album.  The odd thing is that I didn't even pause and think about it, I just took it to the counter and bought "The Yes Album."  I would like to think that it was nostalgia that made me buy it, but more like an unfinished business with my past.   I was curious what a 63-year-old man would think, and how different was it from a 15-year-old teenager's ears.   To my surprise, the album doesn't suck.   For sure, the price of admission is worth it just for "Starship Trooper."  A song in three separate parts, each written by a member of the band.  The classic part is "Würm" by guitarist Steve Howe. It's a proper guitar rave-up that is catchy but also builds in intensity.   That one piece alone makes this album 'almost' essential, and it would be if I weren't such a snob. 

"Yours is No Disgrace" and "I've Seen All Good People" is pretty great as well.  But to be honest, I consistently play "Würm" over and over again.  It's almost a meditative piece of work for me.  I like to write to the music when it's background noise.  The other interesting thing about "The Yes Album" is that I feel it's the foundation for David Bowie's "Station to Station" album.  Tony Kaye who played with Yes, also worked with Bowie on "Station to Station."  Musically not the same, but the format of the album with its many themes and only having six songs strikes me as a work that influenced "Station to Station."  At this point and time, I have no interest in checking out the rest of Yes' catalog.  I think "The Yes Album" is good enough.