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Product Details
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| 1. White Bird |
| 2. Hot Summer Day |
| 3. Wasted Union Blues |
| 4. Girl With No Eyes |
| 5. Bombay Calling |
| 6. Bulgaria |
| 7. Time Is |
"White Bird" actually got air play from one of the local progressive stations but the rest of this set became all mine, a private emotional journey that remains as much a part of my life as my family and every cherished personal experience. In "White Bird," everything soars, David LaFlamme's double tracked violin, the dual vocals, the now-vintage Hammond B3; all convey an atmosphere of freedom that the words deny. "Hot Summer Day" is the musical version of a stroll in the woods on a sultry, lazy day, memories of summers past and the reminiscence of such a day that one feels in the dead of Winter. "Wasted Union Blues" comes the closest to portraying through music what one feels when altered states are waning and sleep refuses to offer relief. "Girl With No Eyes" is a delicate yet intense statement of feminine isolation and yearning. The trio of "Bombay Calling," "Bulgaria" and `Time Is," disparate themes and textures combined into one slippery tour-de-force, take a listener through Asian majesty, Eastern European mystery and finally into a dizzying 9 minutes of existentialism in which time really may be believed by lovers to be "an eternity."
The sentiments and, indeed, sound of It's a Beautiful Day are extremely late `60's San Francisco; the performances are loose compared to today's standards, the lyrics are very "love"-oriented and the most technicality one can expect from the recording is, as previously stated, a few primitive overdubs. Still, every song carries the full potential of emotion possible, the vocal and instrumental blends are, though dated, still timelessly gorgeous in interplay and complement. I have worn out 3 vinyl copies, 4 cassettes and am on my second CD and, after 32 years and countless exposure to evolving musical forms later, I still find the melodies and musicianship of this long forgotten classic captivating me, holding my attention from first note to last. If only this set of impeccably crafted songs and musical pieces did not defy categorization, it would probably be better known next to its contemporaries like Hendrix's Axis Bold As Love, Joplin/Big Brother's Cheap Thrills, the Grateful Dead's very first live album, and the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper. As history has written the fate of It's a Beautiful Day, those who survive beyond their era or die in their prime get the glory leaving this jewel buried in the sands of time. Anyone willing to unearth it is in for considerable wonder indeed.
The groups name and some of the lyrics do reflect the Flower Power sentiments of the time. But most of the song writing is strong and the music is rich and complex. It is a mixture of rock, psychodelic and early progressive styles. It was typical of the San Francisco sound during a brief span of the late sixties. It features violin and various keyboards. There is also some good guitar playing here. There's a bluesy number (Hot Summer Day) and a rock number (Wasted Union Blues). The second side is a suite of jazzy tunes, culiminating in Time Is that is reminisent of (a ripoff of?) the Chambers Brothers' Time Has Come Today.
Although they only had one classic album, It's a Beautiful was had quite an influence on later bands (NY critics would say a bad influence). Deep Purple took the opening for Bombay Calling and used it in Child in Time.
This band has a stormy history. Linda LaFlamme (wife or sister?) left after the first album and they were never the same. The second album (Marrying Maiden) is a nice folksy album. The third album (Choice Quality Stuff/Anytime) has a great cover but is mediocre rock with slight tints of the original sound. The fourth album is a fairly good live set of the hits. The fifth album (Today) only has one of the original members and isn't very good. This first album wasn't available for a long period, making the LP one of the most valuable rock collectibles. It has poppped up as in import from time to time. Apparently, some of the CD versions are produced by a ruthless manager. Read about that in the earlier reviews.
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