Customer Reviews

Things

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Fans of 60's psych pop-- if you don't already own this album, get it immediately! Shades of the Byrds, the Buffalo Springfield and Cream, but with its own unique sound as well. "Madame Silky", "Drivin' Sideways", "What Does She See in You" and "Rich Man's Fable" are all lost classics, perfect representations of a bygone era (namely Los Angeles in 1967). I cannot reccommend this album enough!

Following the collapse of the criminally overlooked band Fapardokyl, singers/guitarists Merrell Fankhauser and Peter Drodd continued their collaboration in the Los Angeles-based Merrell Fankhauser and H.M.S. Bounty (manager Normal Malkin reported picked the name in an effort to give the band more of an English aura). Recruiting former Impacts bassist Jack Jordan and drummer Larry Meyers, the quartet was quickly signed by Uni Records short-lived Shamley label.

As a hardcore collector, I've become accustomed to dealers over-hyping obscure bands (yes I'm guilty of it myself), but I have to tell you that for the most part this is one of those rarities - an album that lives up to and perhaps even exceeds the hype. Easily one of the era's undiscovered treasures, over the years I've owned and sold this album at least a dozen times. The thing about it is each time I've sold a copy I've regretted the move and ended up buying a replacement copy (frequently for more than I sold the earlier copy for). I can't say that about many albums in my collection. So before going on, one word of warning - while the album has distinctive psychedelic influences throughout (check out 'Drivin' Sideways (On a Wrong Way Street)'), it's probably better described as a pop effort.

Teamed with producers Norman Malkin, Jack Hoffman and Glen MacArthur, 1968's "Things!" served as somewhat of a showcase for Fankhauser. In addition to serving as front man, main singer (his voice was surprisingly well suited for commercial material), Fankhauser penned and arranged all twelve tracks. Musically diverse, the set showcased a wonderful mixture of top-40 pop ('Things (Goin' Round In My Mind)' and 'Your Painted Lives'), chiming guitar-propelled folk-rock ('Girl (I'm Waiting for You)' and 'What Does She See In You'), and psychedelic influences ('Drivin' Sideways (On a Wrong Way Street)' and 'Madame Silky'). Elsewhere, the Eastern-tinged raga 'A Visit with Ashiya' and the jazzy 'Ice Cube Island' served as precursors to Fankhauser's forthcoming work with the band Mu. To be honest the material wasn't particularly original, inviting a game of spot-the-influences (touch of Roger McGuinn twelve string guitar, bit of Beatles-styled harmony vocals, etc.), but the material with done with such a sense of energy and pleasure that it managed to overcome whatever creative shortcomings existed. It's literally one of those rare albums where it sounds like the band was having a blast during the recording sessions.

- Everytime I hear 'Things (Goin' Round In My Mind)' it reminds me of something the Bobby Fuller Four might have recorded had namesake Fuller survived into the mid-1960s. Musically it offered a glistening slice of jangle-rock that managed to combined the best of The Byrds and English merseybeat bands. Simply wonderful and easy to understand why Shamley tapped it as a single ... rating: ***** stars
- Showcasing Fankhauser's sweet voice, 'Girl (I'm Waiting for You)' was a breezy, easy-going, and radio-friendly ballad. Like the first song, this one also boasted a great jangle guitar solo that would have made Roger McGuinn proud. rating: **** stars
- I think Dodd may have handled lead vocals on 'What Does She In You' - not that it mattered a bit since this rocker was easily as good as anything on the album and even sported one of the collection's best guitar solos. rating: **** stars
- Dual lead guitars including some squealing fuzz gave 'Lost In the City' one of the album's toughest edges and found the band dipping their collective toes into Frank Zappa-styled rock. Okay, it was more commercial than most of Zappa's catalog, but had the same weirdo vibe to it with both Dodd and Fankhauser sharing lead vocals ... did I mentioned the great fuzz guitar ? rating: **** stars
- 'Your Painted Lives' found the band returning to folk-rock with dazzling results. Perhaps side one's standout performance, this one had everything going for it including a killer melody, wonderful harmony vocals, and tasty fuzz lead guitar. rating: ***** stars
- In case you couldn't tell from the title, 'Drivin' Sideways (On a Wrong Way Street)' was the album's most psychedelic-tinged track. That did nothing to reduce the song's commercial impact since Fankhauser and company managed to meld a great garage rocker with some hysterical autobiographical ? lyrics. Shame it faded out so early. Ah, life in mid-1960s Los Angeles ... rating: ***** stars
- How could radio programmers missed something as bouncy and overtly commercial as 'In a Minute Not Too Soon'. Simply one of the best fuzz-guitar powered pop songs you've ever heard with an amazingly bubbly lead vocal from Dodd and Fankhauser, rating: ***** stars
- So remember this came out in 1968 which goes a long way to explaining the raga flavored 'A Visit with Ashiya'. It may not have aged all that well ("I'll get up on a sunbeam and take it for a ride ..."), but still stands as one of the best pop-raga hybrids I've ever come across. rating: **** stars
- My pick as the album's most overtly commercial offering, 'The Big Gray Sky' was a near perfect radio single with an instantly memorable melody and wonderful harmony vocals. The Monkees would have killed for a track this good. rating: ***** stars
- My pick for best performance, 'Rich Man's Fable' was a pounding rocker (kudos to Larry Meyers for his nice performance) with a nifty guitar-and--keyboard lead and one of Fankhauser's best vocals. rating: **** stars
- A pretty and slightly lysergic-tinged ballad, 'Ice Cube Island' has always struck me as a precursor to what Fankhauser and Dodd would focus their attentions on with Mu. A bit too flighty and fey for my tastes, though the harmony vocals were too-die-for ... rating: *** stars
- While it wasn't as wild as 'Drivin' Sideways', 'Madame Silky' may have been the better song, managing to blend a driving garage rock beat with some enigmatic, acid-tinged lyrics, and another hyper-catchy melody. rating: **** stars

As mentioned above, the album was tapped for an obscure single:

- 1968's 'Things (Goin' Round In My Mind)' b/w 'Rich Man's Fable' (Shamley catalog number S 44006)

"Things!" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Things (Goin' Round In My Mind) (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:23
2.) Girl (I'm Waiting for You) (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:18
3.) What Does She In You (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:20
4.) Lost In the City (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:03
5.) Your Painted Lives (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:08
6.) Drivin' Sideways (On a Wrong Way Street) (Merrell Fankhauser)) - 2:18

(side 2)
1.) In a Minute Not Too Soon (Merrell Fankhauser) - 1:50
2.) A Visit with Ashiya (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:28
3.) The Big Gray Sky (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:12
4.) Rich Man's Fable (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:20
5.) Ice Cube Island (Merrell Fankhauser) - 3:17
6.) Madame Silky (Merrell Fankhauser) - 2:20

There was also a non-LP 45:

- 1969's 'I'm Flying Home' b/w 'Girl (I'm Waiting for You' (Shamley catalog number S 44008)

In spite of an active performance schedule, the album failed to sell and by early 1969 the band had called it quits. Fankhauser and Dodd quickly reappeared in the previously mentioned Mu.


The collection's been reissued a number of times:
- 1985 saw the Time Stood Still label reissued the collection (catalog number TSSLP2), adding on the rare 'I'm Flying Home' single.
- In 1995 the Afterglow label reissued the set in CD format (catalog number 015).
- Sundazed reissued the collection with several bonus tracks (catalog number SC 6094)
- Guerssen Records also reissued it (catalog number #GUESS049)

Considered by most critics to be a psychedelic pop classic, this album features some tasty treats for anybody into late 60's psychedelic pop/rock... Fankhauser may be the most talented unknown in rock history (this album is just one slice of his wide and varied catalog)...

if you enjoy listening to a cover of Everybody's Talkin' done with a farfisa organ, tamborine, and cheesy horns, and consider that psychedelia, then this is a must have. other than that, this is a subpar sixties group that couldn't score a musical hit on the pop charts. 15 songs in the pop vein. about 10% (or less) actually sound psychedelic. i define psychedelia with, to name a few bands: early airplane, early floyd, early zappa, hp lovecraft (especially II), mandrake memorial and some fever tree. this doesn't come close to those musical stylings. this is more garage band than psychedelic music. i don't know why people think just because someone release a record in the sixties, that it is a lost classic or psychedelic. needless to say i think previous reviewers have been much too kind to this over rated release. if you want it, there are plenty of used copies to go around.