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When Paul McCartney – who arguably kick-started the whole baroque pop genre when he recorded the likes of ‘Yesterday’ and ‘Eleanor Rigby’ with pivotal strings arrangements – made his oft-quoted remark that pop was the classical music of the 20th Century, perhaps he meant it in a more literal sense than anyone realised at the time.
In the immediate wake of ground-breaking albums like Rubber Soul, Revolver and Pet Sounds, the British and American music scenes became increasingly ambitious and cerebral. As the major recording studios becoming ever more sophisticated, a new generation of musicians and producers sought to emulate the backroom auteur status of Brian Wilson or the symbiotic relationship between George Martin and The Beatles.
A new, more melancholic strain was introduced into British pop: expansive orchestral arrangements merged with the burgeoning psychedelic mind-set to create such studio-bound masterpieces as Days Of Future Passed and (of course) Sgt Pepper, with harpsichords, oboes, flutes, recorders and French horns providing a moody, introverted chamber pop flourish.
Wilson and The Left Banke led the way in the US, but Britain was also awash with acts mining the baroque pop seam. Honeybus, The Zombies, Donovan, Nirvana and many others made significant recordings in that field, fusing mournful minor chord melodies with fey vocals, ornate arrangements and what had previously been considered non-rock instrumentation.
Come Join My Orchestra covers British baroque pop’s formative years and its integration into a wide variety of genres, ranging from Johnny McEvoy’s exquisitely sculpted take on traditional pop balladry and a clutch of dyed-in-the-wool folkies (Ian Campbell, Bert Jansch etc) to McCartney acolytes (Fickle Pickle, Mike Batt, the Gerry Rafferty-led Humblebums) and symphonic/art rock bands like Procol Harum and Barclay James Harvest.
With a lavish 40-page booklet, many recordings making their first appearance on CD and two tracks (by The Regime and The Mellow Yellow) gaining their first-ever release, Come Join My Orchestra is a fascinating overview of what was a major development in late Sixties pop music, and one that reverberates to this day.
Tracklist
DISC ONE:
1. COME JOIN MY ORCHESTRA – Al Jones
2. (DO I FIGURE) IN YOUR LIFE – The Honeybus
3. COATHANGER – Clifford T Ward
4. POOR JIMMY WILSON – The Strawbs
5. THE BETTER SIDE – The Freedom
6. ACORN STREET – Michael Blount
7. FLOWERS NEVER BLEND WITH THE RAINFALL – The Toast
8. DISAPPEAR – Gilbert
9. THE SOUND OF THE CANDYMAN’S TRUMPET – Tony Hazzard
10.YOUR DOG WON’T BARK – Picadilly Line
11.CAN’T FIND TIME FOR ANYTHING NOW – John Williams
12.WOE IS LOVE, MY DEAR – Bert Jansch
13.SANDY – The Matchmakers 14.ISANDULA ROAD – Jonathan Gill
15.AM I VERY WRONG? – Genesis
16.AWAY, AWAY – The Money Jungle
17.STICKS AND STONES – Warm Sounds
18.YOU’RE NOT IN MY CLASS – The Alan Bown!
19.MELINDA (MORE OR LESS) – Curved Air
20.I’M GOING HOME – Edward Jenkins
21.DON’T TRY TO EXPLAIN – Neil MacArthur
22.EVERYMAN – Stackridge
23.DO YOU LOVE ME – Deep Feeling
24.TODAY – Festival
25.PRIVATE HAROLD HARRIS – The Ian Campbell Group
26.NOT SO YOUNG TODAY – Five Steps Beyond
DISC TWO:
Five Steps Beyond
1. POPCORN, DOUBLE FEATURE – The Searchers
2. BARTERERS AND THEIR WIVES – The Rockin’ Berries
3. JUSTINE – Julian Brooks
4. COURTYARDS OF CASTILE – The Bliss
5. MOTHER DEAR – Barclay James Harvest
6. COMPETITION – The Orange Bicycle
7. I SEE WONDERFUL THINGS IN YOU – Mike Batt
8. DORIS COMES TODAY – Bill Fay
9. YEP – Bridget St John
10.THIS SONG IS GREEN – Billy Nicholls
11.CHERRYBELLE – Chris Neal
12.I COULD WRITE A BOOK – Wil Malone
13.WINDFALL – Offspring
14.POET – Audience
15.DEAR AMANDA – The Regime *
16.BATTLE OF TRAFALGAR – John Pantry
17.LETTERS FROM HER – Forever Amber
18.IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME – Andy Ellison
19.FILLIN’ A GAP – Paper Bubble
20.ILLINOIS – Nirvana
21.FATHER DICKENS – Johnny McEvoy
22.A LITTLE SMILE ON CHRISTMAS MORNING – The Annie Rocket Band
23.HE’S VERY GOOD WITH HIS HANDS – Barry Booth & His Orchestra
24.CHARLOTTE ROSE – The Majority
25.GENEVIEVE – Angel Pavement 26.LUSKUS DELPH (LIVE WITH EDMONTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA) – Procol Harum
27.THE ANSWER IS – Marc Brierley
*PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED
DISC THREE:
1. SATURDAY – Fickle Pickle
2. WRITER IN THE SUN – Donovan
3. A ROSE FOR EMILY – The Zombies
4. RICK RACK – The Humblebums
5. SHE SANG HYMNS OUT OF TUNE – The Freshmen
6. BROKEN BICYCLE – Kes Wyndham
7. CLOUDY – The Factotums
8. I’LL KEEP SMILING – Simon, Plug & Grimes
9. MIST ON A MONDAY MORNING – The Move
10.STRANGE PEOPLE – The U-No-Who
11.IF I THOUGHT YOU’D EVER CHANGE YOUR MIND – Edwards Hand
12.PICTURE ON THE WALL – Clive Sands
13.NEW KIND OF FEELING – Lea Nixon
14.ONLY FOOLING – Chris Baker
15.MRS RICHIE – Harmony Grass
16.ROSEMARY – A. & A. North
17.ROW ROW ROW – Peter Sully
18.TIME SELLER (SINGLE VERSION) – The Spencer Davis Group
19.THOUGHTS ON A RAINY DAY – Katch 22
20.TUESDAY – The Mellow Yellow *
21.THIS LITTLE MAN – Grapefruit
22.FACE IN MY WINDOW – Sheridan/Price
23.SMOKEY BLUE’S AWAY – Muffin
24.BREAKFAST – Richmond
25.ALL MY LIFE – Agincourt
26.SHADES AND SHADOWS – Elliot Mansions
27.GOODBYE – John George
*PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED