BLONDE ON BLONDE
''REBIRTH''
1970
45:32
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1 Castles In The Sky 03:27 (Eve King, Paul Smith)
2 Broken Hours 03:38 (David Thomas)
3 Heart Without A Home 05:25 (Gareth Johnson)
4 Time Is Passing 02:38 (David Thomas, Les Hicks)
5 Circles 07:25 (Gareth Johnson)
6 November 03:06 (David Thomas)
7 Colour Questions 12:04 (David Thomas)
8 You'll Never Know Me; Release (Gareth Johnson; Richard John) 07:44
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Richard John/Bass Guitar
Leslie Hicks/Drums
Gareth Johnson/Guitar
David Thomas/Vocals
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REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
Blonde on Blonde's second album, Rebirth, was a more focused body of music than their debut; it also constituted the recording debut of the group's second lineup: David Thomas (vocals, guitar, bass), Gareth Johnson (sitar, lead guitar, lute, electronic effects), Richard Hopkins (bass, keyboards), and Les Hicks (drums, percussion). Whether they're doing the spacy, airy, psychedelic pop of "Castles in the Sky" or the folky "Time Is Passing," the group attack their instruments as though they're performing live, and the effect is riveting throughout, even when the melodic content flags slightly. Thomas' voice is powerful if a little over-dramatic at times, but when the band keeps things moving, there's enough richness of content to carry the album and then some; the band was probably really interesting in concert, too, based on the evidence here. And for once with a band like this, trying to encompass psychedelia, folk-rock, hard rock, and progressive rock between two covers, they don't over-reach on their magnum opus "Colour Questions," the record's 12-minute centerpiece. If the Yardbirds had stuck with psychedelic music and not strayed too far into mushy pop music (like into Mickie Most territory), they might have generated something like this piece, which never quite overstays it's welcome; and the number of voices and voicings that Johnson and Thomas come up with for their guitars offers a brace of surprises across 12 minutes. The group's prog rock impulses are also expressed on the album's original closer, "You'll Never Know Me/Release," which is a tour de force for Richard Hopkins' keyboard playing; unlike most of the competition, Blonde on Blonde seems not to have gravitated to the Moog synthesizer or the Mellotron, and the difference is refreshing, Hopkins' grand piano and organ speaking volumes in their own resonant language.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
Blonde on Blonde, taking their name from the then-new Bob Dylan album of that title, were spawned in 1967 out of a Welsh blues-rock band called the Cellar Set. Gareth Johnson played the guitar, sitar, and lute, while Richard Hopkins handled the bass, piano, harpsichord, cornet, celeste, and whistle, and Les Hicks played the drums. The addition of Ralph Denyer made them into a quartet with vocals; and Simon Lawrence, an alumnus of Roy Harper's and Al Stewart's early recordings, was with them briefly, as well, on 12-string guitar. The group took part in the Middle Earth Club's Magical Mystery Tour, which brought them an initial splash of press exposure. They were also fortunate enough to open for the Jefferson Airplane on the latter group's British tour. All of this activity led to an approach by Pye Records producer Barry Murray, who got them signed to the label, and through whom they released their debut single "All Day, All Night" b/w "Country Life." Though decidedly guitar-based in their sound, the band's music also used psychedelic pop arrangements that gave it an almost orchestral majesty which, when coupled with Johnson's sitar and lute embellishments and Hopkins' harpsichord and other unusual keyboards -- with Hicks getting into the act on the tabla -- gave them an appealingly exotic sound. Their live performances were frequently divided, à la Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, into acoustic and electric sets, in order to show off their full range.
The group issued their first album, Contrasts, in 1969, on the Janus label -- that record showed more of the early but burgeoning influence of progressive rock, while retaining their early psychedelic coloration. That same year, the band played to the largest single audience of its entire history when they appeared at the first Isle of Wight Festival. They also issued their second single "Castles in the Sky" b/w "Circles'" and the LP Rebirth, both on the Ember label, which featured a new lineup -- Denyer had exited the band to form Aquila, ceding his spot in Blonde on Blonde to singer-guitarist David Thomas. Richard Hopkins was replaced in mid-1971 by bassist-guitarist-banjo player Graham Davis, and it was this lineup that recorded their third LP, Reflections on a Life, at Rockfield Studios. It failed to sell any better than their prior releases, however, and the group broke up in 1972, shortly after that album's release. The group's albums are recognized as collector's items on vinyl, and their first album, in particular, is a beguiling mix of psychedelia and progressive rock. But their debut single, "All Day, All Night," is regarded in many quarters as their most significant release, a classic of late-'60s psychedelic pop/rock.
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WIKIPEDIA
**********
TO THE TOP
**********
''REBIRTH''
1970
45:32
**********
1 Castles In The Sky 03:27 (Eve King, Paul Smith)
2 Broken Hours 03:38 (David Thomas)
3 Heart Without A Home 05:25 (Gareth Johnson)
4 Time Is Passing 02:38 (David Thomas, Les Hicks)
5 Circles 07:25 (Gareth Johnson)
6 November 03:06 (David Thomas)
7 Colour Questions 12:04 (David Thomas)
8 You'll Never Know Me; Release (Gareth Johnson; Richard John) 07:44
**********
Richard John/Bass Guitar
Leslie Hicks/Drums
Gareth Johnson/Guitar
David Thomas/Vocals
**********
REVIEW/AMG
Bruce Eder
Blonde on Blonde's second album, Rebirth, was a more focused body of music than their debut; it also constituted the recording debut of the group's second lineup: David Thomas (vocals, guitar, bass), Gareth Johnson (sitar, lead guitar, lute, electronic effects), Richard Hopkins (bass, keyboards), and Les Hicks (drums, percussion). Whether they're doing the spacy, airy, psychedelic pop of "Castles in the Sky" or the folky "Time Is Passing," the group attack their instruments as though they're performing live, and the effect is riveting throughout, even when the melodic content flags slightly. Thomas' voice is powerful if a little over-dramatic at times, but when the band keeps things moving, there's enough richness of content to carry the album and then some; the band was probably really interesting in concert, too, based on the evidence here. And for once with a band like this, trying to encompass psychedelia, folk-rock, hard rock, and progressive rock between two covers, they don't over-reach on their magnum opus "Colour Questions," the record's 12-minute centerpiece. If the Yardbirds had stuck with psychedelic music and not strayed too far into mushy pop music (like into Mickie Most territory), they might have generated something like this piece, which never quite overstays it's welcome; and the number of voices and voicings that Johnson and Thomas come up with for their guitars offers a brace of surprises across 12 minutes. The group's prog rock impulses are also expressed on the album's original closer, "You'll Never Know Me/Release," which is a tour de force for Richard Hopkins' keyboard playing; unlike most of the competition, Blonde on Blonde seems not to have gravitated to the Moog synthesizer or the Mellotron, and the difference is refreshing, Hopkins' grand piano and organ speaking volumes in their own resonant language.
**********
BIOGRAPHY/AMG
Bruce Eder
Blonde on Blonde, taking their name from the then-new Bob Dylan album of that title, were spawned in 1967 out of a Welsh blues-rock band called the Cellar Set. Gareth Johnson played the guitar, sitar, and lute, while Richard Hopkins handled the bass, piano, harpsichord, cornet, celeste, and whistle, and Les Hicks played the drums. The addition of Ralph Denyer made them into a quartet with vocals; and Simon Lawrence, an alumnus of Roy Harper's and Al Stewart's early recordings, was with them briefly, as well, on 12-string guitar. The group took part in the Middle Earth Club's Magical Mystery Tour, which brought them an initial splash of press exposure. They were also fortunate enough to open for the Jefferson Airplane on the latter group's British tour. All of this activity led to an approach by Pye Records producer Barry Murray, who got them signed to the label, and through whom they released their debut single "All Day, All Night" b/w "Country Life." Though decidedly guitar-based in their sound, the band's music also used psychedelic pop arrangements that gave it an almost orchestral majesty which, when coupled with Johnson's sitar and lute embellishments and Hopkins' harpsichord and other unusual keyboards -- with Hicks getting into the act on the tabla -- gave them an appealingly exotic sound. Their live performances were frequently divided, à la Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, into acoustic and electric sets, in order to show off their full range.
The group issued their first album, Contrasts, in 1969, on the Janus label -- that record showed more of the early but burgeoning influence of progressive rock, while retaining their early psychedelic coloration. That same year, the band played to the largest single audience of its entire history when they appeared at the first Isle of Wight Festival. They also issued their second single "Castles in the Sky" b/w "Circles'" and the LP Rebirth, both on the Ember label, which featured a new lineup -- Denyer had exited the band to form Aquila, ceding his spot in Blonde on Blonde to singer-guitarist David Thomas. Richard Hopkins was replaced in mid-1971 by bassist-guitarist-banjo player Graham Davis, and it was this lineup that recorded their third LP, Reflections on a Life, at Rockfield Studios. It failed to sell any better than their prior releases, however, and the group broke up in 1972, shortly after that album's release. The group's albums are recognized as collector's items on vinyl, and their first album, in particular, is a beguiling mix of psychedelia and progressive rock. But their debut single, "All Day, All Night," is regarded in many quarters as their most significant release, a classic of late-'60s psychedelic pop/rock.
**********
WIKIPEDIA
**********
TO THE TOP
**********