Hi-Fi Choice - May

LABELLED WITH LOVE
The Nice
Their inventive musical mix lay the groundwork for progressive rock
Emerging from the shadows
of PP Arnold’s backing
group, The Nice had a
reputation for controversial
stage antics. Their virtuoso
organist, the late Keith
Emerson, was the main
offender, fond of attacking his
feedbacking Hammond with
WWII daggers, but burning
the American flag on stage
while deconstructing Leonard
Bernstein was a step too far.
Christened The Nice by
manager Oldham, this
inventive yet often overlooked
group hit the ground running
with its ambitious blend of
psych, pop, jazz and classical,
paving the way for seventies
prog rock, a genre in which
Emerson would find major
league success as part of ELP.
The Nice recorded three
albums for Immediate
between 1967 and 1969: The
Thoughts Of Emerlist Davjack;
keyboard-heavy Ars Longa Vita
Brevis and Nice.
Released in 1968 on
Immediate’s subsidiary
Instant, the soundtrack to Peter
Whitehead’s cult movie is one
of the most important vinyl
documents of the capital’s
acid-rock scene for the
inclusion of Pink Floyd.
The three-minute version of
Interstellar Overdrive that
opens proceedings is a wilder,
more exploratory journey into
the avant garde than was
permitted by Columbia’s top
brass on debut The Piper At The
Gates Of Dawn.
The original issue of this
LP is a fantastic mix of
Immediate’s best-known acts
and more obscure gems. Chris
Farlowe (Out of Time) and
Small Faces (Here Come The
Nice) are ably supported by
atmospheric pop classics from
Vashti, aka acid-folk singer
Vashti Bunyan, and Twice As
Much. Throughout, the voices
of sixties faces such as Allen
America (1968) is the group’s
15 minutes of fame. A radical
reworking of the West Side
Story song, The Nice
performed it at the Royal
Ginsberg, Mick Jagger and
David Hockney are heard,
interspersed with the music,
giving the soundtrack an
intimate, mix-tape feel.
Albert Hall while setting the
Stars and Stripes alight, an act
that outraged composer
Leonard Bernstein, who tried
to block the single’s US release.
Tonite Let’s All Make Love In London
The soundtrack to the defining documentary of the swinging sixties
Unavailable for decades,
the LP was finally reissued
in the early nineties by the
See For Miles label in
gloriously expanded form.
SHOPPING LIST
Stacking the HFC Dansette high,
here’s our selection of highlights
worth hunting down from one of
the UK’s grooviest indie labels.
The Apostolic
Intervention
(Tell Me) Have You
Ever Seen Me
This Small Faces
cover is one of
the rarest – and
most expensive –
Immediate cuts.
Nico
I’m Not Sayin’
This Gordon
Lightfoot cover’s
flip, The Last Mile,
is overseen by
future-Zep Jimmy
Page, session
gun for hire.
John Mayall & The
Bluesbreakers
I’m Your
Witchdoctor
Stinging,
overdriven guitar
voodoo courtesy
of Eric Clapton on
this 1965 7in.
Mick Softley
I’m So Confused
Strident debut
from the cult
peacenik folk
singer. Donovan
went on to cover
Softley’s seminal
The War Drags On.
The Poets
Baby Don’t You Do It
This propulsive
cover of a floorfilling
Marvin Gaye
number by the
raucous Scottish
R&B group is a
freakbeat classic.
Chris Farlowe
Out Of Time
Stones gem given
the orchestral
treatment by
producer Mick
Jagger. Hit the top
of the charts in
summer 1966.
Les Fleur De Lys
Circles
Another helping
of hard-edged
freakbeat with this
rough diamond
from 1966, written
by kindred spirit
Pete Townshend.
Fleetwood Mac
Man Of The World
Somebody’s
Gonna Get Their
Head Kicked In
Tonight, credited
to Earl Vince and
the Valiants, is on
the flip of this 45.
Shopping List sleeves courtesy of 45cat
96 MAY 2016