Rod Stewart - Every Picture Tells A Story
Rod the Mod finds his solo footing, headed for stardom, with the Faces in his wake.
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Features Disc of the day
The Third Bardo
I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time
(Roulette, 1967)
Spectral psychedelia from US garage unknowns…
New York’s Third Bardo were part of an underground scene overflowing with long-haired, Brit-R&B copyists who peddled identikit songs to increasingly apathetic audiences. So what makes this quintet stand out? Why do they occupy a place in the pantheon of ‘60s rock curiosities while so many of their contemporaries lie forgotten in the gutter? Two reasons spring to mind.
Firstly, there’s the name. Naming your band after a chapter in The Tibetan Book Of Dead was always going to intrigue the uninitiated and, in 1967 at least, welcome the baying in-crowd. Either way, the moniker alone may have been enough to ensure they would remain a perfectly branded artefact of the era. Then there’s today’s disc of the day – a towering example of American garage at its most noisy and menacing.
Although a handful of other tracks have surfaced over the decades, The Third Bardo only released one 45 during their short-lived existence. Recorded during their first (and last) studio session, I’m Five Years Ahead Of My Time begins with a minor chord riff – a sound that evokes the same sense of looming terror as the four note refrain in Pink Floyd’s Shine On You Crazy Diamond – before rumbling into an eastern-flavoured mod-thump redolent of their West Coast counterparts The Chocolate Watch Band. The lyrics: “I'm living somewhere in a new dimension / I'm leaving everyone so far behind / Don't waste any time girl / Step inside my mind / I'm five years ahead of my time” may be firmly rooted in the prevailing hippie vernacular, but Jeff Monn’s Jagger-snarl ensures this is no patchouli-scented love-in. Swathes of US suburbia fizzed with the sound of people stomping on fuzztone boxes and turning amps up to 11; few produced better results than this.
Ross Bennett
Posted by Ross_Bennett at 6:00 AM GMT 29/01/2009
Further Listening
The Chocolate Watch Band – 44 (Ace/Big Beat)
The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sound Of…(International Artists, 1966)
The Electric Prunes – I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) (Reprise, 1966)
Previous Disc of the day
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Earl Brutus - Larky
Last salvo of Ginsters Pasty-Warholism from Britpop ramraiders.
12:04 PM GMT 08/06/2011
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Loudon Wainwright - T-Shirt
An overlooked small wonder from an unpredictable career.
6:00 AM GMT 03/06/2011
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Landscape - From The Tea-rooms Of Mars… To The Hell-holes Of Uranus
Dry computer club Futurists, upon hitting implausible chart paydirt.
6:00 AM GMT 17/05/2011
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Causa Sui - Summer Sessions Vol 1-3
Epic Danish jams, for when the neighbours get you down.
6:00 AM GMT 12/05/2011
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Comments
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These are all great records ! I saw The Third Bardo live at their reunion at Cavestomp '99 in NYC and were the best band the whole weekend. They performed all five of their songs as good as the original recordings. Just a fantastic transendental performance. All of their original recordings are available again on vinyl but, also as downloads at Amazon and Sundazed Music. Enjoy !
Posted by Third Bardo Fan at 3:26 PM GMT 29/01/2009 Report Abuse
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Check the cover by Primal Scream from the glorious XTRMNTR era. Drumming by the CAN man no less.
But the original...oh yes! Nice choice Mojo.
Posted by Turner at 5:02 PM GMT 06/02/2009 Report Abuse
Reply to this post
Check the cover by Primal Scream from the glorious XTRMNTR era. Drumming by the CAN man no less.
But the original...oh yes! Nice choice Mojo.
Posted by Turner at 5:04 PM GMT 06/02/2009 Report Abuse
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Comment on this post