The Misunderstood: 3 Albums

Of the thousands of U.S. garage bands who struggled in the '60s without achieving international success, the Misunderstood were not only among the very best, but among the very few to progress beyond basic garage sounds to music that has been (belatedly) recognized as nearly as accomplished and innovative as that of the British Invasion bands who touched off the garage explosion in the first place.

Formed in Riverside, CA, in 1963, the group began as a basic R&Brock combo in the tradition of the Stones and the Animals. After the addition of steel guitarist Glenn Campbell, they rapidly moved toward a proto-psychedelic sound with guitar feedback, sustain, Middle Eastern influences, and exploratory song structures that strongly echoed the Yardbirds.
                                          

The Misunderstood were an American psychedelic rock band originating from Riverside, California in the mid-1960s The band moved to London early in their career, and although they recorded only a handful of songs before being forced to disband, they are considered highly influential in the then-emerging genre.

Creem, in their September 2004 review, wrote, "The saga of the Misunderstood is one of the most unbelievable, heartbreaking, and unlikely stories in the entire history of rock."
Classic Rock's June 2010 issue stated, "The truth is that this band (the Misunderstood) were so far out on their own, so individual and innovative that you can only wonder at the set of circumstances that conspired to prevent them from becoming the iconic name that was surely their destiny."
                                                                  

With the encouragement of local expatriate British radio announcer John Ravenscroft (who would

shortly become one of Britain's most influential DJs as John Peel, a designation he holds to this day), the band moved to England in 1966 in an attempt to find a sympathetic audience. The group cut six songs (a few of which were issued as extremely rare singles) that found them anticipating the early innovations of groups like Pink Floyd and Jimi Hendrix. The band was influenced by and often compared to the Yardbirds, and in 2004 were called "the American Yardbirds" by Rolling Stone. Distinctive features of the band's sound included the steel guitar of Glenn Ross Campbell and the innovative style of Whiting, known for his use of slide, fuzz tone and distortion. The Misunderstood are known for having pioneered the live light show. They also played with lights at the Marquee

Club in London in mid 1966. An advanced, multicolored, large scale version of this "light show" or "visual sound" system was being planned in London when the band were forced to retire. Another feature of their visuals was getting all three guitars feeding back using different tremolo settings, thereby leaving the stage flashing with musical lights.
                                                               

The Misunderstood are the stuff of legend among fans of '60s garage rock and psychedelia, and they'd probably be even more celebrated if more people heard their work. The band played music their own

GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL

way, and while they were far ahead of their time, the ferocity and imagination they revealed in their recordings would have been challenging in any era. The Misunderstood's savage interpretation of rhythm & blues was strong stuff in 1965, with vocalist Rick Brown wailing with uncommon ferocity and steel guitarist Glenn Ross Campbell filling the arrangements with otherworldly sweeps and cries through his pedal steel guitar. (Campbell's work with the Misunderstood arguably represents the most confident and visionary efforts to explore the pedal steel's possibilities outside country music.)
                                                 

Fontana Records introduced the band with a four-song live performance in London's Philips Studios. British media response was positive, but at this juncture it was decided that Campbell, Whiting, and Moe should go to Europe to sort out their British visas and work permits, while Brown returned to

GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL

California for his draft. In London they released their second single, "I Can Take You to the Sun", before being forced to disband. They had only recorded six tracks in London. British DJ John Peel championed the Misunderstood's music throughout his entire career. Shortly before his death, in an interview with Index Magazine, Peel stated, "If I had to list the ten greatest performances I've seen in my life, one would be the Misunderstood at Pandora's Box, Hollywood, 1966. My god, they were a great band!"
                                                 

By the time they developed acid consciousness, they cut some of the most powerful music of psychedelia's year zero -- "Children of the Sun," "I Unseen," and "Find the Hidden Door" rank with the 13th Floor Elevators' debut album among the first truly classic psych tracks. In spite of

their relatively small output, many musicians consider them to be influential pioneers of the acid style of rock music.[8] Head Heritage in a 2006 review wrote, "The Misunderstood's material extended far beyond the reach of the period in which it was conceived. The extraordinarily advanced tracks on side one from 1966 reveal them as one of the earliest and most original probes into psychedelic rock."  
                                        

The group was praised by the British press and up-and-coming acts like Pink Floyd and the Move, but

was hounded by U.S. draft authorities and internal problems, and disbanded in confusion around early 1967. Campbell kept the Misunderstood's name alive briefly with a couple unimpressive singles before forming Juicy Lucy, who had a small British hit with a cover of "Who Do You Love." The group's other guitarist, Tony Hill (actually a Britishman who joined the band after they arrived in England), joined High Tide, who recorded some progressive rock albums.
                                             

GLENN ROSS CAMPBELL

The Misunderstood finally gained some measure of the respect due to them with a well-packaged reissue of their best material in the early '80s. Rolling Stone in a September 2, 2004, review described the Misunderstood's Campbell as "Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page rolled into one.".

DISCOGRAPHY

                                                            

1. 7" Vinyl 45rpm EP: Children of the Sun (Cherry Red Records CHERRY22, 5/81)
2. Vinyl album and CD: Before the Dream Faded (Cherry Red BRED32, 4/82)
3. Vinyl album and CD: The Legendary Gold Star Album (Cherry Red CDMRED142, 1997)
4. Vinyl album and CD: The Lost Acetates 1965-66 (Ugly Things[1] Records [USA] UTCD-2201, 2004)
5. CD: Broken Road (Cherry Red CDMRED147, 1998) Produced by Kevin Reach, recorded 1981-83 in Hollywood

MEMBERS

Rick Brown
Glenn Ross Campbell
Tony Hill
Rick Moe
Greg Treadway
Steve Whiting
George Phelps
--1969 lineup--
Glenn Campbell
Steve Hoard
David O'List
Chris Mercer
Guy Evans
Nic Potter
Ray Owen

BEFORE THE DREAM FADED  1966  (GARAGE ROCK) 1992

Includes rarities,obscurities and never before released tracks.

                                                   

[One of the great lost '60s albums. Side one includes all six of the tracks the Misunderstood recorded in England in 1966, with magnificent guitar work and nervy, ambitious (if a bit overtly cosmic) songwriting that combines some of the best aspects of the Jeff Beck-era Yardbirds and Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd. Remember that Pink Floyd and Hendrix had yet to record when these sides were waxed; they aren't derivations, but genuinely innovative and groundbreaking performances.

Side two contains seven pre-psychedelic demos from their U.S. garage days in the mid-'60s that, while not nearly as important as their 1966 work, are solid, crunching R&B-soaked rock in the tradition of their chief British influences.
Innovative! Killer music! Highly recommended.
By Richie Unterberger]
                                           

(COLOUR OF THEIR SOUND)
Produced by Dick Leahy, recorded 1966 in London at Fontana Studios and IBC
                                           

01. Children of the Sun (Tony Hill, Rick Brown)
02. My Mind (Hill, Brown)
03. Who Do You Love (Ellas McDaniel)
04. I Unseen (Hill, lyrics from Nâzım Hikmet)
05. Find the Hidden Door (Hill, Brown)
06. I Can Take You to the Sun (Hill, Brown)

(BLUE DAY IN RIVERSIDE)
1965 USA recordings (preserved from acetate)
                                  

07. I'm Not Talkin' (Mose Allison)
08. Who's Been Talkin' (Chester Burnett)
09. I Need Your Love (Greg Treadway, Brown)
10. You Don’t Have to Go (Jimmy Reed)
11. I Cried My Eyes Out (Treadway, Brown)
12. Like I Do (Treadway, Brown)
13. You've Got Me Crying Over Love (hidden track)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 90 MB
Flac  Size: 223 MB

THE LEGENDARY GOLD STAR ALBUM/GOLDEN GLASS  (BLUES) 1997

                                           

CD 1: The Legendary Gold Star Album - Produced by John Peel, recorded early 1966 in Hollywood, California at Gold Star Studios.

01. Blues with a Feeling
02. Who's Been Talkin'
03. You Got Me Dizzy
04. You Don't Have to Go
05. Goin' to New York
06. Shake Your Money Maker
07. I Just Want to Make Love to You
08. I'm Not Talkin'

CD 2 (Bonus CD): Golden Glass
                                       

01. Never Had a Girl (Like You Before)
02. Golden Glass
03. I Don't Want to Discuss It
04. Little Red Rooster
05. You're Tuff Enough
06. Freedom
07. Keep on Running
08. I'm Cruising

MP3 @ 320 Size: 156 MB
Flac  Size: 316 MB

THE LOST ACETATES 1965 - 1966 (GARAGE ROCK)

William Locy Sound, Riverside, California, July 1965 - January 1966

                                            

01. She Got Me (version 2) (Treadway/Brown)
02. Don't Bring Me Down (The Animals' arrangement)
03. Bury My Body (Original arrangement)
04. Why? (Treadway/Brown)
05. Got Love If You Want It (The Kinks' arrangement)
06. She Got Me (version 1) (Treadway/Brown)
07. End of Time (Treadway)
08. Thunder & Lightning (Hoyt Axton)
09. I Unseen (version 1) (Nâzım Hikmet) (riff by Whiting)
                                 

Gold Star Studios, Hollywood, California, April 1966

01. Who's Been Talkin' (Chester Burnett)

Demos, IBC Studios, London, September 9, 1966

01. My Mind (Hill/Brown)
02. Find the Hidden Door (Hill/Brown)
03. Children of the Sun (Hill/Brown)
04. I Unseen (version 2) (Nâzım Hikmet) (Original arrangement with riff by Whiting)

MP3 @ 320 Size: 91 MB
Flac  Size: 117 MB