The band was originally formed as The Apaches in 1965 by four musicians from Putney, South London. A personnel change a year later brought about the new name “The Drag Set,” which consisted of Mike Brancaccio (guitar, vocals), Timothy du Feu (bass guitar), Phil Fox (drums), and Terry
Martin (a.k.a. Terry Schindler - guitar, vocals). They enjoyed a solid reputation and a modicum of success on the London blues circuit throughout 1966, backing such visiting luminaries as Wilson Pickett and John Lee Hooker. After appearing at London's legendary venues like Middle East, the UFO Club, the Electric Garden (supporting Pink Floyd on opening night!), and The Marquee (opening for The Electric Prunes), where they were sometimes fronted by a pre-Yes Jon Anderson, boxing impresario Benny Huntman promised them a deal with Philips on the condition that his son, Roger, was installed as their manager.
In 1967, they laid down some tracks with a “very enthusiastic and encouraging” Joe Meek, but his suicide less than a week later quashed any potential release. In March, the CBS subsidiary Go released their debut single, the Mod-inflected “Day and Night” b/w “Get Out of My Way.” Despite favorable reviews in
Record Mirror and NME, the single sank without a trace (although the band would rework the A-side in the future). The band’s most well-known single, “Magic Potion” (c/w “Cast A Spell”) was actually a post-LP effort. The track immediately became a favorite on John Peel’s legendary BBC 1 radio program. Its monotonous rhythm guitar anticipates the stoner rock of Hawkind while double bass drum fills and doom-laden fuzz guitar ragas combine bombastic rock power with Eastern-influenced psychedelia. It has been included on many recent psych & garage compilations and is frequently cited as one of the ten greatest UK-psych singles of all time.
Their album was recorded in the spring of 1969 with Walker Brothers/Dusty Springfield producer Johnny Franz, but the band's greatest achievement came with the druggy "Magic Potion", a post-album single (August 1969) that was overseen by former Four Pennies member Fritz Fryer. One of the best-loved British psychedelic albums of all time, The Open Mind is a hard-rocking collection that sold in minute
numbers upon its original release on Philips in 1969. This London group’s sole album has long been an obscure collector’s item, revered as the apotheosis of the prog-psych that evolved out of the mid-1960s freakbeat sound typified by such bands as the Yardbirds, the Attack (who would transmogrify into pioneering prog-rock outfit Andromeda), and the Creation. The Open Mind disbanded in 1973; its members wanted to move into jazz-influenced music, but The Open Mind was too well-known as a psychedelic band. The band members (minus Phil Fox) went on to form Armada, which lasted about three years but did not release any recorded material.
LINE - UP
Mike Bran, a.k.a. Mike Brancaccio – lead guitar, vocals, piano (born 17 April 1946, Rome, Italy; died 2022)
Timothy du Feu – bass guitar (born 31 May 1944, Malvern, Worcestershire, England)
Philip Fox – drums (born 26 August 1946, Westminster, South West London)
Ray Nye – guitar, vocals
Terry Martin, a.k.a. Terry Schindler – guitar, vocals (born 26 August 1945, Holborn, West Central London)
The Open Mind interview with Timothy Dufeu (It's Psychedelic Baby Magazine) HERE
The Open Mind – The Open Mind
Label: Sunbeam Records – SBMCW5501
Series: Sunbeam Masters
Format: CD, Album, Deluxe Edition, Limited Edition, Reissue Jul 3, 2006
Country: UK
Released: 1969
Genre: Rock
Style: Psychedelic Rock
TRACKS
01. Dear Louise 3:10
Written-By – Brancaccio
02. Try Another Day 2:41
Written-By – Brancaccio
03. I Feel The Same Way Too 5:02
Written-By – Brancaccio
04. My Mind Cries 3:08
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
05. Can't You See 2:57
Written-By – Brancaccio
06. Thor The Thunder God 2:46
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
07. Horses And Chariots 3:35
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
08. Before My Time 4:06
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
09. Free As The Breeze 5:37
Written-By – Brancaccio
10. Girl I'm So Alone 3:19
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
11. Soul And My Will 2:56
Written-By – Brancaccio
12. Falling Again 3:08
Written-By – Schindler
BONUS TRACKS
13. Magic Potion 3:24
Written-By – Brancaccio
14. Cast A Spell 2:12
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
15. Day And Night 2:15
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
16. Get Out Of My Way 2:18
Written-By – Brancaccio, Schindler
NOTES
Tracks 1 to 12 recorded in Philips Studios, Stanhope Place, London, Spring 1969.
Bonus tracks :
tracks 13 to 14 recorded in Philips Studios, Stanhope Place, London, Summer 1969.
Tracks 15 to 16 produced London, January 1967.
No comments:
Post a Comment