Since the dawn of time debate has raged as to the answer to that eternal question. Which is better? Pre or post-Dark Side of the Moon Pink Floyd?

Many have attempted to find the answer only to fall by the wayside, their search for the truth let down by ill-preparation. Head Full of Snow will do no such thing. Instead we will weigh up the pros and cons of each era with the pivotal album remaining off-limits (for the record, a decent enough album but, in my opinion, one that’s outrageously overrated). This way there should be no fear of falling on our collective swords, long before the battle has been won.
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Uncategorized, band, feature, prog rock, psychedelic rock

“…  like Pink Floyd and Miles Davis jamming at a 13th Floor Elevator’s party …”

Mixing a variety of styles including the blues and elements of psychedelia into one progressive rock melting pot, intodown paint musical soundscapes that bring to mind early Pink Floyd, post-Dark Side of the Moon Floyd and the 13th Floor Elevators in varying degrees.

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band, feature

As was so often the case with many a band signed during the psychedelic heyday of the late 60s (Focal Point being a case in point), The End remain one of those enigmas lost to time amidst a swirl of colour and a cloud of  hash smoke.

Image from: Marmalade Skies

In fact, mentioning Focal Point is no mere accident as two of the similarities between the misfortunes of the two bands sits firmly on the less desirable side of uncanny. Both had the sort of backing other bands could only dream of – Focal Point had The Beatles and The End had the Rolling Stones (more specifically Bill Wyman). Both were allowed to slip into obscurity through no fault of their own. The death of Beatles manager, Brian Epstein saw Focal Point’s priorities at Apple Records thrown onto the backburner, whilst Rolling Stones’ business manager Alan Klein sat on The End’s one and only album, Introspection, for eighteen months before it saw a release, at exactly the time when musical trends had moved on.

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band, feature, psych-pop

Focal Point are a band largely forgotten amidst the kaleidoscopic blur that was late 60’s psychedelic London. What makes their successful courtship of obscurity all the more surprising is the calibre of backing and money that they had – albeit momentarily – behind them. None other than The Beatles themselves.

Focal Point were the first signing to The Beatles-owned company, Apple Publishing, which would go on to become their record label, Apple Records.

Consisting of Scousers, Paul Tennant and David Rhodes, what at the time must have felt like a rare stroke of luck followed a chance encounter with Paul McCartney in London’s Hyde Park. Quickly signed after approval by the likes of John Lennon, Brian Epstein and Apple’s head honcho Terry Doran, the two formed a group with which to perform their songs and Focal Point released ‘Sycamore Sid’ in 1968, backed by the rather old-fashioned, if melodious, sound of ‘Love You Forever’. In the absence of a fully operational record label at Apple, the single was released on the Deram imprint of Decca. It would be the group’s one and only release.

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band, psych-pop