Gandalf: A Lost Psychedelic Rarity
Tolkeinesque imagery was the soup du jour during the days of psychedelia and its natural successor progressive rock. At the height of their psychedelic phase, The Beatles even tried to get a film version of The Lord Of The Rings off the ground with themselves in the main roles. An American group took it one step further and named themselves after the pivotal white/grey wizard from Middle Earth (which incidentally gave its name to a London club, famous for its happenings and freak-outs during the psychedelic era).
Gandalf are also one of the enduring mysteries of late 60′s psychedelia. They formed, signed to Capitol records, cut one album, released one single, and then disappeared without trace.
This eponymous debut was released in 1969, two whole years after its recording, and only in the band’s homeland of America. A bizarre mix-up somewhere down the line saw the album issued with the wrong record in the sleeve and by the time this error had been remedied – which involved a costly recall – the band’s momentum had all but fizzled out.
Indeed a shame, as this wee rarity shows the potential for greater things. The major drawback being the fact its chock full of cover versions, albeit cover versions in the bands own haunting style. Of the ten tracks on offer only two are originals, both written by the guitarist Peter Sando, and it is they, particularly the spectral ‘Can You Travel In The Dark Alone’ that provide the album’s highpoints.
‘Can You Travel In The Dark Alone’ is undoubtedly the crowning glory with sitars, a freaky oscillating bassline, the customary organ and what might be a xylophone tapping out a spooky repetition of the main riff at timed intervals, all thrown into one sombre mix. It’s as eerie as songs get. Beautiful, unearthly and ominous, all rolled into one.
If you’ve never heard it (along with the other 99.9% of the human race) imagine an overwhelming sense that you were being stalked down an unlit alleyway by Jackson 5-bothering, talent vacuum David Gest. That’s the very feeling of unease interwoven throughout this psych-pop gemstone. Of course, the lyrics make little sense but when taken as a whole they only add to the ghostly ambience.
Other highlights are ‘I Watch The Moon’, another eerie spectacle and the second original song on the album, and ‘Golden Earrings’, a haunting cover of a song made famous by, of all people, Bing Crosby. The remaining tracks on the album are mainly covers of Tim Hardin songs.
A minor fault worth mentioning is with the actual sound. My copy of the CD, issued on the See For Miles label, is sometimes a little muffled and underwhelmingly quiet throughout. I’m guessing it’s a problem due more to the sources used for the reissue, than the original production. The album is also issued on the Sundazed label. Whether these problems have been cleaned up with a re-master, I couldn’t say.
If this was a school report I might end it with the immortal epitaph, must try harder. But instead, I’ll leave you safe in the knowledge that this album has some fine moments that only highlight the potential of a band who, had they been given the chance to write more of their own stuff and not poleaxed by record company ineptitude, might’ve gone on to greater stuff.
Gandalf is currently out of print, but second-hand copies can be found online.
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