A Phase We’re Going Through – Various Artists (Fruits de Mer Vol. 11)
Those purveyors of the multicoloured 7″ single and EP, Fruits de Mer Records, have visited the vinyl clinic and chosen to undergo the extension, returning with a smile on their face and a full 12 inches in their hand. It might just be A Phase We’re Going Through.
For those that don’t already know, Fruits de Mer Records, to quote co-founder Andy Bracken from our recent interview with the label, “release limited edition vinyl records of songs originating in the late 1960s/early 1970s, in a psych, kraut, folk, prog vein, covered and reinterpreted by contemporary artists.”
A Phase We’re Going Through is their first foray into the album market and hopefully, on this evidence anyway, it won’t be the last.
Described in the press tackle as “… an album of songs that were drenched in phasing when first recorded, or have been now, or would if only we and the bands had been paying proper attention …” A Phase We’re Going Through lives up to its remit with 11 trippy tracks plucked from the ether of the late sixties and given a thoroughly phased seeing to by an assortment of bands still living the psychedelic dream.
An eclectic mix of originals has been chosen for the Fruits de Mer cover treatment, including The Who’s ‘In the City’, July’s eerie ‘My Clown’ and Billy Nicholls’ spirited ‘London Social Degree‘. These are given rousing reinterpretations by Permanent Clear Light, The Swims and Zombies of the Stratosphere respectively. The Swims’ version of ‘My Clown’ is particularly atmospheric, nicely harking back to the July forerunner that appeared on their sole and ultra-rare eponymously titled 1968 album.
The Monkees, Jimi Hendrix, Caleb Quaye and The Bee Gees also come in for some royal treatment with The Luck of Eden Hall covering ‘Love is Only Sleeping’, Cranium Pie (who, incidentally, did a sterling version of Dantalian’s Chariot’s ‘Madman Running Through the Fields’ back on FdM Vol. 7) doing a spectral ‘Little Wing’, The Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder tackling ‘Baby, Your Phrasing is Bad’ and Sidewalk Society giving their take on The Brothers Gibb’s ‘Red Chair, Fade Away’.
All good stuff, which brings us seamlessly to the highlight of A Phase We’re Going Through, The Chemistry Set’s ‘Silver Birch’.
I have to admit I’m unfamiliar with the original, a tale of an abandoned bride by none other than Del Shannon, taken from his brief voyage into the acid-spiked waters of psych, 1968′s The Further Adventures of Charles Westover. The Chemistry Set ensures it remains a haunting and trippy affair, swathed in vocal effects and atmospheric, non-intrusive phasing. It brings to mind The Bobcats’ meditative ‘Lord John’ and has inspired me to seek out a copy of the … Charles Westover album, so I can hear the original.
Elsewhere, and as stated the other week, the Geese version of Pink Floyd’s ‘Point Me at the Sky‘ is a space-rock, acid-frazzled corker, and the only minor quibble I have regarding A Phase We’re Going Through is that, perhaps, The Marshmallow Staircase’s version of Jefferson Airplane’s ‘Plastic Fantastic Lover’ is a little too phased, rendering it a touch on the muggy side for these ears. But that’s personal choice and doesn’t hamper the enjoyment of an otherwise excellent release.
With A Phase We’re Going Through being this good, hopefully the wait for Vol.2 won’t be a long one.
A Phase We’re Going Through will be released in June 2010 on limited edition, coloured 12″ vinyl. It can be pre-ordered through the Fruits de Mer website, but a quick hand will be needed, as these releases have a habit of selling out fast.
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