The Oxfords – Flying Up Through The Sky (1970)

Μία γενικά πιο ανάλαφρη κατάσταση για σήμερα με ένα γκρουπάκι που μουσικά κινήθηκε σε ήρεμες διαδρομές. Δηλαδή pop, sunshine, μία και μόνη garage απόχρωση αλλά και λίγο folk είναι το περιεχόμενο αυτής της ουσιαστικά συλλογής, η οποία μουσικά σοβαρεύει όσο πλησιάζουμε prow στο τέλος της, περιέχοντας ακούσματα που μπορούμε να πούμε πως φέρνουν κάτι από Blues και jazz. Ακούστε για παράδειγμα το πρώτο κομμάτι και μετά το τελευταίο για να νοιώσετε την διαφορά. Σύμφωνα με όσα βλέπετε αμέσως μετά, από το γκρουπ πέρασε κόσμος και κοσμάκης μέχρι να αποφασίσουν να μπουν σε στούντιο για να ηχογραφήσουν το Lp τους. Σε όσους αρέσει η sunshine pop θα βρουν ενδιαφέροντα κομμάτια (ιδίως τα δύο πρώτα).

Personnel:
JIM GUEST drms A B C D E
CHRIS HUBBS gtr A
JIM McNICOL bs A
STEVE McNICOL lead gtr A
DANNY MARSHALL gtr B
JAY PETACH keyb'ds, ld gtr B C D E F G H I
BILL TULLIS ld vcls, gtr B C D E
BILL TURNER bs B
RAY BARRICKMAN bs, vcls C
RONNIE BROOKS gtr, bs C D
GARY JOHNSON bs E
DILL ASHER bs F
JILL DEMARCO gtr, vcls F G H I
DONNIE HALE drms F
LARRY HOLT bs G H
PAUL HOERNI drms G H
JERRY CANTER gtr H
BOBBIE JONES drms I
QUENTIN SHARPENSTEIN bs I
TONY WILLIAMSON lead gtr I
(KEITH SPRING F)
NB: Line-ups:- 'A' - 1965, 'B' 1965-6, 'C' 1966, 'D' 1966-7, 'E' 1967-8, 'F' 1968-9, 'G' 1969-71, 'H' 1971-2, 'I' 1972.

ALBUM:
1(F/G) FLYING UP THROUGH THE SKY (Union Jac LH 6497) 1970
NB: (1) reissued on CD with additional tracks (Gear Fab GF-168) 2001.

45s:
1(C) Time And Place/Always Something There To Remind Me (Our Bag 103) Dec. 1966
2(C) Time And Place/Always Something There To Remind Me (Mala 550) Jan. 1967
3(D) Sunflower Sun/Chicago Woman (Mala 563) June 1967
4(F) My World/Sung At Harvest Time (Union Jac 5632/3) Feb. 1969
5(G) Come On Back To Beer / Your Own Way (Paula 331) June 1970

This Louisville, Kentucky band's album is now beginning to interest some collectors. Bright 'n' breezy pop very much in the same mould as Orange Coloured Sky is on the Side One menu. Side two isn't quite as good but is more experimental. Young Girl's Lament is the stand-out cut on this side with powerful female vocals and fuzz guitar; Come On 'Round is marred by a tedious drum solo and Good Night sounds gospel-influenced. Worth a spin if you come across a copy. Originally formed in 1964 by Jim Guest, the band became very popular and influential on the Louisville scene, where they were the first group to adopt the British sound and look. In 1965 a rift developed between Guest and the rest of the band. Being friends with another local band The Spectres (Jay Petach, Bill Tullis, Bill Turner, Danny Marshall and drummer Glenn Howerton) the problem was resolved by trading drummers. The Spectres joined Guest in The Oxfords whilst Howerton teamed up the ex-Oxfords to form The Rugbys (their preferred stage attire being rugby shirts). Over the next couple of years The Oxfords released a couple of 45s including the superb fuzz-punker Time And Place. In 1968 Guest left; Jay Petach took the reins and built a new group which included Jill DeMarco, lead singer from girl group The Hearby.

This line-up set about recording an LP though it wasn't released until 1970 when, despite label offers, the band chose to put it out with a showcase 45 on their own label. They also released a 45 on Paula featured the Zappa-inspired Come On Back To Beer which hit the No. 1 spot in Louisville. In 1971 Petach composed a musical called 'Grease' which was performed by The Oxfords in Louisville, Atlanta and Kansas. The following year he got involved in studio engineering. The Oxfords appeared to be going nowhere fast so they finally called it a day in the Summer of 1972. In 1997, The Oxfords had a "reunion" gig in Louisville for a charity function. Jill DeMarco:- "After 25 years of not playing together, we actually did pretty well! Everyone looked much the same as they did way back when, believe it or not - full sets of hair and no potbellies. Only the acne was gone!"

"Today, Jay Petach is still in the music business as a producer in a studio in Cincinnatti, Ohio. He has made numerous commercials over the years and has even released an all-instrumental CD of songs played on the ocarina! (He was the multi-talented member of the group). Larry Holt sadly suffered a severe back injury and was out of commission for awhile, but he is back to playing bass around Louisville, Paul Hoerni continues to play drums around Louisville and works for UPS, whilst I'm the only one who hasn't stayed in music to any great degree. I moved to Chicago in 1973 and did some recording, music copyrighting, and jazz studies for six years.

Then moved to Seattle in 1979 and played solo gigs up through the mid-eighties, but it was not lucrative enough to survive. So, I found full-time work as a Technical Writer for the U.S. government (Federal Aviation Administration), and have been working at it ever since. I'm still in Seattle and do sing in the shower!"
The Gear Fab retrospective CD gathers together the complete album and all 45 tracks with several unreleased cuts from 1969 to 1972.
Compilation appearances have included: Time And Place on Sixties Rebellion Vol. 16 (LP & CD), Victims Of Circumstance, Vol. 2 (LP) and Victims Of Circumstance, Vol. 2 (CD).

(Max Waller / Lary Dowell with thanks to Jill DeMarco)

Tracks:

My World (3:18)
Lighter Than Air (2:50)
Sung at Harvest Time (3:47)
Two Poems by E.E. Cummings (4:37)
Flying Up Through the Sky (3:00)
Come on 'Round (5:00)
Young Girl's Lament (2:38)
Trix Rabbit (3:10)
(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me (2:58)
Time and Place (2:20)
Sun Flower Sun (2:08)
Chicago Woman (2:48)
Come on Back to Beer (2:37)
Your Own Way (2:43)
The City (2:45)
Flute Thing (2:08)
Cuttin' You Loose (3:12)
Sweet Lover Man (2:38)
Those Winds (3:09)
Tornado Baby (5:59)

http://www.shareonall.com/The_Oxfords__Flying_Up_Through_The_Sky_qfzn_rar.htm