Orpheus – Orpheus (1967)

Η συμπάθεια μου για τα συγκροτήματα που ανήκαν στο Boston Sound είναι πεφρασμένη από καιρό. Οι Orpheus αποτελούν τον ορισμό ίσως αυτού του ήχου. Ποιοτικότατο συγκρότημα το οποίο όμως σε σχέση με τους ανυπέρβλητους Spinach είχαν πιο «εύκολο» ήχο. Εδώ έχουμε τον πρώτο από τους τέσσερις δίσκους που έβγαλαν, ο οποίος είναι πάρα πολύ καλός για όσους εκφράζονται από τέτοιου είσους ακούσματα. Στην πορεία θα ακολουθήσουν και οι άλλοι βέβαια.

Personnel:
BRUCE ARNOLD vcls, gtr A B
ERIC GULLIKSEN vcls, bs A
JACK McKENES vcls, gtr A
HARRY SANDLER vcls, drms A
K.P. BURKE hrmnca B
HOWARD HERSCH bs B
STEVE MARTIN vcls B
BERNARD PURDIE drms B
ELLIOT SHERMAN piano, clavinet B

ALBUMS:
1(A) ORPHEUS (MGM (S)E-4524) 1968
2(A) ASCENDING (MGM SE-4569) 1968
3(A) JOYFUL (MGM SE-4599) 1969
4(B) ORPHEUS (Bell 6061) 1971
NB: There is also a double CD set The Best Of Orpheus (Big Beat CDWIK 2 143) 1996, which contains 34 tracks from all four albums and a pre-Orpheus cut by The Villagers circa 1966. All four albums have also been reissued as a double CD set (Akarma AK 155/2) 2001.

45s:
1 Can't Find The Time/Lesley's World (MGM K 13882) 1968
2 I've Never Seen Love Like This/Congress Alley (MGM K 13947) 1968
3 Brown Arms In Houston/I Can Make The Sun Rise (MGM K 14022) 1969
4 By The Size Of My Shoes/Joyful (MGM K 14139) 1970
5 Big Green Pearl/Sweet Life (Bell 45 128) 1971
NB: There have also been some reissue 45s: Can't Find The Time / Brown Arms In Houston (MGM Golden Circle MVG 529) and (Polydor Band Of Gold MVG 529); and Can't Find The Time (Rock 'n Mania RMGD-2424A).

From Worcester, Massachusetts, Orpheus were formed by ex-Villagers, Arnold and McKenes, Gulliksen from The Blue Echoes and Harry Sandler from The Mods. McKenes and Gulliksen had earlier worked together in a few folk groups, including The College Boys, who had one 45 The Man (Swan S-4166) 1963. Gulliksen: "This was a Kennedy tribute record; the group name was selected by Swan to remove commerciality from the record!".
Under the guidance of Alan Lorber, who produced all their albums, Orpheus became part of the "Boss-town Sound" movement but cultivated an almost singer-songwriter styled soft rock sound with folkie elements, at variance with the overtly psychedelic sounds and image of most of their stablemates. Possibly a marginal case for inclusion here therefore and not recommended to either garage or psych fans, although some of their material could be classified as 'hippie-rock' at a stretch.
Check out their contributions to the double CD set The Best Of Bosstown Sound: Can't Find The Time To Tell You (1967), Walk Away Renee (1968), Brown Arms In Houston (1969), Tomorrow Man (1971) - and decide for yourself.
They should be given credit for having a wider appeal and more output than most of their regional stablemates which saw them survive most of the hype and subsequent critical backlash. One of their songs, Can't Find The Time, was also covered by sixties instrumental band Groovin' Strings on their 1969 album Groovin' Strings And Things, and Rose Colored Glass, who had a Top 40 hit with the song. Other covers have included Brown Arms In Houston by the Plastic Cow on an album called The Plastic Cow Goes Moog (!?!?) and a very interesting cover of Congress Alley by a New York jazz funk group called "Congress Alley" on their album Congress Alley.
Eric G: "A few years after the group split up, Harry Sandler went to California where he did various things like being wardrobe manager for Sha Na Na, cue card boy on "Wheel of Fortune", etc. Later he got into personal management (no, he's not the Harry Sandler who manages John Mellencamp) and handled several fairly successful TV personalities. Harry hadn't heard of the Rose Colored Glass or of their version of Can't Find The Time. At a party, he struck up a conversation with a fellow there ... turned out that he was also an ex-drummer, hailing from Texas, that had also gone ex-pat to California. Harry asked if they had had any records, and the guy said yeah, his group was the Rose Colored Glass, and they had had a hit with Can't Find The Time. That blew Harry away - "hey! I was in Orpheus and that was OUR major hit!" The Texan, on the other hand, had never heard of Orpheus - he said that their singer had brought in the song and suggested that they do it, and they went ahead without ever having heard the original. Small world, eh?"
Fans of the band might be interested to know that legendary studio drummer Bernard "Pretty" Purdie was used on some material on the early LPs but as was the industry standard at the time, he did not receive credit for the work.
Orpheus also performed the theme song for the MGM movie "Marlowe", starring James Garner, called Little Sister. Jack McKenes and Bruce Arnold can also be heard on a 45 by The Alan Lorber Orchestra, Massachusetts / Congress Alley (MGM K-13926SS).
Can't Find The Time was covered more recently by Hootie and The Blowfish and this version was included on the soundtrack for the 2000 Jim Carrey movie "Me, Myself and Irene". Eric's verdict - "It's not bad at all, certainly better than the one by The Rose Colored Glass back in the seventies".
(Max Waller/Grayson Delworth with thanks to Eric Gulliksen and Bruce Arnold)

Track Notes:

1. "I've Never Seen Love Like This" - Upon hearing a demo for "Can't Find The Time", Wes Ferrell told Arnold, "write another song like that and I'll sign you." Arnold responded by writing this number with a verse or two contributed by Gulliksen. It actually surpasses "CFPlace" for commercial appeal and sets an early high water mark for the Arnold / Lorber collaboration. Listen to the "Anatomy of" version included on Big Beat's "Best of" compilation for a fascinating view of the song's construction.

2. "Lesley's World" - Penned specifically for Arnold by Alan Lorber's then wife, Lesley Miller. The track begins with Lorber improving on the intro from fellow arranger Jimmy Webb's "Up-Up And Away" to create a more interesting and personal song. Both songs address the idea of romantic escape, however, "Lesley's World" does it in a more mature way. "Up-Up And Away" sounds like it was written for teenagers while "Lesley's World" was intended for thirty-something’s. This song was actually released several months prior to the album's debut and received moderate airplay along with it's A-side, "Can't Find The Time."

3. "Congress Alley" - Arnold's friend and fellow "alley" inhabitant, Steve Martin, auditioned this song as a possible Orpheus track. Arnold wisely grabbed it but not before completely rearranging it for the band. Listen to Martin's own version available on his website (www.stephenbmartin.com) and you will appreciate the distinct differences between the two artists. After "CFPlace," "Congress Alley" is the second most covered song originally performed by Orpheus. Later versions were recorded by The Alan Lorber Orchestra, Clean Living and a group called Congress Alley, headed up by former Doo-Wop legend, Lee Andrews.

4. "Music Machine" - Another Martin penned track except this time written especially for Orpheus and about Orpheus (the machine that was "pumping out a pretty tune"). Arnold has been noted as saying this song loosely dealt with God, pointing to lyrics such as, "the things that we saw 'bout my Father and his law made me want to lay down and die" as well as "I had a thing about a bird on a wing that was calling to me from outside." One of Lorber's finest arrangements, the well-phrased lead vocal was actually done by Jack McKenes with Brian Wilson-like vocal direction from Arnold.

5. "Door Knob Song" - Arnold and Lorber use all three of Martin's compositions to complete side one of the LP and I'm hard-pressed to decide which song, this or "The Dream", does a better job of encapsulating this fantastic album. Whereas "Music Machine" only implied a spiritual theme, "Door Knob Song" dives straight into the Bible and comes out with sympathetic references to the fallen angels of Genesis as "the heroes and the villains," who are "silent when the games are named" and "seldom cry"..."they've forgotten how to fly." Scott Walker couldn't touch this track with a mile long pole. The orchestral arrangement is breathtaking and again, Arnold's phrasing rivals Sinatra at his best. The last "da da'n da" before the chello's finale still causes goosebumps. An absolute genius.

6. "I'll Stay With You" - Side 2 of the LP begins with what is arguably the band's most under appreciated song. If there is a track more deserving of Billboard's number one spot in the spring of 1968, I don't know it. Apparently, "I'll Stay With You" did receive some minor regional airplay in New England but it's power did little more than strengthen an already growing number of devoted young Orpheus fans such as Brad Delp, (lead singer of Boston) and Laura Nyro.

7. "Can't Find The Time" - So fumbled by MGM in 1967 that they reissued it a year later and again a year after that! Reaching only #80 in 1969, it would have been no less a tragedy if it had climbed to #20. This is the song that currently classifies Orpheus as a "one-hit wonder" but mark my words, it will become just a small chapter in the biography that future generations will write about Arnold and this band.

8. "Never In My Life" - Rumored to have been considered for release by 'Old Blue Eyes himself, this lovely 3/4 time gem showcases Arnold's sophisticated writing skills (only 19-years old when he wrote it), as well as Lorber's sheer enthusiasm for the material. Along with Bernard Purdie, (uncredited drummer), and Joe Macho Jr. (uncreditied bass player), Arnold creates a thrilling undercurrent, which Lorber uses as a foundation for some wild yet beautiful orchestration.

9. "The Dream" - Irene Trudel, DJ for WFMU in New York repeatedly refers to this as one of the most beautiful songs ever written. In a e-mail correspondence I had with Arnold, he revealed that after performing this song for the legendary Ali Akbar Khan in 1972, Khan was so moved he invited Arnold to stay at his home for as long as he pleased. The favor was later repaid when Arnold used his political connections to have Khan's birthday recognized as Ali Akbar Khan Day in the state of California. The late Collin Walcott, one of Khan's disciples, adds beautiful Indian instrumentation to the track and Lorber's refrained orchestration was so poignant on it's own that he later included a version (sans Arnold's voice and guitar) on the reissue of his "Lotus Palace" CD in 1996.

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