Saturday 20 October 2018

Psychedelic Pop/Folk Rock/Garage Rock; Penny Arkade - Not The Freeze 1967-68 (2004 Sundazed)


The Penny Arkade never released any records during their brief existence, and their history has been muddied by the release of much of their material on rare albums credited to one of the band's singer/songwriters (using a pseudonym, no less). The obscurity and confusion is unfortunate, as they were actually quite a good Southern Californian folk-rock-psychedelic band, much like Buffalo Springfield at times, and at others like a tougher Monkees. The Monkees connection is explained, in part, by the production of their studio sides by Mike Nesmith, who was in the Monkees at the time.

The nucleus of the Penny Arkade was comprised of singer/songwriters Craig Smith and Chris Ducey. The pair of them recorded as the duo Chris & Craig, who put out a rare single on Capitol in 1966. They had met Nesmith earlier in New York and when Nesmith was becoming successful with the Monkees, he produced Smith and Ducey's new band, the Penny Arkade, which also included Don Glut on bass and Bobby Donaho on drums. Nesmith recorded quite a bit of material with the band around 1967, with an eye to using the recordings to get them a contract. They couldn't get a deal, however, and broke up without releasing anything.

Craig Smith had experienced some success as a songwriter covered by other artists, with the Monkees recording "Salesman," Andy Williams "Holly," and Glen Campbell "Country Girl." With those royalties, he embarked on travels around the globe and when he returned to the States, those who'd known him thought he'd gotten way weirder. That's supported by the spooky tone of the solo recordings he did in the early '70s, which are somewhat reminiscent of the acid folk of artists like Skip Spence. In the early '70s, he combined some early-'70s solo recordings with about an album's worth of old unreleased Penny Arkade tracks for two LPs, Apache and Inca. Both were credited to Maitreya Kali, the name Smith was now using for himself, and released in such small quantities that they were essentially vanity pressings.


The Penny Arkade material on the Maitreya Kali albums is actually pretty good and worthy of more attention than many would think given their total obscurity. While not as good as Buffalo Springfield (and pretty derivative of Buffalo Springfield), songs like "Color Fantasy," "Swim," "Lights of Dawn," and "Knot the Freize" (sic) evoke some of the Springfield's better aspects. Particularly ambitious was the 12-minute "Knot the Freize" (sic), the Penny Arkade's own "Broken Arrow" perhaps, as it's a suite of several different songs. There was also their version of "Country Girl," which was pretty and tuneful countrified folk-rock.

The Maitreya Kali albums, and hence the Penny Arkade (who are not credited in any way on the Maitreya Kali LPs), were unknown even to many fanatical 1960s rock collectors. However, those albums, and hence a good amount of Penny Arkade material, were restored to easy availability when they were reissued as a two-CD set on the Normal/Shadoks label. While Smith's post-'70s activities remain mysterious, bassist Don Glut became an independent horror/science fiction filmmaker and Chris Ducey did a mid-'70s solo album for Warner Bros.(Richie Unterberger, allmusic.com)



Flac (zippy)                                                   Flac (M)

mp3@320 (zippy)                                         mp@320 (M)

                                   pass: SB1

8 comments:

  1. Frank, Thanks for all that you do here. I appreciate I ask for a lot of reposts. I hope this is OK with you as I don't want to be a pain. That said could you please repost the following: Norwegian 60s Garage Pop, Mod, Merseybeat: Firebeats, Inc - Firebeats, Inc 1966 (2014 RPM)

    Ex WCPAEB Member Solo Release: Shaun Harris - Shaun Harris 1973 (2005 Rev-Ola)

    Swedish Pop Rock Soul and a lot more by Doris - Did You Give the World Some Love Today Baby 1970 & Bonus Tracks (1997 EMI, Japan)

    Great Album Of Psych Pop/Folk Rock by Wendy & Bonnie - Genesis 1968 - 1970 (2008 Sundazed 2CD)

    Great Album Of Psych Pop/Folk Rock by Wendy & Bonnie - Genesis 1968 - 1970 (2008 Sundazed 2CD)

    The Monks - Black Monk Time 1966 (2009 Light In The Attic)

    Psychedelic Pop; The Motions - Impressions Of Wonderful 1965 - 1967

    Pop, Popsike, British Invasion Compilation: The Montanas - You've Got To Be Loved 1965 - 1965 (1997 Sequel)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello martman,
      everything is fine and i do this because i like it. I will upload your requests later today but i have just one request: Can you please use the comment sections of the albums you want? Because it is much easier for me if people use the comment sections of the album they ask for. Thank you and enjoy the music,
      Frank

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    2. Your requests are up now.
      Have fun,
      Frank

      Delete
    3. Hi Frank. I requested here because those have no comment section. Is there another way I can request that is better? Thanks., martman

      Delete
    4. Hello martman,
      i am sorry, haven't thought about this case. Yeah it is curious that so much places have no comment sections. I looked on the blogger site and asked there why it is so but no one told me the reason...However, of course you can do it this way if there are no comment sections. Sorry again my friend,
      cheers
      Frank

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    5. Thanks for clearing that up. Here is my latest batch of repost requests: Shane Martin - Columbia & Epic Singles 1967 - 1969

      VA - Trash Box (5 Disc Box of the first five cd's/albums by Pebbles) 2004 HIT

      The Flamin' Groovies - Jumpin' In The Night 1979 (1997 Warner, Japan Reissue)

      The Tropics - As Time's Gone 1966-67 (2013 Guerssen Vinyl)

      John D. Loudermilk - The Open Mind Of John D Loudermilk 1961-68 (2006 The Omni Recording Corp.)

      Thanks, Frank!

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    6. Requests are up in a few minutes.
      Best,
      Frank

      Delete
  2. Hi and thank you so mush for sharing this rare gem. But sadly, I'm afraid I am so late to listening to it :-( Should a reup be avaialble someday ? Thanks in advance, Cheers.

    ReplyDelete

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