Itchycoo Park

ITCHYCOO PARK
 
 
“Itchycoo Park”  is a psychedelic pop song written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane, first recorded by their group, the Small Faces.  The song reached number three in the UK Singles Chart in 1967.  (More from Wikipedia)
 
 

Small Faces had a rocky start with Decca Records but eventually began working under one of England’s top producers, Andrew Loog Oldham – who had worked with the Rolling StonesMarianne Faithfulland others – and signed them as the top act on his new company, Immediate Records.  Their first album with that label, Small Faces – a self-titled album like their debut effort with DeccaSmall Faces – was an instant hit in mid-1967 and included a song that even made the charts in the U.S., “Itchycoo Park”. 

 

(April 2014)

 

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Another fun effect is running the same or similar musical sections slightly out of synch; it is variously described as phasing and flanging.  The latter term was reportedly coined by John Lennon and is still in use today; it refers to sound effects caused by the manual or accidental slowing down of tape in a take-up reel, though the effect can be created electronically as well.  The Wikipedia article on flanging describes it this way:  “As an audio effect, a listener hears a ‘drainpipe’ or ‘swoosh’ or ‘jet plane’ sweeping effect as shifting sum-and-difference harmonics are created analogous to use of a variable notch filter.”  One of the earliest uses of phasing in rock music is the 1967 hit song by Small Faces, Itchycoo Park”. 

 

(July 2015)

 

Last edited: March 22, 2021