UNDER-APPRECIATED ROCK BAND OF THE MONTH FOR MARCH 2011: INDEX
When thinking of psychedelic rock music, I am reminded of the famous quote by Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart: Though he could not come up with a good definition of hard-core pornography, he said, “I know it when I see it”. Psychedelic rock is the same way: I know it when I hear it, but don’t ask me to tell you what it is. Among the many 1960’s psychedelic bands are the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Big Brother and the Holding Company, 13th Floor Elevators, the Chocolate Watchband, the Strawberry Alarm Clock, Iron Butterfly, and Tomorrow. Our local newspaper, the Sun Herald reported over the weekend about a previously unreleased album by Arthur Lee’s band Love that is supposed to hit the stores shortly; I didn’t expect such hip news from them frankly.
Many other artists in the 1960’s also took a whack at psychedelia. Kenny Rogers’ first band the First Edition had an early hit song with “Just Dropped in (to See What Condition My Condition was In)”; though the lyrics kind of miss the boat, they are still charmingly corny. “Hurdy Gurdy Man” is one of many great psychedelic songs Donovan came up with. The Beatles had Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the Rolling Stones had Their Satanic Majesties’ Request. Even Motown got into the act: The Supremes hit with “Reflections”, while the Temptations had several psychedelic songs – “Psychedelic Shack”, “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)”, “Runaway Child, Runnin’ Wild”, and others. Many were on their 1970 album Psychedelic Shack; one of the biggest hits by the B-52’s, “Love Shack” was in part an homage to this record.
The San Francisco sound covers a lot of what used to be called “acid rock” (music designed to be enjoyed while under the influence of LSD): Country Joe and the Fish, Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and the Grateful Dead. This music is much calmer and more meditative than one might think; there is enough going on during an acid trip without having your head blown off by a lot of bombastic music. But psychedelic guitar is one of the best things in rock music for my money, and it hardly gets any better than with INDEX. This album was advertised as the “Holy Grail” among collectors of psychedelic albums, and it does live up to the hype. I paid $27 for the record, which is about as much as I have paid for any record for at least five years. (Truth be told, I am more of a hoarder than a collector: On my Atlanta record-buying trip in Spring 2010, fully half of the albums that I got were priced at $1). Index (or the Index) was formed in the tony Detroit suburb of Grosse Pointe, Michigan in 1967 by John Ford (lead guitar and lead vocals), Gary Francis (bass and rhythm guitar) and Jim Valice (drummer and background vocals). The copy that I have is an "authorized” release, not a bootleg; but of course, we only have their word for that. (It reminds me of the old joke: How many legs does a dog have if you call the tail a leg? Answer: Four; calling the tail a leg doesn’t make it one). The lead guitar really is outstanding and is clarion-clear, especially considering that the songs were recorded “at the Ford Estate” (that’s what it says here) live in the studio with one microphone. The vocals are a little muddy and washed out, though they are well sung, particularly on “Rainy, Starless Night” (“Why must I cry? . . .”). Their songwriting is also top notch; standout tracks include “John Riley”, “Fire Eyes”, and “Shock Wave” (the last two are woven into one song). “Feedback” starts off with feedback-drenched guitar echo that is among the best I have heard – certainly better than “Free Form Guitar” on Chicago’s first album Chicago Transit Authority, or the side-long “Cambridge 1969” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono that was included on their follow-up to Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions – then again, Index went on to do a real song rather than just waving their guitar in front of the amp.
There are two covers on the Index album: “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (more the Vanilla Fudge version than the Supremes version) and the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” (speaking of great psychedelic songs). If there was ever a song that cried out for a really extended treatment, it was “Eight Miles High”; and I still remember well the first time I heard a long version of “Eight Miles High” at a party while I was in college. The artist turned out to be Golden Earring, a Dutch band that has been around about as long as the Rolling Stones; they went on to have two giant hits – both of which I still love – “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone”.
This album is one of two LPs that I have gotten this year where the side listings are backwards, i.e., where Side 2 is on the left and Side 1 is on the right. The other is a live performance by another Dutch band, the Outsiders (not to be confused with the American band also called the Outsiders that hit with “Time Won’t Let Me”), called Afraid of the Dark. In that case, the sides were numbered correctly I guess; but Side 2 is essentially the same as the outstanding first side of their legendary first album, The Outsiders (even including the introduction to the band in the Dutch language), and the album just seems better when it is played with the second side first. This was a run-through rather than the blistering live tracks given on the first album, but that one hasn’t yet emerged from my recovery of the record albums from Katrina, so I am delighted to have this one available for playing.
Many other artists in the 1960’s also took a whack at psychedelia. Kenny Rogers’ first band the First Edition had an early hit song with “Just Dropped in (to See What Condition My Condition was In)”; though the lyrics kind of miss the boat, they are still charmingly corny. “Hurdy Gurdy Man” is one of many great psychedelic songs Donovan came up with. The Beatles had Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the Rolling Stones had Their Satanic Majesties’ Request. Even Motown got into the act: The Supremes hit with “Reflections”, while the Temptations had several psychedelic songs – “Psychedelic Shack”, “Ball of Confusion (That’s What the World is Today)”, “Runaway Child, Runnin’ Wild”, and others. Many were on their 1970 album Psychedelic Shack; one of the biggest hits by the B-52’s, “Love Shack” was in part an homage to this record.
“Feedback” starts off with feedback-drenched guitar echo that is among the best I have heard – certainly better than “Free Form Guitar” on Chicago’s first album Chicago Transit Authority, or the side-long “Cambridge 1969” by John Lennon and Yoko Ono that was included on their follow-up to Two Virgins, Unfinished Music No. 2: Life with the Lions – then again, Index went on to do a real song rather than just waving their guitar in front of the amp.
There are two covers on the Index album: “You Keep Me Hangin’ On” (more the Vanilla Fudge version than the Supremes version) and the Byrds’ “Eight Miles High” (speaking of great psychedelic songs). If there was ever a song that cried out for a really extended treatment, it was “Eight Miles High”; and I still remember well the first time I heard a long version of “Eight Miles High” at a party while I was in college. The artist turned out to be Golden Earring, a Dutch band that has been around about as long as the Rolling Stones; they went on to have two giant hits – both of which I still love – “Radar Love” and “Twilight Zone”.
