ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA Elmer Gantrys Velvet Opera LP DIRECTION 1968 UK orig
£
72
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ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERAThis popular UK act, which adeptly mixed soul and psychedelic/progressive styles,
evolved from Jaymes Fenda And The Vulcans, one of several bands to secure a recording
contract following their appearance on the televised contest, Ready Steady Win.
The new unit was named Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, in honour of lead singer Terry's stage
garb modelled after the preacher in the 1960 movie Elmer Gantry.
Their excellent 1968 debut album included the pulsating "Flames', which,
despite regular appearances on BBC Radio 1"s Top Gear, failed to become a hit.
"ELMER GANTRY'S VELVET OPERA"
Produced by Barry Kingston
1968 LP DIRECTION RECORDS 8-63300 STEREO
MADE IN ENGLAND ORIGINAL PRESSING
Released on a ''yellow'' Direction label.
Released in a laminated cover (on front)
Without 'CBS' company insert
Barcode and Other Identifiers
LABEL: DIRECTION - YELLOW LABEL +BLACK 'ARROW' LOGO - BLACK TEXT
Catalog on cover (spine & front): 8-63300
Catalog on labels: 8 63300 (8-63300-A / 8-63300-B)
Matrix / Runout (Side A, Stamped): S8-63300 A1
Matrix / Runout (Side B, Stamped): S8-63300 B2
On labels: rim text reads "Made in England"
?1968 on both labels (on the labels the release year appears at 3 o'clock, circa)
*?1967 on Side B only
Rights Society: Southern Music, Essex Music, Darewski Music
On Back Sleeve: A Meridian Production Produced By Barry Kingston
CBS Stereo Records can be played on today's mono record players...
CBS is a trademark of the Columbia Broadcasting System, Inc., U.S.A.
Sleeve produced by the Upton printing Group
Sleeve Design: John Hays
from my records collection
tracklisting
Side A: INTRO - MOTHER WRITES - MARY JANE - I WAS COOL
WALTER SLY MEETS BILL BAILEY - AIR - LOOKIN' FOR A HAPPY LIFE
Side B: FLAMES - WHAT'S THE POINT OF LEAVING
CLONG NIGHTS OF SUMMER - DREAM STARTS
REACTIONS OF A YOUNG MAN - NOW SHE'S GONE
grading
RECORD STRONG EX, NEAR MINT (please, read above description)
SLEEVE VG+ (please, see pictures and read above description)
Although labeled a psychedelic band in their day, the Opera never sat comfortably in that strawberry
field, partially because of the diversity of their sound, but also due to the simple fact they were
just too far ahead of their time even for the psyched-out crowd. In fact, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera
continued to sound thoroughly modern for decades, while their myriad musical meanderings
took them down wayward byways that later became stylistic highways -- at least in their native U.K..
So it's no surprise then, that this band would have slotted perfectly into the Britpop scene,
or going back further in time, into the R&B-drenched mod scene. The Opera's admiration for R&B
is evident on "Intro," an homage to Archie Bell & the Drells, while their equal respect
for bluesy jazz is showcased on a fabulous cover of Oscar Brown's "I Was Cool" which absolutely smokes.
"Flames," in contrast, fires the band straight into rockabilly, and boasts a thumping
intro bassline that, coincidentally enough, would also storm through the Jam's "Town Called Malice."
So where's the psychedelia? Well "Air" languidly drifts on sitars across India,
but it's heard most magnificently on the instrumental freak-out "Walter Sly Meets Bill Bailey."
The rest of the song set, in contrast, slides into gentler, harmony drenched numbers
reminiscent of the Kinks, early Small Faces, and of course the Beatles...(AllMusic)
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