The Baroques "Purple Day" 1995 (comp) 1967-68(rec)****

When random selection brought this one out, I tried to remember how long it's been since I last heard it. I certainly haven't listened to it since we moved to The Netherlands 11,5 years ago. I just packed my records and CD's in crates and shipped them along. Why, if not to listen to them? Well, that is a dangerous question. If I answer it, I'd have to stop collecting records and probably seriously downsize my collection to something more manageable - because what is the reason of buying a record/CD if you're only going to listen to it every 15 years, as in this case? And it's not as if I didn't like this compilation either. I remember being quite happy with it when I bought it - of course at the time I was obsessed with garage/psychedelic 60's. It just takes too long for a CD to return to the stereo because there are always too many new albums to listen to and too little time.

Well, this is what I know about The Baroques: they came from Milwaukee, and were originally known (or, more precisely, unknown) as The Complete Unknowns - a typical garage band until, sometime in the late '66, they changed their name to The Baroques and jumped upon the psychedelic bandwagon as one of its first passengers. By '67, every label in the country wanted in, and The Baroques were lucky/unlucky enough to get picked up by an important one: Chess Records -home of Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Bo Didley, Howlin' Wolf, and the whole Chicago blues scene- was looking to expand into new directions. Unfortunately they were so intrinsically identified with blues that pop/rock radio stations ignored them, while "black" radio DJ's didn't know what to make out of the unfamiliar sounds of The Baroques. Thankfully the band had already built a great live reputation, and were also helped along by the controversy surrounding debut single "Mary Jane" which was perceived to be pro-drug and was banned from radio stations bestowing them an air of infamy but also ultra-hipness. Certainly both sides of the single were amazing: both the folk rock A side and the heavier garage fuzz B side "Iowa, a Girl's Name". The compositions have strong melodies, fuzz guitars and baroque keyboards - piano rather than organ which was more common at the time. Both songs were included in their sole 1967 album for Chess, included here in its entirety. Of the rest, "Seasons" is a nostalgic ballad, while "Musical Tribute to the Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon" starts off as one but evolves into a noisy freak out jam. "There's Nothing Left to Do But Cry" and "Love in a Circle" are a couple of folk rockers with nice harmonies, "Rose Colored Glasses" and "Bicycle" are upbeat and quirky, and "Purple Day" a slow psychedelic ballad. These 9 tracks comprise their 1967 eponymous LP, but the CD isn't even halfway finished: the compilers added a bunch of rare and previously unreleased stuff. The oldest predate the album by a few months: these include early versions "Iowa" and "Oscar Meyer" and an excellent instrumental called "Baroques Theme" featuring nice piano and harmonica. Then there's 9 more tracks possibly recorded with a second album in mind - unfortunately Chess dropped them, disappointed with their lack of success. Only the last 2 songs were (self) released as a single: "I Will Not Touch You" is dark Floyd-ish psychedelia, while "Remember" is a gentle ballad with an oriental melody. Both excellent, while of the rest there are only 2 tracks at the same level: the waltzy "At the Garden Gate" and mid-tempo "Beckwith" with nice jazzy flute. "Tangerine Sunset" is a 12-minute psychedelic jam with cool flute and drums solos, while "Death of an Onion" is a collage of "nightmarish" cacophonous noise - the sole misstep in this excellent compilation. File under "Lost  psychedelic gems of the 60's".

***** for Mary Jane

**** for Iowa a Girl's Name, Seasons, Rose Colored Glasses, Musical Tribute to the Oscar Meyer Weiner Wagon, There's Nothing Left to Do But Cry, Bicycle, Love in a Circle, Iowa #2, Oscar Meyer #2, Baroques Theme, At the Garden Gate, I Will Not Touch You, Remember

*** for Purple Day, Sunflowers, Beckwith, Tangerine Sunset,

** for Death of an Onion, Flying Machine, Hand