The David "Another Day Another Lifetime" 1968***

When I presented Goliath's album a couple of months ago, I promised I'd do the same with his (the biblical figure's, not the band's) nemesis, David. Like Goliath the band, David the band only made one, initially neglected, album which nevertheless somehow survived and keeps getting rediscovered. When I bought my own cd copy (reproduced from a dubious source and reissued by the French Eva label), it was still a rarity of which almost nothing was known. But this time when I searched the internet for some info, there was plenty available (as well as a good quality reissue on sale, albeit with a different cover). Now we know, for example, that the band were still in their teens when they wrote this material. The photos on the cover gave certainly some indication as to that, but the musicianship is such that it's hardly believable. Credit for the full and mature sound should also go to manager-cum-producer Steven Vail and to arranger Gene Page for his lush string and horn arrangements. I generally dislike heavily orchestrated psychedelia as the songs are often drowned in syrupy strings, producing generic pop - the obvious exception being, of course, Love's magnificent "Forever Changes" album. "Another Day Another Lifetime" does not scale those hights but the arrangements remain original and interesting. Despite that fact, I still prefer their rockier moments like the album's farfisa/fuzzguitar dominated lead single "I'm Not Alone". Because of their baroque arrangements the David are routinely compared to the Left Banke, but I'm mostly reminded of a far more adventurous group of youngsters called The West Coast Experimental Band. Opening medley "Another Day.../I Would Like To Know" is rich orchestral psych with strings, horns and sitar. "Sweet December" displays some great Doors-like keyboards and "Tell Me More" adds Byrds-y jangle to the mix. In "Now To You" the orchestra unfortunately overwhelms the band. "Professor Crawford" successfully blends heavy fuzzed-out guitar with sweet harmony vocals. "Time M" and "Mirrors Of Wood" are inventive psychedelic pieces combining Beatles-like melodies, haunted organ and weird sound effects. "So Much More" is one of those occasions that the strings do add to the song, lending a dramatic quality to an otherwise unexceptional tune. The last track "To Our Other Days" is a whimsical folk/pop tune with a childish quality a la Donovan that constitutes a weak send-off for an otherwise strong album - or maybe it was meant to provide some light relief. Listening to the album for the first time after more than 10 years has greatly improved my opinion of it. At the time I was only keen on garage rock and really couldn't bother with the sunshine pop of the era, but now I can acknowledge it as a minor psychedelic classic bridging the two aforementioned genres. A nice period piece, highly recommended to all lovers of psychedelic rock out there.

**** for I'm Not Alone, Sweet December, Time M

*** for Another Day, Another Lifetime, Would Like To Know, Tell Me More, Professor Crawford, So Much More, Mirrors Of Wood

** for Now To You, Of Our Other Days