Oldish Psych and Prog

This band are best known for their only hit single, Everything I Am, on which Brian Keith, a former session vocalist, turned in a strong performance. The remaining material was recorded without Keith. Clearly Everything I Am is in no way representative for what this band could achieve, when no commercial forces were pushing them to record unfitting material. Significantly their debut album kicks off with this single, but then sets forth to produce some very fine psychedelic music. Short and mid-tempo pop songs prevail, but they convey a sense of drama seldomly equalled within this area. Genevieve, a mini-tragedy and Wake Me Up, a keen demasqué of the ego, with sly allusions to the name of the band, along with So Much Older Now, a painful story of a star growing old, are all examples of superb psych-pop. The climax is the epic Mrs. Grundy with cutting harmonies and great instrumental interplay, including a 'wrong' guitar solo. A cover of Strawberry Fields Forever is wasted, though. Two subsequent singles: Nobody Knows It and the lovely Your Way To Tell Me Go, which sounds like The Move wrapped in a tragic veil, failed to attract any sales. A second album and a fourth single were released in 1969, the single being a psychedelic and slowed-down version of Hound Dog! The album still had its moments on Baby You're Not To Blame and the eight and a quarter minute Sour Suite with great organ and guitar, but also was left alone by the record-buying public. A big mistake was the awful cover of MacArthur Park. After they had called it a day, Page One released one more album with leftovers and some new tracks as well, which weren't saying anything new, but made for pleasant listening. All their albums are increasingly difficult to obtain.

Grabham and Olsson both played with The Universals in the early seventies. Many of the personnel went on to greater things. Grabham formed Cochise and then joined Procol Harum in 1973; Tony Murray joined The Troggs; Paul Raymond was with Chicken Shack and then Savoy Brown; Nigel Olsson was with the Spencer Davis Group for a while and later became the drummer in Elton John's backing group and Brian Keith returned to session work.