genre: psych
country: uk
quality: lossless (ape, cue, log, scans)
time: 52'38" size: 322 mb
misc.: japan
Tapstry of Delights:
Ex-public schoolboys Chad Stuart and Jeremy Clyde were regarded by Americans as examplars of that pinnacle of western civilization, the Archetypal Englishman, and were hence far more popular stateside than at home - the English being less infatuated with Englishness than Americans. Realizing early on that their appeal lay in the States, they moved their base of operations to Los Angeles and can be regarded as an American act for the purposes of this archive.
The two met in 1962 while studying at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London and formed a duo, performing folk-based pop material. They signed with Ember Records and had a minor U.K. hit (No. 37) in late 1963 with their debut single, Yesterday's Gone. U.S. label World Artists picked up the U.S. rights to the duo and Yesterday's Gone reached No. 21 in the States in June 1964 followed three months later by their biggest hit, A Summer Song. Willow Weep For Me and If I Loved You (from the musical "Carousel") were also sizable hits but when World Artists failed to pay the pair any royalties, they teamed up with Allen Klein who quickly signed them to Columbia Records in March 1965. Their musical style remained the same, a softly melodic but rather cloying harmony-pop, except for a foray into Righteous Brothers-territory with I Don't Wanna Lose You Baby and a comedy single (Teenage Failure), but they were frequently on TV - not only performing their hits but also demonstrating their acting skills on Batman, the Patty Duke Show, and the Dick Van Dyke Show.
In late 1965, while on tour in the mid-West, they discovered future Chicago and Blood, Sweat and Tears manager James William Guercio, who was then playing in a Chicago group called the Mob. They employed him as their bassist and he wrote several songs for them including their final top-40 hit, Distant Shores, and later became their manager.
Wearied by the insubstantial nature of their musical output so far, the pair decided to go for something more ambitious and joined up with Byrds and Sagittarius-producer Gary Usher in 1967 for the concept album, Of Cabbages And Kings. The entire second side was devoted to the five-movement Progress Suite which told the story of man from Creation to Nuclear Holocaust. The album however is better remembered by psyche-holics for the 6'46" opening track, Rest in Peace, a gently satirical number inspired by Tony Richardson's film adaptation of the Evelyn Waugh novel, "The Loved One".
Their musical swansong, The Ark (spelt Arc on some pressings), was easily their best album with a number of highly evocative tunes likePipe Dream, Pantheistic Study For Guitar And Large Bird, and Transatlantic Trauma 1966. Gary Usher spent $75,000 in making it a production tour-de-force but was sacked by Columbia for his pains when it failed to chart. The duo also wrote the music for the movie "Three In The Attic" around this time.
By this time, Jeremy had decided to devote his flagging energies to acting and the pair split up. Since then, Jeremy has become a well-known actor in England on TV and in the movies while Chad remained in the U.S. writing music for television and stage. The two reunited in 1983 for an album, Chad Stuart & Jeremy Clyde, and also in 1986 for an oldies tour.
01. "The Emancipation of Mr. X" 2:21
02. "Sunstroke" 4:10
03. "The Ark" 4:52
04. "The Raven" 1:30
05. "Imagination" 2:48
06. "Painted Dayglow Smile" 3:29
07. "Pipe Dream" 3:35
08. "Transatlantic Trauma 1966" 3:21
09. "Sidewalk Requiem, Los Angeles, June 5th and 6th" 3:05
10. "Pantheistic Study for Guitar and Large Bird" 3:36
11. "Paxton Quigley's Had the Course" 3:20
12. "You Need Feet" 4:32
bonus:
13. "Painted Dayglow Smile (MonoSingle)" 2:32
14. "Sister Marie (MonoSingle)" 3:03
15. "You Need Feet (MonoSingle)" 2:59
16. "Paxton Quigley's Had the Course (MonoSingle)" 3:25
Arranger: Chad Stuart.
Jeremy Clyde (guitar);
Teressa Adams (cello);
Bill Fritz, Jim Horn (reeds, woodwinds);
Lincoln Mayorga, Michel Rubini (keyboards);
Jim Gordon (drums);
Victor Feldman (percussion)
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