Oldish Psych and Prog

This Vancouver, B.C., band formed as the C-Fun Classics in 1961 and set out playing cover versions of current and past hits. Also known as The Classics they soon reverted to their own material and put out two 45s: Ace's High/Comin' Home Baby (Jaguar J 2001) 1963 and Till I Met You/I Didn't Take Much (Jaguar J 2002) 1964. The second of these was picked up by Jerden for national distribution in the U.S. (Jerden 742) 1964. Having appeared as a back-up band to local DJ Fred Latremouille on his 45, Latromotion/Good Lovin' (London M17339), the band travelled to Los Angeles to cut a 45, I Don't Know/Gone Away (Valiant V 723) in 1965 as The Canadian Classics to differentiate them from the other Classics around. The same coupling was issued in Canada on Jaguar 2003. It was only a minor success but helped establish The Classics at a time when other Canadian bands like Sparrow were beginning to attract attention in California. The Classics became known as The Collectors during 1967. Their first 45 was picked up by Valiant and after the follow-up, Fisherwoman, reached No. 15 in the Canadian Hot 100, they travelled to Los Angeles to record their brilliant debut album. One side was given over to the What Love (Suite), an ambitious live 19-minute piece which is at times brilliant and at other times flawed. The other side contained songs like She The Will O'The Wind which had a beautiful flute piece; the more strident Howard Christman's Older which bordered on the menacing; the melodic Lydia Purple and the beautifully haunting One Act Play. What Love was later commissioned as a film soundtrack by the Canadian Film Board and they were also invited to write music for their country's Pavilion at the 1970 World Exposition in Osaka, Japan.

Their follow-up album was the result of a collaboration with the poet/playwrite George Ryga. Whilst the plot of the album is difficult to unravel musically, The Collectors were superb. Of particular note were Things I Remember with its sudden shifts of mood and tempo and intertwined voices; the piercing sax break in The Long Rain and the acid soaked Dream Of Desolation. Sadly, neither the album nor any of their later singles met with much commercial success and when Vickers went solo the remaining members ditched the name Collectors and re-emerged as Chilliwack, specialising in distinctive vocal harmonies.