Elmer Gantry'S Velvet Opera - Long Nights Of Summer: The Elmer Gantry'S Velvet Opera Anthology 3Cd Set - Import 3 CD

Credits:

Elmer Gantry'S Velvet Opera

Description:

Formed in earnest in 1967 after having their minds blown by seeing Pink Floyd in concert, Elmer Gantrys Velvet Opera were one of a handful of British psychedelic bands to successfully incorporate soul elements into their sound, delivering the strongest example of this with their debut single, "Flames." Though the groups time was brief, they were active and dramatic, with multiple lineup changes, name changes, and complete stylistic upheavals happening in the short three-year span they existed. Long Nights of Summer chronicles all these changes and then some, with more than 70 tracks that include both the bands self-titled 1968 debut, their 1969 follow-up Ride a Hustlers Dream, as well as multiple singles, demos, and BBC performances from across the groups various iterations. The material from the time of their debut is some of the most compelling, with tunes like the happy-go-lucky pop of "Mary Jane" and "Long Nights of Summer" balancing out the more soul-geared "Volcano" and "Flames," or experimental and Moody Blues- or Pink Floyd-informed numbers like "Reactions of a Young Man." Lead vocalist Dave Terry (aka Elmer Gantry) left the band before their second LP, Ride a Hustlers Dream, was recorded, and that album is a different beast all together. There are some nice moments, like the Dylanesque acoustic 12-string beauty of the minute-long title track and the jumpy, greasy funk-rock of "Dont You Realise," but on the whole the record is confused and uneven. Long Nights of Summer exhaustively chronicles the many shifts of this short-lived band, including not just the sole 1970 single made by the last iteration of the group featuring Tintern Abbeys Dave MacTavish on lead vocals, but a BBC performance by this version of the band. Multiple BBC sessions are joined by mono mixes, singles, and demos, offering a thorough impression of every phase that this obscure group went through. ~ Fred Thomas

Tracklisting:

1.Intro
2.Mother Writes
3.Mary Jane
4.I Was Cool
5.Walter Sly Meets Bill Bailey
6.Air
7.Lookin' for a Happy Life
8.Flames
9.What's the Point of Leaving
10.Long Nights of Summer
11.Dream Starts
12.Reactions of a Young Man
13.Now She's Gone
14.Flames (Single Version)
15.Salisbury Plain
16.Mary Jane (Single Version)
17.Dreamy
18.Volcano
19.A Quick 'B'
20.Talk of the Devil
21.And I Remember
22.To Be with You
23.The Painter
24.Salisbury Plain (Extended Demo Version)
25.Flames (Demo Version)
26.Something Else (BBC Session)
27.Flames (BBC Session)
28.All Along the Watchtower (BBC Session)