Downliner’s Sect – Opher’s World pays tribute to genius.
The Downliner’s Sect were the band that got away. They appeared like sweet mountain dew and promptly evaporated into the magic air without achieving the fulfilment of their promise.
They were my band. I specialised in delighting in the discovery of brilliant obscure bands and songs that never garnished the charts. It bemused my contemporaries. The Sect were one of my discoveries. I found them nestling incongruously in the small record rack in our local electrical goods store in Walton on Thames. It was a store not renowned for stocking anything other than standard chart material. I used to peruse the wares every now and again. The cover called to me. I was instantly enchanted. I took a chance. For some reason my expectations were high. I got a thrill from simply holding and looking at the album. I could see from the track list that it was the type of stuff that would appeal. I was not disappointed.
It was the Summer of 1964. The Stones were leading the mad charge of British R&B. The Stones were wonderfully uncouth and surly. Their music was seminal. The Yardbirds were doing the same sort of things but seemingly on large doses of Amphetamine. The Pretty Things scowled and were even more extreme and then there was Them, the Animals and a host more. They were all mining the same rich vein of Chicago Blues.
It wasn’t until I got home that I could put the truth of my instincts to the test. From the moment I slipped it on my turntable and the needle went down I knew it was the business. This was the ultimate R&B band. They were punchy, earthy, pacey, wild and distinctive. I had discovered the lodestone of British R&B. No other band was was as original/.
That should have been it. They had the look, sound and music to go with it. 1964 should have been their year. It never happened.
They must have had the wrong management. The singles did not match the album. They deviated from the raw R&B. The breakthrough never materialised.
It did not bother me. It meant I had them to myself. Their album took pride of place in my collection alongside the Kinks, Who and Chuck Berry albums. I was confident that the second album would rectify the problem.
I got an EP instead. It was a bemusing EP entitled The Sect Sing Sick Songs. Good but a change in style.
Then the second album arrived – The Country Sect – it was a mish-mash of Country and Folk. Where was the raw R&B? They’d left their R&B fans high and dry.
This was baffling. What were they doing? They appeared to be jumping on every trend going. It gave their credibility a kicking. Not only that but they were falling short.
What we wanted was another dose of that driving R&B they were so brilliant at – that searing guitar, wailing harp, thumping bass and drum pounding to the manic vocals – the self-penned quirky songs. This was just confusing.
The singles were humorous originals and the EP and albums were all different.What did they believe in? Were they serious about anything?
The next album confirmed it. It was an attempt at Rock and Pop. That sealed their fate.
The Downliner’s Sect were never going to be recognised as a great R&B unit as they might have been. They’d missed the boat – or rather scuttled it!
Still we had that one glorious album. It was enough to establish their credibility as an outstanding band.
It just should have been so much more!
They just never appealed enough to grab any foothold of interest. I’ve since found their very mention receives a groan of disdain and perhaps because once they’d finished with initially being copyists and tried to create their own style, it was nothing short of laughable in compare.
A bit like Cream vs Ginger’s Airforce.
I think you have to have been there and bought that first album at the time it came out in the context of what was going on around them at the time. It’s comparable to the Stones, Pretty Things and Animals first albums in many ways. It should have launched them into a similar trajectory. It failed to do that.
The subsequent material rather blew their credibility. But that first album wasn’t merely copying. It had a style of their own.
Don’t you think their band name went against them, it sounded terribly old fashioned?
I’ve never thought of that Andrew. That’s possible. I think they were just trying to be different. That’s probably their problem. They were always trying too much instead of doing what they wanted.
Well, as you brought to attention yesterday – Revolver (what an album!), I can only imagine what you might have thought at the time! It was extraordinary, but when you compare that to just about anything else – perhaps the Stones’ Aftermath, which was very good – if must have been an almost impossible no-contest for any other band. For example, the Who’s 2nd “A Quick One” was quite pathetic in compare. They really had to pull their socks up which they certainly did with their next “Sell Out”. But I guess you could list at least 100 bands from that period that had a very promising start but failed to cut it long term.
That `64 period certainly brought a load of exciting new stuff.
Perhaps if the Downliners had somebody like Don Arden behind them things could have been different?
2nd albums are often very poor. The Who were fairly typical. I think they pour everything into the first one. Though the Doors Strange Days was probably their best album. I loved that one. And the Stones No. 2 was great too.
1964 was extraordinary in the number of bands that suddenly appeared out of the woodwork. It seemed never ending. But then it ended.
I think the Downliners really need to hold their nerve. The first album didn’t break but a second in similar vein might have done. Instead of that they started trying to jump on every trend going (Shock-Rock, Country, Folk, Rock and Pop) and lost all credibility. Back then the R&B/Blues was considered very authentic and you had to take it seriously. If people thought you were doing it in order to sell records that was considered naff. They should have stuck with it. I don’t know if that came from the band, management or label. A big mistake.
Their other main problem was they couldn’t write anything new for themselves and it was all cover material. Little Egypt by Lieber & Stoller, I Want My Baby Back by Jimmy Cross, All Night Worker by Rufus Thomas, Why Don’t You Smile Now by a pre-Velvets Reed & Cale, One Ugly Child is a re-titled copy of Bo Diddley’s Signihying Blues, Glendora a re-make of Perry Como’s `56 version.
What chance did they have doing Perry Como numbers in `66?
Yes very strange. They weren’t up to writing much. But then in 1964 the R&B beat bands like the Stones, Yardbirds, Pretty Things, Animals and Them were all covers bands. They all based their acts on finding obscure R&B tracks, Bo, Chuck, Jimmy, Howlin’, Hooker and Muddy with a bit of something else thrown in. It wasn’t until 65 that they started experimenting, diversifying and writing their own stuff.
The Sect were basically one album and their style was quite distinctive in covering R&B.
All those R&B bands had a different style. They tended to speed it up a bit and send it back to the States with a slight twist. I liked the Sect’s twist.