This album always takes me straight back to Greek Street and that basement club Les Cousins. Andy Matheou ran the place and it was a hotbed of musical talent. Roy was very prominent and often compered.
At the time 1968/69 Roy was a rising star. His popularity was taking off. He had two albums to his name and was taking his song writing to new heights. I was completely hooked. A kid of eighteen/nineteen. I had got to know him and was catching two or three gigs a week. Roy was playing all the small clubs, pubs and university circuit around London. He’d started to amass a sizeable following. When I first started going to his gigs there were sometimes only twenty odd people (they were all odd – like me (and Roy)). By late 68 that had grown. You had to queue!
What amazed me was his songs and that biting wit and commentary. The thoughts and ideas streamed out of him. Sophisticated Beggar and Come Out Fighting Ghenghis Smith had blown me away but the new songs seemed to take things to another level, one I hadn’t heard anybody attempt before. Sitting in a small, sweaty club listening for the first time to the twenty minute epic McGoohan’s Blues was a stunning revelation. This was poetry. This was explosive – social commentary like nobody was writing (not even (dare I say it) Dylan). And Roy was the fiery rebel, the messianic fury. Every line gave me food for thought. Roy was mirroring my young mind, putting into words the feelings I had been harbouring. I came out of those gigs glowing with an inner ecstasy like Roy had opened a door, burst a dam. Talking to him was just as wild, intoxicating.
With McGoohan’s Blues and She’s The One as new tours de force in his set it felt like we were entering a new era. Roy was no ordinary singer songwriter; he was something on a grander scale than that; a philosopher, commentator, social commenter, activist. For me it was new horizons.
At the time there were many elements to Roy’s set and they were all finding expression on the new album. It’s interesting to study that format –
There was what Roy referred to as his George Formby’s – the humorous tracks that he broke up his act with – Exercising Some Control and Manana. These were light-hearted, comical and made a good contrast to the stronger, deeper numbers. They certainly worked in the club setting and created much hilarity as Roy gooned them up.
There were the jazz instrumental pieces in which Roy showed off his idiosyncratic guitar skills, splattered with jazz chords and speedy notes – One For Al(l) – (for the jazz musician Albert Ayler). They demonstrated his tremendous guitar virtuosity.
There were the Beat/Freak numbers that centred around marijuana and the outcast bohemian beatnik culture that his audience and Roy identified with – Sgt Sunshine.
There were the experimental numbers (inspired by the likes of the Incredible String Band) in which Roy played around with different instrumentation – psaltery and sitar. (I only ever saw Roy do Composer Of Life once accompanying himself on that psaltery in Hyde Park.) Most of these were dead-ends but none-the-less valid cul-de-sacs.
There were the incredible love songs, often heartrendingly beautiful, expressive, delicate and lilting with fabulous melodies. While there were none featured on the album She’s The One, a number based on late-night conversations with Andy Matheou regarding the crumbling relationship with Mocy, is kind of a love song and once again demonstrates Roy’s unique approach to honest songwriting, poetic description and great melody.
Then, the real powerful kernel of Roy’s creative power, the incredible epic masterpieces with their sprawling indictments and polemic regarding civilisation and society. Epics in which he eviscerates, exposes and dissects the hypocritical absurdities of our culture(s). Circle had been a precursor, McGoohan’s Blues nailed it. It still stands today as graphically honest as it did in 1968 when he first penned it.
So when Roy signed to Liberty (as the new label that was going to give him full creative expression and propel him into orbit) it looked good. Liberty were a good label. Shel Talmy, despite the difficulties of working with Roy on Come Out Fighting, was a top, proven producer. There was a fabulous new set of songs. Roy was poised. Uncompromisingly riding on the new underground wave. Everything was coming together. This was the big breakthrough.
Except it wasn’t. Shel and Roy weren’t hitting it off. Liberty was described to me as a distant monolithic structure. He said you went into a room and talked to a wall.
It ended up with the album largely being recorded in first takes. I reckon Shel just wanted to get it over and done with and so did Roy. Even fabulous musicians, like Nicky Hopkins, Ron Geesin, Clem Cattini and Jane Schrivener were not deployed as well as they could have been.
The songs deserved more attention and better production. The quality could have been enhanced. For me it fell between stools. It lacked the raw power of Roy’s live performance and lacked the sophistication of brilliant production.
Even the cover was a battle (That’s Roy’s pet monkey BTW). Roy had wanted it as a diamond. The company turned it into a standard square. There ensued a running battle. In the end Roy actually paid for it to be turned into a diamond. The end result was not quite right! Enfuriating!
Roy had that back cover on his coffee table for friends to scrawl on. For some reason I didn’t.
The expectations were so high. This was going to be the greatest album of all time. It was, because of the cover dispute, delayed and delayed. When it finally saw the light of day and I put it on the turntable I was so disappointed. Every flaw glared at me. I wanted perfection. It deserved perfection.
In hindsight, my expectations were probably too high. It stands the test of time as a testament to brilliance. I just wish I had a recording of McGoohan’s from those early days in the clubs.
| 1. | “Sgt. Sunshine” | 3:04 |
|---|---|---|
| 2. | “She’s the One” | 6:55 |
| 3. | “In the Time of Water” | 2:16 |
| 4. | “Composer of Life” | 2:26 |
| 5. | “One for All” | 8:11 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | “Exercising Some Control” | 2:50 |
| 7. | “McGoohan’s Blues” | 17:55 |
| 8. | “Manana” |
This is me holding that original album. A prized possession.
