Tuesday, May 17, 2011

(Possibly) Jewish Guilt Rears Its Head Again

So a few weeks ago I was over at the invaluable Never Get Out of the Boat -- which has resumed business under the charming moniker Willard's Wormholes -- and somehow we got on the subject of obscure or little known bands that we'd hung out with back in the day. I mentioned how I'd killed time in a crappy motel in Roslyn, Long Island after a show with Starry Eyed & Laughing -- a Brit group who made two very nice albums of Byrds-derived folk-rock jangle in the mid-70s -- and then added "Of course, I'm not bringing this up so you'll post their albums." Which of course I was, since I lost my vinyl copies ages ago and I didn't feel like springing for the recent CD reissue.

A few days later, though, I got an e-mail from an old chum who said he'd found the following missive recently at another download site that actually had posted the aforementioned albums (but then pulled them, for obvious reasons):
"This is Tony Poole from Starry Eyed & Laughing here: We never made any money from these recordings originally, and to have them available to steal here feels like being kicked again while on the floor. I hope you will take them down -- my thanks in advance ..."
Oy gevalt. I actually interviewed Poole (for STEREO REVIEW) back in the day, and he was an absolutely lovely guy (which is why I shlepped out to Roslyn to see his band in the first place). So you can imagine how lousy I felt about having even suggested Willard put up the albums. So lousy, in fact, that I bit the bullet and -- despite my current Dickensian poverty -- ordered the aforementioned CD reissue over at Amazon.



That said, there's a previously unreleased bonus track I don't feel too guilty to share. From 1974, please enjoy Starry Eyed & Laughing's absolutely splendid cover of The Byrds' cover of Bob Dylan's "Chimes of Freedom" (a song whose lyrics provided the band with their name)...



...and then get over to Amazon and order the CD for yourself.

And Tony -- if you're out there, please forgive me.

[h/t Eric C. Boardman]

15 comments:

Tierra Madre Horse Sanctuary said...

This is one of those songs that sounds good, no matter how it's done. To me, it's one of those goose-bump songs. But these guys really, really do it justice! Thanks.

Anonymous said...

they sold a few copies in Oxford OH thanks to then-proggy WOXR.

i got to talk to a lot of C-list bands as writer for a weekly in the mid-70s. The easiest to get along with were Crawler and Budgie. and Diamond Dave on Van Halen's first national tour (opening for Journey and Montrose) was a hoot.

steve simels said...

Crawler and Budgie. I'm trying to remember who they were without Googling.

Budgie were prog? Yes-ish? And somebody a little famous from a former band?

Crawler -- was that Paul Kossoff's band, soldiering on after he died?

steve simels said...

Okay -- wiki informs me that I got Budgie wrong, but Crawler right.

Sal Nunziato said...

I came this close---my thumb and index finger are an inch apart---to doing a Budgie post today. I swear!

steve simels said...

Do it!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Talk about keepers of the flame! I don't think Tom Petty could have done it better. Compared to the original, better drumming, vocal variations, and a ghostly fadeout -- very nice. I wonder if if they were channeling the version that the Byrds performed on TV, which was short a verse or two (based on the current YouTube selections).

AP

steve simels said...

And it sounded absolutely glorious live, if I recall.

Anonymous said...

I was with you at the show and at the motel afterwards.

They were real good live, the second album was excellent. When we showed up at the motel they were real nice to us until we realized they were dead on their feet and split. I think one of them crawling into bed was a hint.

Moral: Don't invite critics and their friends back to the motel after a show unless you really do stay up all night

ROTP(lumber).

Nora Charles said...

Wait, I thought I was with you at that show -- at Eppy's joint, My Father's Place -- think Tom Chapin opened for them?

steve simels said...

I thought it was you too. Don't remember ROTP being with us. But he's describing it correctly.

Anonymous said...

It was the three of us.

ROTP(lumber)

steve simels said...

We figured that out.
:-)

Anonymous said...

re Budgie, Steve, you were probably thinking of Badger, a truly irredeemable band that also shared Roger Dean cover art with Budgie.

MJConroy said...

Well, Mr. Poole should know that you inspired me to order the cd from Amazon - got it the other day and it's great stuff. I knew I hung on to the Thought Talk vinyl all these years for some reason.