Wednesday, June 17, 2026

Songs I'd Forgotten Existed, Let Alone Loved (An Occasional Series): Special "I Don't Want to Go to the Hippie's Graveyard" Edition

So this past Monday, in our discussion about sadly underated first-generation SF band The Sopwith Camel, our good friend and faithful reader Capt. Al mentioned another (far more) obscure fave of mine, the upstate (Ithaca) NY band Chrysalis, who made one very interesting album in 1967 and then were similarly lost in the mists of history.

I absolutely adored said album (Definition, released by MGM) and after getting myself over to YouTube and listening to it for the first time in about 40 years, I thought I'd get all self-indulgent and share.

I find both of those genuinely haunting, and IMHO there are several songs on the album at least as good (yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking). That said, if you conclude that their whole gestalt is just insufferably twee, I will not dispute you. I mean, at the very least, it's hard to argue that they were not, shall we say. very much of their time.

I should add that I saw them live (twice, I think) and their songs sounded vastly better in that context; as much as I dig the record, the production is pretty undistinguished/undernourished. I should also add that I think singer Nancy Nairn has one of the coolest voices ever and (you'll have to take this on faith) that they had a lot of charisma onstage.

Self-indulgence now over. More recent music, more suited to the actual theme of this here blog, resumes on the morrow. 😎

6 comments:

edward said...

"Cynthia Gerome" sounds like Donovon on downers. Although it does have hints of Costello's "So Like Candy" (which has its own hints of another 60s song I can't place right now).

Gummo said...

My older brother brought home the Chrysalis album when it was new and I was smitten. Yes, it was rather precious in spots but sincerely pretty too. I played it a LOT. Many years later, I spotted a classified in Rolling Stone that asked if anyone had Spider Barbour's whereabouts because they were holding royalties for him.

Anonymous said...

Words fail me. Not in a good way.
Jai Guru Dave

Allan Rosenberg said...

The band and album 'Chrysalis' is a perfect example of how interesting the musical times were in the mid to late 1960's.

Captain Al

Alzo said...

One man's 'haunting' is another man's 'dreary.'

Allan Rosenberg said...

Also I want to make it clear that I'm not saying the late sixties period was unique but that all periods have their own special sounds. The early Seventies brought us 'Prog' and 'Heavy Metal'. :-)

Captain Al