Scroll down for The Common People, The Travel Agency and the 1968 release by The Hello People

Chamaeleon Church
S/T

(Akarma)

www.akarmarecords.com

Although this group is best known for containing future comedian Chevy Chase, their album stands on its own as a fine example of psychedelic pop. Their sound is best described as a dreamy amalgam of soft pop and psychedelic rock. The album features orchestration on many of the tracks, but it is very well tempered, tasteful, and non-intrusive. “Camillia is Changing”, the A side of the group's only single, is a particularly excellent and dreamy song which lasts for a heavenly four minutes and thirteen seconds of bliss. Overall, a very enjoyable album to listen to. Similar Sounds: Gandalf, Aphrodite's Child, The Freeborne, and Mandrake Memorial.

Recently reissued on the Italian Akarma label, the CD is housed in a mini-LP digipak sleeve which replicates the original LP cover in CD size. The CD features two bonus tracks not on the original 1968 MGM album: the demo “Ready, Eddie (Waltz for Debbie)” and the flipside to “Camillia is Changing”, “Your Golden Love”. The sound quality of the CD is fairly good, although there is some occasionally intrusive tape hiss and hum, and “Camillia is Changing” is featured in mono while the rest of the album tracks are in stereo.

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The Common People
Of The People/By The People/For The People

(Ascension)

www.ascensionrecords.com.au

This album is a nice blend of folk-pop and light psych which in places sounds not unlike the softer side of Love or The Lollipop Shoppe, but with more orchestration. All eleven songs are originals, most of which are written by group members Jerrald and Denny Robinett, who are assumedly brothers. The standout track is probably the Love-esque “Take From You” which, like the rest of the album, features fine guitar work and soothing breathless vocals.

Although Vernon Joynson compares the album to that of labelmates Gandalf, the Common People sound is more guitar based and its accompanying orchestration more invasive. Not a great album, but pleasant listening nonetheless. Similar sounds: Growing Concern, Mandrake Memorial, Tea Company, and Fever Tree. CD reissue is from the excellent up-and-coming Ascension Record label in Australia and is mastered from the tapes with excellent sound quality.

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The Travel Agency
S/T

(Chrome Gold)

This album, released on Dot's psychedelic subsidiary Viva, is an excellent collection of sophisticated pop rock and psychedelia. The group features Frank Davis, a Texas native who wrote “Grand Candy Young Sweet” for Fever Tree's second album, Another Time Another Place. The twelve original songs contained in this album simply flow with melody and atmosphere. The album is so consistently excellent that it's hard to single out individual tracks for comment. Every song has its own vibe and merit. The opener, “What's a Man” is a great rock song with melody to spare and very inventive anti-war/authority lyrics. “So Much Love” is an acoustic number with excellent vocals which is simply beautiful and soothing. Clocking in at 7:03, “That's Good” is an almost hypnotic song which features a simple guitar intro which becomes a repeated theme throughout the song. “Make Love” and “Old Man” both are fast-paced quirky rock songs which compliment the slower tunes beautifully.

All in all, a truly excellent album which can be strongly recommended to fans of sophisticated popsike. Similar sounds: Fever Tree, Beacon Street Union, Kak, Traffic, and Steve Miller Band (Children Of The Future). The CD reissue is mastered from the original vinyl, but the job is professional and the sound quality still rather good. Unfortunately this British import seems to be rather expensive no matter where you buy it, but sometimes good things are worth spending money for.

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Hello People
Fusion

(Philips)

release date: 1968

www.thecoolgroove.com/hello.html

This is the Hello People’s second LP after their Philips debut. The group came onto the scene in late 1967 and first became noticed for their makeup and mime work which was interspersed with their musical performance. They appeared on several national television shows, including the Johnny Carson show, where they picked up a lot of mystique and curious interest. The music on this album is a very interesting blend of goodtime pop, free jazz, and psychedelic rock. The opener “White Winged Doves” is the standout track. It opens with a distorted wah guitar chord, which is joined first by chiming harpsichord and next by beautiful flute playing. Truly this song is a beautiful and well-crafted piece of music. The rest of the album proceeds through pop, jazz, and worlds in between.

Similar sounds: Charlatans (LP), It's A Beautiful Day, Moby Grape, Golden Dawn, Spirit, Sopwith Camel. However, the music is quite varied and only sounds like some of these groups some of the times. Rumor is that this album has been recently released on CD as a two-fer alongside their debut, however I haven't seen this myself and I have no information about it yet. Following Fusion, The Hello People went on to include N.D. Smart (late of the Remains) in their ranks, and recieved involvement from the legendary Todd Rundgren while recording increasingly mainstream rock/pop albums into the '70s.

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