Scroll down for reviews of the latest reissue from Pentangle and Crabby Appleton

The Nightcrawlers
The Little Black Egg

(Big Beat 2000)

There was definitely something special about “The Little Black Egg”. It’s such a simple song, and yet so bizarre. The folk-rock guitar riff is positively irresistible, and Chuck Conlon’s hillbilly-drawl vocals catch the listener by surprise. The lyrics are so simple that they’re almost inscrutable. The listener simply cannot believe that someone would write a song about something so stupid as finding an egg in a tree and becoming the envy of the neighborhood. Certainly, there’s no denying that “The Little Black Egg” was a unique and unusual song, and it seems as though no one could resist it, except perhaps the national record charts at the time. To look back, it would appear that the song was a modest failure, peaking at a lowly #85 in Billboard’s Hot 100 in 1966. However, the song actually was a big hit. It failed in the national charts because it didn’t see airplay in all of the important regional markets at the same time. The single would be climbing the charts in one area just as it was descending the charts somewhere else in the country. In fact, the single entered and left various and sundry regional charts for a span of nearly two years, between 1965 and ‘67. Nevertheless, “The Little Black Egg” sold well, and left its mark on music history despite its unimpressive performance in Billboard. Following the success of the single, an album was released on Kapp. However, the LP was a hodgepodge of demos, unfinished songs, and other songs which had already been released as local singles over two years earlier. It seems that the Nightcrawlers were just another group who were unjustly ignored due to the idiosyncrasies of the music business. However, this new CD compilation from Big Beat attempts to right the wrongs which plagued the Nightcrawlers’ career during their brief experience with the national music scene. The CD The Little Black Egg features 24 tracks, including material released on Kapp and on small local labels before “Egg” made the group famous. There are also several previously unreleased tracks. One of the best songs on the CD is the “Egg” follow-up “A Basket of Flowers”, a catchy folk-rocker with great guitar work and fairy-tale lyrics which is punctuated by some fine drumming from Tommy Ruger. Another excellent song is “I Don’t Remember”, one of their early singles which was released on Scott Records, a small label which released singles by another fine Florida garage band, the Birdwatchers. Some of the other more notable songs on *The Little Black Egg* include the tuneful ballad “If I Were You”, the melancholic pop tune “Cry”, and the raucous hillbilly punker “You’re Running Wild”. The material on this CD which was originally released certainly does somewhat shadow the less interesting previously unreleased tracks, which are composed of competent but uninspired covers such as “Grown Up Wrong”, “All Day and All of the Night”, and “(Get Your Kicks on) Route 66”. A more significant fault of this CD however is a small list of omissions. First of all, only the 3:29 long Kapp album version of “The Little Black Egg” is included; the shorter 2:46 long single version is nowhere to be seen. Also, the song “If You Want My Love” is included only in an unreleased “undubbed” form; the original dubbed version from their Kapp album should also have been included in addition, but was not. Finally, the blurb on the back of the CD saying that it features “all of the recordings by the original band” is somewhat misleading, as by “original band” they mean the group as it existed before any personnel changes took place. Thus, neither side of the 1967 Kapp single “My Butterfly”/”Today I’m Happy” are included. Apart from these few unfortunate omissions however, The Little Black Egg is a fairly complete and concise compilation of the band’s entire recordings. As with all of Big Beat’s fine releases, The Little Black Egg is nicely packaged, complete with archival band photos and the Nightcrawlers’ history as told by the group themselves. It’s not an outstanding CD but certainly one worth checking out.

The Pentangle
S/T

(Transatlantic 1968/Wooden Hill 1996)

http://www.folkcorp.co.uk/pent/welcome.htm

During Britain’s late-60s folk rock boom, many new artists emerged to combine traditional folk with pop/rock, creating a new and distinctly Anglophile folk/rock style. The greatest of these artists include Fairport Convention, the Incredible String Band, Al Stewart, and the Pentangle. The Pentangle emerged around 1967 as a sort of folk/rock/jazz ‘supergroup’, as members Bert Janch, Jacqui McShee, and John Redbourn were already highly regarded folk artists prior to their assembling the band. This, the group’s first album, was widely acclaimed by both folk and rock critics at the time of its release. The album’s opening cut, the lovely “Let No Man Steal Your Thyme” featured fine cello and guitar work, and highlighted the gorgeous, clear vocals of Jacqui McShee. Likewise, “Hear My Call” was another flawless performance by the group. The Pentangle demonstrated their instrumental versatility particularly well with the instrumental selections on the album, especially “Bells” and “Waltz”. The members of the Pentangle certainly prove to be accomplished musicians. Throughout the album, the performances are excellent. In addition, the band seem quite adept at combining original compositions and traditional material while maintaining a sense of stylistic continuity. The Pentangle’s debut album is very good, but probably is best appreciated by folk and jazz fans; the band is far more traditional and far less ‘rock’ than many of their contemporaries, such as Fairport Convention. In addition to excellent sound quality, this CD reissue on Wooden Hill features one bonus track: the single-only “Travelling Song”.

Crabby Appleton
S/T

(Elektra 1970/Collector’s Choice 2002)

Crabby Appleton were formed by Michael Fennelly, who played alongside Curt Boettcher, Lee Mallory, Ron Edgar, and others in the famed group Millennium, whose sole album Begin is regarded as one of the greatest unknown pop/rock albums of the late 60s. Following the dissolution of Millennium in 1969, Fennelly got together with a group from LA called Stonehenge and formed a new band: Crabby Appleton. They began recording and released their debut album in 1970. Bolstered by the fresh Top 40 hit “Go Back”, the album featured nine more songs in a similarly appealing pop/rock style. Crabby Appleton’s approach to music was much the same as another group playing around the time, the Raspberries. Much like Eric Carmen’s better-known group, Crabby Appleton sought to create hooky, melodic power pop at a time when rock music had virtually burnt out due to splintering of various styles, including the new all-invasive progressive rock. Crabby Appleton’s musical style was exactly what AM radio needed in 1970; it was something fresh and simple and instantly likeable. The first Crabby Appleton album is truly excellent. It opens with their #36 hit “Go Back”, a catchy, minor key rocker with searing lead guitar and excellent vocals which alone is well worth the price of admission. This song dictated the style of much of the rest of the album, including the beautiful ballads “The Other Side” and “Catherine”, as well as more rock-oriented songs like “Peace by Peace” and “Try”. Indeed, the album seems to be split between very tuneful pop ballads and harmony-based rock tunes. Fennelly certainly was a mammoth talent, and apparently had a knack for writing catchy, hooky pop. All ten compositions on the album are his. Throughout the album, the production is superb-understated when it needs to be and all out when the time calls for it. The album was actually produced by none other than Don Gallucci, who had previously fronted Northwest rockers Don & The Goodtimes and also produced the Stooges’ landmark Fun House album around the same time he worked with Crabby Appleton. This truly is an awesome album, and it’s about time it was reissued on CD. Every track is good. Strongly recommended.

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