50th of It's a Beautiful Day

[Echoes]

Take a Flashback 50 to It's a Beautiful Day, the classic 60s band that spawned FM hits like "White BIrd" and "Hot Summer Day" and brought the electric violin into rock with David LaFlamme. Explore this album that I believe influenced new acoustic music from Paul Winter to WWindham Hill Records Community and progressive rock from Genesis to YES as well as Loreena McKennitt tonight on Echoes. https://wp.me/p4ZE0X-g2P

[Lino]

Adore this album!!
Bulgaria one of my all time fave songs. Cheers! #50

[Trane]

Their debut nears perfection as much as the best of what came from the Frisco scene , but it's also theit only one, IMHO

Not really enthralled by MM (way too country-ish for my tastes, except for the opening D&D track >> which became Lazy for Purple) and the rest dwindles away (their live album is ok, but centred around their debut album)

[Echoes]

Their debut nears perfection as much as the best of what came from the Frisco scene , but it's also their only one, IMHO

Yep. They definitely lost the plot like a lot of bands. I always had hope for the LaFlamme solo albums, but he was too commercially directed.

[Zappathustra]

A masterpiece of immense sensitivity and beauty.

[Lopez]

Their debut nears perfection

What he said. A masterpiece.

[jglfan]

I always liked It's a Big Bad beautiful Day also.

[progeezer]

Their debut still gets listened to quite a bit in Geezerville. I agree with the "close to perfection" tag.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Debut is fabulous. One of the top-10s from the whole 60s S.F. scene IMO, which is saying something. This was once my fave time/place in rock, and I still cherish a lot of it.

But as releases go, I believe Richard Greene beat LaFlamme to it with the electric fiddle on Seatrain's debut from February of that same year, Sea Train ('69). It was less successful commercially speaking, of course, although I love that record too.

[progeezer]

Debut is fabulous. One of the top-10s from the whole 60s S.F. scene IMO, which is saying something. This was once my fave time/place in rock, and I still cherish a lot of it.

But as releases go, I believe Richard Greene beat LaFlamme to it with the electric fiddle on Seatrain's debut from February of that same year, Sea Train ('69). It was less successful commercially speaking, of course, although I love that record too.

What was the timing between Seatrain's debut & the Flock's w/Goodman?

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ The Flock's debut was later that same spring IIRC, and the debut East of Eden came that summer approx. simultaneously with It's a Beautiful Day. Of course by this time Dave Swarbrick was already playing steady with the Fairports in England and Sugarcane Harris was jamming with Zappa/Mothers.

But truth be told, these cats were very different players. LaFlamme was a dropout sideman from the L.A. Philharmonic, Greene was also classically trained but had almost exclusively done bluegrass before starting to hang out with The Blues Project and then forming Seatrain. Swarb, of course, was initially a trad-folkie who'd shock his audience by jumping ship to a rock group, whereas Goodman, Harris and Dave Arbus (in East of Eden) were essentially session musicians who found sanctuary in the coming of more advanced rock music.

Some of LaFlamme's playing is rather reminiscent of certain things Darryl Way would do on the early Curved Air albums as well, which was probably not a coincidence.

[Guitarplyrjvb]

I wasn't aware that Zappa's bassist, Tom Fowler, was a part of this group for their 3rd record and for the Carnegie Hall Live album.

[Lopez]

But as releases go, I believe Richard Greene beat LaFlamme to it with the electric fiddle on Seatrain's debut from February of that same year, Sea Train ('69). It was less successful commercially speaking, of course, although I love that record too.

To get off topic a bit, I saw Seatrain with Richard Greene in the spring of 1971. He was killer. My favorite of all rock and roll fiddlers.

[Scrotum Scissor]

^ His reputation was always sky high. And interestingly there's actually even a faint crossover of sorts with IaBD, as Greene played with Old & In the Way (Dave Grisman's band) while they were touring with New Riders of the Purple Sage, who had Val Fuentes (of IaBD) on drums at that point.

Tom Fowler's input on the quite good IaBD Live at Carnegie Hall is rather heartfelt. They were considered one of the most refined S.F. acts, so players on this scale were in demand. The live version of "White Bird" is highly listenable as well; more rapid and intense than the studio one, and with a soaring electric guitar solo to boot. The original had a notable lack of that, as LaFlamme's violin was supposed to replace it - indeed the entire first album contains acoustic but no electric guitars. Which suits it very well.

[Mister Triscuits]

I saw It's a Beautiful Day live in late 1969 without ever having heard a note of their music before. They were technically the first rock group I saw in concert, as they played between the headliners Iron Butterfly and an acoustic opening act.

[zappaeverafter]

Debut is fabulous. One of the top-10s from the whole 60s S.F. scene IMO, which is saying something. This was once my fave time/place in rock, and I still cherish a lot of it.

But as releases go, I believe Richard Greene beat LaFlamme to it with the electric fiddle on Seatrain's debut from February of that same year, Sea Train ('69). It was less successful commercially speaking, of course, although I love that record too.

The debut is in my top 20 all time favorite LPs. I also consider it in top 10 S.F. 1960s creations. As for who was first to use fiddle in rock, I can add that La Flamme was active 1966-67 in that role in the Electric Chamber Orchestra (later truncated to Orkustra - I have not heard anything by them) before joining IaBD in 1967. I have recordings of IaBd in May 1968 performing much of the first album in similar arrangements (why did it take a year to get that released?).

I do not know of the possible earlier timings of any of the other mentioned musicians.

[bill g]

Yeah, the debut is great. Side 2 especially. Well, side one too. I actually gave Marrying Maiden another try recently, since I hadn't heard it since I wrote it off 40 years ago. I thought maybe I'd hear something new with older ears. I actually liked it even less now than I did then. I had to purge myself by listening to the debut again. Was instantly cured.

[progmatist]

Picked it up for the first time on vinyl a month or two ago...enjoyed every minute of it.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I have recordings of IaBd in May 1968 performing much of the first album in similar arrangements (why did it take a year to get that released?)

Oh, if we consider performance and not only recordings, then LaFlamme was probably one of hte very first ones out to rock the fiddle. There's no doubt about that; AFAIK Darryl Way too was playing violin on stage already in early '68.

As regards the postponing of the IaBD-material for release, that tended to be the case with several S.F. acts - most notably the first Quicksilver Messenger Service album; QMS were already doing "Gold & Silver", "Dino's Song", "Pride of Man" etc. more than a year before the debut release. I remember reading similar stories about the Kak album and The Loading Zone.

[Mister Triscuits]

Oh, if we consider performance and not only recordings, then LaFlamme was probably one of hte very first ones out to rock the fiddle.

Gordon Marron was also playing violin with the United States of America by '67.

[mogrooves]

I saw Seatrain with Richard Greene in the spring of 1971.

I caught them in '70 opening for the MoI (and iirc, Insect Trust was on that bill)

I also consider it in top 10 S.F. 1960s creations.

Yeah, I can go with that.

[Scrotum Scissor]

I caught them in '70 opening for the MoI (and iirc, Insect Trust was on that bill)

The debut Seatrain is one of the very earliest American progressive albums, and one that has survived the ages fairly well. Obviously, by the time of Peter Rowan's joining and their classic sophomore release they were far more of a roots-per-sé kinda combo, but that's a great record too.

As is the debut Insect Trust. Their viciously freaky weirdo-psych fits supporting the Mothers, somewhat akin to that of Autosalvage.

Amazing how you've seen many of these bands actually performing. Even to aficionados their very names must seem like mere memories now - at best.

[Munster]

The original had a notable lack of that, as LaFlamme's violin was supposed to replace it - indeed the entire first album contains acoustic but no electric guitars. Which suits it very well.

Is that not an electric guitar at the start of Wasted Union Blues?

[Trane]

Yeah, the debut is great. Side 2 especially. Well, side one too. I actually gave Marrying Maiden another try recently, since I hadn't heard it since I wrote it off 40 years ago. I thought maybe I'd hear something new with older ears. I actually liked it even less now than I did then. I had to purge myself by listening to the debut again. Was instantly cured.

4
4I'd only save the opening D&D instrumental, which is a fun jazzy blues - and accessorily the basis for Purple's Lazy

[bill g]

4
4I'd only save the opening D&D instrumental, which is a fun jazzy blues - and accessorily the basis for Purple's Lazy

Yep, agreed, Don & Dewey is pretty good.