SYN - Original Syn, 2005 (compilation 1967-1969)(England, Wembley, prog rock)(Acme ADLP 1042)

The Syn set out as a mid-sixties pop group, but soon became wrapped in the trappings of flower-power, recording two excellent singles for Deram. Their roots lie in a Wembley band called The Selfs. Their debut 45 Created By Clive was also recorded by The Attack. Both versions are well worth a spin, but the flip Grounded, was a powerful slice of psychedelic R&B. Their follow-up, 14-Hour Technicolour Dream was written to commemorate the multi-media event held at Alexander Palace on April 29-30 , 1967 . Again, both sides are worth a listen. When the group split Peter Banks and Chris Squire became members of Mabel Greer's Toyshop and, of course, they were later both in Yes. They also both recorded solo albums. (taken from "Tapestry Of Delights") Original Syn (Acme ADLP 1042) was a limited edition pressing of 500 . I would imagine that most of you know their famous two Deram singles. So what about the unreleased material? "The Last Performance Of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious And Valiant Band" and "Mr. White's White Flying Machine" were two '69 recordings the band did with two guest vocalists after lead singer Steve Nardelli's departure. The first is a nice orchestrated psych-pop period piece sung by a certain Denny Ward but only Andrew Jackman's plays on the track, the latter is a strange jazzy big-band tune with the mysterious Ayshea on lead vocals. The b-side starts with a demo version of "Flowerman" that wasn't far from the official release. The three demo recordings by The Selfs, the first band of bass player Chris Squire and keyboardist Andrew Jackman, suffers from tough sound but with the exception of a weak version of "I Can't Explain" the other two tracks are pretty jaunty mod songs. "Gangster Opera" was taken from a rehearsal tape and was recorded by the same lineup that played on the singles. Apart from the lo-fi production it's a wild and raunchy Freakbeat number. The remaining two tracks are demos from 1968 with only Steve Nardelli on vocals accompanied by guitar and piano.


Line-up

Chris Squire (bass, vocals, 1965-68, 2005-09)
Chris Slater (vocals, 1965)
Steve Nardelli (vocals)
Martyn Adelman (drums, 1965-2004)
John Wheatley (guitar, 1965)
John Painter (guitar, 1965-67)
Andrew Pryce Jackman (keyboards, 1965-68)
Peter Banks (guitar, vocals, 1967-2004)
Gunnar Jökull (drums, 1967-68)
Gerard Johnson (keyboards, 2004-09)
Steve Gee (bass, 2004)
Paul Stacey (guitar, 2005-09)
Jeremy Stacey (drums, 2005-09)
Francis Dunnery (vocals, guitar, 2009-present)
Tom Brislin (keyboards, 2009-present)

Tracklist


- Grounded

- 14 Hour Technicolour Dream

- Created by Clive

- Flowerman

- The Last Performance of The Royal Regimental Very Victorious and Valiant Band

- Mr. White's White Flying Machine

- Flowerman (demo)

- Merry-Go-Round (by The Selfs)

- I Can't Explain (by The Selfs)

- Love You (by The Selfs)

- Gangster Opera

- Sunset Boulevard Lament

- Cadillac Dreams