(Psychedelia / Folk rock) The Sidetrack - Baby - 1968, FLAC (image+.cue) lossless

Demo press for a planned Elektra release that never happened. Classy, wellwritten late 60s baroque-pop/folkrock with lots of harpsichord and energetic vocals, plus some longer artrock excursions. Appealing LP although not quite successful on the whole. Worth checking out for the great stuff, as on the whole of side 1; reminiscent of the less psychy tunes on Forever Amber. The band may originally have been from Vancouver.
It’s tantalizing to think this almost got a major label release, because its combination of oddball but accessible pop and far out experimentalism could have provided a huge hit or an instant collectors’ item, depending on how the ball bounced. As it is, the best we can hope for is a reissue of this very deserving album. Sidetrack’s distinctive sound comes from keyboard-rich arrangements (most songs have no guitars at all), using a combination of piano, organ, harpsichord and harmonica to propel the songs. The production is crisp, clear and very professional. They’re not a baroque ballad-type band, though, as the songs have backbeats and qualify as upbeat pop/rock, not wimpy at all. Though the songs lack guitar, the bass playing is melodic and mixed up front in the best McCartney tradition. The first five songs all follow this pattern and are ace examples of post SGT. PEPPER pop. The bizarre strained vocal style on the chorus of “Monkey” (resembling Jigsaw’s equally wonderful “Life Insurance”) and the heavy falsetto on a few songs may have sounded a little odd on the radio, but these songs are instantly memorable and addictive. It’s on the sixth song that things start to get weird. “Blues For Matthew” is a long mostly instrumental (there are some haunting chorale-like vocals in spots) experiment that adds synthesizer, strings and woodwinds to the mix. It’s hypnotic and while it’s nothing like what preceded it, it’s every bit as good. Side two goes in so many directions that if it weren’t for the telltale harpsichord you’d swear it wasn’t the same band. It goes from mundane (but, as always, catchy) tunes about “Rock N’ Roll” to another ten minute experiment to calm ballads. It’s not as successful as side one, and the long one drags, but this album is still something pretty special. “Wild Eyes” was included on the US edition of LOVE, PEACE, AND POETRY. If you like that song, you’re sure to like the other pop songs on side one.

(Acide Archives)

Very little information is known from this group. This seems to be a professionally recorded demonstration copy for an intended Elektra release, which never happened. The Sidetrack consisted of Alan, Christopher and Peter Brown, Kenneth Gullmartin, Andrew Higgs and John Lewis.
The album has is own special atmosphere, which is end of ‘60’s styled, song driven –with some colourful melodic clarity in expression-. It is well arranged, often with multilayered keyboards (piano’s, harpsichord, organ), bass and drums but almost no guitars. The songs fit well together as if there’s a story line between them. The baroque elements are also very special which are worked out now and then, at first only a little bit on “Baby”, and well adapted into the composition on “Sweet Substitute”. “Blues for Matthew” has true Bach-like arrangements, a complex almost symphonic track with string-,band- and vocal arrangements. A blues element of harmonica is mixed greatly into this rather unique track. The first tracks on the second side are rather short. A separate song easily remembered into as a pop standard and to take out of the context of the album, might be “Summership”. “2314-B” is the second long track, with a jazzy/bluesy, half composed, half improvised evolution of organ, harpsichord, bass, harmonica, and some complex rhythms. Also this track has a rather baroque symphonic theme further on, which is equally successfull and in a catchy way mixed with the other styles. After such an impressive complex track, “Knowing what you hold so dear” is held much simpler, a short song accompanied by some acoustic guitar arrangement only.