(Beat-Rock, Psychedelic Rock) Les Fleur De Lys "Reflections" - 1997, APE (image+.cue), lossless

Although several of their singles are coveted by collectors of British '60s rock, Les Fleur de Lys remain obscure even by cultist standards. That's partly because they never came close to getting a hit, but also because their furious pace of lineup changes makes their history very difficult to trace and also precluded any sense of consistent style or identity. The group did release a number of fine singles in the mod-psychedelic style that has latterly become known as "freakbeat," with more of a soul music influence than most such British acts.

Les Fleur de Lys changed lineups about half a dozen times during their recording career, which roughly spanned 1965-1969. Drummer Keith Guster was the only constant member; some of the musicians passing through went on to commercial success with Journey and Jefferson Starship (keyboardist Pete Sears) and King Crimson (bassist Gordon Haskell). At the outset they recorded a couple of singles for the Immediate label that were produced by Jimmy Page (there remains some controversy about whether he played guitar on these as well). A cover of the Who's "Circles" featured the fluid, slightly distorted guitar lines that would become Fleur de Lys' most distinguishing characteristic. The 45s made no commercial impact, however, and Fleur de Lys helped sustain themselves in the late '60s by backing relocated South African singer Sharon Tandy.

Continuing to record intermittently on the side, the band managed a few decent slabs of freakbeat with "Hold On," "Mud in Your Eye," and their most psychedelic outing, the memorably titled "Gong With the Luminous Nose. As if the musical chairs of personnel weren't enough, they further confused record buyers with tracks issued under different names like Shyster and Chocolate Frog, as well as playing on singles by Tandy, Waygood Ellis, and John Bromley. One single issued under the moniker Rupert's People, the Procol Harum-like "Reflections of Charlie Brown," became a European hit of sorts; subsequent singles by Rupert's People, however, are not Fleur de Lys playing under an assumed name. The confusing saga came to an end in the late '60s. Several of the group's better tracks repeatedly showed up on collector-oriented reissues of rare British '60s rock, and an entire CD of their work was issued in 1996.

Sprawling 24-track comp of the rare recordings of this enigmatic band. Includes 14 songs issued under the Les Fleur de Lys name, singles that they issued under the Rupert's People, Chocolate Frog, and Shyster pseudonyms, and releases on which they backed Sharon Tandy, John Bromley, and Waygood Ellis. It goes without saying that such a manic hodgepodge is geared toward the hardcore collector market. But if you like mid-to-late '60s mod-psych, it's a decent item to have around, with some sparkling (occasionally crazed) guitar work, unusually constructed tunes that sometimes meld soul and psychedelia, and nice harmonies. "Circles" and "Mud in Your Eye" are first-rate pounding mod guitar tunes; "Gong With the Luminous Nose" is pop-psych at its silliest; "Reflections of Charlie Brown" is pop-psych at its most introspective; and Sharon Tandy's "Daughter of the Sun" is a lost near-classic with witchy vocals and sinister psychedelic guitar.

Exact Audio Copy V0.99 prebeta 4 from 23. January 2008

EAC extraction logfile from 7. September 2008, 3:30

Les Fleurs De Lys / Reflections

Used drive : HL-DT-STDVD-RAM GSA-E20N Adapter: 3 ID: 2

Read mode : Secure
Utilize accurate stream : Yes
Defeat audio cache : Yes
Make use of C2 pointers : No

Read offset correction : 102
Overread into Lead-In and Lead-Out : Yes
Fill up missing offset samples with silence : Yes
Delete leading and trailing silent blocks : No
Null samples used in CRC calculations : Yes
Used interface : Installed external ASPI interface

Used output format : Internal WAV Routines
Sample format : 44.100 Hz; 16 Bit; Stereo

TOC of the extracted CD

Track | Start | Length | Start sector | End sector
---------------------------------------------------------
1 | 0:00.32 | 3:06.60 | 32 | 14041
2 | 3:07.17 | 3:04.35 | 14042 | 27876
3 | 6:11.52 | 2:37.50 | 27877 | 39701
4 | 8:49.27 | 2:08.45 | 39702 | 49346
5 | 10:57.72 | 3:13.55 | 49347 | 63876
6 | 14:11.52 | 2:01.27 | 63877 | 72978
7 | 16:13.04 | 2:47.03 | 72979 | 85506
8 | 19:00.07 | 3:56.30 | 85507 | 103236
9 | 22:56.37 | 2:46.22 | 103237 | 115708
10 | 25:42.59 | 3:01.13 | 115709 | 129296
11 | 28:43.72 | 3:21.00 | 129297 | 144371
12 | 32:04.72 | 2:41.10 | 144372 | 156456
13 | 34:46.07 | 1:53.37 | 156457 | 164968
14 | 36:39.44 | 1:32.00 | 164969 | 171868
15 | 38:11.44 | 2:04.53 | 171869 | 181221
16 | 40:16.22 | 2:17.45 | 181222 | 191541
17 | 42:33.67 | 3:31.40 | 191542 | 207406
18 | 46:05.32 | 2:55.45 | 207407 | 220576
19 | 49:01.02 | 2:24.42 | 220577 | 231418
20 | 51:25.44 | 4:16.48 | 231419 | 250666
21 | 55:42.17 | 2:30.50 | 250667 | 261966
22 | 58:12.67 | 2:45.02 | 261967 | 274343
23 | 60:57.69 | 2:30.05 | 274344 | 285598
24 | 63:27.74 | 2:18.06 | 285599 | 295954

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Filename C:\Les Fleurs De Lys - Reflections.wav

Peak level 94.3 %
Range quality 100.0 %
Copy CRC 902EC784
Copy OK

No errors occurred

End of status report