Week of October 6, 2002
Personnel:
Jonathan Dunsterville - Guitar, Vocals
Richard Dunsterville - Vocals, Guitar
Roger Newell - Bass, Vocals
Stewart Osborn - Drums, Vocals
Album:
Rainbow Ffolly Sallies Fforth (Parlophone PMC/PCS 7050) 1968
Reissued on CD (Golden Classics Rebirth GRC 008) 1997 and officially with bonus track by See For Miles 1998.
45:
Go Girl/Drive My Car (Parlophone R 5701) 1968
Obviously influenced by labelmates The Beatles, the sole album of Rainbow Ffolly is a psychedelic delight of the first order. Lush, inventive arrangements and sharp winning melodies are presented in a truly wide range of styles at once sophisticated and witty. It can be said without exaggeration that this album exceeds on musical grounds the period piece value of many of its contemporaries. Great use of sound-effects contributes to its excellence, while the feeling is so thoroughly English as on few other albums. A single with
"Drive My Car" on the flip, which is not the Lennon/McCartney song, sank without a trace and no further recordings were made. The vast diversity and the great accessibility make it hard to understand why this album was completely ignored, but it makes completely clear why it is as sought-after as it is.
For more information on the band, check their website: http://www.handy.dircon.co.uk/ffolly.htm
(Marcel Koopman)
Taken from The Tapestry of Delights - The
Comprehensive Guide to British Music of the Beat, R&B, Psychedelic and
Progressive Eras 1963-1976, Vernon Joynson ISBN 1 899855 04 1