Mike Patto and Ollie Halsall. You must have heard the names before.
The Patto records were some of the most unique platters of the time, and still actually, featuring a special brand pop and prog, jazz and blues, held together by Mike Patto's soulful wail and Ollie Halsall stunning guitar playing. "Hold Your Fire" remains one of my favorite records. Seek it out if you've never heard it.
Then there was Boxer, probably most famous for the album cover.
Ollie was also a Rutle.
But before all of this was Timebox, a band that existed for less than three years, but managed to put out a number of singles for Piccadilly and Deram. You might be familiar with "Gone Is The Sad Man," which can be found on a number of psychedelic compilations, including "Nuggets II." I've only recently dug deeper and I can't get out. To borrow a phrase from my friend Joe, "I have a crush on the song Gone Is The Sad Man."
The Deram Anthology, if you can find it, has just about everything Timebox has recorded, with many tracks heretofore unreleased. Every track is fantastic!
9 comments:
Hello? Really? Not one of the four songs posted tickled anyone? Bueller?
I think Andy Partridge may have listened to this band.
Yes, I think Timebox was very good, great posted examples. Also Boxer's version of Hey Bulldog is outstanding.
This is one of those bands who every time you pickup or listen to a British Comp from the 60's you go wow this is good stuff. Every Rubble or Perfumed Garden Comp has singles from some band who weren't together long enough to put out an album but had outstanding 45's that sold nothing at the time. This is my favorite era, late 60's British pop/rock.
Ollie is one we didn't get to hear enough of. Between Patto and Boxer, and before The Rutles, he was in Tempest where he began as a second guitarist to Allan Holdsworth, and ended up the principal songwriter, and vocalist, in addition to lead guitar.
Here is their cover of Paperback Writer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cAhs2ts4Vmo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gEsG7ftsCo
Patto 'The man'---jim o'rourke called this his fave-ever song i do believe
Sal, total agreement regarding Patto, as you say, "Hold Your Fire" is a fantastic album.
Boxer were more of a formulaic rock band but still had some great guitar, as you would expect.
All of TWO songs on Spotify. "Barnabus Swain" and "Girl Don't Make Me Wait." Forget that fire at Universal, so much music will probably NEVER make the leap from digital/CD to streaming. Just noticed you can find later Flatlanders but not their essential album "More A Legend Than A Band." Every new format leaves an endless amount of music stranded. On the other hand, YouTube also offers :"Beggin'," "Gone Is The Sad Man," "Poor Little Heartbreaker," "Soul Sauce," "Don't make Promises...." Hey folks, keep making those videos of your old 45s please!
By the way, in the 80s Ollie Hallsall relocated to Spain. He ended playing guitar with one of the country's leading pop bands, Radio Futura. Worth a listen, though it's quite different to his other stuff, probably.
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