
I’m always slightly rattled when I stumble upon a song that might have anything to do with J.R. Tolkien’s
Lord of the Rings trilogy. This is largely due to my aversion to fantasy-based literature, but perhaps I should be less concerned with Skip Bifferty’s “The Hobbit” and more anxious about songs called “Gas Board Under Dog” and “Prince Germany the First.” Owners of a 1968 self-titled lp first released on RCA Records, this UK-based quintet delivered one much-admired, highly collectable platter of late ‘60s psychedelic pop. “In my happy land I’m king and all the world is mine,” the band sings in “Happy Land,” a track best reflecting the group’s upbeat, harmony-laced brand of durable psychedelia. “All my subjects there are children and they’re doing fine…” Despite the plethora of light-hearted fare, the band is at its best when it turns up the guitars and cranks up the power chords. The sonic crunch heard on “On Love” and “Man in Black” reveals a welcome and effective blast of six-string hard rock, while “Planting Bad Seeds” is a rollicking slice of piano-based garage rock. As for “The Hobbit,” a song whose mythical references include “evil goblins” and a “human man of magic,” its relation to Tolkien remains a mystery. Skip Bifferty’s musical family tree is fairly long and complex, but various members ended up in Arc, Griffin, and Ian Dury and the Blockheads.
Notes: “Planting Bad Seeds” from Skip Bifferty:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI4bYIgs6Gw&NR=1. Also, check out the band’s MySpace page:
http://www.myspace.com/skipbifferty6768.
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