Monday, April 21, 2014

With every mistake we must surely be learning (The Beatles) #174

The Inbetweens Make A Wish Amanda/ While My Guitar Gently Weeps (Impact, IR 1056, 1970)

The Inbetweens started life in Dunedin (NZ) in 1967. Their story is one of try and try and if, at first, you don't suck seed, try again. Well they tried and they tried to make their big break (Auckland, Sydney, Los Angeles) but they could never break through to the big time. 

By the mid seventies they had given up their quest having fallen out of favour, even in their homeland.

But their music is still around!

Part of their legacy is this snappy single recorded in Auckland. I happen to have it in my collection thanks to a record swap deal with a school mate - Greg Knowles. I'm reminded of this because he wrote his initials GK on his stuff, including this single.

The remarkable thing is that the band were still teenagers when they recorded this single. Rob Guest, who went on to have a solo career as a show biz light entertainer, had become the lead vocalist in 1970, and so it does sound quite professional.

The A side is actually a nice slice of NZ pop - with different vocals it would sound like a long lost early ABBA track.

Hidden gems: The boys make a good fist of Eric Clapton's guitar blitz on the Beatles' While My Guitar... by fuzzing up the guitar and changing the bassline. It's pretty impressive stuff given their age and level of experience.

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