Richie Unterberger: "One of the happiest, most underappreciated relics of British psychedelia"
Blossom Toes
"We Are Ever So Clean" 1967
I'll Be Late For Tea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNeSXrT6Id4
AllMusic Review by Richie Unterberger
Imagine the late-'60s Kinks crossed with a touch of the absurdist British wit of the Bonzo Dog Band, and you have an idea of the droll charm of Blossom Toes' debut album. Songwriters Brian Godding and Jim Cregan were the chief architects of the Toes' whimsical and melodic vision, which conjured images of a sun-drenched Summer of Love, London style. With its references to royal parks, tea time, watchmakers, intrepid balloon makers, "Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar," and the like, it's a distinctly British brand of whimsy. It has since been revealed that sessionmen performed a lot of these orchestral arrangements, which embellished the band's sparkling harmonies and (semi-buried) guitars. But the cello, brass, flute, and tinkling piano have a delicate beauty that serves as an effective counterpoint. The group sings and plays as though they have wide grins on their faces, and the result is one of the happiest, most underappreciated relics of British psychedelia. [Ten bonus tracks were added to the 2007 Sunbeam edition.]
Blossom Toes were an English psychedelic pop band active between 1967 and 1969. Initially known as The Ingoes, they were renamed and signed to manager Giorgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label. The original line-up comprised Brian Godding (born 19 August 1945, Monmouth, South Wales) (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Jim Cregan (born James Cregan, 9 March 1946, Yeovil, Somerset) (guitar, vocals), Brian Belshaw (born 25 February 1944, Wigan, Lancashire) (bass, vocals), and Kevin Westlake (born Kevin Patrick Westlake, 5 March 1947, Dublin, Co Dublin, Ireland — 30 September 2004) (drums).
The band's debut album, We Are Ever So Clean is a classic example of quintessentially English psychedelia. On release, it was presented in the UK music magazine Melody Maker as "Giorgio Gomelsky's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Although not a major commercial success, tracks such as "What On Earth" or "Look At Me, I'm You" have helped give the album something of a cult period status as it is unearthed by successive generations of 1960s retro fans. It was included in Record Collector's list of the "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records".
If Only For A Moment saw the band taking a noticeably heavier and rockier direction, with Cregan and Godding's distinctive two-part guitar harmonies playing a prominent role. At this point Westlake left, and was replaced by John "Poli" Palmer, and then Barry Reeves.
1967
The band quit in 1970. Belshaw and Godding rejoined Westlake in B.B. Blunder, Cregan formed Stud with John Wilson and Charlie McCracken, before joining Family, as did Palmer.
The Blossom Toes contributed music to La Collectionneuse (1967), a film by French director Éric Rohmer and also appeared in "Popdown" (1967) by Fred Marshall.
Discography
We Are Ever So Clean (Album - October 1967, Marmalade 607001 (mono) 608001 (stereo); re-released as Sunbeam Records CD SBRCD5035 in 2007)
If Only for a Moment (Album - July 1969, Marmalade 608010; re-released as Sunbeam Records CD SBRCD5036 in 2007)
The Remarkable Saga of The Frozen Dog
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=22-aY04XzxM
