I've been neglecting my site because things have been alternately busy and, well, uninspiringly boring. Looks like I'm the lone holder of the fort at the office through the weekend so I'm going to try to summon my muse and get caught up.
Came across this disc at Olssons last night while debating whether to use my rapidly piling up discount coupons for the new Johnny Cash box set, Unearthed. Decided five-plus discs of heaviness is not what I'm craving right now. Needed some California folk-psych pop to warm me since the weather has turned. Wanted to get into that Laurel Canyon/Jackie DeShannon/Byrds/introspective/lazy mind-expansion kind of mood. Took a leap of faith based on the cover and blurb of the album and I really hit the jackpot.
There is definitely a Zen-like, ethereal, and peaceful quality to my new space (if only I could get rid of the loud housemate the crackheads on the street below). I get a good deal of sunlight now and my palms and plant are thriving. I acquired a beautiful jade plant from my sister which I have separated and re-potted and should grow quite big. With more expansive floor and wall space my Bulols, Buddhas, and Santos have more room to breathe. I hung my Pacita Abad print up and it feels perfect, a merging of East and West, Spanish and Filipino. I still have two boxes of CDs to file and my closet and workspace needs work but I’m pretty much there. I was productive and painstakingly restored my mirror as best as I could and I is now back in its place of honor, restoring balance to the space. So the music of The Gentle Soul is the perfect soundtrack.
I suppose this was released following the popularity of A Mighty Wind. The Gentle Soul definitely have a Mitch & Mickey quality to them. I can safely guess the ethereal harmonies of Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley were presented by Christopher Guest in the working notes to Catherine O'Hara and Eugene Levy and served as an inspiration. If you were blown away by "A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow" as I was, then The Gentle Soul is for you.
The Gentle Soul recorded just one album and a handful of singles, now highly sought-after and regarded as some of the most perfectly realized gems from the groundbreaking Los Angeles folk-rock scene that also embraced the Byrds, Tim Buckley and Buffalo Springfield. Terry Melcher (Ballad of Easy Rider producer, also son of Doris Day) produced the 1968 debut, and the band includes Ry Cooder, Van Dyke Parks, Larry Knechtel, and Mike Deasy.
Combining coffeehouse folk and sunshine pop with a daub of psychedelia, The Gentle Soul recalls a time when innocence did not necessarily mean inane and soft rock did not necessarily mean soft-headed. Terry Melcher's billowy production - all perfectly plucked acoustics, chiming harpsichords and trilling flutes - fully complements Stanley and Polland's close harmonies, which paint bright aural colors on songs like the woozy "Young Man Blue," the delicate "Renaissance" and the soaring "Flying Thing," written by onetime member Jackson Browne. There's a sad dreamy feel that runs through the work.
The album, on the Epic label, was called "Most beautiful…album of the year" by Billboard but did not sell.
Like the fictional Mitch & Mickey, Pamela Polland and Rick Stanley had a staggering and palpable chemistry and burnt out fast, going off in the separate ways. Polland now teaches hula in Hawaii and Stanley runs a successful celtic harp making business. Barf. But it was beautiful for one shining moment.
Comments