TOMORROW

Tomorrow is one of those bands which is not only steeped in excellence then--with further excellence to be seen after disbanding--but it goes plenty deeper than I ever recalled. Remarkably, most memorably and famously, this Keith West-fronted group features a young Steve Howe on guitar (2 years before he replaced the otherwise inimitable Peter Banks in Yes), and also features the excellent Psych/Freakbeat drummer Twink (John Alder)(!!!), who later this same year (1968) joined The Pretty Things, appearing on their incredible S.F. Sorrow. Can't recommend that one enough. But it goes even deeper! Today, the reason I'm here now, happily listening to this again--and bear with me--I listened through the early-Prog Abbey Road medley, and "You Never Give Me Your Money", its 'opener', was inspired by the admittedly less remarkable West-penned [I think?] suite "Excerpt from 'A Teenage Opera'" (a.k.a. "Grocer Jack"). The final four tracks on the '99 remaster of Tomorrow are apparently all from this 'Opera' (or at least from the same time), and remarkably still feature none other than the incredible Aynsley Dunbar on drums (of Mayall's Bluesbreakers, The Mothers of Invention, Bowie, Journey, etc.) and, of all people, the comparably ambitious Ronnie Wood on bass (Jeff Beck Group, Faces, the Rolling Stones, etc.)! In addition to a track that a young Steve Howe performed on inspiring Paul McCartney at one point, I also recall Frank Zappa singing Howe's praises, specifically on Tomorrow's "Claramount Lake" (not originally on the LP), the B-side to "My White Bicycle". And with that, I can say this much: This album's highs are mountainous. [Although I will gladly be providing my definite favorites and must-hears from the bonus material, the rating for this album will be dependent solely on its original release.]

Tomorrow begins, rightly so, with their first single from May '67, "My White Bicycle". And as far as Psych Rock at large and Freakbeat specifically goes, this track is vital. It starts off with this really delightful, mesmerizing tape-manipulation, and the one tape effect results in a sound which could well resemble a playing card hitting the spokes (one of the rhythmic backbones of the entire track). Compositionally simple, but an excellent melody with really fun, maximal production. It's huge. It is followed by "Colonel Brown", a sweeter, much clearer Psych Pop. The guitars are bright and jangly, later seemingly Folk-inspired... a super weird, psychedelic outro. Otherwise, the rhythm swings freely. Another one with nice melodies; though less memorable and daring. Following is "Real Life Permanent Dream", begun with the far-off drone of a sitar soon met with booming and then sparse rhythm section. The vocals in the first verse are oddly mixed almost totally alone in the right ear. This picks up, fullness realized with this real cool, heavy beat. And then, post-chorus, this India-come-England bucolic situation happens, played in half-time; it is truly wonderful. A more garage-ready, Power-Pop-meets-Freakbeat version of this is also available as bonus track and this is definitely worth checking out (in comparison in the very least).

Up next is the sunny, youthful "Shy Boy"! I love this track. Something to keep in mind, though this is clearly Proto-progressive in scope and experimentation, much of this album, like this track here, is pure Psych-Pop; worth saying, as I know this won't appeal to others as it will me, the Prog-dork Poptimist haha. The winning element here, bouncing rhythm aside, is producer Mark Wirtz's keyboards, which he provides throughout. It has a very timeless ring to it. Not to be confused with any songs of the same name, this is followed by "Revolution". An intensely mixed Freakbeat extravaganza, this has one of the best choruses (you're never going to guess what the lyrics are... /s), despite its simplicity. But very odd is the mixing; it may cause some pause. It's muddled and warbled and many of the elements (specifically on left speaker) are almost completely absent, and then during the chorus's "Now!"s everything is mixed loud. I think this is great, and yet it's going to be a tough sell for the real audiophiles in the audience [There were some engineering/production choices throughout that honestly weren't agreeable, to say the least]. I think it would benefit another delve into bonus material for "Revolution" as well; it's not impossible to listen to haha. Coming back to the definitely-happier side, next is "The Incredible Journey of Timothy Chase". The rhythm section is once again booming and hulking. What's shining through once more is the melodies and Steve Howe's guitar performance(s). This will certainly appeal to fellow fans of Revolver-to-Magical-Mystery-Tour-era Beatles. I definitely find this style of English Psych Rock to be a clear predecessor to sonic elements found in more Pop-oriented Prog bands like Yes (and this would then be owing to Mr. Chris Squire as well).

Approaching the close, we then have "Auntie Mary's Dress Shop", a baroquey number with plunking keys and crisp Edwardian-like, though definitely-Psych vocals. This is one I definitely don't recall (not uncommon for me throughout this release). I like it, certainly. Speaking of the Beatles, we then have a cover which I have utterly forgotten (I don't know how), their one magnum opus, "Strawberry Fields Forever". And the way in which they perform this, released a year following the original, it's definitely owing to them and yet a unique display of Tomorrow's style. Being a forever Beatles fan, I think it'd be somewhat common to say how unnecessary most covers of their material really feels. I don't quite feel that with "Strawberry Fields" here, but the Liverpudlian Beat Boys truly captured some kind of unattainable magic originally. This is then followed by one of my definite favorites, "Three Jolly Little Dwarfs", a super fun Freakbeat number. It is as silly as you would expect, but everything from the rhythm to the melody to even the lyrics (again, very silly). Beefier and garagier still is "Now Your Time Has Come". This has some great melodies and harmonies. And then we get this wild [Neo-classical?] bridge, and it should strike you as the most Steve Howe thing ever haha. It's excellent. And right when you think it's going to return, it just keeps goin'. Feels all over the place stylistically; so fun. With this second(?) listen, I think I've found yet another favorite! And finally, for the original release, we have "Hallucinations", which is one with some great melodies, as we can come to expect, and it's nice to get some imperfect, human element in the vocal department. It sounds real. Howe has some more fun with his trilling axe. As a Pop track, this is a solid number.

And speaking of hearing this fresh again, it's been a while since I've heard our first bonus track, the aforementioned Zappa-praised "Claramount Lake". This is a more straight Rock, and drumming aside (which is pure Ringo drag) it feels overtly American to mine ears. Another I enjoy quite a bit is "Why", a Who-esque Power Pop number with a guitar solo that could make Townshend jealous. One that confused me at first was "Now Your Time Has Gone", not to be confused with the "Now Your Time Has Come"; two very different songs. "Good Wizzard Meets Naughty Wizzard" is just as ridiculous as you would think; interesting bridge then, with some jazzy organ. To me the strongest bonus track is "On a Saturday", previously unmentioned it's a track from 'A Teenage Opera'. This is excellent Psych Pop, reminiscent to maybe the Moody Blues or the Pretty Things. One I somehow don't remember a lick that may be worth a listen is the also-Power-ful "The Kid Was a Killer". The instrumentation implies Roots Rock to me at times. "She" is certainly striking, the first track of the whole with what sounds like a proper string ensemble. And finally, "The Visit" begins with this really killer drum solo. No shock this is Aynsley Dunbar. He's a monster. Also, my direct respect for Ronnie Wood has only increased from his performance on this final track. Great vocal harmonies here as well. One of three songs that struck me at times as slightly American, this was only fortified by Steve's twangy lead guitar. I'm not sure what else there is to say. If you're approaching this as a fan, these bonus tracks will be just as much a treat.

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