the family tree - miss butters

greetings,

i have a confession to make; i love "psychedelic obscurities." it's an addiction of mine. when i have free time, i love sleuthing through dredges of 1.00 vinyl bins at independent record stores for hours-on-end with the lone goal of unearthing an ignored relic from the past. 1968 (and possibly 1967) are, in my opinion the golden years for the under-appreciated genres of freak-folk, baroque pop, sunshine pop, bubblegum pop, and acid rock. needless to say, some of the records that i find border on silliness, but occasionally i'll find one that rocks my socks off! today, ladies and germs i present one of the great "psychedelic obscurities" for your listening pleasure (with more to come in the future - stay tuned!)

the family tree was a san francisco band created by mastermind bob segarini. segarini had originally been the frontman in a local bay-area singles group known as, the brogues. this band, like many of the era did their best to copiously study the beatles' "hit-making machine" formula and attempt to replicate it in the states. now, raise your hand if you have ever heard of the brogues and/or can name one of their songs? anyone? hello?...

frustrated by the lack of success with the brogues, segarini decided to jump ship and form a new band (along with hammond b3 extraordinaire, lee michaels!) that would capitalize off the success of the newly emerged "concept album" format. some of the earliest mainstream examples of this style are: "s.f. sorrow" by the pretty things, "sgt. pepper's lonely hearts club band" by the beatles, and "the village green preservation society" by the kinks. essentially, a concept album cohesively ties each song together by a common theme or story. quite often, the theme or story in these albums can be very ambiguous to the listener, leaving much to the imagination of whomever is interpreting the album as a whole. segarini's newly formed band, the family tree set out to make a concept album of their own, however with a more coherent plot-line. this album would be known as "miss butters."

released in 1968, a year that would release such classic lps as: the beatles "white album", van morisson's "astral weeks", the rolling stones' "beggars banquet", and the zombies "odessey and oracle" it is not hard to surmise why this album is not often included in the pantheon of essential recordings. it is, however deserving to be included in the 2nd tier of great albums of 1968.

Mrs. McPheeny has Flue in Her Chest and has Needed a Rest for so Long) - The Family Tree

"miss butter" is segarini's homage to an elderly

spinster of the same name, with each song representing a chapter in her life. recorded during the "aerial ballet" sessions by one, harry nilsson (this recording will be reviewed at a later time) the sound of "mrs. butters" is not coincidently very similar in sound and presentation. as a matter of fact, nilsson is credited as co-writer for one of the album's cuts ("butters lament"). just like "aerial ballet" each track contains a vignette of whimsical ditties and idioms. if listening to "birthday/dirgeday" (the opening track) doesn't put a smile on your face, i would ascertain that you're legally dead! this album is dominated by piano, most characteristically sounding like the monkees "daydream believer" for much of the album. the harmonies are lush, most often resulting in 4-part polyphony (as one would come to expect from this genre). it's only fault is it can come across as a bit "musical theaterish" (as danny had pointed out in a discussion with me regarding this album). if that schtick isn't' your thing, this album might not be your bag, but for those of you who love "daydream"and "wouldn't it be nice" by the lovin' spoonful and the beach boys respectively, this album will exceed your expectations.

Butter's Lament - The Family Tree (co-written by Harry Nilsson)

my recommended tracks for "miss butters" are: "birthday/dirgeday", "mrs. mcpheeny has flue in her chest and has needed a rest for so long)" and "butter's lament." if you're looking for something different and extremely obscure, check this one out. more psychedelic obscurities to come, but until then "may you have the hindsight to know where you've been, the foresight to know where you're going, and the insight to know when you're going too far!"

-jensen