{"id":7093,"date":"2022-11-18T08:46:06","date_gmt":"2022-11-18T08:46:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=7093"},"modified":"2022-12-18T11:25:01","modified_gmt":"2022-12-18T11:25:01","slug":"music-the-free-design","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=7093","title":{"rendered":"MUSiC: The Free Design"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video is-provider-youtube wp-block-embed-youtube wp-embed-aspect-4-3 wp-has-aspect-ratio\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"525\" height=\"296\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/q2nCVnztDPk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-GB&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation\"><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Bubbles\u2026 what an ace track! I just acquired the rather excellent <em>Butterflies Are Free<\/em> set, which is the complete recordings of The Free Design, covering seven albums, plus a few oddments, over the period 1967-72.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"640\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5248.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7094\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5248.jpg 640w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5248-300x300.jpg 300w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5248-150x150.jpg 150w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5248-100x100.jpg 100w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 640px) 100vw, 640px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>I emailed Chris Dedrick &#8211; their <em>de facto<\/em> musical leader &#8211; years back, and got a lovely reply. I\u2019d hoped to interview him for my putative music book, on music of the early \u201870s. Sadly, since then, he passed away. The \u2018Big C\u2019, alas. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to getting Butterflies I had a couple of their albums on CD, and the most of the rest as digital only downloads. I also have a Chris Dedrick solo album, from \u201872, called <em>Be Free<\/em>. I don\u2019t think I\u2019d ever had their kid\u2019s album, P<em>lays For Very Important People,<\/em> until now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Initially a trio of siblings, they were augmented by a fourth family member, (?), becoming a vocal harmony quartet. They also played instruments, with Chris the most active that way (guitar, keys, trumpet, etc.). But in the studio for their recordings, they were backed by stellar <em>sessionistas,<\/em> such as (names!).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"788\" height=\"1024\" src=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5250-788x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-7099\" srcset=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5250-788x1024.jpg 788w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5250-231x300.jpg 231w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5250-768x998.jpg 768w, http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/img_5250.jpg 902w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Enoch, <em>avec le <\/em>pipe!<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the reasons they\u2019ve remained a bit under the radar might be that they weren\u2019t on a major label. Fearing that a major would be too constraining, they went with audiophile Enoch Light, on his Project 3 label. This ensured them total artistic freedom (and great sound!). But it also meant they didn\u2019t have the publicity machinery of a major label promoting them. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The marks of the late \u201860s era are strong, their whole sound and vibe partaking of a groovy hipness that, ironically, dates the music a little, and is also in danger at times of coming across as a little naff. But, having said this, at the very same time they also have a beguiling mixture of na\u00efvet\u00e9 and musical sophistication that has a timeless appeal. And, despite sharing certain qualities with other similar-ish \u2018sunshine pop\u2019 acts of the era, they\u2019re pretty damn unique. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And, for me, Bubbles &#8211; posted at the head of this entry &#8211; captures this all extremely well. Bill LaVorgna\u2019s drumming is particularly noteworthy, on this oddly funky nugget, negotiating the odd time signature with a lithely supple and elastic groove that makes the whole thing groove very nicely. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But right from the get go, the first and title track of their debut album, Kites Are Fun, sets out their stall; goofily child-like, lyrically, musically adult, and whilst outwardly joyful, there\u2019s nearly always a wistful lonely teardrop in there somewhere. Lovely stuff, as Alan Partridge (or Shakin\u2019 Stevens, if you credit Coogan\u2019s alter-ego) might say. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And as a little additional bauble, the lyrics to Bubbles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-verse\">Blowin' bubbles outta the window<br \/>Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles<br \/>Gettin' gettin' ridda ridda all my troubles,<br \/>Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles<br \/>Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high<br \/>Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'<br \/><br \/>Ma 'n' Pa are arguin' again,<br \/>today I lost my best friend<br \/>The kitty has a little cold,<br \/>'n ' grammama is getting older<br \/>My tummy has a little pain,<br \/>'n' when does Jesus come again?<br \/><br \/>Blowin' bubbles outta the window<br \/>Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles<br \/>Gettin' gettin' ridda ridda all my troubles,<br \/>Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles<br \/>Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high<br \/>Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'<br \/><br \/>Blowin' bubbles outta the window<br \/>Chewin' bubblegum and blowin' big bubbles<br \/>Gettin' gettin ridda ridda all my troubles,<br \/>Watchin' the tadpoles glubba, glubba in the puddles<br \/>Soap bubbles carry my dreams up high<br \/>Bubble gum kinda keeps my heart from gettin' heavy and cryin'<br \/><\/pre>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Bubbles\u2026 what an ace track! I just acquired the rather excellent Butterflies Are Free set, which is the complete recordings of The Free Design, covering seven albums, plus a few oddments, over the period 1967-72. I emailed Chris Dedrick &#8211; their de facto musical leader &#8211; years back, and got a lovely reply. I\u2019d hoped &hellip; <\/p>\n<p class=\"link-more\"><a href=\"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/?p=7093\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;MUSiC: The Free Design&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[89,70,77,114,113,139,145,104],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paGwUa-1Qp","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7093"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7093"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7093\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7525,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7093\/revisions\/7525"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7093"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7093"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.sebpalmer.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7093"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}