The Tikis, "If I've Been Dreaming" c/w "Pay Attention to Me," Autumn 18 (rel. 6/1965)
The Tikis, who came from Santa Cruz, California, were better-known in their far poppier guise as Harper's Bizarre. Their finger-down-throat version of Paul Simon's "The 59th St. Bridge Song (Feelin' Groovy)" was a big pop hit and a record, like Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science," that I will leave a room rather than have to endure.
When they were The Tikis, they contended with a Portland-based group called The Tikis and The Fabulons, who existed before-hand and had two singles released in 1965. I wonder if their paths ever crossed?
These Tikis had a typical origin story: Dick Scoppettone and Dick Yount were in a folk-music group when Beatlemania clouted America in early 1964. Before you could say "yeah, yeah, yeah" they'd cast aside Tom Dooley and focused, like many US musicians, on cracking the Beatle codex. They included surf-rock in their band mix, and once the full quartet was assembled, became a teen sensation in Santa Cruz. This got noticed by Autumn Records in San Francisco, then riding high with the early hits of The Beau Brummels, who had a handful of national chart hits and remain one of America's best folk-rock purveyors.
Autumn's approach was eclectic. Though they're thought of as a folk-rock label, they issued surf, frat-rock, r&b, pop-folk and garage as well. (The label's most obscure release is a single by Irish band The Dixies--a weird choice to be certain!) The Tikis present with the lighter side of garage on this, their debut 45. They're far tidier and well-rehearsed than your average hometown band.
"If I've Been Dreaming" sounds like the result of blending all 13 songs from The Beatles' A Hard Day's Night album with a dash of The Searchers to taste. The unison vocals do them no favors; had they worked out vocal harmonies, this happy-go-lucky song of hopeful love would pack more punch. Penned by all four members (including drummer Ted Templeman and lead guitarist Ed James), the song has a quaint period charm, with a yearning quality endemic to records of its style.
Likable enough, its rushed-sounding performance suggests it was a song written for the session and too new for the group to have fully rehearsed it. With a bit more though and refinement, "If I've Been Dreaming" might have become a classic. As it stands, it's an interesting sketch that wants further embellishment.
Mentioned in passing in the trade magazines, it went unreviewed and failed to get on the charts.
"Pay Attention to Me" is, as others have commented, the most rocking item to come from any iteration of this group. This uptempo item has raving lead vocals by rhythm guitarist Dick Scoppettone, whose voice sounds strained. As he recalled in an interview:
What I was doing was emulating Paul McCartney on [The Beatles' cover of] "Long Tall Sally." My throat felt like razor blades because I recut the vocal track six or seven times. By [then] I couldn't speak. That was a screamer!
The result is a humorous and credible rocker, with the added bonus that it's about a girl who's so obsessed with her record collection she pays no heed to the romantic aspirations of our narrator! Perhaps once he got into a record, the tides might turn in his favor.
The group's second single, billed as "The Other Tikis," was Autumn's final release, and soon withdrawn as Warner Brothers Records bought Autumn and absorbed its artist roster. The single, "Bye Bye Bye," was re-released on WB, but head honcho Lenny Waronker had plans for The Tikis.
He was convinced a pop version of "Feelin' Groovy" would soar up the charts, and had The Tikis records it. Renamed Harper's Bizarre, with the addition of Beau Brummels drummer John Petersen, who left that group after their first Warner Brothers LP, a collection of 12 covers of current hits that was a nadir for all parties concerned. With arranger Leon Russell, the four Tikis sang in rich, dense harmonies and a sunshine pop hit was born. The song flew into the Top 20 in early 1967. Not a Harper's Bizarre fan, I do acknowledge that fans of the baroque, upbeat sunshine pop genre adore their records. Have at 'em, gang!
Tomorrow: The early, pre-bland Platters return with a jivey, mambo-tastic 1954 masterpiece that blows "Only You" out of the water. A rare Federal Records biscuit to make Saturday bop-tastic!
Somehow that first sprightly pop song was just what I needed, eap paired with a fine write-up. (Your wordsmithing’s excellent today. Hopefully working well with whatever book you’re working on these days.) The second track made me LOL. Priorities!
ReplyDeleteThank you, Emily and I'm glad you enjoyed today's record! I was a bit hard on the A side, I think. It is a likable li'l recording!
DeleteLove these! What these both reminded me of is the band The Wellingtons—playing on Shindig their au courant Beatle-esque songs and yet also somehow getting shipwrecked on Gilligan's Island for one episode.
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