Blossom Toes

"Sadly overlooked at the time of its release, We Are Ever So Clean is now regarded as one of the greatest psychedelic rock albums ever made. This expanded Esoteric Recordings edition has been newly remastered and features 27 additional bonus tracks drawn from a live performance in Stockholm in August 1967, rare singles, demos and BBC sessions. The set fully restores the original album artwork and features a booklet with an essay featuring exclusive interviews with Brian Godding and Jim Cregan.

Blossom Toes were an English psychedelic pop band active between 1967 and 1969. Initially known as The Ingoes, they were renamed and signed to manager Giorgio Gomelsky's Marmalade label. The original line-up comprised Brian Godding (born 19 August 1945, Wales) (guitar, vocals, keyboards), Jim Cregan (born James Cregan, 9 March 1946, Yeovil, Somerset) (guitar, vocals), Brian Belshaw (born 25 February 1944, Wigan, Lancashire) (bass, vocals), and Kevin Westlake (born Kevin Patrick Westlake, 5 March 1947, Dublin, Co Dublin, Eire — 30 September 2004) (drums). We Are Ever So Clean is the first album by The Blossom Toes. It was voted to be Number 40 of Record Collector’s "100 Greatest Psychedelic Records". Richie Unterberger: "One of the happiest, most underappreciated relics of British psychedelia".

Brian Godding and Jim Cregan were still Blossom Toes' chief songwriters on their second album, but the LP stands in bold contrast to their debut in sound and attitude. Having scuttled the orchestras and developed their chops in the two-year interlude, the record bears the influence of heavy California psychedelia and Captain Beefheart with its intricate, interwoven guitar lines and occasional gruff dissonance. The more serious instrumental approach spills over to the lyrics, which are somber and at times even gloomy, occasionally reflecting the social turbulence of the late '60s, with their uncertain tenor and references to ominous "peace loving men" and "love bombs." Far less uplifting than their debut, the weighty approach is leavened by the close harmonies and sparkling guitar interplay…

B.B. Blunder's story is a most confusing one for such a short-lived and little-known band. The group was essentially an offshoot of the Blossom Toes, one of the best underground British rock acts of the '60s, noted for both their droll psychedelic pop and a heavier, dual-lead guitar-oriented sound.

Jim Capaldi, Gordon Jackson, Dave Meredith, Luther Grosvenor, and John 'Poli' Palmer - collectively known as the Deep Feeling - came close in 1966 to being the "next big thing" to come out of the West Midlands. As events would have it, the group folded when on the verge of success, leaving behind precious few recordings previously unavailable until now. Sunbeam Records has finally done the group justice by issuing this CD that will help ensure their place in the region's rich rock music history. Deep Feeling evolved from the Worcester group The Hellions whose origins can be traced back to that town's early 1960s beat scene.

Following the demise of the legendary Blossom Toes in December ’69, guitarist Brian Godding and bassist Brian Belshaw backed vocalist Julie Driscoll at two London concerts in early 1970, along with drummer Barry Jenkins. The second of these concerts took place at The Roundhouse on 27th February 1970. A highlight of the performance was a rendition of Godding’s rousing composition ‘New Day’, a song recorded by Blossom Toes but sadly not released.
The concert was enthusiastically reviewed by the underground press prompting the event organiser, Peter Swales, to propose the band re-record ‘New Day’. By this time Jenkins had departed and so former Blossom Toes drummer Kevin Westlake stepped in. Recording sessions took place at Olympic Studios with guest contributions from musicians such as Driscoll, Mick Taylor and Brian Auger along with jazz musicians Marc Charig and Nick Evans…

The Moody Blues, Procol Harum, The Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, Family, Blossom Toes and East of Eden.

Keith Tippett's debut album as a bandleader was and remains a rather remarkable affair in that it was the first engagement of British young people who came up in rock, pop, and blues bands to play jazz…

Up there with 'Elastic Rock' by Nucleus and Soft Machine's 'Third', The Keith Tippett Group's excellent 'Dedicated To You But You Weren't Listening' occupies the upper echelons of British jazz-fusion and is rightfully hailed as a classic album by fans and critics alike…