Along Comes Tandyn (CD)
Barcode: 90771122223
THE LOST POP-PSYCH CLASSIC OF THE 60s! The late, great composer/pianist/producer/MENSA member Tandyn Almer first emerged in pop culture consciouness as the writer of the 1966 smash single by The Association, Along Comes Mary. Its seemingly innocuous lyric about a girl became a point of intense scrutiny as rumors of marijuana references wafted through a society fraught with generational conflict. One of those listeners on the far side of the gap, Leonard Bernstein, recognized the songs musical sophistication and deft wordplay as something noteworthy. Consequently, Bernstein chose Almer as an interview subject for his CBS News documentary Inside Pop: The Rock Revolution, which aired on Tuesday, April 25th, 1967. It was a groundbreaking special, with Almer's cool media attitude working well to calm the controversial storm surrounding the movement that would soon blossom into the Summer of Love. If this were a Hollywood film script, Almer would have then been catapulted to the upper echelons of pop stardom, rubbing elbows with hottest hitmakers of the day. Instead, while he released one single of his own, Degeneration Gap, and wrote and produced several more pop-psyche gems, Almers career path took a much more enigmatic route. He did collaborate with fellow melodic savant Brian Wilson, most notably as the co-writer of Sail On Sailor, and published a songbook of his new compositions. In service of these songs, a 15-track demo LP was recorded and pressed in a small quantity by his publisher, Davon Music, to distribute to potential recording clients.Through the years, word of this LP spread through the collecting world, its legend increasing with each telling and its price increasing with each resale for those lucky enough to find a copy. Included within this demonstration disc is the nasty, buzzing fuzztone and haunting vocals of The Purple Gang's version of Bring Your Own Self Down, the engaging Pop feel of Find Yourself, the smooth groove of "Anything You Want" and Victims of Chance (recorded as an instrumental by L.A. jazz combo The Afro Blues Quintet), along with the straight-ahead Folk-Rock of About Where Love Is and Sunset Strip Soliloquy the latter about the atmosphere which led to the demonstrations of late '66. At long last, Sundazed Music has rescued this holy grail album and presents the first-ever commercial release of Along Comes Tandyn. A stunning collection covering a wide stylistic range, it is a resounding confirmation Almers harmonic genius. After one listen, youll understand why Tandyn was always the smartest guy in the room. "This enigmatic folk-rock songwriter, who died last January, was already a ghost in this music: a set of demos recorded in 1965 and '66 in largely unfussy arrangements by mostly anonymous session musicians. Almer, then in his early twenties and a rising star for writing the Association's Top Ten hit "Along Comes Mary," only appears on occasional keyboards and vocals. The albu
- Released: 4/1/17
- Format Detail: CD
- Format: CD
- Genre: Rock
