HUX RECORDS
2007
Halcyon Days
About This Album
An unsuccessful attempt to assemble an album of live/BBC material by Dr. Strangely Strange (not enough usable stuff could be found), unusually, led to something better -- an entire LP's worth of well-preserved 1969-1970 studio outtakes. Those ten outtakes (with two versions of one song, "C**k-a-Doodle-Doo") form the bulk of this 2007 release, topped off by three 2006 recordings supplied specifically for this project. It's the 1969-1970 material, naturally, that's the main attraction, and it's a surprise to find that -- unlike the unissued cuts excavated for most collections of this sort -- they're pretty much on a par with the two albums this fairly obscure Irish acid-folk-ish band issued during their brief lifetime. That is to say, they sound very much like the Incredible String Band without as much of an edge, a niche that cuts both ways. In some ways, more mainstream listeners (if any are indeed checking out a reissue such as this in the first place) might actually find their whimsical, drifting brand of barely-rock-influenced folk a little more pleasant and accessible than the ISB. That acknowledged, the songs, singing, and arrangements aren't as bold, striking, eclectic, or world music-influenced as those of the band with which they're inevitably compared.
Track List (try tracks 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8 and 9)

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