Label: MCA
Year of Release: 1970
Almost exactly one year ago on this blog, we pondered the failure of the enthusiastically backed Windmill to break through in the late sixties and early seventies. Here, after all, were a band with the Blaikley/ Howard songwriting team behind them and MCA at the wheel. I concluded that the problem was mainly that the band's sound was too damn dated by the time of their media unveiling, and the unearthing of a mint copy of this single hasn't done anything to change my mind.
"I Can Fly" really is just a burst of bouyant popsike occurring at least three years too late, having originally been released by The Herd back then. The deep vocals about "ghosts and phantoms", the puffing flutes, and the celebratory away-with-the-fairies chorus all gels together to create something distinctly paisley patterned. Whilst I wouldn't want to give more ammo to the continual myth that psych-pop just didn't chart in the early seventies - Hawkwind's "Silver Machine" alone proves that wasn't the case - it isn't unfair to note that it stood much less of a chance of breaking through with the fashion obsessed public. This is a shame, as "I Can Fly" is an irrepressibly jaunty piece of work.
The rest of the Windmill story is summarised over at my previous entry, and if I ever do find a copy of "Wilbur's Thing" I can afford, rest assured you lot will be among the first to find out.
2 comments:
Howard Blaikley did indeed get 'I Can Fly' out of their system some years earlier - it was originally a single by the Herd in early 1967.
Thanks anonymous - it's something of an achievement for me to proven both right and wrong in the space of one comment!
I've corrected the entry accordingly so that other people can see who the song was originally issued by.
Post a Comment