Folk Rock one-single wonders with great two-sider
Label: President
Year of Release: 1972
Somewhere in my wardrobe I've got a yellow t-shirt with the logo of the President record label emblazoned on it. If a random stranger approached me and asked me why I was wearing it, though, and who on the label I particularly admired, I would probably mention The Equals, then stammer a bit and lose my thread. Tamla Motown it is not.
The truth is, besides the look and the logo, it's the very idea of President I admire. Arguably Britain's first independent record label (though that's hotly contested by Joe Meek's Triumph Records and all manner of other backroom set-ups) it's spent decades ploughing its own furrow in a particularly strange little field miles away from the usual action. From cod-Northern Soul to reggae to provincial psychedelia, President has spat out endless interesting records from numerous genres, often (though not always) to an indifferent world. Many of its artists issued one 45 then totally disappeared beneath the waves again. In short, for record buyers who love a bit of a mystery, its catalogue is well worth plundering.
Folk rockers The Exchange & Mart were yet another President group who were given one shot only, and this is what they came up with. The A-side "Yeah My Friend" is a fairly typical but nonetheless invigorating fiddle festooned hippy hoe-down, the kind of thing which was all over the college and festival circuit in the early seventies. With a potent chorus and spontaneous sounding yet fairly complex arrangement, it was unlucky not to break through to at least a cult audience.
The B-side "I Know That I'm Dreaming" is the track that's picked up most attention in the years since, though, featuring on the compilations "Jigsaw Puzzle", "Lovin' Fire" and the Saint Etienne compilation "Occasional Rain". Filled with a despondent autumnal mood, it's the misty, gloomy older brother to the plug side, all subtle guitar licks, stomping piano lines and pattering drum rhythms. You can almost smell the rotting leaves and the gentle drizzle.
Exchange & Mart consisted of vocalist and guitarist Mart Rattigen, dummer Godfrey Barrington (whose work was partly influenced by a tribe of Zulus according to the press release) keyboard player Dusty Thomas and violinist Chris Lang. It's not known what any of them did next, though I have to wonder if ditching the group name might have been a sensible move - the BBC in particular always seemed to get sniffy about giving groups airplay if either they or their songs were named after commercial products.
"Yeah My Friend" is available below, but "I Know That I'm Dreaming" remains available on Apple Music and YouTube.
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