Album: Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
Side 2 stars the wonderful Stanley Unwin, one of the true originals of British comedy (I could honestly watch YouTube clips of Unwinese in action until my eyes got sore, deep joy!). This section won't be to everyone's taste, especially given that Happiness Stan's search for the other half of the moon is not the most compelling tale, partly let down by the "look on the bright side" finale, Happy Days Toy Town. That said, it's not all nonsense and whimsy. Rollin' Over is a real standout track, with Marriott's vocals again superb, and the darker Mad John works really well in the context of Stan's odyssey. Perhaps not as groundbreaking as Piper At The Gates of Dawn, or as coherent as The Pretty Thing's S.F. Sorrow, Ogden's Nut's Gone Flake remains one of the best expressions of late 60s British psychedelia, a powerful fusion of Mod aggression, East End humour and West Coast experimentation.
Artist: Small Faces
Born: Manor Park, London
Released: May 1968
Genre: Psychedelic Rock
Influenced: Todd Rundgren, The Jam, Blur, Oasis
In the same vein as The Who Sell Out, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake belongs to that unique strand of British psychedelia that mined a native sense of humour and a louder, harder-rocking sound inspired by soul and rhythm & blues. Just like their early singles, this album has a raw and unvarnished feel, with Marriott's powerful, passionate singing combining with elements of the East End music hall and Cockney slang (notably "me crust", "khazi" and "suss out" on Lazy Sunday). All this made the album infinitely likeable to me as a young lad, the first psychedelic album I really connected with, and it still remains one of my favourites. Side 1 is packed full of great songs, that swirling intro where McLagan's organ is the star, the soulful Afterglow, the cockney knees-up of Rene and Marriott's brilliant guitar playing on Song Of A Baker, a passionate ode to baking bread.
Side 2 stars the wonderful Stanley Unwin, one of the true originals of British comedy (I could honestly watch YouTube clips of Unwinese in action until my eyes got sore, deep joy!). This section won't be to everyone's taste, especially given that Happiness Stan's search for the other half of the moon is not the most compelling tale, partly let down by the "look on the bright side" finale, Happy Days Toy Town. That said, it's not all nonsense and whimsy. Rollin' Over is a real standout track, with Marriott's vocals again superb, and the darker Mad John works really well in the context of Stan's odyssey. Perhaps not as groundbreaking as Piper At The Gates of Dawn, or as coherent as The Pretty Thing's S.F. Sorrow, Ogden's Nut's Gone Flake remains one of the best expressions of late 60s British psychedelia, a powerful fusion of Mod aggression, East End humour and West Coast experimentation.
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