Friday, October 27, 2006

Request
"Justine" (UK Psychedelic Folk-Rock 1970)

by Mark Coyle:
Justine were a band of five vocalists and two guitarists augmented in recording by orchestra and further musicians. They sit between the psychedelic folk-rock sound of LA (Mamas & Papas, Loving Spoonful, Byrds), UK (S F Sorrow or Piper At The Gates of Dawn) and progressive rock. The five vocalists weave in harmony providing a rich sound and it is this that binds the album. The songs are soft early folk rock like Donovan's 'Gift From A Garden To A Flower' with psychedelic electric guitar and effects. The first track 'Flying' lives up to it's title with flute fluttering, swooning strings and tight harmonies. The songs mix the innocent, quirky and strange to heady effect. The songs are fairly unique in folk as they mix in horns which expands the mix giving a warmth that folk sometimes finds hard to achieve. In the last track they create a classic that lives up literally to it's title of 'Amazing Journey'. It starts with folk guitar, introduces fuzz guitar then wah wah builds to a crescendo and drops back to a delicate folk ballad within the first minute. It builds up introducing 'A Day In The Life' style strings and massed vocals. Towards the end it explodes with a staggeirng number of layers that Roy Wood in The Move was expert at. Strange effects come in, wild guitars solo, flutes, horn and strings abound and a propulsive rhythm section drives the whole thing explosively as the singer moves from folk whispers into Robert Plant style wails. An excellent track on a most enjoyable album which shows the link between the earlier psychedelic sound and the later musical indulgence of progressive rock.

Original - UNI UNLS 111 (UK 1970)
Reissue - Elegy E6401 (UK 2004)

Keith Trowsdale: vo, g
John McBurnie: vo, g
Valerie Cope: vo
Bethlyn Bates: vo
Laurette Stivers: vo
Dougie Wright: ds

17 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Heaven't yet manged to listen to the music, so just a generale praise - great blog and wonderful music. Keep all these pearls up!!

28 October, 2006 04:47  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

あーりがとさ~ん!

毎度おおきに!

29 October, 2006 20:59  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i do believe john mcburnie was later in the excellent jackson heights..and also the main vocalist on patrick morazs forst album. ive had a really knackered copy of this album for years..always knew it was good behind all the noise on my vinyl and its great to finaaly hear it ..thankyou
jaylia strange

01 November, 2006 12:03  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Just had to listen to this. Keith Trowsdale was the local boring drunk in Putney in the mid 80's, although he was a good guitarist & singer. Could play as well both left & right handed.
Will be interesting to hear what this is like

11 December, 2006 08:30  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Hi, any chance of more info?
I can only find the quoted unbroken Circle review. Original label, reissue label & date of reissue etc.(I'm assume it's a reissue 'cos of the bonus trax).
Cheers!! - SCM

11 December, 2006 19:48  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thankyou very much for this, I know John McBurnie,I think he will be very pleased to hear this again. He went on to play & record with the likes of Arthur Brown,Gerry Rafferty, Phil Collins, Kiki Dee, Elton John, members of Yes, ELP etc.He is still making records & also composes for tv & film.I think this will be a very big surprise as it may be his first recording.

18 January, 2007 03:59  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I used to date laurette stivers , she passed away in 99 I think of her every day and will always remember her with love

01 August, 2007 09:38  
Blogger martoon said...

Dear J F Radcliffe,
I assume that Laurette Stivers and
Laurie Styvers are the same person.
Very sad to learn that she passed away.
I have the two beautiful albums she made in the 70's with the creme of UK session musicians:
'Spilt Milk' and 'Colorado Kid'.
What happened after this?
Did she make more music?
Did she raise a family?
Would you mind sharing some of your memories?
Regards,
Martoon

02 August, 2007 02:31  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've been meaning to check this one out for a long time, thanks!

14 January, 2008 01:48  
Blogger jerryhovell said...

I played bass and sang with Laurie in Justine and did some vocals on Colorado kid. We were a couple for some of this time and I remember her with great affection.I was sad to hear, only recently, that she is no longer with us but her music and songs will live forever.Incidentally "Beat the Reaper" was what we called our house in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire and I clealy remember her writing the song RIP Laurie

18 September, 2009 21:13  
Blogger jerryhovell said...

I played bass and sang with Laurie in Justine and did some vocals on Colorado kid. We were a couple for some of this time and I remember her with great affection.I was sad to hear, only recently, that she is no longer with us but her music and songs will live forever.Incidentally "Beat the Reaper" was what we called our house in Nettlebed, Oxfordshire and I clealy remember her writing the song RIP Laurie

18 September, 2009 21:16  
Blogger leigh said...

Laurie was my best friend. I went to Colorado with her to University and then spent time with her in Texas. Keith, Jerry and John....I'd love to see you again. I would love to hear her music played agin. The group was wonderful - and Nettlebed was one of the best times of my life.
If you are out there Jerry, Keith and John - love to hear from you.

30 November, 2009 04:09  
Anonymous jerry said...

Leigh great to hear from you after nearly 40 years. I live in Germany my E-mail address is goldenyears@freenet.de if you want to contact me.
this applies to anyone else who wants to write to me about Laurie or Justine

01 December, 2009 02:06  
Blogger Tenkologi said...

Thanks for lots of fascinating information about Laurie Styvers. I digitized both her (worn-out) LPs a few years ago, and it still sounds great, scratches and all.
Also interesting to learn about the link between Laurie and Jackson Heights.
Henrik, Norway

26 July, 2012 23:17  
Anonymous Vic said...

I hung out at school with John K & John M who were two thoroughly nice guys who, when just about everyone was strumming guitars, actually and literally got their act off the.ground!

18 November, 2013 02:58  
Anonymous Spencer Pyne said...

I too knew Laurie Styvers. I played in a band with her in Denver in the early 1970's while she was attending the University of Denver. I recently came across some old reel to reel tapes of her that I would love to share with anyone who would be interested in hearing them. I can be contacted directly at this email address: facebass@msn.com Spencer Pyne

30 December, 2013 17:11  
Anonymous Spencer Pyne said...

Maddie Holder, I have replied to your email twice but have received no response from you. Please check your junk folder. I would love to talk with you more about Laurie Styvers.

13 November, 2023 05:35  

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