Genre: psych
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title: Fever Tree
Company: Uni
Catalog:
Year: 1967
Country/State: Houston, Texas
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: original inner sleeve; sticker on cover
Available: 1
GEMM catalog ID: 5383
Price: $15.00
By and large Texas-based psych is viewed with great favor within collector's circles, but for some reason Houston's Fever Tree stands as a glaring exception to the rule. Given the band was actually quite talented, I've wondered why the disconnect and the only really answer I can come up with is that they were viewed as being early 'sell outs' via their contract with Uni Records.
Before going any further, let me direct everyone to a pair of fascinating Fever Tree related websites. The first is a great tribute site with one flaw - it's in German so will be of marginal value to most folks:
http://homeofsynonym.com/fevertree.htm
The second is an in depth interview that was conducted by Scott B. (I don;t know his last name) with Fever Tree guitarist Michael Knust before his September 2003 death:
http://www.thepsychedelicguitar.com/knust.htm
Fever Tree traces it's roots to the mid-1960s when Knust was still in high school, teaching guitar on the side. One of his students was E.E. Wolfe. Inspired by The Beatles (who wasn't), Knust suggested Wolfe might be interested in starting a band. He also suggested Wolfe might want to switch to bass. Jerry Campbell was a fellow guitar teacher and was invited to join. Dennis Keller was also taking guitar lessons at the same place. Knust was less than impressed with Keller's guitar chops, but liked his voice and approached him about handling vocals for a band. With the addition of kyeboardist Don Lampton and drummer John Tuttle the group began rehearsing as The Bostwick Vines, playing local school dances and clubs only to lose Campbell to the draft. With Knust taking over lead guitar the revamped band hooked up with local newspaper writer Scott Holtzman and his wife Vivian (the pair had previously written material for country artist Tex Ritter, The New Christy Minstrels, as well as the Mary Poppins soundtrack). The Holtzman's signed on as the group's manager, helping the band get together a repetoire of covers and original material. Holtzman also used his credentials to line up various club dates, including an opening slot on The Jefferson Airplane's 1966 Houston date.
Holzman also arranged for the band to audition for Bobby Shad's Mainstream label, resulting in the Holtzman friend/keyboardist Rob Landes replacing original keyboardist Lampton and the release of their debut single on Mainstream 'Hey Mister' b/w 'I Can Beat Your Drum' (Mainstream catalog number 661). That was followed by 'Girl, Oh Girl (Don't Push Me)' b/w 'Steve Lenore' (Mainstream catalog number 665).
Produced by the Holtzmans who also wrote most of the material with keyboardist Landis, "Fever Tree" should have been a massive commercial success. Admittedly these guys weren't the most original band out there, but their debut featured some great material, complete with blistering Knust guitar, acid soaked lyrics ('Unlock My Door'), enough pop smarts for them to score a hit with 'San Francisco Girls', and oodles of studio sound effects (yes that was a real Houston rainstorm they recorded on 'Come with Me (Rainsong)'). Geez a couple of the band members even sported turtle necks and there appeared to be at least one Nehru jacket on the cover. That left you to wonder why the album's been largely ignored over the ensuing years ... Shame 'cause it is good. The good news is that collectors can still find original copies at reasonable prices. Alright, what about the music? Musically the album was surprisingly diverse, bouncing all over the spectrum including a slice of Johann Sebastian Bach ('Imitation Situation1 (Toccata and Fugue)'), fuzz-propelled rockers ('Where Do You Go?) and even orchestrated pop ('The Sun Also Rises'). There were plenty of highlights. While it wasn't a major chart hit (# 91), 'San Francisco Girls' was probably the best San Francisco-themed song of the time. 'Man Who Painted Pictures', '' and '' were all top notch rockers. The band also deserved credit for their good taste in covers - Wilson Pickett, The Beatles, and The Buffalo Springfield. While lots of critics weren't particularly enamored with lead singer Keller's voice, I have to admit liking it. While he may not have had the greatest vocal range, Keller's ragged power was quite impressive and still sounds contemporary today (check out his throat searing cover of Wilson Pickett's 'Ninety Nine and a Half' (Won't Do'). He was certainly more talented than have of the grunge acts that clog today's tightly formatted radio stations. Yeah, it wasn't perfect. Some of the Dave Angel and Gene Page string arrangements were a bit saccharine and the freak out 'Filigree and Shadow' was simply boring. Propelled by the single and a national tour opening for the likes of The Jeff Beck Group, Pacific Gas and Electric, and Steppenwolf, the album peaked at # 156. In addition to the hit single, Uni tapped the album for a follow-up in the form of a nifty Neil Young/Buffalo Springfield cover:
- 1968's 'San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native)' b/w 'Come with Me (Rainsong)' (Uni catalog number 55095)
- 1969's 'Clancy (Nowadays Clancy Can't Even Sing)' b/w 'The Sun Also Rises' (Uni catalog number 55172)
In between those two releases there was also a non-LP 45:
- 1968's 'Love Makes The Sun Rise' b/w 'Filigree And Shadow' (Uni catalog number 55146)
"Fever
Tree" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) Imitation Situation1 (Toccata and Fugue) (instrumental) (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman - Rob Landes - J.S. Bach) - 2:32
2.) Where Do You Go? (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman - Michael Knust) - 2:25
3.) San Francisco Girls (Return of the Native) (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman - Michael Knust) - 3:58
4.) Ninety Nine and a Half (Won't Do) (Wilson Pickett - Steve Cropper) - 2:45
5.) Man Who Paints the Pictures (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman) - 2:32
6.) Filigree and Shadow (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman) - 3:51
(side
2)
1.) The Sun Also
Rises (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman) - 2:41
2.) Day Tripper/We Can Work It Out (John Lennon - Paul McCartney) - 3:27
3.) Clancy (Nowdays Clancy Can't Even Sing) (Neil Young) - 3:00
4.) Unlock My Door (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman - Rob Landes) - 3:45
5.) Come with Me (Rainsong) (Scott Holtzman - Vivian Holztman - Rob Landes) - 3:45
