Keith Law, Singer/Songwriter,(now more widely known,
as the writer for Velvett Fogg,
the well known cult Psychedelic band)
formed Jardine, in the Winter of 1968/69.
Keith Law, along with Mickey Cox had recently
disbanded Paint their previous band
Keith wanted a more earthy psychedelic sound,
Keith Law, who wrote all the band's original songs
shared the vocals, and also played second guitar, and flute
Mickey Cox was the vocalist and lead guitar
and was previously with Led Zeppelin's
Robert Plant's, Band of Joy
Colin Appleyard was on drums, and Brian Urquart on Bass.
The band's show was mainly original songs
with all of them, being penned by Keith
They were written about the same time as those
on the well known Velvett Fogg album
so possess the same air of psych Keith Law mystery!
The band played Universities, Colleges and schools
and the occasional open-air concert
Although Jardine’wasn’t around very long,
in 1969,they were put in touch with a London producer
They contacted him and he arranged for them
to go to London, and offered the band accommodation
at his apartment in Bromley Kent.
The band would travel to Central London,
every day in their Ford Thames Van.
It was Keith Law, Mickey Cox and Colin Appleyard
who were involved in the recordings,
with Brian having other commitments
The album was recorded in June 1969,
at Sounds Aquarian Studios, Kingley Street, London,
just next to the famous Carnaby Street.
It was a 4 track studio, with a capacity of 12 musicians.
During the recording sessions many musicians,
some famous, would come and join in.
They were,
..Peter Frampton singer, ex’ The Herd
and then later, an international pop star
Andrew Bown ex The Herd
who formed the Andrew Bown Set,
and is now keyboard player with Status Quo,
Michael Berg, keyboard player and engineer.
Brian Appleyard, Drummer ex East of Eden
"They're on the recordings somewhere
but can't remember where!"- Keith Law
The album took three weeks to complete,
and then the producer got into wrangles about ‘deals’ etc.
with the end result, it never got released at all, UNTIL NOW!
Several tracks, including some acoustic, were recorded,
initially for Polydor Records
However, the band were incorrectly advised
that a much better 'deal'
could be achieved elsewhere!
This never materialized, and the master tape
was stored away, only to re-surface a year later
when Keith returned to the studio
demanding it's whereabouts!
"I was determined, not to let my songs
and hours of recording, go to waste"- Keith Law
At the time, there was an enormous amount of
albums of this genre, and the tape remained un-released
With the recent resurgence of Psychedelic music
and in particular the ever growing popularity of,
Velvett Fogg
Demand for songs by Keith Law
has increased enormously!
Keith found the 'lost' tape, in his garage attic!
Still in perfect condition, and still to tell the story!
So 40 years later, here is Jardine
and their music, that has been in the attic, for far to long!
Amazon Editorial Review
Jardine's album was recorded in three glorious weeks
in June 1969, at Sounds Aquarian Studios,
a stone's throw from that justifiably famous
fashion hub, Carnaby Street.
The sessions were fun. Polydor was supposed
to release the album.
Musicians dropped in to say "hello" and ended up
on the record (uncredited) among them Peter Frampton,
Andrew "Andy" Bown (Herd and Status Quo),
and Brian Appleyard (drummer from East of Eden) .
Singer Mickey Cox had been in Robert Plant's pre-Led Zeppelin group
The Band of Joy it was Cox, in fact, who became their singer
when Plant left the band.
But suddenly, thanks to band management problems,
the LP was shelved.
Keith Law, who had written all of the songs,
joined Velvett Fogg
for their only album, and Jardine was forgotten.
Now, forty years later, you can be among the first |
to discover the brooding excellence of these tracks
music both strange and sinister, with moments of fragile beauty.
There are some very pretty songs here
(haunting melodies abound),
but there is no escaping the dark side of life songs
("Masochists of Strangulation", "Execution of the Child"
and monumental dirge "Blackbirds of Jardine",
which tells of self-same birds,
and the fact that they will 'destroy you,
and leave you pain, pain, pain'),
perhaps more akin to the band Comus than to anything
else we have encountered from the psychedelic era.
There are also heavy guitar solos, churning organ, flute,
and flowing sitar for good measure.
A 16-page booklet includes a band history,
lyrics and comments on the songs by Keith Law.
A lost jewel of late-1960's UK Psychedelia,
from a short-lived but charismatic band!
Copyright ©Amazon Editorial.2009
All contents of this Web-Site are:-
Copyright-©Keith Law.2009
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