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The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens by The Beacon Street Union

The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens

Release Date: 3/23/2010

Recording Date: 8/1968

Tracks: 9

Length: 00:46:16 Hrs

Label: Tune In

Type: CD

Genre/Styles:
Psychedelic

What the Critics Say

The Clown Died in Marvin Gardens is an original statement by a Boston group which was musically superior to Eden's Children and Ultimate Spinach, but not as focused as the Remains, the Hallucinations with Peter Wolf, or the emerging J. Geils Band. Where national groups like the Peanut Butter Conspiracy may have been misguided and sputtered with no direction, vocalist John Lincoln Wright developed into a first-rate songwriter and country singer with purpose. Hearing his work on highly experimental tunes like the title track or the impressionistic "May I Light Your Cigarette?" is true culture shock. "The Clown's Overture" seems pointless, yet "Angus of Aberdeen" is inspired and a bright spot in the morass that was "the Bosstown Sound." The rave-up version of "Blue Suede Shoes" is great, the guitar funneled through effects and brimming with excitement. Therein lies the problem with this album, and this group. The most structured piece is a Carl Perkins cover while "A Not Very August Afternoon" feels like a song wanting to belong to some hippy movie that was never made. Where the Chocolate Watchband rocked with authority, the Beacon Street Union are feeling their way through the times, the business, and their music. Producer Wes Farrell should have nudged them into a more commercial direction and brought more accessible material to their attention. Wright is a major talent and had he the right direction this early in his career, who knows what kind of chart action he could have enjoyed. The tragedy of The Clown Died In Marvin Gardens is that it could have been so much more. ~ Joe Viglione, Rovi

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