I read once that Company Caine were a head of there time and truer words were never written. They were renowned for their extraordinary and adventurous music, and for the magnetic stage presence and cosmic-comic lyrics of singer Gulliver Smith. Although the group was short-lived, they lasted long enough to make one of the best records of the period, their 1971 album “A Product Of A Broken Reality”. Many Australians will be familiar with Gulliver's work thanks to his lyrics for the John Farnham hit "A Touch Of Paradise", (co-written with Ross Wilson), but Company Caine remains one of the most shamefully neglected and overlooked bands in Australian music history. A single was issued from the album in September 1971, "Trixie Stonewall’s Wayward Home For Young Women”. The next single featured two new tracks, for you to download "Dear Carolyn" b/w "Now I'm Together" (GE 006) the last release from the 2nd L.P. “Dr, Chop”. It is one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings released on Lamington Records, that was on the verge of collapse when the record was made -- hence the half-live, half-studio configuration. The band had to compromise on this format because Lamington simply couldn't afford more studio time. According to Lamington only about 300 copies were ever pressed before the label folded, thus accounting for its rarity and copies selling on Ebay for around $350.00 U.S.
Tuesday 13 January 2009
Post 50 - Company Caine – Dear Caroline/ Now I’m Together
I read once that Company Caine were a head of there time and truer words were never written. They were renowned for their extraordinary and adventurous music, and for the magnetic stage presence and cosmic-comic lyrics of singer Gulliver Smith. Although the group was short-lived, they lasted long enough to make one of the best records of the period, their 1971 album “A Product Of A Broken Reality”. Many Australians will be familiar with Gulliver's work thanks to his lyrics for the John Farnham hit "A Touch Of Paradise", (co-written with Ross Wilson), but Company Caine remains one of the most shamefully neglected and overlooked bands in Australian music history. A single was issued from the album in September 1971, "Trixie Stonewall’s Wayward Home For Young Women”. The next single featured two new tracks, for you to download "Dear Carolyn" b/w "Now I'm Together" (GE 006) the last release from the 2nd L.P. “Dr, Chop”. It is one of the rarest and most collectible of all Australian recordings released on Lamington Records, that was on the verge of collapse when the record was made -- hence the half-live, half-studio configuration. The band had to compromise on this format because Lamington simply couldn't afford more studio time. According to Lamington only about 300 copies were ever pressed before the label folded, thus accounting for its rarity and copies selling on Ebay for around $350.00 U.S.
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4 comments:
Thanks for this single by a legendary band.
appreciate all your work.
I was 14 when this came out, knew of the band but have never caught up with their work. Looking forward to hearing this.
smithy in sydney
Not quite true. I co-owned Lamington Records with Keith Glass and we always intended to have a live side and a studio side to Dr. Chop. We actually never intended doing a new Co.Caine album but Ross Wilson charged us so much to record three tracks for a possible single that we realised the only way of breaking even was to cobble together an LP consisting of those three tracks, the two sides of the "Generation" single and a live side. It didn't come out too badly and sold well although not as good as our reissue of "Product of a Broken reality" which now brings almost the same price as the Generation Records original. All the Co. Caine material would be reissued except for the intransigence of their singer Gulliver Smith who refuses to allow any reissue to happen. There are plenty of people who would jump at the chance to do a reissue such is the interest in this wonderful band and "Product" which is to me equal with "Tully 1" as the greatest Prog Rock album recorded in Australia.
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