The original English Invasion in the mid-sixties of course produced seminal bands like The Beatles and Rolling Stones. However, their careers had a genesis with short, catchy, Top 40 radio-friendly songs. This all changed with two stunning developments in 1967: the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and the wildly experimental music coming out of San Francisco from groups like Jefferson Airplane, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Paul Butterfield Blues Band and the Grateful Dead.
{sidebar id=156}This changed the face of rock music forever, as bands began experimenting with extended solos and complex chord changes. And the English musicians in particular latched on to this new-found freedom, starting with the psycadellic space rock of a Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd.
Probably one the best proponents of what was then called “progressive rock” was the band Be-Bop Deluxe, who sprung on the scene in the mid-70’s with their incredible debut album “Sunburst Finish.” Storming onto FM radio with the powerful “Fair Exchange,” this explosive anthem featured lyrics like:
“Here we come in a cloud, stars in our eyes,
Standing up proud, it’s a perfect disguise,
We’ve got so much to give, so much to gain,
Just give us your money, and I’ll give you my pain,
It’s a fair exchange…”
Classic guitar riffs, strange time changes, odd samba influenced breaks briefly added to the mix, and concluding with a guitar rave-up, “Fair Exchange was one of the defining songs of the 1970’s. Writer and leader Bill Nelson’s knack for hooks coupled with bizarre lyrics would later influence bands like Squeeze.
“Ships in the Night” starts with intertwined Nelson guitar coupled with Andrew Clark’s swirling keyboards, creates a feeling that is almost Jamaican Rock-steady in sections, but still straight-out rock and roll. The hyper-kinetic march of “Sleep That Burns” is interspersed with an almost-flamenco coda, before concluding with cascading, multi-layered guitars.
Be-Bop Deluxe went on to record three other albums before Bill Nelson began a solo career with an album that paid homage to his living room furniture, as he slid further into madness. But he and Be-Bop Deluxe created a majestic body of work that helped define the progressive rock era.
