Il complesso che fondo` l'acid-rock di San Francisco, ovvero il primo complesso
a rompere con le convenzioni del Merseybeat e a ingerire dosi di LSD,
fu quello dei Charlatans, costituitosi
attorno alle figure di due folk-singer, il cantante e batterista
Dan Hicks e il chitarrista Mike Wilhelm, e a uno sperimentatore underground di
light-show, George Hunter.
Nell'estate del 1965 a Virginia City, in Nevada, i Charlatans capeggiarono un
gruppetto di hippies che s'impadroni` del Red Dog Saloon
e vi tenne concerti sei giorni la settimana. Al locale arrivarono il guru
psichedelico Ken Kesey e giovani da tutte le citta` dei dintorni.
Hunter vi creo` i primi light-show. Soltanto quando la polizia li scaccio`
da Virginia City, il centro degli hippies si trasferi` a San Francisco,
e tutto cio` che accadde in seguito a San Francisco fu semplicemente una
replica di cio` che i Charlatans e i loro amici avevano fatto a Virginia City.
Ma del loro sound giunsero su disco soltanto
sparuti e sbiaditi echi molti anni dopo.
L'album registrato nel 1967 con la cantante Lynne Hughes, contenente
Codine e The Shadow Knows (gia` edita su singolo nel novembre
1966), verra` pubblicato soltanto
dieci anni dopo come The Charlatans (Groucho, 1977).
(The songs actually came out as a series of limited-edition 45 rpm
singles on KAPP Records in late 1966 and early 1967).
Persi Hicks e Hunter,
Mike Wilhelm e i superstiti del gruppo registreranno The Charlatans
(Philips, 1969), un disco che non ha nulla di acid-rock.
Mike Wilhelm avrebbe formato i Loose Gravel, il cui repertorio figura sul live
Thanks For The Memories (Bucketful Of Brains, 1992),
e poi si sarebbe poi unito ai Flamin' Groovies.
Wilhelm registrera` anche il solo album, Mean of Frisco (1985).
Dan Hicks formera` gli Hot Licks, un complesso di western swing
(modellato sulla falsariga del quintetto senza batteria di Django Reinhardt)
che diede con Original Recordings (Epic, 1969) e le sue acustiche
How Can I Miss You If You Won't Go Away, Canned Music
e I Scared Myself un genere di ballata folk-jazz
non certo in sintonia con l'acid-rock.
Per qualche anno il complesso continuo` a sfornare dischi spiritosi e
intelligenti, Where's The Money (Blue Thumb, 1971),
Striking It Rich (Blue Thumb, 1972) e
Last Train To Hicksville (Blue Thumb, 1973),
antologizzati su Return To Hicksville (Hip-O), con una formazione
che annoverava il violinista Sid Page, il chitarrista John Girton,
il bassista Jaime Leonard e due cantanti femminili.
Hicks tornera` sulle scene con
Beatin' The Heat (Surfdog, 2000), ancora accreditato agli Hot Licks
(anche se e` rimasto soltanto il violinista Sid Page)
e sempre all'insegna di quel roots-rock multiforme.
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(Translated by Ornella C. Grannis)
The founders of San Francisco acid-rock, the first band to break away
from the conventions of the Merseybeat, and to ingest massive doses of
LSD, were the Charlatans. The group was built around two folksingers,
singer and drummer Dan Hicks and guitar player Mike Wilhelm, and one
underground light show experimenter, George Hunter.
In the summer of 1965 in Virginia City, Nevada, the Charlatans and a
small following of hippies took over the Red Dog Saloon and held concerts
six days a week. The premises, where Hunter created the first light shows,
and psychedelic guru Ken Kesey had become a fixture, were soon filled by
young people from the neighboring towns. When the police chased them out
of Virginia City, the hippie gathering moved to San Francisco. What
happened afterwards in San Francisco was nothing but the continuation of
what the Charlatans and their friends had started in Nevada.
But only after many years scanty and faded echoes of their sound reached
vinyl. The album they recorded in 1967 with singer Lynne Hughes, that
includes Codine and The Shadow Knows, was released after ten years with
the title The Charlatans (Groucho, 1977).
After losing Hicks and Hunter, Mike Wilhelm and the remaining members
recorded The Charlatans (Philips, 1969), a record that has nothing acid
about it.
Mike Wilhelm went on to form the Loose Gravel, whose songs can be found
on the live album Thanks For The Memories (Bucketful Of Brains, 1992);
then he joined the Flamin' Groovies. He also recorded a solo album, Mean
of Frisco (1985).
Dan Hicks formed the Hot Licks, a western swing band. Original Recordings
(Epic, 1969), which includes the acoustic How Can I Miss You If You Won't
Go Away, Canned Music and I Scared Myself originated a genre of folk-jazz
ballad that has nothing in common with the acid-rock of the Charlatans.
With a lineup that included Sid Page at the violin, John Girton at the
guitar, Jaime Leonard at the bass, and two female vocalists, the band
produced songs that were both intelligent and witty on Where' s The Money
(Blue Thumb, 1971), Striking It Rich (Blue Thumb, 1972) and Last Train To
Hicksville (Blue Thumb, 1973), all collected on Return To Hicksville
(Hip-O).
Hicks came back with Beatin' The Heat (Surfdog, 2000), credited to the Hot
Licks, although only Sid Page remains of the original lineup, an album
worthy of the multi-form roots-rock that characterized his earlier works.
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