IT'S A BEAUTIFUL DAY

A true Proto-Prog masterpiece! Not really sure whether this band or album was greatly influential to Prog or just happened to be flooded through the roof with Prog elements and overlooked? Anyway if I were to consider a band to truely fit the category of Proto-Prog no questions asked It's a Beautiful Day would definitely be a top 3-5 or at least in that order that appears to my mind first along with acts such as Procol Harum, Family, The Nice, etc.

Consider yourself fortunate if you actually own an original or even legal copy of this album which has been incredibly difficult over many years now. Only being familiar with the radio classic Whitebird I checked this out at a local library years ago only to be completely blown away.

Not at all your typical West Coast Hippie Drug Psychedelia album. Sure you might hear hints of early Blues Rock and some Quicksilver Messenger Service but other than that this album really takes Progressive Rock by storm. The violin solos and professional operatic vocals even surpass many Prog albums. This band really sets high standards. David LaFlamme who played in the Utah Symphony previously also sounds very professional with his operatic vocals. This album was full of surprises when I first discovered listening to it over 20 years ago.

It's funny how operatic vocals have become a prominent part of Progressive Metal many years later. I have also often wondered if the violin and guitar combination influenced musicians such as Luc Jean Ponty and Eddie Jobson on Roxy Music and UK albums. Did it influence Kansas, Dixie Dregs, Mahavishnu, King Crimson with David Cross? So many unanswered questions I have about this most obscure jem that is in many ways light years ahead of it's time and should be mentioned among the most important Proto-Prog albums ever recorded.

This band emerged from 'The Summer Of Love' during the hippie days of the late 60s in San Francisco. They played an interesting mix of psychedelic rock mixed with folk and some classical in a very original way. The male and female vocals add an interesting flavor that give this album a very unique sound. The songwriting here is outstanding and really brings to mind the times in which they were in. Musically I find them more interesting than some of the other bands around that scene.

The band never really achieved the success of other SF psychedelic bands of the same era. In fact they were almost invited to play at Woodstock. Michael Lang, one of the co-creators of the event was pressured by Bill Graham to put on one of two acts that Bill managed. He then listened to a tape of both IABD and Santana and couldn't decide so he flipped a coin. Guess who lost and guess who won and became instantly famous. Lots of experimenting on this one. Another great album from a great year in music.

It's a Beautiful Day's debut album finds the band offering up a high-quality prototype for progressive rock, with some experiments reminiscent of less heavy versions of some of the ideas Deep Purple would play with around this time. In particular, take a listen to Bombay Calling, the intro to which Deep Purple would slow down a little and turn into the basic structure of Child In Time. When an album's so good even peak-era Deep Purple are borrowing from it you know you're dealing with something extra-special, right? Further psychedelic jams round out this charming era from the San Fransisco scene of the 1960s.

San Francisco spawned some great bands in the late sixties', and although It's a Beautiful Day rarely gets as much recognition as Jefferson Airplane, Santana, or Blue Cheer, they are not one to forget about when discussing the city's musical landscape. Formed during the 1967 'summer of love', It's a Beautiful Day went on to release this self-titled debut in 1969 and, as it would turn out, this release would be remembered in history as the group's defining statement. Its charming mix of psychedelia, folk, jazz, and mildly progressive songwriting ideas makes for a unique listen, and although It's a Beautiful Day is not without some flaws, it is a strong and adventurous debut that still holds up over forty years after its release.

The tracks that you'll find here are actually quite varied - on one hand, there are light and flowery psychedelic tunes like "White Bird" (one of my favorites) and "Hot Summer Day", but on the other hand there are also songs like the experimental and menacing "Bulgaria" and the jam-oriented "Time Is". Somewhere in the middle you have the hauntingly beautiful "Girl With No Eyes", progressive instrumental "Bombay Calling", and the hard-rocking "Wasted Union Blues". If you listen to this one on vinyl (as I have been over the past few days), you'll probably notice that side two seems to be the more experimental and progressive half of the album. I don't care much for the extended jamming in "Time Is" and actually prefer the first side to the second one, although the quality is objectively high throughout the entire listen. In terms of musicianship, these guys (and gal) were certainly above what many of their psychedelic contemporaries were doing at the time - the vocal harmonies between David LaFlamme and his wife Linda are excellent, and David's virtuous violin playing in particular gives the album a very unique flavor. The ensemble is solid across the board, though, and when one also factors in the crisp production, it's clear that this is a very professional and well-made observation.

It's a Beautiful Day is the sort of album that every psychedelic connoisseur should take a listen to at some point or another; its unique style and charming arrangements are certainly different from anything you would've heard back in 1969, and although I personally don't care for "Time Is" (which takes up nearly one-fourth of the album's playing time), fans of free-form jams should enjoy it more than I do anyway. While some of the melodies feel a bit bland and song structures a tad clumsy, this is still a well-put together album that has aged surprisingly well. I've yet to hear any of the band's subsequent releases, but I'm definitely looking forward to seeing where It's a Beautiful Day went from here!

Their debut album was quite a good psyche one, and since most of the reviews were quite good as well on this one, was rather keen to discover their sophomore record.

Needless to say that I was quite disillusioned while I heard some bloody stuff as "The Dolphins", which is nothing else than a poor Presley rock ballad. The great (but scarce) psyche parts of their debut album are unfortunately forgotten in this album.

OK: "Essence Of Now" is a delightful track which belongs to the best of the late sixties track of the genre. But it is frankly the only one from this album. When I listen to the dreadful but so US oriented "Hoedown", I can only recommend to "press next". But some other songs are quite wild and decent like "Soapstone Mountain".

At times, this work sounds as a very poor and early "Purple" stuff and I am not overall too enthusiastic about this album. Let us be realistic: there is NOTHING prog in here. At times: some fluting, some violin. But is this enough to describe this work as prog?

A song as "Let A Woman Flow" is sufficient to tell you all of the contrary. This album is not a good one, either in terms of prog music or just rock music. Two stars is a VERY generous rating, believe me. When I listen to the lousy "It Comes Right Down To You", the one star rating is even a subsequent suggestion.

As you might have understood, I don't like this album very much even if the sweet "Good Lovin'' offers a fine approach.. Psychedelic is mainly next door. Some decent "Bolero" feeling can still be taken under consideration ("Galileo"). Two stars overall.

I have only discovered this band some seven years ago. Even if the San Fran scene was rather interesting, it was quite alien to this side of the Atlantic (except JA, but thanks to "Woodstock" mainly).

The music featured on this debut does remind an awful lot to the "Airplane" + some wonderful violin moments ("White Bird"). This debut is quite an interesting album: dramatically psychedelic, wonderfully melodic, and passionate: you name it all.

The extremely positive points about this release are the vocal harmonies which are combined with superb violin and harpsichord. Some over forty years after release, this album sounds fresh and modern. Of course, I am profoundly driven into the psychedelic years. A song as "Hot Summer Day" sounds just as an enchantment to my ears. A second highlight probably. The first being the great "White Bird".

I have to confess that "Waste union Blues" and "Girl With No Eyes" are not on par. To be fully honest (as I have always been), I came up to know this band thanks to "Bombay Calling". THE original opening part of the superb, gigantic, phenomenal, gorgeous, splendid "Child In Time".

Purple borrowed it as led Zep did with plenty of their songs from their first two albums. This instrumental is just crazy and deserve a listen. I guess that MANY "Purple" fans don't know anything about this previous act to "Child In Time".

As such, this version is really worth your listening: great violin that provides some nice Oriental flavour and beautiful beat (even if Ritchie's guitar is one of the best available on this side of the rocking planet).

This album closes on the good "Time Is" which is a long psyche ecstasy: loose, chaotic and totally out of the norms?

I would say that it was about time because "Bulgaria" was rather weak (third one of the type). As a conclusion, I would say that this is a good album. Few people have listened to it and I can only recommend you to do so.

Three stars.

It's a Beautiful Day - st (1969)

The late sixties have so much to offer, when it comes to early progressive music. 'It's a Beautiful Day's debut is one of these album that captures what the music of the time is about. Organ-chord progressions, folksy arrangements, some mild & heavy electric guitars, psychedelic vocals and duets and of course some exciting and atmospheric song-writing. The combined vocals of David Laflamme and Pattie Santos are really a winner, as they seem to complete each other perfectly in these melodic songs. The violins of David Laflamme give the music it's folksy sound (at times) whilst his sister Linda Laflamme does a great job on all key instruments.

The song-writing of this album is the main attraction here, but the musicianship is also strong. 'White Bird' is a melodic folk song with beautiful duo vocals. It is said this song became a big hit at the time. 'Hot Summer Day' reminds me a bit of the The Crazy World of Arthur Brown, but with less extrovert vocals. 'Wasted Union Blues' is at least as heavy as Led Zeppelin with it's very heavy distorted guitar licks that sound amazing. 'Girl with no Eyes' is an atmospheric, psychedelic song with nice ghost-house vocals and classy harpsichord sounds. On side two 'Bombay Calling' is easy recognized as the song that Deep Purple would jam on and eventually wright the all-time classic Child on Time on. The main theme and melody is however written by It's a Beautiful Day. The song itself is a bit folk-like, a bit like White Bird. The instrumental parts are particularly strong on this one. On 'Bulgaria' and 'Time is' the band has less focus on song-writing and we get to listen to some improvisations, solo's and the like.

My only complaint about this album is slightly flat sound, but it's recorded in '69 so I can't be to harsh on it. On my stereo the music really becomes alive when I put my treble full open and I have the CBS reprint; whose later pressings usually have a great sound.

Conclusion. This is one of these great proto-prog records that are both innovative, stylish and well played. The vocals are a real treat, whilst the rest of the band catches up during instrumental passages. I would strongly recommend this to fans of early prog, late '60 psychedelic rock and folk rock. Four stars. Don't be bothered by the 'Sound of Music'-like cover!

This is my pot. Being grown up in the 60s I'm still fascinated by the hippy flavor. The fact that the songs are well built-up, never trivial, skillfully played and longer than the standard radio- size makes it very interesting.

This is mainly a flower-power psychedelic band, I think the reason why it's classified as proto-prog is mainly in the use of violin and the strong presence of organ so technically speaking a sort of instrumentation that appears more British than American.

What I consider being the most progressive track is "Girl With No Eyes". It's a folk tune to which harpsichord, violin and the vocals of David LaFlamme and Patti Santos give a medieval mood. Very hippy but also very prog, ut let's go track by track.

The opener "White Bird" can be considered a hippy song, but I think it's not much different in the style from early Renaissance, I mean the first two albums.

"Hot Summer Day" proceeds on the same line plus the wah-wah, the vibrato organ and some harmonica which make it bluesy.

"Wasted Union Blues" is heavy psychedelic. In the beginning the lead guitar is very acid so while the theme is typically blues it sounds Hendirxian. David's violin is not so much different from the cello of Caravan's Geoff Richardson when it plays the solo parts. The song is chaotic and acid, It's curious that it recalls to my mind the three 'J's Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin.

I've already said of Girl with no eyes so let's move to the most famous song of this album. "Bombay Calling" is Deep Purple's Child in Time. I opened a thread on the forum about this without knowing that another one had been opened before. The story is quite complicated and effectively also this song was originally written by an old bluesman, Vince Wallace in 1962 and "stolen" by David LaFlamme. I don't know much of this story that I've learned from PA.

However it fades seamlessly into "Bulgaria" which has a very psychedelic opening which initially reminds to early Pink Floyd. "Set The Control For The Heart Of The Sun" as reference. It has the same oriental mood increased by the violin as lead instrument.

To be honest, also the closer "Time Is" reminds me to something already listened, but I can't identify it. However it's a very good long song and an excellent closer almost psychedelic with some relations to the Doors, but I think it's good for Krautrock fans, too. In few words other than being an interesting document of a period and a place it's first of all a good album which deserves to be included in a prog collection.

An album the time passed by.

Some albums does not age well at all. This, the second album from It's A Beautiful Day is one of them the time passed by. The music on Marrying Maiden is romantic late 1960s pop/rock, largely influenced by late 1950s/early 1960s pop music, pre The Beatles. Add a lot of country'n'western too and some of the songs Elvis Presley were forced to record at that time. Most of all; this album is full of innocence and flower power. That without the space rock elements which later dominated that scene. In short; It's A Beautiful Day, music wise.

The quality is not good though. A song like The Dolphins is so bad it makes me blush with embarrassment like a virgin on the wedding night. But the album rises to the challenge at the end though without really becoming good. I cannot find a single good song on this album at all. The sound though is good and the album is not particular offensive bad in any way, with the exception of the above mentioned song. So a good two stars will make do for this album which I may suspect is a hate/love album.

2 stars

This band is mostly known for the influence they had on other bands............ and songs. There is no secret that Deep Purple borrowed most of Bombay Calling for their masterpiece Child In Time. It's A Beautiful Day did retaliate later on though by borrowing a large chunk of one of Deep Purple's songs for a song they released on another album. Both bands agreed not to pursue these matters any further.

Hence, I purchased this album.

This album is a San Fransisco type of psych album with all the hippie trappings. Yes, the proto prog label is very much fitting here. Jefferson Airplane is a good reference. This album has the Woodstock feeling all over it. The difference is the use of violin throughout the album. This album, with the excellent and iconic art work is superb for a day out on a field. Preferable not on the same field as an angry bull, I hasten to add in these health and safety obsessed times. The music is pretty good throughout. It is obvious that not only Deep Purple has been inspired by this album. Check out Faithless massive hit Insomnia from 1995 and compare it with this album's nine minutes long epic Time Is. I think It's A Beautiful Day has a good case if they would claim royalties from Faithless.

Overall, this album is a good album with the two above mentioned songs as the best songs. I am not that much of a hippie so it really does not capture my heart. Three stars it is then.

3 stars