The Fallen Angels “It’s A Long Way Down”
People went crazy in the 1960’s and early 70’s. Great rock n roll was created everywhere, from New York City to Israel, big cities far and near. Rock music was a giant fuck you to the establishment and older generations.
“It’s A Long Way Down” by the Fallen Angels, from 1968, was a product of this revolutionary vortex. It’s a minor masterpiece, with a great cover. This album has been forgotten about, lost in the sands of time, a micro-organism lost in a virtual sea that produced an overwhelming body of music.
The Angels had released an uneven but generally exciting debut album in 1967 and some singles beforehand. There was some great highlights on the debut, but for their last album they produced the so-called Sgt. Pepper of Washington D.C. Just think of the Left Banke, late night, stoned and producing some serious outsider music.
Poor Old Man leads the album off and recalls late period (1968-) Zombies. A great song that gives way to A Horn Playing On My Thin Wall, a masterpiece of underground psych and what makes me believe that rock music is one of the best things that has ever happened to this country. Silent Garden and One Of The Few Ones Left are also strong and recall the good qualities of the great Left Banke. Look At The Wind has a hard, fluid jazzy groove while Something You Can’t Hide is pure paisley pop, a style which many current bands tend to mimic with less than desirable results.
This is a killer unknown 60’s album with a lot of great psych moves. Worth the search!!!!
“A Horn Playing On My Thin Wall”
Vinyl Reissue | 2007 | EMI Roulette | ebay ]
CD Reissue | 1994 | Collectables | amazon ]
Also Recommended
hi,
you’re right, this is a forgotten masterpiece, quite different from their 1st album which is pop but very enjoyable anyway.
Great blog, great deal of work too.
Generally speaking, of every 100 albums I buy maybe half are worth listening to a second time, a quarter of them are pretty good, twenty are really good, two or three are great and if I’m really lucky, one or two will resonate with me on that level that makes the music hunt worthwhile. Those rare, magical musical moments that cast a spell and compel me to listen, uninterupted, from beginning to end. It’s a Long Way Down is one of those albums. I’m not a reviewer and am not particularly good with words so I can’t properly review the album. If you are one of those folks who, like me, are always looking for the melodic hooks (regardless of the genre) that pull you in and make you want to experience them over and over, It’s a Long Way Down may be your album. The music/instrumentation is sparse and every note matters. The vocals are likewise sparse sounding, no big harmonies here just simple, but entirely captivating melodic lines. To me the album as a whole has a melancholic feel, not depressive, just somewhat melancholic. Maybe that’s part of it’s charm. I wonder if the album cover wasn’t overtly psychedelic if this would even be associated with the genre. The Collectables CD sounds okay as does the vinyl reissue. I’ve never heard the original vinyl so I can’t comment on how close to the original sound these reissues are. I do have a first/early pressing of their debut LP on Roulette and the Collectables CD of that one is close enough. Considering that the only current original vinyl copy of Long Way Down currently listed on eBay (11/2009) is up for $600 I’m not going to find out anytime soon.
I just discovered “I’ll drive you from my mind” and for sure, I won’t !
A great album. They reminded me a bit of LOVE, especially “Forever Changes” era, and The Doors, too!
who made up the line up back then?
I remember the “Fallon angel”s love you” sign in d.c. in 67!
Back in the late 60s, my buddy Dave and I went to M Street in Georgetown, Washington D.C. a lot to hear the great rock bands playing there. The Fallen Angels was one of them. We would hear them play pretty regularly in a bar called Mac’s Pub. They would turn out all the lights, turn on a strobe light and some black lights, and throw a big aluminum foil ball around the room. It was really something, and their music really rocked. I still have their first album. Rock on, Fuzzy
Just found a copy of their first Roulette release and am about 3/4 of the way thru it. I knew nothing of this band. Totally digging it even in the scratched up condition i found it in. Anyhow, researching while listening got me here and now I’ve gotta find this release that you write about. Thanks for your great website! Cheese
Simplemente, es algo maravilloso que le ha pasado al arte. Yo me emociono cada vez que los escucho. Saludos amigos.