Dr. Strangely Strange
Heavy Petting

Strangely Strange but oddly normal.

Browsing through the catalog of one of the most important underground English labels of the early '70s, Vertigo, alongside names that later became famous, you discover others whose fate was much less fortunate—names of often ephemeral and soon forgotten groups, but ones that in many cases contributed to writing important pages in the history of that extraordinary musical kaleidoscope that was the British scene between the late sixties and the beginning of the next decade. Among them, one of the most curious is that of Dr. Strangely Strange, a quirky Irish folk group formed in Dublin in 1967 by singer and guitarist Tim Booth and bassist and keyboardist Ivan Pawle, later joined by painter and multi-instrumentalist Tim Goulding.

Thanks in part to connections with the Incredible String Band, the trio came into contact with producer Joe Boyd and secured a contract with Island, which in 1969 released the band's debut, "Kip Of The Serenes," opened by the group's manifesto song, "Strangely Strange But Oddly Normal". The following year sees the release of this little gem of psycho-folk for the newly formed Vertigo, which, right from its curious title and the splendid lush cover, one of the first by Roger Dean, well testifies to the whimsical and carefree nature of Dr. Strangely Strange.

The album clearly reveals the influence of the Incredible String Band's psychedelic folk, though revisited in a less mystical and more light-hearted and amused way, as evidenced right from the opening track, "Ballad Of The Wasps", with its carefree and breezy rhythm. The peak of the album, however, is reached with the long, wonderful "Sign On My Mind", where the guest Gary Moore's (Skid Row) guitar solos and phrases, Andy Irvine's mandolin, and Pawle's velvety voice manage to create a dreamy and enchanted atmosphere, soothing and fairy-tale, capturing the listener and transporting them into a magical world, with soft pastel shades, or similar to the green landscape drawn by Dean, perhaps populated by gnomes and fairies. The subsequent "Gave My Love An Apple", again dominated by Moore's electric guitar, accompanied by organ and piano, will bring us back to reality, with its more rocking and lively pace, where even country hints peek through. The remaining tracks are mostly short folk pieces, halfway between local fairs and sylvan songs, always performed in their somewhat lazy and casual style, at times openly cheerful, but tempered here and there by a slight veil of melancholic and misty sadness.

After "Heavy Petting," Goulding retired to a Buddhist monastery, and the group, not supported by significant commercial success, soon disbanded, only to reunite more than 25 years later to record a third album, "Alternative Medicine". Thanks to the recent Repertoire reissue, which faithfully reproduces the magnificent original artwork, we can rediscover today this forgotten little gem, which at first listen may provoke an ironic smile for the quirkiness and apparent naivety of this "strange doctor's" musical offering, but will then gradually win you over with its freshness and its fairy-tale and surreal charm.