Rainbow Ffolly
Sallies Fforth

I will gladly talk about another group from the English psych-rock scene of the second half of the '60s. This time I must necessarily emphasize that the formation of Rainbow Ffolly, although not very well-known even though their only LP was released by the powerful EMI-Parlophone, could be more closely compared to a band of whimsical provocateurs with a bizarre, cynical, irreverent verve, perhaps even too much so; nevertheless, for some peculiarities, they even anticipated the Bonzo Dog Band and certain technical-sound solutions of the album Sell Out by the Who.

First of all, they were four musicians, former students of the Wycombe Art College; the brothers Richard and Jonathan Dunsterville, the two leaders, guitar and vocals. The mastermind behind the Rainbow Ffolly project was nonetheless Jonathan, a true 360-degree artist; they moved not using the classic van with the band's name painted on the side but with a small ambulance speeding with sirens blaring. Upon reaching the concert venue, these four guys dressed in outfits that would be an understatement to call psychedelic would get out; during the concert, they often stopped and a lackey would climb onto the stage, the four seated at a rococo table would have tea with buttery cookies. With all the possible calm, as soon as they were done, they resumed playing. During the various tours of the years 1967/1968, they also reached London before daring a trip to the Star Club in Hamburg, where they were logically welcomed with open arms by the Germans, who were now tired of the four lads from Liverpool and the usual Anglo-American syrup. At the limit of their cynical art, they performed at the city hospital in a rather daring version of It's a Wonderful World by Armstrong, provoking quite a few controversies and some insults from the patients who were just about to pass away. They entered the recording studio just to leave a musical trace of their intriguing repertoire's main tracks, the result: the album Sallies Fforth. This is psychedelic more for certain technical solutions than for a real connection to the trend; indeed, they could be compared to American "psycho-experimental rock" formations of the period like Aorta, Autosalvage, and Ars Nova. Probably a bit less original musically but certainly and extremely funnier, the song lyrics are indeed filled with playful references and jokes that have little to do with classic English humor, these make you laugh uproariously!

The songs total thirteen, and it's impossible to mention all the genres traced along the way with arrangements that, as strange as they may seem, do not create any confusion and, rather, the listening turns out to be extremely pleasant. Just to give an idea, although limited, it ranges from melodic pop ditty to rhythmic tambourine, from old-time music to bluegrass, from the clear mocking of the Beatles' Drive My Car to deliberately distorted garage rock, from folk-blues to the classic psychedelic ditty, and so on... All the tracks are nevertheless linked together to form a single suite interrupted only by noises recorded in reality; indeed, announcements of drunken stewardesses, off-screen voices, and extemporaneous little verses, wolf cubs, a fortune teller, storm, a ping pong match, steam train, shortwave radio, electronic voice, a toilet unfortunately occupied by a guy who is about to soil himself, and the list could go on. It is worth mentioning that the various measures to distort the sound of acoustic instruments were also devised by Jonathan Dunsterville himself and his wife Julie, such as the modifications regarding the piano, guitars, drums, and microphones, not to mention the great work done on magnetic tapes.

During a music program, the BBC declared Sallies Fforth the best pop-rock album of the month (January 1968); strangely the record sold little but remained a reference work, inspiring one of the most well-known Australian bands of the early '70s, The Captain Matchbox Whoopee Band (Smoke Dreams), as well as Tea & Symphony (An Asylum for the Musically Insane) and the snuff rock of the '80s, Alberto Y Lost Trios Paranoias especially. But do not be frightened by the description; despite how bizarre it may seem reading these lines, it is 100% musical, moreover nonconformist and witty, all surprisingly allowed by the politically correct mom EMI.