Idle Race
The Birthday Party

It is also possible to move forward without looking back and discard some bricks of our cultural structure in the landfill of our experience, to overlook ourselves by abandoning our acquisitions along the way. Well, I could do just that, commit this grave imprudence and find myself facing the abyss of my personal musical sensitivity. So, guys, to avoid veering towards exaggerations that would deny me, I insert into Debaser's wonderful cauldron a highly shining diadem, which was one of the most refined bands of the late '60s, the Idle Race. Therefore, as before, we need to return to the England of the "golden times," or rather to the fiefdom of His Lordship "the beetle," if only for mere correlation.

Originally from Birmingham, they were a derivation of the first group "Mike Sheridan and the Night Riders," formed in 1963. In their ranks, they boasted a young Roy Wood on guitar and composition, the future leader of Move and Electric Light Orchestra. In 1965, Wood and Sheridan left the group, which remained in the hands of rhythm guitarist Dave Pritchard, bassist Greg Masters, and drummer Roger Spencer. After a brief recruitment of guitarist Jonny Mann, the core found its leader in 1966 with the young prodigy guitarist Jeff Lynne. Thus, after several transformations, the Idle Race was formed. Between '65 and '68 in the UK, some musical styles gradually condensed that contributed to the consolidation of "popular taste," one of which was a certain easily accessible pop-melodic song that could, if necessary, be enriched with innovative tricks, such as widespread effect psychedelia. This compositional approach led to the production of more or less interesting music, with many performers, even among the most illustrious, taking advantage of the new inventions. However, those who believe that the Idle Race were representatives of this rather conventional attitude, aimed solely at the large light music circuit, radio and record consumption, are mistaken. Despite being supported by people like John Peel and Kenny Everett, respected by critics and famous admirers such as the Beatles and Marc Bolan, they did not achieve the deserved success, mostly due to the degree of intellectualism inherent in their songs and perhaps because their melodic sound in '68 began to give way to new expressive forces which would soon give rise to the nascent prog language.

On a first listen, the thesis of easy listening seems validated, but their seemingly honeyed tunes instead contain refined arrangements skillfully assumed from the psych-British experience, giving them a vague illegibility. It will be especially Jeff Lynne's extremely measured guitar, always at the service of musical economy, marking with estranging originality, all the tracks of their first and most important work "Birthday Party" of 1968.

The album, consisting of thirteen tracks, opens with "The Skeleton and the Roundabout," which seems entirely borrowed from the Bonzo Dog Band. Then the well-known wish of "Happy Birthday" serves as a very brief interlude for the entry of the first masterpiece of the record "Birthday," a slow-time tune with unsettling accents masterfully arranged. The not entirely reassuring lyrics of "I Like my Toys," despite containing within it a musical skit from a cartoon, reminds us especially of Barrett's "Bike" from "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn" and also of "Free Four" by Waters in "Obscured by Clouds." With "Morning Sunshine," the ominous rhythm of a background tam-tam darkens Lynne's singing, in which one can sense the seeds of the melancholic "Nowhere Man" from "Rubber Soul." The splendid "Follow me, Follow" gives rise to the general taste felt in "Spare Parts" by Status Quo. More Bonzo Dog Band for "Sitting in my Tree." Another small gem is "On with the Show," a pop ballad with effervescent reflections. "Lucky Man" is a blend of "Strawberry Fields Forever" and "Equestrian Statue" by "Gorilla," and "Mrs.Ward" still echoes Bonzo's style but with less irony. "Pie in the Sky" pays homage to Tyrannosaurus Rex's "My People...," "The Lady Who Said She Could Fly," another splendid gem with a bit of everything, is the most classically attributable to the group. Finally, "End of the Road" closes with another cartoon musical skit in the name of the Beatles.

In all this work, the sweetly seductive voice of Jeff Lynne and his camouflaged-sounding guitar stand out, sometimes taking on the appearance of the violin or an electronic instrument depending on the type of arrangement. The Idle Race expressed a softer sound compared to Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera or Eyes of Blue, more similar to Kaleidoscope or Zombies and not without "psychic content." Like other groups of the era, their music breaks out of the confines of banality; indeed, by its nature, it lends itself to various levels of interpretation. The listener, starting from the immediate synthesis, can delve into the search for more hidden parallel sound developments. The pop style they adopted serves as a pleasant cover for a slight mysterious tension. Finally, let us remember that in the list of virtual invitees, among the illustrious historical figures mentioned on the back of the cover, are honored: Little Richard, John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Brian Jones, Roy Wood, Scott Walker, Buddy Holly, Elvis Presley, Cliff Richard, Fats Domino." We curious ones today also want to be part of the group...and so be it. Therefore, let the party begin!