Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
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| Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake | |||||
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| Studio album by Small Faces | |||||
| Released | May 24 1968 | ||||
| Recorded | Olympic Studios, London, England | ||||
| Genre | Rock, psychedelic rock | ||||
| Length | 38:27 | ||||
| Label | Immediate | ||||
| Producer | Glyn Johns | ||||
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| Small Faces chronology | |||||
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| Singles from Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake | |||||
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Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake was a successful concept album by the English rock band Small Faces. Released on May 24, 1968 the LP became a number one hit in the UK Album Charts on June 29, where it remained for a total of six weeks.[1]
The title and the design of the distinctive packaging was a parody of Ogdens' Nut-brown Flake, a brand of tobacco which was produced in Liverpool from 1899[2][3].
Contents |
[edit] Album profile
The A-side is a mix of early heavy rock with "Song of a Baker"; psychedelic cockney knees-up songs "Lazy Sunday" and "Rene"; and the soul influenced ballad "Afterglow (Of Your Love)".[4]
The B-side is based on an original fairy tale about a boy called Happiness Stan, narrated in his unique ‘Unwinese’ gobbledegook by Stanley Unwin, who picked up modern slang from the band and incorporated it into the surreal narrative.[5]
[edit] Happiness Stan
[edit] Story
When Stan looks up in the sky and sees only half the moon, he sets out on a quest to search for the missing half. Along the way he saves a fly from starvation, and in gratitude the insect tells him of someone who can answer his question and also tell him the philosophy of life itself. With his magic power Stan intones, "If all the flies were one fly, what a great enormous fly-follolloper that would bold," and the fly grows to gigantic proportions. Seated on the giant fly's back Stan takes a psychedelic journey to the cave of Mad John the hermit, who explains that the moon's disappearance is only temporary, and demonstrates by pointing out that Stan has spent so long on his quest that the moon is now full again. He then sings Stan a cheerful song about the meaning of life.[6]
Due to the album's complexities, Ogdens' was never performed live, however it was performed as a whole once on the BBC's television programme Colour Me Pop[7] on Friday June 21, 1968. Songs that featured were "Song of a Baker", "Happiness Stan", "Rollin' Over", "The Hungry Intruder", "The Journey", "Mad John" and "Happydaystoytown". Although the band mimed to recordings made earlier in the studio that afternoon their microphones were left on to capture little ad libs.[8]
In 2000 Q magazine placed Ogden's Nut Gone Flake at number 59 in its list of the 100 Greatest British Albums Ever.[9]
Highest UK album chart position: 1968, Number One (for six weeks), and a total of 19 weeks on chart.[10]
[edit] Packaging
The album was originally released on vinyl in a circular novelty package resembling a paper replica of a giant tobacco tin, with a gatefold cover. Two limited-edition CD releases (including a three-disc deluxe edition in 2006 that included the original mono mix of the album on CD for the first time) went even further by packaging the disc(s) in a circular tin. However, most CD releases use conventional packaging, superimposing the circular artwork on a square booklet.[11]
The award-winning artwork for the album cover was done by Mick Swan who was a product of the sixties art school scene. Any other work by him is unknown but he is known to have worked as a fine arts tutor at Lowestoft F.E. College in 1974.[12]
[edit] Track listing
[edit] Side one:
- "Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake"
- "Afterglow (Of Your Love)"
- "Long Agos and Worlds Apart"
- "Rene"
- "Song of a Baker"
- "Lazy Sunday"
[edit] Side two:
- "Happiness Stan"
- "Rollin' Over"
- "The Hungry Intruder"
- "The Journey"
- "Mad John"
- "Happydaystoytown"
[edit] Controversy
To promote the album Immediate issued an advertisement that parodied The Lord's Prayer. It caused uproar in the British press and outraged readers wrote in and complained.
Small Faces
Which were in the studios
Hallowed by thy name
Thy music come
Thy songs be sung
On this album as they came from your heads
We give you this day our daily bread
Give us thy album in a round cover as we give thee 37/9d.,
Lead us into the record stores.
And deliver us Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake
For nice is the music
The sleeve and the story
For ever and ever, Immediate
"We didn't know a thing about the ad. until we saw it in the music papers. And frankly we got the horrors at first. We realise that it could be taken as a serious knock against religion. But on thinking it over, we don't feel it is particularly good or bad. It's just another form of advertising. We're not all that concerned about it. We're more concerned in writing our music and producing our records" - Steve Marriott on the advert for Ogden's Nut Gone Flake that parodied the Lord's Prayer.[13]
[edit] Spelling
The cover design spells the title as Ogdens' , but the label and sleeve copy on many versions gives it as Ogden's , and in catalogues and music websites the latter spelling is probably more common.
[edit] Vinyl and CD versions
The original vinyl album includes a segue between the end of "Afterglow" and the beginning of "Long Agos And Worlds Apart". Most CD editions have a different stereo mix, and use the single version of "Afterglow" without the segue. There is also a segue between "Long Agos and Worlds Apart" and "Rene", and this is retained on the CD. Some CD editions also include one or more bonus tracks.
The 2005 3-disc "tobacco tin" Special Edition includes fully-remastered mono and stereo mixes complete with segue, plus an episode of the BBC Radio documentary series Classic Albums in which the band discuss the making of the album.
[edit] See also
[edit] References/Notes
Notes:
- ^ Official UK Album Charts. The Official UK Charts Company. Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ New homes plan for tobacco factory. Liverpool Daily Post (Tony McDonough). Retrieved on 2007-09-04.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Hewitt, Paulo. Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter, pp.171. ISBN 1-900924-44-7.
- ^ Ogdens Nut Gone Flake- The Reviews. Q Magazine, February 1990. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ The Small Faces, Ogden's Nut Gone Flake. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-08-17.
- ^ Hewitt, Paulo; Kenney Jones (1995). small faces the young mods' forgotten story. Acid Jazz, pp.125. ISBN 0 9523935 0 6.
- ^ Hewitt, Paulo; Kenney Jones (1995). small faces the young mods' forgotten story. Acid Jazz, pp.125. ISBN 0 9523935 0 6.
References:
- Paolo Hewitt John Hellier (2004). Steve Marriott - All Too Beautiful.... Helter Skelter Publishing ISBN 1-900924-44-7.
- Paolo Hewitt/Kenney Jones (1995) small faces the young mods' forgotten story - Acid Jazz ISBN 0 9523935 0 6
[edit] External links
- You Tube: The Small Faces - "Song Of A Baker"
- Q Magazine, February 1990 Review of Ogden's Nut Gone Flake
- Official Small Faces Website
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