Neverthing
The Sideways
1968 (re-release 1999)
From the liner notes:
The story of The Sideways is a curious one. It all started in October of 1967, when Finnegan Fife and Spencer Pants, two friends who were in danger of flunking out of college, decided to form a band. They were both guitarist/songwriters, but they needed some help. The first thing they did was to actually flunk out of college. With that out of the way, they put an ad in the local paper for a bass player, drummer, and keyboardist. The response was underwhelming. Sir Angus Belfry was the only bass player who auditioned. There were quite a few drummers who showed up to play, but a young fellow named Delerious Huxley was chosen for his flamboyant style and his uncanny ability to always have a fresh box of donuts in his car. Fife and Spencer asked Blue Fathom to join the band, not necessarily for his prowess at the piano, but rather because of the boys' mutual admiration for his girlfriend, Robin Rainbow – a complication which would later prove to be instrumental in the group's breakup. After several months of practice, the band went to Phantom Studios to begin recording Neverthing, their first album. I was commissioned to be the band's producer, and together we pummeled through a rigorous six-month period of recordings, most of which consisted of Fife asking Delerious where Spencer was and Angus asking Delerious to pass the donuts. Overall, the sessions produced some very interesting tracks, including "Some Other Time," the song selected by Capitol from the demos to be the album's first single. In an effort to get interest brewing, the finished version of "Some Other Time" was rushed to Capitol in early July, half-way through the album sessions. The single was produced with the same song on both sides, and was distributed to radio stations across the country, but unfortunately didn't get played as often as the band or record company would have hoped. Finally, in September of 1968, finished tracks in hand, we went down to Capitol Records, where we were informed that the band's manager, Lou McGillicutty, had negated their contract by asking the president of the company where he bought his hairpiece. So, the group decided to fire Lou and market their own record, which turned out to be a difficult thing to do without any money. Consequently, Neverthing and the band's subsequent albums sold poorly, and virtually none of the general public has ever heard of them. Until now. This re-mastered compact disc contains the band's first album in it's original format, with the addition of the single "Some Other Time," which was left off the original release due to marketing rights held by Capitol at the time. Also included is "Time Machine," a track which was originally set to be on the first pressing of the album, but which was nixed at the last minute due to time and budget concerns. I hope you enjoy listening to this album for the first time as much as I did hearing again after all these many years. – John Henry, August 1999
The Sideways
1968 (re-release 1999)
What can be said about this classic that hasn't been said already? Pretty much anything, it turns out. Re-discovered in the Phantom Studios archives and re-released to the public in 1999, Neverthing was the first album by The Sideways - a visionary band born out of the eclectic 1968 psychadelic scene. Their history is submerged in the mire of time, but now their legacy now lives on.
From the liner notes:
The story of The Sideways is a curious one. It all started in October of 1967, when Finnegan Fife and Spencer Pants, two friends who were in danger of flunking out of college, decided to form a band. They were both guitarist/songwriters, but they needed some help. The first thing they did was to actually flunk out of college. With that out of the way, they put an ad in the local paper for a bass player, drummer, and keyboardist. The response was underwhelming. Sir Angus Belfry was the only bass player who auditioned. There were quite a few drummers who showed up to play, but a young fellow named Delerious Huxley was chosen for his flamboyant style and his uncanny ability to always have a fresh box of donuts in his car. Fife and Spencer asked Blue Fathom to join the band, not necessarily for his prowess at the piano, but rather because of the boys' mutual admiration for his girlfriend, Robin Rainbow – a complication which would later prove to be instrumental in the group's breakup. After several months of practice, the band went to Phantom Studios to begin recording Neverthing, their first album. I was commissioned to be the band's producer, and together we pummeled through a rigorous six-month period of recordings, most of which consisted of Fife asking Delerious where Spencer was and Angus asking Delerious to pass the donuts. Overall, the sessions produced some very interesting tracks, including "Some Other Time," the song selected by Capitol from the demos to be the album's first single. In an effort to get interest brewing, the finished version of "Some Other Time" was rushed to Capitol in early July, half-way through the album sessions. The single was produced with the same song on both sides, and was distributed to radio stations across the country, but unfortunately didn't get played as often as the band or record company would have hoped. Finally, in September of 1968, finished tracks in hand, we went down to Capitol Records, where we were informed that the band's manager, Lou McGillicutty, had negated their contract by asking the president of the company where he bought his hairpiece. So, the group decided to fire Lou and market their own record, which turned out to be a difficult thing to do without any money. Consequently, Neverthing and the band's subsequent albums sold poorly, and virtually none of the general public has ever heard of them. Until now. This re-mastered compact disc contains the band's first album in it's original format, with the addition of the single "Some Other Time," which was left off the original release due to marketing rights held by Capitol at the time. Also included is "Time Machine," a track which was originally set to be on the first pressing of the album, but which was nixed at the last minute due to time and budget concerns. I hope you enjoy listening to this album for the first time as much as I did hearing again after all these many years. – John Henry, August 1999
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1. In the Beginning
2. Lady Love
3. Planetarium Girl
4. Superstar Writer
5. Dreambuster
6. Crazy World
7. 100,000,000 Miles Away
8. Closer
9. Hey Mr. Pussycat
10. Orange Blossom Brigade
11. Strawberry Hill
12. Someday Forever
13. Some Other Time
14. Time Machine
