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Album Description
Octopus's sole 1969 long-player Restless Night is something of a treasure among '60s Brit-psych fans due to its mixture of proto-progressive riffs, accomplished pop tunes and sparkling Beatlesque flourishes. The band evolved out of the thriving Hertfordshire beat scene that also gave us The Zombies, The Gods and those other cult pop-psych heroes Forever Amber. Octopus' music was coloured by the use of keyboards and layered vocal harmonies in much the same way. As The Cortinas they enjoyed several years of local success which culminated in the 1968 CBS single ‘Phoebe's Flower Shop’. The single was pure pop confectionery and betrayed little of the band's tight, melodic brand of rock. By the time they'd been signed to Larry Page's Penny Farthing label in 1969, their sound had expanded to encompass the burgenoning progressive scene, the dawn of the solo troubadour and the omnipresent influence of The Beatles, illustrated perfectly by their live sets of the period which included songs by Yes, Neil Young, Cat Stevens and even note-for-note renditions of "I Am The Walrus" and "Baby, You're A Rich Man"!
The first single and album opener ‘The River’ is a tough dancefloor groover complete with lysergic fuzz guitar and has appeared on several compilations while the album cover art is an eye-opening classic of the "so bad it's good" school. Much to the band's horror, they discovered that Page had released a bastardised version of the album which omitted two of the original tracks and added the b-side of the single. Previous re-issues of the album have, not surprisingly, stuck to the erroneous tracklist but here at Rev-Ola we always strive to give you more. And you love it don't you, you little beauties? So here it is pop pickers, for the first time EVER, the original version of the Octopus album as the band intended... containing two previously unheard (and uniformly excellent) tunes plus the usual plethora of previously unreleased bonus tracks, single sides, demos and even a mind-blowing contemporary live recording of Grieg's ‘Peer Gynt Suite’! You better believe it daddio!
Remastered, expanded and intensified in the usual Rev-Ola style and this edition also features new and extensive liner notes telling the full-on story of Octopus, as they morphed from provincial beat favourites into psychedelic warriors.
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3 reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
British guitar psych at its bast
10 Dec 2009
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Fans of psychedelic rock, especially guitar driven and/or of the British variety will be thrilled with this Cherry Red Records Rev-Ola imprint release. Containing the band's one and only album and 10 bonus tracks, the disc runs a full 75 minutes. Beginning with the band's earliest recordings, as the Cortinas, under which moniker they released one single, before being "discovered" by Larry Page, producer of bands such as the Troggs, who put the band in the studio with the result being the "Restless Night" lp. To the band's consternation, however, Page stripped two of the band's favorite cuts, "I Was So Young" and "Orchard Bloom" from the release. Thankfully, the lp is restored to its original 12 track content, and is joined by the band's debut single "Girlfriend" c/w "Laught At The Poor Man" as well as the Cortina's single "Phoebe's Flower Shop" c/w "Too Much In Love" as well as 6 previously unreleased sides, two of which are live recordings. The band's membership was fluid, with only brothers Nigel and Paul Griggs, on bass and guitar playing on all the tracks. The band shifted from twin guitar, bass, and drum composition to single guitar, keyboards, bass, and drums midway through the recording of the album, but the quality of the songs and the musicianship is stellar throughout. Unfortunately, as with most releases on Page's Penny Farthing label, the band's releases received very limited distribution and even less publicity, the result being the premature demise of Octopus in 1971. Fortunately, the complete recordings of the band, 22 tracks in all, are presented here along with a 12 page booklet. Octopus rocks hard and will not disappoint fans of late 60s/early 70s psych and progressive rock. Be sure to pick up this release before it goes out of print, as "Restless Night" has never before been available with all the bonus tracks, and can be obtained at a bargain price from Amazon drop shippers. Don't miss out on this marvelous release.
6 of 8 people found the following review helpful
A good heavy album....funny cover though
6 Jun 2008
Format:Audio CD
Yeah,this should be heard by more fans of heavy (almost psych) from the late 1960's! It straddles a few genres,but over all in this funny cover,lies a great album with many cool songs and ideas.
Don't let the funky octopus chick scare ya! This was a cool listen.
Don't let the funky octopus chick scare ya! This was a cool listen.
3 of 5 people found the following review helpful
octopus..... far-out man
29 Feb 2008
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
if you like late 60's pop-psych music this is a treat. a little pricey but with all the extra songs it's like 2 cd's in one. the cover is so awesome. if you like this,try[the pretty things]. another awesome over looked late 60's english group. peace/bush hog
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