Saggitarius / The Blue Marble (1969)

 

USA

Baroque Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Sunshine Pop

Not as good as the first album. But it's still a Gary Usher recording. And successful work. For this reason alone, it should definitely take its place in the archive.

"The way some of tunes suddenly veer into country/western territory are really clever, and don't feel at all clunky, particularly on "Will You Ever See Me", Curt's best performance on the record, a vocal only he could pull off, and the spooky psych-pop number "I See In You". His natural gift as an arranger is evident here."

"As it is easy to notice, The Blue Marble is notably worse than Present Tense, which is one of the best ten albums of the whole 1960s in my opinion. But as Present Tense was really that good, this still doesn't mean that The Blue Marble is not good. In fact, Side B is very nice overall, though not extremely special. Side A is a little bit more flawed. First, it feels weird that Gary Usher has needed to open the album with a cover of "In My Room" by The Beach Boys. Yes, the song was co-written by him, and the version is honestly good. But still it gives the impression that if this performance is the most significant thing that The Blue Marble has got to offer, the album must be a throwaway case. This impression is even emphasised by next track, "From You Unto Us", which is slightly confusing. Otherwise, the album makes a good listen, if not an unforgettable one like its predecessor."

Members

Gary Usher (vocals), Curt Boettcher (vocals)

Track Listing

01 - In My Room 2:09

02 - From You Unto Us 1:47

03 - Will You Ever See Me 2:14

04 - Gladys 2:46

05 - I Sing My Song 2:45

06 - The Blue Marble 2:59

07 - Lend Me a Smile 3:11

08 - I Still Can See Your Face 2:42

09 - I See in You 3:14

10 - Cloud Talk 2:24

YANDEX

Saggitarius / Present Tense (1968)

 

USA

Baroque Pop, Psychedelic Pop, Sunshine Pop

Sagittarius is a kind of solo project by Gary Usher - producer of great sixties pop stars, such as Gene Clark and the Beach Boys. This beautiful album features songs with soft melodies, ethereal vocals and a sonority quite close to that of Pet Sounds by Beach Boys.

The mere presence of Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher should have been enough to guarantee the quality of this unique studio project, although as has happened many times, the sum of talents does not always give the expected results. The letter of introduction of both was not minor: Usher co-wrote some songs of the first stage of the Beach Boys in addition to producing works by the Byrds and Chad and Jeremy, to name the most outstanding. Boettcher's credits include names like The Association and The Millennium. If we add to that a series of outstanding musicians present at the sessions, this Present Tense had everything to succeed, although commercially none of that happened.

Curiously, the album takes a while to get off the ground. The first three songs are full of harpsichords, orchestral arrangements, light melodies and delicate vocals, sounding like a cross between the Monkees, Association and sunshine pop groups. From the psychedelic Glass another story begins and from then on the level of the album reaches superlative heights. “Would You Like To Go” and “Hotel Indiscreet” are two excellent and contagious samples of pure pop, “My World Fell Down” is the most elaborate (although the version of the single was cut) and demonstrates all the experience accumulated by both. Not for nothing was it included in the classic Nuggets, although it has little to do with the predominant style of that compilation.

The two undisputed jewels are reserved for the end, the extraordinary “Musty Dusty”, with its childish melody to which effects are added, transforming into something truly overwhelming, and the rarefied “The Truth Is Not Real” closes everything in a decidedly psychedelic, being the only composition of Usher (Boettcher was in charge of most of it) and that breaks with the more cheerful atmosphere of the rest of the album. Within that perfectly elaborated and arranged baroque pop produced in the United States at that time, there are few works at the level of this Present Tense, and if they had included some of the discarded songs that come on the CD edition, it could have reached 5 stars.

Members

Gary Usher (vocals), Curt Boettcher (vocals)

Track Listing

01 - Another Time 2:40

02 - Song to the Magic Frog (Will You Ever Know) 2:49

03 - You Know I've Found a Way 1:53

04 - The Keeper of the Games 1:53

05 - Glass 2:27

06 - Would You Like to Go 2:37

07 - My World Fell Down 2:54

08 - Hotel Indiscreet 2:12

09 - I'm Not Living Here 2:28

10 - Musty Dusty 2:13

11 - The Truth Is Not Real 2:48

YANDEX