Ogden's Nut Gone Flake

sympathiek plaatje, maar nu niet om achterover te vallen

60s British bands did pretty much whatever they wanted, and much of it was fun, some was great, and a bunch of it was mediocre. This falls into all three categories. Entertaining, odd, incoherent at times (there is a narrative story being told in that manner of British Whimsy that has a very short shelf life), cheery, muddled and nonsensical. I don't hate it, how could anyone? But it's not my cup of Earl Grey.

Lazy Sunday is a ripping song. The rest of the album is a little take it or leave it. It is quirky, but ultimately maybe a little too quirky

Hot take - the addition of Rod Stewart and Ronnie Wood to this band (after this album) actually made them worse. Fun bit of 1960s psychedelic rock but nothing I was missing from my life. 3-ish⭐️

This is essential?

Die Small Faces, eine Band aus dem Londoner East End, galten bis 1967 als Mod-Gruppe mit Soul-Singles im Gepäck. Ihr drittes Studioalbum erschien im Mai 1968 bei Immediate Records und klingt, als wäre die Band über Nacht in ein anderes Jahrzehnt gezogen. Aufgenommen wurde es mit Glyn Johns am Pult, den größten Teil im Olympic Studio in Barnes, dazu in den Trident und Pye Studios. Aus dem Rhythm and Blues wurde Psychedelic Rock mit Musichall-Einschlag. Die erste Seite besteht aus einzelnen Songs, und die haben es in sich. „Lazy Sunday“ ist ein Cockney-Schwank, halb Spott, halb Zuneigung. „Afterglow“ dagegen hat nichts Ironisches: Steve Marriott singt es mit einer Wucht, die man dem schmalen Mann kaum zutraut. „Song of a Baker“ und „Rollin’ Over“ halten die Gitarren vorn, „Long Agos and Worlds Apart“ lässt Ian McLagans Tasten mehr Raum. Das Songwriting von Marriott und Ronnie Lane ist hier auf einem Niveau, das später kaum noch jemand von dieser Band einforderte. Die zweite Seite gehört der Geschichte von Happiness Stan, der die verlorene Hälfte des Mondes sucht, erzählt in der Fantasiesprache des Komikers Stanley Unwin. Ein durchgehendes Konzeptalbum ist das nicht, nur diese Seite trägt einen Handlungsfaden, und der ist mehr Rahmen als Dramaturgie. Live blieb das Werk unerprobt, im Fernsehen spielte die Band im Juni 1968 sieben der zwölf Stücke. Die runde Hülle, einer Tabakdose nachempfunden, machte das Album zum Sammlerstück, die sechs Wochen an der Spitze der britischen Charts zum Erfolg.

I’m just not really interested in another “60s band has a psychedelic phase” album

This album was a fun listen. I don't think it's something I would return to, though. Lazy Sunday is a highlight track for me.

Nope. Turned it off

I didn't give this one much of a chance. 2 songs in and it seemed unremarkable so I punted. A weak effort on my part.

Dis ca zo

That opening track had me so excited for what turned out to be mediocre (but still ok, only ok).

revisar

Weird, but not egregious

A whimsical mix of fairy tale like story and some great rock.

I really can’t do any more psych rock on this project. I get that some were influential at the time but they’re all the damn same.

I took over a week to rate this because I've listened to it four times now and I couldn't tell you a single thing that happens.

ok...

I enjoyed this album and know I’ll be coming back to it. I think it has a fresh yet timeless sound. I’d never heard of this band before, but the songs on this album sound like they could become instant classics. 7/10

What was the point of this. Monty python rip off

Decent sound.

Местами сложный, пару треков да есть интересные. Но половина альбома это просто повествование сказки

I listened to most of this. It’s fine. Maybe influenced some people? I can hear a little Jethro Tull. The intro to one track track - I can’t say which one - sounds a bit like Foxy Lady. Overall didn’t do it for me and didn’t seem all that special. Definitely of it’s time. However, in one track, there is a reference to the Criwn and Achor pub. This is the pub in Ted Lasso. So, is this just a super common British pub name? Is it an actual famous pub? Is one of the writers for Ted Lasso a fan of this really obscure band? Or, as I suspect, do we have a Doctor Who situation on our hands? Was this band referencing a fictional pub from a television series that would not appear until almost 60 years in the future? They are British. Doctor Who is British. Ted Lasso is fake British. A coincidence? I don’t believe in coincidences.

Famous album. I like Faces pretty well, and have been Small Faces curious as a result. Occasional dips into their catalog haven't gone very far or been very productive. This album ... why is it famous? Because it did this kind of wobbly crap before some other bands did? Side One is ok. None of the songs are especially good or bad. Side Two is an endurance test. Likable band with not enough material makes goofy album that sounds at times like English pop eccentric mode (Roy Wood, Kevin Ayers) and at times like irritating local lads in the manner of Slade. Then makes a trailblazing story-song sequence that shows the way for lots of other bands to fill up their albums with twaddle and nonsense ... this is a classic album in a hell designed by Sartre, or Ted Danson's Michael in the Good Place. .

Honestly I don't know what I am doing listening to this record on my day off. I mean what even is this.

Folksy and interesting without seeming cheesy

Music to listen to with your mate after your A levels, smoking ditch weed behind the discotheque and debating growing mutton chops to go with your bellbottoms.

Está bueno, suena como un rock clásico de los 70s, aunque no lo conocía. No creo que lo vuelva a escuchar.

I suspect Robert Dimery added this one purely for the first track because he heard it in a movie trailer or commercial. I think the rest of the album is pretty good and I would at a bare minimum say if someone likes British music from the 60's and hasn't given this a spin, they should listen to it.

Ce qui m'enquiquine avec cette liste, c'est que ces derniers temps, je trouve que les albums de rock des années 60 ont tendance à être quand même vachement similaires et pas toujours ultra-intéressants. Donc je dois bien avouer que tomber sur Ogden's Nut Gone Flake, que je ne connaissais pas, est plutôt rassurant. Pas que ça soit le summum de l'originalité, mais il a quand même pour lui une bonne énergie psychédélique qui fonctionne très bien, avec le petit grain de folie qui va avec. Et bien entendu, on a la face B du vinyle, très narrative et franchement sympatoche. Alors je grimpe pas aux rideaux, mais c'est quand même très cool à entendre.

chill, muy ochentoso, me gusta

Started out pretty cool then it went off the rails. Disappointing.

The album is all over the place. I get the impression of a band trying out various musical styles, searching for anything that sticks, but not quite deciding on anything.

Wacky English humor when is used in comedy is great. When it's used in music usually is bad. These people believe they are funnier and more clever than they really are.

fascinating

weird but fun

Not my thing

nice background music. too much talking interludes

Cute little British musical excursions. Particularly liked afterglow, Rene, and the last long number. Feels appropriate that it’s a more obscure album.

First of all, the Marriott guitar power chords come to the fore on many of these songs, showing the cross fertilization between Small Faces and The Who is obvious. It’s easy to see why Kenney Jones was the choice to replace Keith Moon, even if it wasn’t as successful as hoped. Saw The Who in 82, and they still gave a spirited performance with him, but the differences were glaring. He’s a more disciplined drummer, which isn’t a disadvantage, it’s just not Moon. The referential effect of Pepper is obvious only in the “concept” album format. Some great singing and playing with a more working class mentality. You can also see why Ronnie Lane eventually worked with Townsend on “Rough Mix”

Extremely 1001 ... not for me

Here, on album #1084, I am brought the solace of knowing that this might be the last British psychedelic nonsense I have to listen to.

the version on Apple Music doesn't match the official track listing but it was still pretty good

I am only sure of two things: (1) this was a lot better than I thought it would be, and (2) I have no idea whether I like it or not. I'm going with a 4, mainly because I can't seem to stop thinking about it, which I guess makes it a success by some reckoning.

I don't know how to feel about this one..

Love the title, not so much the music. And Stanley Baxter!

This is the first time I have listened to this in its entirety and it crashes into my problem with concept albums, some good songs lost in the nonsense. It also marks the shift from the Mod/R&B sound to psychedelic. The former I like, the latter I'm not so sure, but where does Itchycoo Park sit? But back to the album, two stars.

How did an album go from being OK to absolutely shocking in the space of a short train ride. I have no idea what the second half was meant to be about. Left me totally bemused.

Has its moments, and the lasting influence on 90s music is very clear. But whilst Stanley Unwin remains a legend, I think we've all moved on from this whimsical nonsense haven't we? 2*

Poor show from them. Was getting through ok listening to the songs but then it jumped into Jackanory and that was enough

Dit is echt psychedelic rock, bizarre, vreemde instrumentals gecombineerd met teksten die ook niet echt ergens over lijken te gaan, althans niet in eerste instantie. Rene is een bizar nummer, maar vind ik ergens wel grappig en goed werken? Zal het niet snel nog eens aanzetten, maar dat heb ik toch wel een beetje met de meeste psychrock. Lazy Sunday is best wel poppy, gewoon een solide nummer. Maar daarna..? Oh god, daarna valt dit album echt van een klif af. Het word in plaats van een muziek album zo'n aanstellerig theateralbum. Beetje alsof ik naar een musical aan het luisteren ben... Wel een kort album gelukkig, maar het is echt zo'n vreemd album dat ik niet kan zeggen dat ik het perse naar mn zin had. Het is mij iets te clownesk allemaal. FAVO: Rene, Lazy sunday

Weird one for before bed

Alright, an alright psych-blues-rock album, very whimsical and quite average. Not bad and not great, just alright, probs 3 stars!

Not great. Most of these tracks have at least one great element, but the band just ruins it completely. Either with obnoxious vocals, going way overboard with the phaser or just taking a piss (they sound very high). Compositionally it’s just really messy and damn those skits/spoken intros are just annoying - especially when they’ve gotten a hold of some great harpist and has to make it a joke. But some of the songs have their moments, the intro would have been great without soooo much phaser on the whole thing and Afterglow has a pretty cool first verse before it just devolves into generic 60’s. I guess I’m just overly annoyed at the fact that at this point in time any group of white boys with long hair could get to go into a studio and get great string players and producers and so on and then just get high and fuck around for a month. It does have a few moments that would make for great sampling material which gives it a 2 instead of a 1. 4/10

There is more psychedelic rock from the 60s than I really expected in this project. Yawn. There are some redeeming qualities on this record, but it does get pretty tough to give too much of a shit about yet another obscure brit rock band from this era (or any era…why is there so much Brit rock featured on 1001?). Anyway, they seem like they’re having a good time, but this one’s still pretty forgettable for me. 6.5/10

Why do people in Britain in the middle of 60s were so passionate about adding some kind of a jingles, monologues and other additional stufff to the songs and albums. Man, please, I just want to listen to the music, come on!

Too twee and thin for me to have anything to grasp onto. Not for me.

More meandery and strange (derogatory) than the other faces records I’ve listened, but will happily say I’m a Faces convert!

Solid 3.5. The drums are a ton of fun.

This felt like two different bands/albums. The first half was rocking and really good. The second half was when the 60s psychedelia vocals started and that shit is not for me

First half is fine. Most concept albums are bad and I say this as a fan of that type of thing.

Щось дуже на британському. Не викупив альбом. То музично ок, а вокали дивні, то навпаки.

Черговий психоделік-поп з 60х. Місцями направду сказати було доволі непогано (особливо перша половина), але далі погнав якийсь брітіш гумор і сумнівні пісні. 2.5

Solid 3.5. Primeira metade é mais interessante que a segunda metade, as partes spoken word não me agradaram.

It's just all so twee, isn't it? Maybe it would be different if I was there when it happened, but the whole album just feels like The Beatles/Who/Kinks-lite. "We have psychedelic 60's rock at home" kinda vibe. I did like the more pastoral songs. like "Lazy Sunday". It felt more like they were in their element experimenting with light hearted parochial British sounds and themes. God the narration parts in the second half of the album just went on and on and on...

Have to admit I’m a little tired of English eclecticism.

Gostozin de ouvir

Even though it's "concept" was a bunch of babbling that may or may not have been in english, and when there were sentient sentences they were stupid, the music wasn't horrible so I didn't dislike it for the most part. 3/5

This has some great songs but they're hidden between some silly tracks

Some really nice grooves. The more theatrical bits lose me a little.

You know sometimes things get made and they just are made for differnt people than you. This is one of those albums for me. I guess its a concept album. I haven't a clue what's going on and thats a me probalem 100%. Im not a lyrics guys. I generally couldn't care. But then they come in with these story bits about hugging a giant fly or some kind of bug. I dont even know. It just confused me to an insane degree. Like the music itself is fine early rock. A little bit of a psych angle. Its ok. Nothing to write home about but OK. Im just so thrown off by the concept that I cant get behind it. And even now reading about it a bit more its only the back half. I dont know dude. Its just so not my style. And for an only OK sound what's the point of putting in that work to figure it out. Im just not a fan.

3.75

3.5

Enjoyed this album For years , I’ve always considered a Psychedelic Rock masterpiece. It’s a little Heavier and soulful but with the Happiness Stan story line on Side 2 it goes full on whimsical. The narration in its odd vocabulary and following Stan on his Journey to find the other Half of the Moon Best tracks are Side 1 Afterglow (Of Your Love) Long Agos and Worlds Apart Rene Lazy Sunday Rollin Over The Hungry Intruder HappyDaysToyTown Those are just my favourites it works best as one whole album 5/5

It's fun and it's creative. Almost like a mixed media album. I like to feel like artists have a good time creating their art & this feels like one of those. Stanley Unwin is true old man humour that I haven't quite caught on to though.

not for me

Interesting. Has some really great parts but the speaking narrative takes away from the music. Maybe 2 1/2 stars.

Weird panning. Some of Music was kinda cool for the 60’s psychedelic thing “son of a baker “. Kinda a bad sounding recording. Rene and lazy Sundays were least favorite on first half the concept album of the second half didn’t work for me - I’d zone out whenever the narration came in.

I thought there were some actually cool moments at first but some of the singing and all the spoken word stuff really annoyed the shit out of me

What a waste

60a psychedelia. Should probably revisit sometime.

Een klassiek hitje en verder een boel Britse ongein à la Monty Python. Lache joh. En op kant twee een soort Hobbit-verhaal. Van mij had al die flauwekul niet gehoeven. Het ontstijgt het niveau van 'Klukkluk vertelt Peter en de Wolf' bepaald niet. Al met al tijdgenoten van de Kinks en de Who, en dat is muziek dit ik op zich goed trek, maar door alle flauwigheid hak ik er ongenadig een punt af.

Zo'n nummer als Lazy Sunday, dat is toch wel een typisch brits jaren '60 geluid. Met bijpassende zang en rare fratsen als feesttoetertjes. Zo bont maken ze het verder niet op het album (al blijft het een sprookje). Enerzijds maar goed ook, anderzijds weten ze zich hierdoor verder nauwelijks te onderscheiden.

De hoes komt me bekend voor, maar ik denk dat dat vooral komt omdat het lijkt op een Amerikaanse IPA. Qua muziek dacht ik weer eens niets te kennen, maar het hitje Lazy Sunday ken ik zowaar. Het schijtlollige waar ik al voor gewaarschuwd werd, valt me gelukkig reuze mee, al zou het me niets verbazen als de Toy Dolls hier hun inspiratie vandaan hebben gehaald. Het slappe gelul hadden ze overigens wel achterwege mogen laten. Blijkbaar gingen de Small Faces later verder als Faces en sloten de inmiddels bekende Rod Stewart en Ronnie Wood aan. Daar hebben we dacht ik ook een album van gehad en dat klonk prima. Net als dit, niks mis mee, maar wel een beetje vergeetbaar.

Odd. Very British. Not terrible. It was fine. Weird spoken interludes between some songs.

nice enough

I’m still not entirely sure how Small Faces went from being a well regarded mod band playing R&B and Soul covers, to producing one of the strangest and most psychedelic concept albums ever recorded, but I’m glad they did. The record was originally released in a circular metal tin but that had to be abandoned because it was expensive and they kept rolling off the shelves in record shops! The first side opens with the title track, featuring a Hammond organ and string session, moving on to a varied selection of styles including hard rock, soul and a proper blinky-blimey-cockernee singalong that anticipated the Britpop of Blur et al by a good thirty years. Side two is even stranger, with a surreal concept story narrated by comedian Professor Stanley Unwin, famed for inventing his own mangled version of English. I can imagine a sixties hippie, having rolled up a giant Camberwell carrot on the back of their record tin being transported by this tale of Happiness Stan, a giant fly and a quest for the missing half of the moon. Genuinely enchanting and Engly Twenty Fido-tastic!

On nous casse les oreilles depuis des décennies avec ce disque, d'ailleurs si vous ouvrez n’importe quelle anthologie prétentieuse ou que vous discutez avec un puriste du mouvement mod qui refuse d'admettre qu’il a soixante-dix balais, Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake est présenté comme le monument du psychédélisme britannique. Ce serait selon eux, le chef-d’œuvre de 1968, l’objet culte qui enterre la concurrence avec son packaging en forme de boîte de conserve et ses effluves de fumette. Alors moi, docile, j’ai remis la galette sur ma platine, j’ai calé mon casque, et j’ai attendu la claque. Résultat ? La claque n'est jamais arrivé... Putain soyons honnêtes deux minutes et arrêtons de faire semblant pour faire plaisir aux vieux snobs : ce disque est plat. Il n'est pas affreux, il n'est pas inécoutable, il est juste sans saveur. Il est sauvé in extremis du naufrage total par deux ou trois éclairs de génie isolés qui rappellent ce que le groupe aurait pu devenir. Mais, une poignée de bons titres n’a jamais suffi à faire un grand album, et certainement pas le chef-d’œuvre intemporel qu’on tente de nous refourguer à chaque réédition. Pour bien comprendre le désastre de l’illusion, il faut d’abord rappeler le contexte de ce qui s’annonçait pourtant comme un coup de maître. En 1968, les Small Faces sortent de plusieurs années à enchaîner les tubes de garage et de soul blanche ultra-efficaces, portés par le timbre phénoménal de Steve Marriott et la basse mélodique de Ronnie Lane. Mais comme le groupe en a marre d’être traité comme un boys band pour midinettes, il décide de frapper un grand coup en studio. Ils pondent ce fameux concept, emballent le tout dans une pochette ronde métallique qui singe les boîtes de tabac de l’époque — une merveille de design, pour le coup, personne ne peut leur enlever ça — et balancent leur grand projet sur le marché. Le disque cartonne, truste la première place des charts anglais pendant des semaines et s’installe confortablement dans la mythologie pop. Sauf qu'une fois retiré l'emballage en fer-blanc et les papiers à rouler qui allaient avec, qu’est-ce qui reste réellement ? Pas grand-chose d’autre qu’un vieux pétard mouillé. La première face de l’album donne pourtant le change pendant quelques minutes, d'ailleurs le morceau-titre d’ouverture s’en sort plutôt bien, cet instrumental hypnotique avec un phasing un peu lourd. Mais très vite, la mécanique s’enraye et on assiste à un défilé de pop-rock gentillette qui hésite constamment entre le riff garage et l'ambiance music-hall. « Lazy Sunday » en est d'ailleurs le parfait exemple. C’est rigolo deux minutes, Marriott pousse son accent cockney jusqu'à la caricature, mais musicalement ça vole bien bas. C’est de la variété déguisée avec des amplis, un truc de saltimbanque qui a terriblement mal vieilli. Et le reste de cette face A s’écoute dans une indifférence polie. Pourtant, au milieu de ce marasme convenu, le disque se réveille brutalement sur deux éclairs de lucidité qui sauvent l'ensemble du naufrage absolu. Il y a d’abord « Rene ». Là, on retrouve enfin la crasse, le groove vicieux et la voix déchirante de Marriott. Le groupe arrête de jouer aux apprentis sorciers de cour de récréation et se met à jouer ensemble, avec une sacrée dynamique. Dans le même registre, mais plus loin sur l'album, le morceau « Mad John » réussit un tour de force acoustique fascinant. C’est une miniature folk étrange, dépouillée, presque spectrale, qui montre quel groupe formidable ils auraient pu être s’ils avaient creusé cette veine intimiste au lieu de s’éparpiller dans le burlesque. Mais voilà, deux étincelles au milieu d'un ciel désespérément bouché ne font pas un feu de joie. Ces moments forts ne font que souligner, par un contraste cruel, la fadeur du reste de l'album. Et puis vient la fameuse face B, celle qui est censée faire entrer le disque au panthéon du rock progressif balbutiant. Putain quelle purge... Les Small Faces ont eu l'idée grotesque d'inventer l'épopée de « Happiness Stan », un pauvre type qui part à la recherche de la moitié manquante de la lune. Bon sur le papier ça passe encore (merci les substances typique de 1968), mais pour lier les morceaux, ils sont allés embaucher le comédien Stanley Unwin, spécialiste d'un charabia pseudo-poétique et humoristique qu'il récite entre chaque piste. Le résultat est tout simplement insupportable et ce qui devait être une bonne blague pour les mecs dans le studio après trois joints devient une torture auditive pour l'auditeur qui s'enfile le disque aujourd'hui. Ces interludes bavards cassent le peu de rythme qui subsistait, alourdissent le propos et transforment l'écoute en une corvée théâtrale pour écoliers anglais attardés. Même Steve Marriott s'est vite rendu compte de l'impasse, et incapable de reproduire ce cirque sur scène sans avoir l'air ridicule, le groupe a fini par exploser en plein vol peu de temps après. Il faut arrêter de se mentir par respect pour les vieilles gloires du NME ou les nostalgiques des sixties : Ogden’s Nut Gone Flake n'est pas un monument. C'est un disque paresseux qui se cache derrière une idée de packaging brillante et une réputation usurpée. Le son manque de relief, l’écriture tourne en rond la plupart du temps et la tentative d'opéra-pop tourne au vaudeville indigeste. Steve Marriott ira heureusement fonder Humble Pie pour enfin balancer du vrai rock burné sans chichis, tandis que le reste de la troupe ira retrouver Rod Stewart pour bâtir les Faces, un groupe infiniment plus généreux. Au final, ce disque de 1968 reste ce qu'il est, un objet sympa sur une étagère de collectionneur, mais qui mérite tout juste la moyenne pour deux morceaux brillants perdus dans un océan de platitude. Trois étoiles sur cinq, et pas une de plus, et c'est déjà faire preuve d'une grande mansuétude.

This was some weird shit. I loved the first instrumental track and it was a little all over the place vocally after that. The last few songs were a story of some sort that I couldn’t really following while driving to work. Narration was super odd

I enjoy that more than early Kinks. Still a little weird. Kind of a cross between Monty Python and some music? Not sure which music.

It’s a high 3 especially given the year of release

Listening again after few years I am struck by how great the production flourishes and performances are. Jones and McLagan on this album better their contemporaries. Add Marriott and Lane’s writing the Small Faces had a Premier League line up for 60’s Britain. No wonder this is better than anything the Stones or the Who hade done at this point.

Pretty solid but often too British with the spoken word intros. Leave it to The Kinks and The Who, Rod.

favs: ogdens’ nut gone flake happiness stan rollin’ over rating 1.3/5

Yeah, I dont need this in my life.

I liked this, weird in some fun ways. Its not The Beatles, who go for a similar kind of weirdness better, but not much is.

Never understood the love. This is mediocre rock at best. I know Steve Marriot is a bit of a thing, but here, he's underused or at least underwhelming. I only really liked the opener. Pretty cool instrumental. The next few songs are Ok. Nothing great. Nothing too annoying. But that second half. That just sucks. I love a good concept album. But this here thing is crapola. Giving this album a 2.

Over-rated but goes alright

music is love

Wouldn’t it be nice to not have heard this album. Starts fine starts good but certainly goes off the rails