Rainbow Ffolly

The world of '60s psychedelia is filled with rediscoveries that might better have been left buried in the mists of time, except as artifacts -- it's possible to have shelves filled with the work of no-talent bands and of acts that weren't even psychedelic (what one wag at Bleecker Bob's in New York refers to as "lounge acts that dressed real cool"). Rainbow Ffolly wasn't one of those -- indeed, they're one of the bands and one of the records that is worth finding as a CD reissue (their original LP could run several hundred), and that goes double for anyone with a taste for British psychedelia. Jonathan Dunsterville and his brother Richard Dunsterville of Farnham Common were inclined toward music and performing at an early age, and during the early '60s, formed a band called the Force Four, specializing in Everly Brothers-style harmony material. Jon was at college when he met Stewart Osborn, a drummer, who in turn knew a bassist named Roger Newell. Out of this a new group, the Rainbow Ffolly, was formed; they had a light, fun touch, very much in the spirit of early 1967; a close, cohesive sound in which all four members sang, with Jon Dunsterville serving as songwriter. By early 1967, they acquired a manager, John Sparrowhawk, and decided to try for a recording contract. They booked time at the Jackson Recording Studio, owned by Malcolm and John Jackson, the sons of disc jockey Jack Jackson, and put a demo tape together. Their first five songs were so accomplished that they were persuaded by the Jackson brothers to come up with seven more songs, all ostensibly for a full-length demo reel. The group didn't think as much of the seven additional numbers, but assembled a dozen tracks they were comfortable with as a sample of their basic sound. The Jackson brothers then...