Thunderclap Newman was probably the greatest one-off band in rock history. This, their only album, is the proverbial minor masterpiece. The three bandmates--a songwriter known only to Pete Townshend, a postal clerk turned jazz pianist, and a sixteen-year-old guitarist--caught some kind of British late-Sixties "zeitgeist", for this record is a perfect evocation of that time and place. Fire, charm, cleverness, and some downright silliness are compounded in this strange brew of...well, you'll just have to hear it.
Of particular interest is the interplay of child guitarist Jimmy McCulloch and jazz pianist Andy Newman. McCulloch's hot licks sizzle and steam against Newman's arch, hepcat piano figures, especially on the long track "Accidents". On the single, "Something In The Air", their roles are reversed, with Jimmy playing with an ethereal, barely-there tone, and Newman adding some pianistic force, as well as a great french horn figure. If you've heard Tom Petty's fine version of this song, you owe it to yourself to hear the original as well.
And it just keeps getting better! We're all tired of hipper-than-thou people who rave over some obscurity, to show off their own knowledge. But this gem really deserves all the praise that it gets. The two title tracks (yes, two), "Hollywood #1" and "Hollywood #2" are sly and rockin', respectively. The instrumental "Hollywood Dream" features some great slide guitar work. "Accidents" is a black comedy with an explosive climax. And, of all things, there's a lushly arranged singalong of "Open the Door, Homer", a Dylan song from the then-unreleased _Basement Tapes_.
Pete Townshend produced it, and also played bass, though he's uncredited. However, in the photo insert, you can see him sitting in his recording studio, wearing a coy smile, with Who bandmate John Entwistle's old lyre-body bass in the foreground. If you like "Something In The Air", don't settle for _The Magic Christian_ soundtrack! Take the time to seek this out. "Life is just a game; you fly a paper plane; there is no end..."
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