Although the Peppermint Trolley Company’s biggest claim to commercial fame rests in the fact they recorded the theme to the first season of “The Brady Bunch,” they actually cut a clutch of artistically rewarding material that in a just world would have attained wider airplay.
Residents of Redlands, California, the Peppermint Trolley Company began life as the Mark V, and the fare they recorded is featured on this anthology from the Now Sounds label. The band also put out singles under a couple of different pseudonyms, including the C-Minors and the Intercoms which appear on Beautiful Sun as well. 1965 was the year these discs were waxed, and they are all excellent. The band’s merging of rugged beat music and majestic Jay and the Americans vocal gymnastics, crowned by regal horn fills, is very cool, as is their playful Bob Dylan parody that has to be heard to be believed.
September 1968 was the date the band, now billed the Peppermint Trolley Company, unveiled what would be their sole album. Originally released on Acta Records, the self-titled platter was padded to the ceiling with layers of sweet soaring harmonies stacked neatly atop pastoral textures, glistening melodies and exotic interludes. The band’s attention to detail and their ability to deliver the songs in such a natural manner remains flawless. A spiffy paisley pop vibe, akin to that of the Poor, the Left Banke, and the Strawberry Alarm Clock, hugs the tunes.
Every song on Beautiful Sun is memorable, starting with the classy folk figured “I’ve Got To Be Going,” on which Chad Stuart of Chad and Jeremy handled string arrangements. Scripted of various movements, the suite styled “Fatal Fallacy” carries a powerful anti-war message, while “Put Your Burden Down” deposits sophisticated baroque rock samplings.
Flush with the band’s trademark choruses, recalling a breathtaking fusion of the Everly Brothers, the Zombies, and the New Colony Six, tunes like “Free,” “Trust,” and “Reflections (On A Universal Theme)” translate into hazy shades of lightly battered psychedelic wonder. A cover of Jesse Lee Kincaid’s “Baby You Come Rollin’ Cross My Mind” ripples to an emotionally-charged mellow mood, and then there’s the brain-bending “Beautiful Sun,” which entails a hard driving jam, consisting of wildly shaking congas and bongos.
Challenging and ambitious, but highly accessible, Beautiful Sun is one of the greatest overlooked efforts of the era.
Along with the aforementioned cuts from 1965, a fistful of other bonus tracks boost Beautiful Sun for its 2009 reissue by Now Sounds, with the socially conscious “9 O’Clock Business Man,” the Beach Boys flavored “She’s the Kind of Girl,” and the elated “It’s a Lazy Summer Day” holding forth as special favorites.
The Peppermint Trolley Company had the right attitude, the right motives, the right material, and the right connections. So what happened? Why didn’t they score hit records? The booklet accompanying the repackaged Beautiful Sun reveals the band’s story in depth and then some. Read, rock, and enjoy!
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