The Magic Mixture - It's Alright By Me (1968)

This band, originally called Maton’s Magic Mixture, was formed in 1968 in London. It was composed of Jim “Terry” Thomas, Stan Curtis, Melvyn Hacker, and Jack Collins (“Jack McCulloch”). Hacker had gotten Thomas into music, and they’re probably the co-founders of this particular band. The band was offered to make their first record on the low-budget label Saga Records in 1968. Although they accepted, they were disappointed to find out that they had signed all of their rights away to the music the moment they got paid for it. And they were only paid one hundred fifty pounds each. The album, titled This is the Magic Mixture, would be the group’s first and last album. They played a few live shows, but when their lead singer Jim Thomas quit, the band folded behind him.

Jim Thomas would soon start calling himself Terry Thomas and create the British rock band Charlie in 1971, as well as produce and write songs for Bad Company and Foreigner in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s. Jack Collins would go on to perform with The Five Day Week Straw People, which eventually evolved into Andromeda.

This song, the opening track to the second side of This is the Magic Mixture, was written by band member Jim Thomas (as were all of the other songs on the album). Unfortunately, because Saga Records decided against putting any money behind producing the album, this song and all the others slipped into instant obscurity. It took years before the album was ever released in the United States, but failed to make an impact there, as well.



The Magic Mixture - It's Alright By Me (1968)

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Lyrics:

You say you seek the brightness of another kind of life
You must leave the drabness behind
‘cause life is so boring; it’s tiring and dull
And there’s so much more you must find

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
You know it’s alright by me

You seek the colors of the rainbow
And the pastel shades of night
And you’re troubled to define just this
You want to let the grass caress you
As the night wind sweeps along
Then to feel the cool ray’s kiss

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Oh, it’s alright by me

Can you imagine life with no pain?
A barring existence
A sun with no rain

Well that’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me

Can you imagine life with no pain?
A barring existence
A sun with no rain

So, go if you want to and leave all behind
Your friends, your home, and yourself
But don’t forget reality is always on your side
And to come back when you find yourself

Well it’s alright by me
Yes, it’s alright by me
Oh, it’s alright by me

Chamaeleon Church - Spring This Year (1968)

When the Boston-based band called the Lost broke up in 1967, their singer/guitarist Ted Myers met Tony Schueren through some friends he had in the Ultimate Spinach band. Beginning to work together, they recruited another ex-Lost member, Kyle Garrahan, to play bass. Myers, who was still under contract to a New York City producer named Alan Lorber, met Chevy Chase while recording in New York. Chase was added to the band’s lineup as their drummer, and Alan Lorber agreed to produce them. They called themselves Chamaeleon Church (sometimes spelled Chamæleon Church) and would on release one album, self-titled, on the MGM label. The band was short-lived, however, and they broke up in 1969, having never made any sort of commercial success. The band’s biggest association with fame would be that their drummer, Chevy Chase, would go on to be an international star as an actor, comedian, and original cast member of Saturday Night Live.

Released on the band’s only album, Chamaeleon Church, in 1968, this song was written by the band’s Ted Myers. It’s the only track on the album where you can hear Chevy Chase’s voice. Chase is heard in the background, emulating the voice of a circus barker.



Chamaeleon Church - Spring This Year (1968)

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Lyrics:

Spring this year
Has put my dreams behind me
Nothing to know now
And no place to go now

Like a fool
I let my pride overrule me
Windows I sit by and
Watch the spring slip by now

When you’re looking for something
That you know has no meaning
And you don’t want to find it
‘cause it might bring you down
So you go in a circle
With no end or beginning
If you’re seeking perfection
It’s the wrong way around

Spring this year
Is filled with false guarantees here
Flowers may sprout now
But I’m still left out now

Spring, I fear
Has made me look kind of foolish
Just goes to show me
How terribly lonely I am

When you’re looking for something
That you know has no meaning
And you don’t want to find it
‘cause it might bring you down
So you go in a circle
With no end or beginning
If you’re seeking perfection
It’s the wrong way around

Spring is here
But I can hardly feel it
I see the sunlight
But my heart is air-tight

I could spend the days out somewhere tripping
But why look for love when it will just hang me out again?

Boyce and Hart - I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1968)

In the late '50s, Tommy Boyce (born Sidney Thomas Boyce, 1939) was rejected numerous times when trying to start a career as a singer in Los Angeles. Thinking he maybe ought to focus his talents elsewhere, he took the advice of his father and decided to focus on his songwriting. He wrote a song called “Be My Guest” and waited in a hotel for six hours waiting to give it to the man staying there, Fats Domino. He was able to persuade Domino to promise to give the song a listen, and Domino liked it enough to record it in October 1959. With his foot in the door, Boyce eventually met Bobby Hart (born Robert Luke Harshman, 1939) in 1959. The duo began writing songs together and finally got their break in 1964, writing “Lazy Elsie Molly” for Chubby Checker. Developing a bit of a reputation, the duo would go on to write successful songs for Jay and the Americans (“Come a Little Bit Closer”), Paul Revere and the Raiders (“(I’m Not Your) Steppin’ Stone”), The Leaves (“Words”), and The Monkees (“(Theme from) The Monkees,” “Last Train to Clarksville,” and many others).

The duo was responsible for most of The Monkees’ earliest songs, often being the musicians heard playing on their earliest albums. While Boyce and Hart were using studio time to create Monkees songs, they were also working on songs to build their own career. The song heard below was written by Boyce and Hart, produced by Boyce and Hart, and featured vocals from both of them. It was recorded in 1968, released as a single, and was later featured on the duo’s second album, I Wonder What She’s Doing Tonite?. The song reached number seven on the Cash Box charts and number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. It was by no means the most popular song they wrote, but it was the most popular song they released under their own name.



Boyce and Hart - I Wonder What She's Doing Tonight (1968)

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Lyrics:

If I had told her that I loved her
She would have stayed ‘til who knows when
But I guess she couldn't understand it
When I said, “I want to be your friend”
Because a friend would never doubt you
Or ever put you uptight
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

We were so close, but we should've been closer
And it's making me feel so sad
But I tell myself I didn't lose her
Because you can't lose a friend you never had
(Come on now)
Because a friend won't say it's over
And go out just for spite
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

(Alright, Bobby, let's go)

Because a friend will always be there
If you're wrong or if you're right
And now I wonder
What she's doing tonight

Oh yes, I wonder
What she's doing tonight
Oh, I wonder what she's doing tonight

Tonight
Tonight