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The Millennium
& Sagittarius
The unsung
story of the pioneers of sunshine pop
Picking up on an obscurity
from the sixties usually opens a massive can of worms. Dig the Byrds and
in no time at all you'll be heading for the rewarding individual works
of Gram Parsons, Gene Clark, Clarence White et al. The Millennium and
Sagittarius are closely linked to the drug-crazed Californian, flower
power, psychedelic scene and in particular one, Brian Wilson of the Beach
Boys. Obsessive Wilson fans will have no doubt stumbled across these two
groups but you can bet your bottom dollar your average hack, your so called
music fan and many top bands who think they know it all have simply missed
the boat.
 
If you are the sensitive,
thoughtful, romantic type then prepare to fall in love again! Imagine
a sound that recalls the calmness of your deepest dreams. That floating
away sensation, the out of body experience, if you will. Psychedelic music
comes in many guises. None more so fruitful as that produced by the Millennium
and Sagittarius. These two obscurities are closely linked to each other
and have become a cult amongst many since the CD re-issues became available
on Japanese and US re-issue labels. Creation offshoot label Rev-Ola have
recently re-released the Millennium album and promise much more related
stuff to follow in the future. These releases are slowly gaining widespread
coverage and acclaim in the more respected music magazines such as Record
Collector, Mojo and Uncut. If the Beach Boys 'Pet Sounds' to 'Smile' period
is your bag then these two albums add another two corners to a magical
musical square. Four cornerstones of the most beautiful, challenging and
under-rated music of it's era.
The key players involved
in these two largely studio based projects were Curt Boettcher
and Gary Usher. Both now sadly deceased, their timeless work is
bound one day to realise it's full potential and attract the large audience
it deserves. Millennium was Boettcher creation (Usher co-produced) and
he worked closely with producer Gary Usher in his Sagittarius projects.
Most of the musicians played on both records whilst the Sagittarius record
boasts the additional help from Beach Boy Bruce Johnston, Byrds producer
Terry Melcher, Phil Spector sessioner, sometime Beach Boy and Country
star Glen Campbell and most of Phil Spectors' original Wrecking Crew from
drummer Hal Blaine on down. Boettcher produced the 60s beat combo The
Association including the controversial million selling single 'Along
Comes Mary' and played in a band called Ballroom. Most of the Ballroom
demos eventually found their way onto these two albums. It is Boettcher's
angelic voice and the exquisite orchestrated arrangements that makes these
albums so rewarding.
At times the songs
are bit twee for some but the softest of these delicate songs still maintain
a time honoured innocence and charm. They certainly stand up in credibility
against the Beatles dumber moments such as Yellow Submarine. The stronger
material though is at times astounding and the fact this inspiring music
has remained largely unknown all these years defies belief!
Frustrated by his
lack of creative input to his production duties Usher, the former king
of surf, used his free studio time to develop his ideas and realise his
ambition to do everything from writing to arranging and producing.
The classic twisted
pop of 'My World Fell Down' featured the vocals of Bruce Johnston
and Glen Campbell. The song has appeared on the acclaimed Nuggets psychedelic
compilations and is a classic pop song. A contrast of feel good intentions
and downer, lost it all sentiments make for a magical experience. Usher's
production was judged too way out at the time and one of the groups he
was working with at the time, Chad & Jeremy, turned it down.
Before the Beatles
had started recording Sgt Pepper and whilst Brian Wilson was engrossed
in the doomed Smile project, Usher was pushing uncharted boundaries dropping
all sorts of unusual sounds into otherwise commercial pop songs that were
destined to shock a still conservative pop audience. Remember, Pet Sounds
had also bombed at the time and now it is regarded as the greatest album
of all time.
Usher met up with
Curt in 1966 whilst he was working in the studio with Brian Wilson. Both
were still caught up in the surf craze and upon hearing Curt's work in
an adjoining studio an amazed Brian famously stated 'What is that?'
Amazed by the young man's work and rich vocal abilities, Usher asked Curt
to add vocals to the jaunty pop thrills of 'Hotel Indiscreet'.
Curt must have been impressed with Usher's vision and ditched his current
projects to work on the Present Tense album bringing a batch of songs
and his fellow band mates with him. Released in 1968 it went on to sell
a pitiful 50,000 copies.
They experimented
with LSD to stretch their minds and find out more about themselves and
it's influence can be heard on Usher's hazy, psychedelic 'The Truth is
Not Real'. The idea was to make the listener feed from the ethereal sensations;
healing them, making them whole and uplifting them. Brian Wilson was striving
for the same kind of spiritual music, Usher & Boettcher never received
the plaudits.
The rich textures
and transcendental sounds of 'Another Time', 'Artificial Light',
'You Know I've Found a Way' and 'Song to the Magic Frog'
are soothing examples of white soul filled with a Pet Sounds aura of love,
warmth and more than a tinge of sadness. Elsewhere ambitious orchestrated
arrangements and layered harmonies resonate these fragile pop songs to
another time warp. At their most derivative the breezy, harmonic chimes
of 'I'm not living here' which sounds like some long lost Byrd
outtake and the Beatlesesque Love's Fatel Way could have fallen
off the Rubber Soul. Elsewhere the songs are in a field of their own.
Or should that be a galaxy of their own!
Sagittarius went onto
release seven singles include a fabulous respectful version of the classic
Brian Wilson confessional song 'In My Room' and a second album,
'The Blue Marble' (1969). The Millennium project only released
the 'Begin' album in 1968 and three singles came from the album.
The stand out track
on Begin is a double pocket symphony and I envy anyone listening to this
startling track for the first time. 'Prelude' is a freaky 1.18
minute instrumental intro to the soothing West Coast harmonic sounds of
'To Claudia on Thursday'. It boasts loads of bass and studio trickery
coming across like some medieval attempt at block rockin' beats. Breakbeats
and loops in 1968!!! If Lennon and McCartney dreamt this up it would have
been added to the National Curriculum in Schools such is the reverence
afforded to their strokes of genius. Other bands in these times were producing
equally important and inventive sounds as those produced by the Beatles.
Curt's vocals on some
of the more poppier tracks like 'I just want to be your friend', '5AM',
'Sing to me' and 'Some Sunny Day' recall the innocence of childhood and
a real soulful yearning to be loved. The melancholy pours out of every
vocal chord and the eloquent, orchestrated arrangements will just blow
you away every time. As Brian Wilson tried to make sounds that would make
the listener feel loved with Pet Sounds, few could argue Boettcher and
Usher didn't achieve the same with these two long forgotten gems.
Anyone who dares to
call themselves a fan of classic pop music should have these priceless
records in their collections.
More Millennium related
stuff:
 www.curtboettcher.com
Check
out our exclusive interview with Joe Foster label boss of re-issue label
Rev-Ola for more great Millennium sound-bites.
A great home page dedicated
to The Millennium
http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/3218/
A home page dedicated to the
solo career of Millennium member Joey Stec
http://members.xoom.com/joeystec/
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