Vinyl Relics: Before The Dream Faded by The Misunderstood
Vinyl Relics: Before The Dream Faded by The Misunderstood
“No, it’s the sound of 1967!”
When a Fontana Records A&R man popped by one of The Misunderstood’s rehearsals, this was his response to the question, “What do you think– Is this the sound of 1966?”
Although The Misunderstood never got the opportunity to record a proper album in their short time together, lead singer Rick Brown is still grateful for the opportunity. When I asked if he had any regrets about the bad luck that befell the band, he replied: “I’m just thankful we got to record at all. I mean, how would you describe this music to someone if you couldn’t play it for them?”
Their story is a strange one. They began life as a surf band in Riverside, California. When Rick joined, they morphed into a heavier, R&B-infused sound influenced by the British sounds of The Yardbirds and The Animals, etc. It was The Animal’s “Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood” that spawned the band’s name.
They gathered some funds together to record a few demos intended to shop to the labels. Although this original material showed promise, it wasn’t enough to land them a deal.
When their original guitarist announced he would be leaving the band, he agreed to play one final gig – a battle of the bands. It was there that they met someone who would take their sound in new directions, unlike anyone had ever heard before.
Glenn Campbell (not to be confused with “Rhinestone Cowboy” Glen Campbell) was playing in The Answers at that same battle of the bands, The Misunderstood knew they had their replacement. The unique part? He was playing a pedal steel guitar–not an instrument typically used in a rock setting. “He had the longest hair I’d ever seen”, Rick said, “and he was making the wildest sounds out of that pedal steel”. The addition of Glenn transformed their sound, elevating it to previously uncharted heights.
When a new mall opened in Riverside, the management hired three local bands to kick off the grand opening. DJ John Ravenscroft had come over from England and connected with some of the area bands. He was associated with the other two acts on the bill that day but had never heard of The Misunderstood. He planned to head down to the mall and check out the other bands, and then do some shopping when The Misunderstood were playing. But when they started to set up, he thought they looked interesting and decided to stick around and hear them play. And what he heard blew him away. These were sounds unlike anything he’d ever heard before, and he immediately began managing them. He would later describe them as “prophets of the new order”. He ushered them into the studio for a couple more demos and with Glenn now on board, their music was getting stronger. Unfortunately, it still wasn’t strong enough to garner attention from the record labels.
Ravenscroft suggested a wild idea–move to London. He told the band if their music is too progressive for California, it would fit right in overseas.
The band agreed. Ravenscroft told them to head to London and go to his mom’s house, she would take them in until they found a place of their own. There was one little problem, though: He forgot to inform his mother of these plans. “She wasn’t letting these long hairs in!”, Rick said. After a few awkward hours and some long-distance calls, it finally got worked out.
Now in London, they were immersed in the local sounds and styles. They were especially impressed with the mod styles and musically were blown away by the volume of the shows. “My third day there, I saw The Who and I couldn’t believe how LOUD they were”, Rick said. They played with bands like the Graham Bond Organization and The Creation. The Jeff Beck era of the Yardbirds showed them they could do anything; there were no rules anymore. Rick recalled, “I listened to the end of ‘I’m A Man’, with all that scratching. They made noise into music.”
One more lineup change occurred when guitarist Greg Treadaway decided to leave the band to honor his obligation to the country after receiving his draft notice. He played his last gig with them at The Marquee and, unbeknownst to them, his replacement happened to be in the audience that night. When Tony Hill joined, he was the final piece of the puzzle. Rick said, “Tony could have been the lead guitarist– he was that good. And he freed up Glenn to make sounds.”
Together the five-piece started writing new songs. This time, they focused on incorporating influences from the British bands around them. In 1966, The Misunderstood’s brand of psych-rock was way ahead of its time. Fontana’s signing sparked a surge in visibility—Misunderstood posters appeared all over, and for a brief time, they dominated the local buzz. The band released its first single, “I Can Take You to the Sun”, in December 1966. A couple of months later, “Children of the Sun” followed. This cut was wild–feedback-laced psych-rock with a pounding rhythm section behind it. If these tracks were any indication, the album they were about to record was going to catapult the band to greatness.
Unfortunately, that album would never come.
Rick explained: “We recorded six songs, and they were putting out the first single in December 1966 and I got a draft notice and the record company and management told me I had to go back to America and give letters to the draft board from these companies in England saying I’m under contract and I can’t go to their war. They went into the garbage can, they said ‘these ain’t even American…you’re in the army, boy!’”
Fighting in a war went against everything Rick stood for. He decided he wouldn’t participate and took off for India. On his way there, he stopped back in England. The band had been waiting for his return so they could carry on but, by the time he got back, they were all gone.
Out of all of their writing and recording, there was nothing to show for it but a couple of singles–and maybe a few stories to tell the grandkids one day.
Tony Hill went on to join High Tide, whose 1969 offering “Sea Shanties” is a must-hear masterpiece (with an awesome cover to boot!).
Glenn Campbell went on to Juicy Lucy, another band worthy of exploration for boogie-rock and hard-rock fans (the first album especially). He later tried to revive the Misunderstood with a new lineup. They made some recordings that weren’t released at the time and disbanded shortly after. These songs later resurfaced under an archive release titled Golden Glass.
Those original Misunderstood recordings finally saw the light of day in 1982, when Cherry Red released them on the compilation album Before the Dream Faded. It collects all six of the mind-melting psych tracks on side one, with more blues-based songs from those original US demos on side two. The songs on side two are good –standard bluesy R&B fare of the day–but nothing special.
Rick agreed. “If it wasn’t for those London tracks, no one would care about the others.” But those London tracks, as he referred to them–now those were pushing the boundaries, moving rock music into territory no one had heard at the time.
It’s an absolute shame they never had the chance to flesh out a full album. The list of great bands that never got that opportunity is long, but The Misunderstood is at the topis. If you like psychedelic rock, do yourself a favor and check out Before the Dream Faded. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.
Oh, and that DJ/manager who sang their praises, John Ravenscroft? You may know him better by the name he later adopted — John Peel.
RELATED: The Top 200 Psychedelic Songs from the Original Psychedelic Era
If you want to hear the story of the band with a track-by-track dive into each song with commentary from Rick Brown himself, just tune in, turn on and drop by Vinyl Relics on Apple, Spotify, or any other podcast platform. Vinyl Relics is a podcast for groovy people who like music and each epysode features a treasure that time has forgotten. “Before The Dream Faded” is epysode #42.
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