Saturday, March 13, 2021

Jason Crest ‎– A Place In The Sun (The Complete Jason Crest)



Jason Crest were one of many, many British groups who got to record a few psychedelic rock tracks in the late '60s without having much sales or renown to show for it. In large part because several of their recordings have shown up on numerous collector-oriented reissue compilations, the band has garnered a modest cult reputation. While not nearly as good or special as top-flight British psych bands like Procol Harum, whom they occasionally resembled, they were one of the better acts among the little-known U.K. psych groups who recorded a few rare releases. In Jason Crest's case, these were limited to five non-hit singles, released on Philips in 1968 and 1969. (Incidentally, there was no one named Jason Crest in the group.)

Part of Jason Crest's problems commercially might have been that their style wasn't easy to describe, nor especially well-suited to the singles market of the time. While it had much in common with the storytelling/fairytale whimsy of late-'60s British pop-psychedelia, it was moodier and more meditative than most such music, and often put hymnal organ to the fore. At the lightest end of their repertoire, they covered the Move's "(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree" and offered a jolly Small Faces-type original ("Good Life"). At their heaviest, their final single, "Black Mass," had quasi-demonic vocals and lyrics that anticipated metal bands of the '70s that dovetailed with Satanic imagery. They also did a pop tune, "Waterloo Road," that made number one in France when French singer Joe Dassin covered it under the title "Au Champs Elysees," although the band themselves disliked the song. Jason Crest broke up around the end of the 1960s, shortly after their contract with Philips expired. Much of their material has shown up on reissues, embellished by several unissued acetates.
















 


 

8 comments:

  1. Great! Thanks for sharing.

    ReplyDelete
  2. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  3. A local band for me ......many thanks for this.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi!

    Thanx for the 2 Jason Crest collections. Guessing that there are tracks on one that are not on the other. Some "new" hears here.

    Cheers!
    Ciao! For now.
    rntcj

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi. Tracks 1-16 on collected works are the same here.
      https://www.discogs.com/Jason-Crest-A-Place-In-The-Sun-The-Complete-Jason-Crest/release/15998614
      So this one supercedes the old one

      Delete

RULES :
1. ANONYMOUS REQUESTS WITHOUT ANSWER ! If you take the time to write a message, take a few seconds to sign it with your name, please.
2. If you think that the post was made in violation of your copyright, just report it in the comments and we will delete the material.
3. You can report of about dead links, but please don't make more than one repost request per week.