Guest Writer: Zach Malm
I've Got Something On My Mind: Left Banke
Posted by: steve | From: June 06, 2004
Another Sunday rolls around here at The Greatest Band Of All Time, and with it another guest writer: our friend and yours, Mister Zach Malm.
From what I can tell, the basic outline for a review here stipulates that my concluding line should be something to the effect of, And that is why the Left Banke is the Greatest Band of All Time. If you'll forgive my haste, I would prefer to sidestep convention and begin with the aforementioned declaration. The Left Banke is the Greatest Band of All Time.
Pioneering what critics called Baroque n Roll, the Left Banke's harpsichord rock often draws comparisons to their contemporaries the Zombies and the Kinks. With their first single, "Walk Away Renee," the Left Banke made 1966 the greatest year in pop music (Pet Sounds and Revolver also helped out slightly). Their 1967 album Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina is a remarkably assured and balanced work, filled with hauntingly beautiful melodies, orchestral flourishes, and lush vocal harmonies. The entire album succeeds, with the exception of the misplaced "What do You Know", an oompah-oompah country-style song that I imagine leaves most listeners scratching their heads.
Keyboardist and primary songwriter Michael Brown was 16 when he wrote "Walk Away Renee," about bassist Tom Finn's then-girlfriend Renee Fladen. Brown's infatuation with her was so incapacitating that he reportedly refused to play if she was in the room. "Pretty Ballerina" and "She May Call You Up Tonight," two of the Left Bankes best songs, were also about her.
Now that you're familiar with the band, I'm going to have to alter my original premise. You see, in 1967 Michael Brown, the proverbial brains behind the operation, decided to pull a Brian Wilson, and refused to tour with the rest of the band, staying home to focus on writing instead. Effectively (and correctly) announcing that he was the most important member, this caused a lot of tension. It got so bad that at one point, in a display of his sovereignty, Brown hired studio musicians and recorded the single "Ivy Ivy b/w And Suddenly." Released under the Left Banke moniker, the other members of the group were suitable incensed.
Eventually, Brown departed and started a Left Banke-styled band called Montage, while the rest of the band kept a few of his songs, wrote some new ones, and released an album called Left Banke Too. Neither this nor the first album are available on CD, however, the CD There's Gonna Be a Storm: The Complete Recordings 1966-69 contains both albums in their entirety, plus a few singles.
Although Brown was never an official member of Montage, he played keys on the album, and wrote the vast majority of the material, which, if you ask me, pretty much makes him a member. Montage released one self-titled album in 1969, which is damn-near impossible to find on vinyl, but was finally released on CD in 2001. It is well worth picking up, as it sounds much more like the successor to Walk Away Renee/Pretty Ballerina than the lackluster Left Banke Too does. As well as containing a better version of Desiree than the one on Left Banke Too, Montage features "She's Alone," possibly Michael Brown's single greatest achievement. Akin to "Eleanor Rigby" in its subject matter and use of strings instead of guitars or drums, "She's Alone" is an astounding song, driven by a vocal melody that only Michael Brown could have written.
In light of all the evidence, I must conclude that Michael Brown, not the Left Banke, is in fact the Greatest... um... Band... of All Time.
Where is Michael Brown now, or, more correctly, is he active in music industry? Please provide details so I can review and recent efforts by him. Thank you very much.
Posted by: Fan of Left Banke at December 12, 2004 08:04 PM
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thanks for this blog.
it's awesome.
Posted by: jenn at June 7, 2004 11:12 AM