Alex Bleeker of Real Estate says:
John’s Children were one of the most reckless punk bands of all time; and they were undoubtedly ahead of their own. The Brit psych-mod rockers had their LP banned in the US before it was even released. Multiple singles were deemed unplayable by the BBC, and they were ultimately kicked off a German tour with The Who in 1967 for inciting riots. They are probably best knows as Marc Bolan’s first band (pre-Tyrannosaurus Rex), which is ironic because he was only a member for a few months. Still, the few existing John’s Children recordings are undeniable.
I think that I’m genetically predisposed to value “soul” in a band way before technical ability. John’s Children were making records in a radically different music industry. Seeing as they were a British psych pop band in 1966, I can only imagine that they had dreams of striking it big. Poor musicianship could not yet be stamped with a “slacker” label and squeezed into some kind of big money mold. From a manager/producer’s perspective, technical incompetence was not only uncool; it was unacceptable.
And so, Simon Napier-Bell, the group’s slick, big money manager, did everything he could to disguise the band’s musical inability. Their most identifiable song, "Smashed Blocked"-- the title of which allegedly refers to getting high on pills--, was recorded in a studio in LA, by session musicians. Afterward, Andy Ellison overdubbed his shaky amateur lead vocal. The resulting recording is actually really cool. Though it was recorded by fancy LA studio bros, the ramshackle and chaotic John’s Children ethos stuck to the composition. After a tumbling psych-intro, the song just explodes into its righteous, anthemic chorus, before settling into a syrupy ballad.
The ACTUAL band was eventually allowed to enter the studio to record their only LP, ORGASM!, but Napier-Bell was still wary of the group’s ability to produce a quality product. In an attempt to fabricate an artificial live record, he took it upon himself to layer the entire album with fake crowd noise, lifted directly from A Hard Day’s Night. Conceptually, I think the idea is pretty cool, but after about a minute-and-a-half it is super annoying and a total detriment to the record. Shockingly, I have not heard of any efforts to put out a "naked" re-release.
Through the layers of unbalanced shrieking, ORGASM! is still a powerhouse-- a weird relic of what might have been. My personal favorite is "Jagged Time Lapse." Candy-kane “la la la” refrains are traded with tumbling and relentless drum fills and bass runs. This song is a gem, a poppy garage rock anthem whose playcount is steadily rising on my iTunes.
