Album: Triangle
Artist: The Beau Brummels
Release Date: July 1967
Genre: Psychedelic Folk Rock
Length: 0:28:50
Label: Warner Records
Producer: Lenny Waronker
1,001 Album Book: Yes
If I ever need to slay a dragon and save the princess, this is the album I'm doing it to...
Released in 1967, Triangle is the fourth album by The Beau Brummels but the first album featuring the group as a trio as Don Irving and John Peterson left the group shortly after the release of their prior album Beau Brummels '66. Triangle reached #197 on the Billboard 200 chart and features the single "Magic Hollow" which is considered one of "The 100 Greatest Psychedelic Classics" by Mojo magazine.
With a voice reminiscent of Bob Dylan, but with a medieval, magical sound of the instruments, The Beau Brummels has to be one of the most unique bands to come out of the psychedelic era of the 1960s.
The first track puts the listener onto the front porch in the middle of nowhere to sing the song with San Valentino's raw vocal style. Overall the song is a solid folk tune that showcases Valentino's interesting take on singing, especially with the slight warbling in his vocal chords after phrases in the track.
The next song, "Only Dreaming Now" is when The Beau Brummels start to show their true psychedelic interests. The introduction of the various orchestral instruments combined with the accordion playing throughout, along with the style of Valentino's voice, transports the listener to a fantasy world the group is creating for us. Valentino's voice is definitely not the strongest, but the weakness in his voice gives a true raw sensation that somehow makes the song more enjoyable to listen to, especially for this type of music.
The fantasy-like imagery throughout the album is somewhat cheesy but serves the record flawlessly. The way the instruments play along with the lyrics enunciated by Valentino are spectacular in painting pictures in your head. Songs like "The Painter of Women", "The Keeper of Time", "Nine Pound Hammer", just to name a few, allow the cheesiness, the strange qualities of the vocal performance, and the interesting sound of all the instruments shine to the fullest all because of the setting and style of performance The Beau Brummels went for in creating Triangle.
The lead single on the record "Magic Hollow" is the perfect name for this track. It opens up with a mysterious string pattern to delight your ears as the band is bringing you into a realm of calming peaceful psychedelia. The various small wind chime "dings" throughout, with the slight accordion, all with a string solo in the middle, create a unique track that is rare for rock groups to perfect. The song has no use of typical "rock" percussion and it honestly serves the track well, allowing the entire three minute length to be a relaxing journey into "Magic Hollow".
Although the band is technically only three guys creating psychedelic music, the execution wouldn't be as great if it wasn't for the help of numerous instrumentalists that brought in aspects that just a guitar, bass, drums and vocals could finesse. Psychedelic music is defined by multiple layers that are seemingly hidden unless you can find a way to actively listen and find each surprise hidden under the surface level, and Triangle executes that to perfection.
Amazingly, this album doesn't ever get boring. This could be a credit to the short song lengths as each track sounds different, yet similar enough but never goes on too long to bore the listener. I found myself feeling surprised with the sounds and effects all the way through to the last song "Old Kentucky Home". I cannot commend enough the illusive use of the orchestral instruments in some songs mixed in the album with the country-folk sounds.
I am a big fan of psychedelic music and this is a type that I've never heard before, but I enjoy it a lot. The production of this genre of rock is tough to execute well because you need to allow everything to shine through without overwhelming anything else. Thankfully, the entire album is easy to listen to; the only thing that isn't amazing is the lead singer's voice, but even that gets a strong pass because it serves the style of music flawlessly. If you are a fan of the Sgt. Pepper Beatles and Pink Floyd, I would recommend this album because it features aspects of those without ever sounding like those groups. Close your eyes with this record and place yourself in the land The Beau Brummels are enticing you to visit, you won't regret it...
Favorite Songs: "Are You Happy?", "Only Dreaming Now", "It Won't Get Better", "Magic Hollow", "Old Kentucky Home"
Least Favorite Songs: "The Painter of Women"
Production Quality:
Mix = 10/10 (As mentioned previously, this genre of rock is one of the hardest to mix but it cannot be mixed any better, especially given the release date)
Innovation = 7.5/10 (Amazing mix of orchestral sounds with contemporary rock instruments but not extremely new as the late 60s were full of this type of mix)
Songwriting Quality:
Arrangement = 8.5/10
Lyricism = 9/10 (Kind of cheesy lyrics but serves the record beautifully and utilizes the words to transport to a world the group wanted to create)
Instrumentation Quality:
Vocal Timbre = 7/10 (Singularly, not the greatest vocal sound, but fantastic combined with the band)
Instrumental Timbre = 10/10
Group Chemistry = 10/10 (Able to transport everyone to an imaginary land based on the songs alone)
Overall Likability:
My Personal Rating = 8.5/10
Overall Rating: 8.9/10
Any confusion on how the rating is weighted/calculated, please look at my "About" page.
Remember this is all my opinion! Let me know if you agree, disagree or have any comments!