OK, I am very late to the party. No, not the sixties party which was about fifty years ago. I'm late to that too. But I mean the band Jawbone. I am just now discovering that they came out of the remnants of the Mirage and Turquoise. I'm sure they were more "Band" influenced and part of that early seventies sound, but I'd still be curious to hear what people think about them. I don't have the CD yet.
I knew about Portobello Explosion and their song "We Can Fly" but was unaware that Jawbone was the next incarnation. I don't really have a questions here, just wondering since I obviously missed any discussion of this band (which I'm assuming must have happened at some point on this forum), can anyone give me a little review or heads up on what to expect with this CD. For a long time I've been wondering why the Mirage never get a vinyl treatment, and it looks like the original vinyl of this album is an ultra-rarity as well.
Anyway, I'll be curious to hear what people have to say about this collection of songs.

Joe

This probably isn't a great deal of help as it was quite awhile ago that i listened to it, but i was underwhelmed by the album. perhaps expecting more than i heard?

Thanks Wisdom, I sort of figure it might not quite live up to the expectation of rhe Mirage and Turquoise, both of whom have high points for sure, but it sounds like this is a later incarnation and style. Still, I'll have to give it a listen.

I think it's a great LP, sort of a marriage between white LP era Beatles, with some pop psych and a 'rural' influence. I normally hate music described as rural, but it works here for some reason. Great songwriting, imaginative arrangements and very consistent.

Here's some tracks and info for you Joe. Must admit the last one is nice baroque sounding track.




https://youtu.be/3pHp4ffLlnU

https://youtu.be/kWnaeLswlNY

https://youtu.be/ubgrhx849IU


Jawbone was born from the ashes of The Mirage and Turquoise, two of the UK's greatest cult pop-psych bands (and both recently anthologised on RPM and Rev-Ola respectively) and their lone 1970 album rounds off their stories perfectly. They were thrown together after guitarist Ray Glynn and drummer Dave Hynes decided to re-form The Mirage after a short stint in The Spencer Davis Group came to an end in 1969 (they appear on the excellent "Short Change" single and ill-fated Funky album). Vocalist Pete Hynes and former bassist Dee Murray was swiftly poached for Elton John's band so they recruited keyboard player and former Mirage sidekick/songwriter Kirk Duncan who called up another former colleague, Jeff "Gus" Peters of the recently defunct Turquoise to handle bass duties. Dave Hynes secured the band a deal with Merv Cohn's newly minted Carnaby label and they changed their name to The Portebello (sic) Explosion for a single coupling the dreamy, Beatlesque pop-sike of "We Can Fly" and a tough, hard-edged cover of Bubble Puppy's minor US hit "Hot Smoke And Sassafras". The single went nowhere but album sessions began regardless in late 1969 with the re-recording of three old Mirage tunes - "How's Ya Pa?", "Chicago Cottage" and "Jeremiah Dreams" (mistitled "Jeremiah's Dream" on the eventual album), a suitably demented re-working of their unreleased 1967 psychedelic opus "Ebeneezer Beaver". When "How's Ya Pa?" was released as a single in early 1970, it was credited to yet another new moniker, Jawbone. Typically for this period, Dave Hynes had become obsessed by The Band and set about re-modelling the group in their image. Consequently, titles like "Honeysuckle Redwood Cabin", "Homestead" and "Mister Custer" came thick and fast, bearing the distinct influences of The Band and The Byrds. On the flipside, Jeff Peters' yearning, Dylanesque "Song For Sunny" sounds like a top-notch Turquoise out-take, "Brave White Knight" blends Donovan, Simon & Garfunkel and "Greensleeves" to thrilling effect and the superb version of The Beatles' "Across The Universe" is chock full of flanged vocals, Wah-Wah guitar and all manner of glorious psychedelic trickery. The album came housed in a luxurious, artistic and no doubt very expensive fold-out poster sleeve but sank without trace. A further non-LP single, "Way Way Down", was released shortly after but suffered a similar fate. Jawbone then hooked up with Joe Brown and became his backing band Home Brew for the next five years, at least ensuring themselves a regular income. Dave Hynes ended up drumming for Steve Marriott during the late 70s and into the '80s.

Cool. I'll check those out! Looking forward to hearing the CD when it arrives. Interesting there's a reworking of Ebeneezer Beaver. That song should have been a single for sure. Crazy it languished until the Mirage CD a few years back.