Denny Garrard - Sinister Morning

Folk-rock footnote to a footnote

Warm Sounds and High Tide are familiar names on the on the 60s psych-prog cratedigger scene, the former producing a handful of Immediate and Deram sides, while the latter’s Sea Shanties LP of 1969 is recognised as an underground classic (the band included Tony Hill, ex-of The Misunderstood). South African-born Denny Gerrard was one half of Warm Sounds, and went on to produce the High Tide LP: decent footnote credentials. So it comes as something of a disappointment to find his sole solo outing from 1970, where he’s backed by High Tide, distinctly lacking in star quality.

There’s no place to hide: Gerrard wrote, guitarred, mouth-harped and sang on all nine tracks. The vibe is surprisingly West Coast, with Dylan’s figure looming large over much of the songwriting. At over seven minutes, True Believer could almost be a Dylan obscurity, and Last But One could almost be The Byrds doing Dylan. Denny’s phrasemaking rarely catches the ear, and only a true fan would call his mumbled vocal style dark or broody. The LP closes with Atmosphere, another seven minutes of experimental dirge with reading. It’s filler.

Esoteric | ECLEC 2045

Reviewed by Derek Hammond
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