Baroque Hoedown [Expanded Edition]

by The Three O'Clock

Overview

After making a splash with their garage psych records made under the name the Salvation Army, the Three O'Clock returned with a new name, a lineup featuring keyboards, and a less punk-inspired sound on the Baroque Hoedown EP. What did remain from their days as the Salvation Army were the incredibly hooky songs, bassist Michael Quercio's lilting vocals, and a sense that the group had plugged into the same flow that groups like the Who and the Action had back in the '60s. Only now it was spliced with some of the ornate lushness of Baroque poppers the Left Banke and toytown psych residents like Tomorrow. The first track, "With a Cantaloupe Girlfriend," is a stunning statement of intent built on pummeling drums, precise harpsichord tinkles, stunning vocal harmonies, and lyrics that verge on psychedelic while still being joyfully romantic. It's a wonderful song; so good that if it was the only thing they had ever released, people would still be talking about them in hushed tones decades later. The rest of the EP doesn't lag far behind. The second best song, "I Go Wild," dials the energy down just a bit, brings in some Byrds-style jangle, and gives a good clue as to who Quercio's bass-playing role model was -- McCartney, of course. They romp through the Easybeats' "Sorry" with insouciant glee, add lovely violin playing to the yearning psych rocker "Marjorie Tells Me," and on "As Real as Real," take a delicate side trip into hazy psychedelia that's no patch on what the Rain Parade were doing at the time. This song shows how far the Three O'Clock had come since their Salvation Army incarnation, as well as going a long way toward putting the band at the head of the class of psych pop explorers just setting out in the early '80s in search of ways to honor and update the sounds that inspired them so strongly. Baroque Hoedown not only updates these sounds, any band operating in the actual mid- to late '60s would have been happy to be able to put together an EP as hooky, trippy, and fully realized as this. ~ Tim Sendra

Product Details

Release Date:	05/12/2023
Label:	Yep Roc
UPC:	0634457085886
Rank:	57548

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Three O'Clock   Primary Artist
Michael Quercio   Bass,Vocals
Danny Benair   Percussion
Mickey Mariano   Vocals,Keyboards
Gregg Gutierrez   Guitar,Vocals

Technical Credits

Syd Barrett   Composer
Bill Inglot   Mastering
Chris Bellman   Cut
Michael Quercio   Composer,Group Member
Gene Clark   Composer
Dave Schultz   Mastering
Danny Benair   Group Member
Earle Mankey   Producer
Mickey Mariano   Group Member
Chris Haston   Photography
Gregg Gutierrez   Composer,Group Member
Wright Young   Composer
Dee Zee   Sleeve Design