Iona’s Song of the Week - No. 09

During the 1980s, there was a short-lived and not-too-well-known (at least not here on the West Coast of Scotland) musical genre called “The Paisley Underground.” Now, given that the City of Paisley, which does boast a Cathedral, is about half an hour from where I reside, I initially assumed that the movement was based around Indi bands from there. However, not so!

Paisley Underground was, in fact, a musical genre that originated in California, being particularly popular in Los Angeles. The bands incorporated psychedelic, rich vocal harmonies and guitar interplay, owing a particular debt to 1960s groups such as Love and the Byrds but generally referencing a wider range of pop and garage rock. The genre peaked in the mid-1980s, although my choice of band today continues to perform, having released their third studio LP in 2023. As a side note, brothers David and Stephen Roback had been in a former band called the Unconscious alongside their neighbour Susanne Hoffs, who became a member of The Bangles, probably the best-known band from the scene.

Our choice this week has been a difficult one to alight on, although I had picked the band last week! With only two of their albums in my collection, one would imagine that choosing a song would be easy, especially as the second album I possess is a live recording! Anyway, the band, which hails from Los Angeles, is called Rain Parade, and they have been turntable favourites for many years. Once you hear the guitar play and interchange, I reckon you will get why I love this band! I could have picked any of the ten tracks from their debut album Emergency Third Rail Power Trip, released in mid-1983.

After much consideration, I have chosen the 5-minute plus Kaleidoscope and listen out for the nod to George Harrison at the end! I will also leave it to you to check the second choice, the equally superb One Hour 1\2 Ago, if you are of a mind to!

https://youtu.be/Q56NyNUn1Q0?feature=shared

As an aside, having listened to Rain Parade again, I am reminded of the Glasgow band the Cosmic Rough Riders from the late 1990s, and I would hazard a guess that they, too, listened to the Paisley Underground bands!