Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar
Band members Related acts
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line up x (1967) - Mike Deasy (aka Lybuk Hyd) -- guitar, vocals
backing musicians (1967) - Jim Bell -- vocals - Ben Benay -- guitar - Curt Boettcher -- vocals - Toxie French -- vibes - Jim Helms -- guitar - Mike Henderson - organ - Dottie Holmberg -- vocals - Dyann King -- vocals - Sharon Olsen -- vocals - Michele O'Malley -- vocals - Butch Parker -- piano - Sandy Salisbury -- vocals - Jerry Scheff -- bass - Jim Troxel -- drums, percussion - Bob Turner -- vocals - Alicia Vigil -- vocals
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- The Ceyleib People (Mike Deasy) - Mike Deasy (solo efforts) - The Flower Pot Men - Gator Creek (Mike Deasy) - The Kelly Four (Mike Deasy) - Mike and Kathie (Mike Deasy) - The Road Runners (Mike Deasy)
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Genre: psych Rating: * Title: Friar Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar Company: Mercury Catalog: SR
61111 Country/State: Los Angeles, California Grade (cover/record): VG/VG+ Comments: stereo pressing; top seam split Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $40.00
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Since starting his professional musical career in the late 1950s, guitarist Mike Deasy's played on hundreds, if not thousands of sessions. Today he's probably best known as a member of the famed "wrecking crew" who have supported everyone from The Beach Boys to Frank Zappa. Less known is Deasy's own recording career.
A
prime example of that solo career comes in the form of 1967's "Friar
Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar". Largely written and
produced by Deasy, the album's best described as a slice of psychsploitation
meant to capitalized on the public's sudden obsession with all things
psychedelic. The album featured support from friend/arranger Curt
Boettcher and a myriad of L.A. s
"Friar
Tuck and His Psychedelic Guitar" track listing: 1.) Sweet Pea (Tommy Roe) - 3:16 rating: **** stars As much as I love the Tommy Roe original, there's something charming about Deasy quirky, Southern drawl spoken word version of "Sweet Pea". The chirpy backing vocals were hysterical and when the song descended into lysergic madness you just had to laugh. The song also appeared as the "B" side on the "Alley-Oop" 45. 2.) Louis Louis (Richard Berry) - 4:41 rating: *** stars In spite of the mis-spelling, this is one of the most whacked out covers of the Kingsmen's classic "Louie Louie" I've ever heard. The classic garage rocker's melody and drunken rhythm remained recognizable, but the combination of Deasy's fuzz guitar, laconic lead vocals, acid soaked backing vocals and Jerry Scheff's bass made this one well worth hearing. Talk about one stoned song !!! 3.) Work Song (Nat Adderley - Oscar Brown Jr.) - 4:51 rating: *** stars I certainly didn't expect to hear a psyched-up cover of jazz cornetist Nat Adderley's 1960 classic "Work Song" (lyrics subsequently added by Oscar Brown Jr.). Opening up with a renaissance faire feel, things started to freak out when Deasy's fuzz guitar and echoey spoken word lyrics kicked in. 4.) Alley-Oop (Dallas Frazier) - 5:10 rating: *** stars Inspired by the V. T. Hamlin comic strip, Gary Paxton and The Hollywood Argyles enjoyed the original 1957 hit with "Alley-Oop". Opening up with some striking acoustic and fuzz guitar, Deasy's cover stayed true to the basic melody, but slowed the tune down to a dirge tempo. Elsewhere Paxton's vocals were replaced by a stoned, spoken word drawl with backing from a stoned backing chorus. Not the tune I would have tapped as a single, but I guess it was the album's best known cover tune.
- 1967's "Alley-Oop" b/w "Sweat Pea" (Mercury catalog number 72684)
5.) All Monked Up (Mike Deasy) - 2:52 rating: **** stars The first of six Deasy originals, the harmony-rich "All Monked Up" demonstrated Boettcher's influences. Imagine something off The Millennium album, or perhaps something out of The Free Design catalog. I'm a big fan of the genre so this one struck a chord with me.
(side
2) "Ode To Mother Tuck" was another track that brought Boettcher's vocal crew (Jim Bell, Dottie Holmberg, Dyann King, Sharon Olsen, Michele O'Malley, Sandy Salisbury, Bob Turner and Alicia Vigil) to the forefront. With Deasy sprinkling some of his wild Telecaster moves on top of the track, once again imagine The Free Design and you'll get a feel for the sound. This one switched into acid meltdown territory before abruptly ending. 2.) A Record Hi (Mike Deasy) - 2:34 rating: **** stars Opening with a nice drum groove, "A Record Hi" boasted a bubblegum pop melody, more Free Design vocal harmonies and some of Deasy's wildest guitar wailing away in the background. 3.) Fendabenda Ha Ha Ha (Mike Deasy) - 2:29 rating: **** stars Complete with droning background vocals and other studio effects, "Fendabenda Ha Ha Ha" was easily the album's most lysergic performance. 4.) A Bit Of Grey Lost (Mike Deasy) - 2:41 rating: *** stars The opening and closing acoustic guitars reminded me of a Simon and Garfunkel tune, but from there "A Bit Of Grey Lost" went into conventional pop. Pretty melody that would have sounded okay on a television commercial. Deasy's guitar seemed to have been tuned to mimic a sitar. 5.) Where Did Your Mind Go? (Mike Deasy) - 3:37 rating: **** stars Take it for it's worth, but the backing singers seem to be chanting "dope, dope, dope". Along with some ferocious drumming and Deasy wild guitar, that set's the tone for the acid tinged closer. Fun to listen to on good headphones.
Deasy has an interesting web presence at: https://mikedeasymusic.blogspot.com/p/home.html
© Scott R. Blackerby September 2025
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essions
players including guitarist Ben Benay, bassist Jerry Scheff and
drummer Jim Troxel. Boettcher
also recruited singers Jim Bell, Michele O'Malley and Sandy Salisbury - all
having worked with Boettcher in his group Ballroom. Exemplified by
tracks like Tommy Roe's "Sweet Pea", The Kingsmen's
"Louis Louis" and Nat Adderley's "Work Song", the first
side of the album focused on a series of demented rock and jazz
covers. While Deasy remained true to the original melodies, the
remakes were subjected to all sorts of lysergic tinged twists and turns
including ghostly backing vocals, sound effects and Deasy's own fuzz
guitars. It may not have sounded great, but at least to my ears,
proved surprisingly engaging. The final track on side one
("All Monked Up")
and all of side two featured Deasy originals. Side two brought Boettcher's
vocal crew to the forefront with their Free Design vocal harmonies prominent
on tracks like "Ode
To Mother Tuck", the bubblegum
pop-ish "A Record Hi"
and the freak-out "Fendabenda
Ha Ha Ha".
Yes it's an exploitation album, but in that vast world of consumer rip offs,
this one's actually pretty good and worth a listen for anyone who enjoys the
musical niche and has an ear for the goofy.
