Mr. Flood's Party
Band members Related acts
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line-up 1 (1966-68) as The Fourth Dimension
- Michael Corbett -- vocals, flute, percussion rhythm guitar
line up 2 (1969) as Mr. Flood's Party - Tom Castagnaro
-- drums, percussion lead
guitar rhythm guitar
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- The BMTs (Freddy Toscano) - City Lights (Freddy Toscano) - Corbett and Hirsh (Michael Corbett and Jay Hirsh) - The Crestmen (Tom Castagnaro) - The Down Five (Tom Castagnaro) - Four On the
Floor (Freddy Toscano) - The Group Image (Rick Kunstler) - Loose Gravel (Rick Kunstler) - Music Bachs (Marcel Thomspen) - No Frills (Freddy Toscano) - Rainy Days (Tom Castagnaro) - The Ribtones (Freddy Toscano) - The Trolls (Marcel Thomspen)
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Genre: psych Rating: **** (4 stars) Title: Mr. Flood's Party Company: Cotillion Catalog: SD-9003 Year: 1969 Country/State: -- Grade (cover/record): VG+/VG+ Comments: minor ring, edge and corner wear; inckudes insert Available: 1 Catalog ID: -- Price: $50.00 Cost: $66.00
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Calling New York's Greenwich Village home, singer Michael Corbett, singer/guitarist Jay Hirsh and rhythm guitarist Freddy Toscano started their collaboration as The Fourth Dimension (the name made sense for a trio). Spotted by Columbia Records, they released a pleasant pair of pop-psych singles to little notice and few sales.
- 1966's 'Rainy Day' b/w 'Land of Make Believe' (Columbia catalog number 4-43778) - 1966's 'Mister Blair' b/w 'You're My Unhappiness' (Columbia catalog number 4-43931)
Following popular musical trends, by1969 the trio had expanded to a six piece under the cool name Mr. Flood's Party. Wonder if it was inspired by Edwin Arlington Robinson's famed poem? Joining the original trio were drummer Tom Castagnaro, guitarist Rick Mirage (aka Rick Kunstler) and bassist Marcel Thomspen. Picked up by Atlantic's newly formed Cotillion subsidiary they made their label debut with a surprisingly commercial single. Well let me qualify that. The song showcased a touching country-rock ballad with a nice melody and sweet harmony vocals that should have captured FM radio's heart.
- 1969's 'Alice was a Dream' b/w 'Deja Vu' (Cottillion catalog number 45-44017)
While
the single did little commercially Cotillion went ahead and released an
album. Co-produced by Corbett, Hirsh and Toscano "Mr. Flood's Party"
featur
Posting on the Ill Folks blog, guitarist Rick Mirage may have said it best: "Wow, I thought none cared. I am Rick Mirage, see the back cover. We took that picture on Long Island when it was about 3 degrees. Steve Paley was the photographer. It was a great band ... didn't have enough time to develop."
1.) Northern Travel (Jay Hirsh - Michael Corbett) - 6:29 rating: **** stars A
surprise to my ears, Rick Mirage's
opening lead guitar gave 'Northern Travel' a smooth, jazzy vibe. The
sweet vocals and harmonies only underscored the song's charms. The
arrangement toughed up as it went along, as did Mirage's guitar work, before
it started to lose its way, Still, I could deal with the Corbett flute
solo and the drunken sing-along segment since the jazzy vibe returned at the
end. Awesome start. Starting
out as a slightly discordant acoustic ballad - just Hersh accompanied by
guitar and harmonica, the refrain exploded into a slice of catchy
Rascals-styled blue-eyed soul. Totally weird and totally cool. The
song had previously appeared as the "B" side to their 'Alice
was a Dream' single. Opening
up with a 'Eleanor Rigby' styled- Baroque string arrangement, 'Advice'
blossomed into an Association-styled ballad rounded out by some cutting Rick Mirage
lead guitar. Bet The Association wish they'd cut something this good. Can't
say the pop-meets-fantasy 'Prince of Darkness' was one of the album's
standout performances. Say what you will about guitarist Toscano, but to my
ears he squeezed some of the most psychedelic sounds imaginable out of his
axe. Extra star for his work on this one. Twee
pop? Baroque-pop? psych-light? I'm not sure what the proper
label is for 'Simon J. Stone.' Almost an a capella performance, it was
a great platform for showcasing Hirsh's attractive voice and the band's nice
harmony vocal. Like the band name the lyric also seems to tie back to
poet and his depressing commentary on longevity. If you've ever read
"Mr. Flood's Party" you may recognize the song's reference to
Tilbury Town as the local Mr. Flood lived his long and lonely life. (side 2) 1.) Stanley's Tea (Jay Hirsh - Marcel Thompsen) - 2:09 rating: *** stars With
an old-timey feel,
'Stanley's Tea' reminded me a bit of an early Harry Nilsson tune. I like
early Nilsson so I was okay with this one, though I can see some folks
considering it to be too fey for the band's own good. Opening
up with a classical string arrangement I was wondering what was going on and
abruptly the tune shifted into full-on screaming rock tune ...
Complete with frenetic Tom Castagnaro
drums, Mirage's soaring lead guitar and a backing chorus where did this one
come from? Perhaps
the album's prettiest melody, 'Garden of the Queen' was another delicate,
acid-tinged ballad. Deep breathing, touchy-feely lyrics, lots of
orchestration ... fun song to hear on good headphones. My favorite song, 'The Mind Circus' started out sounding like a conventional pop ballad along the lines of Paul Revere and the Raiders, or solo Mark Lindsey. And then someone spiked the water cooler. By the time you got to the three-minute mark things were getting a little antsy. By the four-minute mark Marcel Thomspen had decided he was going to showcase his bass talents, regardless of what the rest of the band thought. And then things went really crazy ... What an awesome way to end the album.
After the band break-up Hirsh and Corbett continued their musical collaboration releasing a 1971 album "Mike Corbett & Jay Hirsh with Hugh McCrackin" (ATCO catalog number SD-33-361)
Toscano reappeared with an even harder to find set billed to Frogs for Everybody ("Frogs For Everybody" Lilly Pad catalog number LP-68)
Credited to "Mr. Flood's Party" there's also a 1971 single on the small Detroit GM label. Be warned in spite of what you may see online,I'm pretty sure it's not the same band, rather a decent soul band.
- 1971's Compared To What' b/w 'Unbreakable Toy' (GM catalog number 714)
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ed
a collection of nine band originals that mixed commercial pop with lite-psych
influences and some modest progressive moves. With five of the six members contributing material
(Hirsh and Corbett responsible for the bulk of the set), selections
such as the opener 'Northern Travel', the 45 "B" side 'Deja Vu' and
'Advice' sounded like a stoned
version of The Association suffering from a J.R.
Tolken fixation. If you doubt the analogy I suggest you check out Garden
of the Queen' or 'Simon J.
Stone'. In
hindsight that description may not sound too attractive ... which isn't fair
since the album was actually pretty entertaining. Corbett, Hirsh and
Toscano were all listed as singers, but I think Hirsh handled most of the
vocal duties and he was enjoyable with a
voice that was commercial, yet powerful. The album was full of pretty
melodies (the Harry Nilsson-esque 'Stanley's Tea'), nice
harmonies and unorthodox song structures, highlights include the blazing
rocker 'The Liquid Invasion' and the lysergic-soaked closer 'The Mind
Circus'. Shame the debut single 'Alice was a Dream' wasn't included
since it was a killer track. All told it was impressive for a band
that probably didn't get a lot of time to record an album. Shame they
never got a chance at a follow-up. Not a big surprise, the set vanished without a
trace followed in short order
by the band. 
