Knights Of The Blue Communion

Peter Ivers’ Band: Cat Scratch Fever and Lord God Love
From: Knights Of The Blue Communion [Epic, 1969]

I’ve always had a soft spot for artists who refuse to tow the line and play ball. While the various musicians who loudly rebelled against “The Man” are heavily documented I’ve always been interested in those artists who took a different route.

One such musician was Peter Ivers. By turns a singer, artist and actor, Ivers was signed up by Epic in the late sixties on the crest of the Psych fad. However, rather than deliver what Epic were no doubt hoping would be a funked out, psychedelic pop sound Ivers enlisted Sri Lankan jazz singer Yolande Bavan and mixed sounds as diverse as harmonica and oboe.

The results really shouldn’t be fit for human ears but, not only do they work, they work brilliantly, if sporadically.

Cat Scratch Fever manages to combine breaks for days with total insanity. I know that Yolande’s vocals are the kind you either love or hate but I personally dig the fluctuations in her voice – her fierce tones riding the compact snares. There’s a crispness to the sound of the percussion the group produces that seems to stop the chaos ever getting out of hand. I’ll be the first to agree that the song’s about 4 minutes too long but, hey, it was the sixties. It’s also not often I tell you to check out a harmonica solo either so I’ll grab my chance and tell you to – it’s quality.

Lord God Love is an off kilter folky funky bizarre gem with an undulating bassline over those crisp drums again and a lounge/off kilter melody that Yolande warbles over to great effect, No idea what it’s about but seems to be something about finding God’s face which is always a winner.

I can’t really mention Ivers without bringing up his Lady In The Radiator song from Eraserhead in passing, pure genius. Sadly Ivers was found murdered in 1983 and the world lost a unique talent that day.

I expect this may leave many regular readers cold but try it for a change (it’s free) and you may find your musical horizons broadened a little bit. If not we’ll be back with the funk before you know it…….