You guessed the latter.
A remarkably unknown band, nobody seems to know what the members did before they got their one-shot contract on Cotillion, and few know anything about their life after it.
Some amateur blogs and dubious websites insist that Mr. Flood's Party sprang from a group called The Now, which recorded two singles for Embassy in 1968. Not likely. No members of Mr. Flood's Party have a writing credit on the few singles The Now made, including this one:
The singing by The Now also doesn't sound much like the guys in Mr. Flood's Party.
For the record, the members of Mr. Flood's Party were Tom Castagnaro, Michael Corbett, Jay Hirsch, Rick Mirage, Marcel Thompsen, and Freddy Toscano.
The album has a strange but pleasing mix of Crosby-Stills-Nash harmony (most notable on the song "Deja Vu," which is not to be confused with either the CSN tune or one on a single by The Now) and most any overwrought psych band of the era, including Long Island's beloved and melty Vanilla Fudge. "Northern Travel" would be an example of that, and of course you have songs titled "Liquid Invasion" and "Mind Circus." Heavy, man. A B-side of one of their few singles was "Alice Was a Dream."
Add a dash of Zappa; the band wasn't averse to drifting off into tongue-in-cheek chant ("Tangerine...tangerine...kiss my tangerine...") or mocking the "Evil Prince of Darkness" with saucy lyrics and a dash of doo-wop.
The best song is the shortest, probably the only one that might've had a shot at being a single. Not a hit single, but a single. It's "Simon J. Stone," which is the only song on the album that references Tilbury Town, where Edwin Arlington Robinson's characters lived in their anguish, chagrins and occasional glory.
After Mr. Flood's Party, Corbett & Hirsch put out a fairly obscure album, and Freddy Toscano a VERY obscure album. (I have the former, but the latter isn't even on eBay for a few hundred bucks).
"Simon J. Stone, you're a good man, what is there left for a good man?" Or an obscure 60's psych band that put an old man on the cover of their album years before "Aqualung."
UPDATE 2019:
Mr. Flood's Party finally got a CD release, but apparently the source is somebody's M- vinyl, as one reviewer heard a click or pop now and then.
Another blog reviewed it and for some reason, included several lines from THIS blog's review without credit. Gosh, imagine that, people on the Internet not caring about plagiarism, credit, or anything...
Join......the party.
6 comments:
Wow, I thought noone 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 photog. It was a great band..didn't have enough time to develop.
I am not sure how long ago that Rick Mirage left that message but I have been an ardent fan of Mr Flood's Party since 1969. I have worn out two vinyl copies of the album and now have a CD version I bought from some company in Germany. One of the many aspects of this album I liked was Rick's unique guitar work. Does anyone know if he has done anything else?
I met Rick on the beach at Cabo San Lucas. He is teaching school in Southern California. He is still playing music in a duo known as Frederick and Martin. His email is arock403@aol.com if you are interested.
My cousin Marcel Thomson who played guitar for Mr. Flood's Party is from Long Island, NY, and previously belonged to a band from that area, named The Trolls. They broke up in the later part of the 1960s, and Marcel eventually joined Mr. Flood's Party. If anyone has any information of Marcel's joining/leaving Mr Flood's Party, and what might have happened afterwards, please contact me.
Thank you.
My dad was Jim Strickland. He was in an iteration of the band at some point. He didn't talk much about it and he passed in 2015. I did hear from Charlie Clark who sent me the "Compared to What" 45. would love to hear from other band members. Doing a tribute on ShiawasseeRadio.com today - my dad would have been 70 today. (Aug 19)
I am Jim Strickland's sister. He enjoyed his time with Mr. Flood's Party and specifically performing "Compared To What" !
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