A couple of sunny west coast gems that move beyond the summer of love stylings and into broader, more heavily produced territories. Both bands were the brainchild of The Association's Curt Boettcher and producer Gary Usher. The two would push the projects to heights of soft psych perfection; beautiflully crafted and breezily carefree.

	Sagittarius- Present Tense The two producers, moving on from their work in The Ballroom assembled Sagittarius as a studio project, crafting beautifully melancholic songs that draped strong multi-layered harmonies with hints of psychedelia. Many of the songs can edge a little
too far into the soft side of the spectrum, but when they hit the feeling just right it can stand along some of the better vocal oriented albums of the time. The "group" never really had a chance to gain any real ground since it was mostly the product of the two producers, they did chart one hit from the album and eventually the two moved onto their incarnation as The Millennium. Download: [MP3] Sagittarius - My World Fell Down [MP3] Sagittarius - The Truth is Not Real
	The Millennium - Begin The ideas that Usher and Boettecher laid down with Sagittarius took full bloom in The Millennium. Their tendency to stray into syrupy territory lessened and they began to form genuine pop gems that took full advantage of allthat the recording
process of the day had to offer; at the time it was chalked up as the most expensive album Columbia records had ever produced. Boettecher's harmonies edge their way into Beach Boys/Byrds sunshine pop perfection, draped in the California sun. Why it has bubbled just below the surface has always eluded me, but nonetheless it is truely the culmination of the Boettecher/Usher team; a classic of sweet, breezy harmonies and delicate musicianship. Download: [MP3] The Millenium- It's You [MP3] The Millenium- It Won't Always Be the Same