Merrell Fankhauser & H.M.S. Bounty - Things Following the demise of the short-lived Fapardokly, Merrell Fankhauser and Bill Dodd went on to form HMS Bounty and their second outing shares more than a few similarities with their previous
band, woes and all. Still rooted in Fankhauser's lush melodies and breezy strums, the album is a prime example of West Coast psych of from the period, relying heavily on the 12-string folk-psych perfected by the Byrds and delving further into bluesy territory like the myriad British Invasion counterparts that inspired the band's name. They were noticed by a few more of their peers on the West Coast than Fapardokly had been, opening for Canned Heat and The Paul Butterfield Blues band; and after a run as the house band at The Cove in Pismo beach they were able to wrangle a contract with UNI. The label changed the credit on the record to Merell Fankhauser and HMS Bounty without the band's permission, seeming to want to develop Fankhauser as a solo artist. They also shaved off more than a few of the psychedelic touches and excess from the band's recordings. Both instances raised the ire of the band and pushed tensions that had already existed to the surface. Though, in all honesty some of the reigning in of the psychedelic touches may have led to this album weathering better than some of their more dated sounding contemporaries. The band broke up not too long after the album's release with tensions between Merell and the band at a head and with the band finding they'd lost most of the advance they'd been promised to the producers of Things, a far too common tale in those days. Merrell would go on to form MU with ex-Beefheart guitarist Antenae Jimmy Semmems in the wake of the breakup. Subsequent reissues have got this gem back into the hands of collectors and psych-o-files alike and it’s a pretty great listen even after all these years. Listen: [MP3] H.M.S. Bounty - Things (Goin' Round In My Mind) Support the artist, buy it HERE