Genre: pop
Rating: 3 stars ***
Title:  Inspirated
Company: Decca
Catalog: SSS 515
Year: 1968
Country/State: Ghent, Belgium
Grade (cover/record): VG / VG
Comments: red x's on back next to some of song titles
Available: 1
Catalog ID: 5742
Price: $125.00

I'll readily admit that I'm not a great writer - my narratives tend to ramble on and are littered with typos, but this isn't one of them ... This album title really is "Inspirated". 

This is another outfit I stumbled while living in Belgium during the mid-1970s. I actually discovered them one day when I was sick at home and saw them doing a hysterical lip synched performance on a local television talent program. (Sounds hard to believe, but up until the late 1970s Belgian television didn't come on the air until around noon and went off the air shortly after midnight.)

The group apparently started playing together in 1966 getting a big break when British pop star Dave Berry spotted them playing at the Ghent sports stadium. With Berry's sponsorship they began working as a backup band, supporting a steady stream of English stars touring the Benelux. Berry also helped the band score a contract with Decca, making their debut with the 1967 Berry-penned 'You Made a Fool of Me' b/w 'M. T.' (Decca catalog number 105 23.720)



Released in 1968, "Inspirated" served to compile the earlier single with a bunch of new studio material; much of it penned by mentor Berry. Lots of folks probably won't find this one particularly appealing, but the quirky blend of English pop moves and the heavily accented deliveries have always held a quirky appeal to my ears. True, much of the album sounded like it had been recorded a couple of years earlier, but that 'old school' feel was also part of the appeal to my ears. Perhaps a mistake to assume they played their own instruments, but I'll tell you that these guys came off as quite accomplished musicians and could have easily competed with many of their better know American and British competitors.  

- Penned by mentor Berry, the ballad 'You Made a Fool of Me' may have been the most outright commercial track on the album, explaining why it was previously picked as a single. With it's labored vocal, that's not to say it was the best effort. While catchy it also had kind of a dated mid-1960s sound. Likeable, but certainly not great.
- In contrast, the organ-propelled 'Party 68' was a killer performance. Boasting a fantastic Memphis-soul inflected feel the song wasn't hurt by the irritatingly catchy melody, the nice touch of feedback drenched guitar, and the down and dirty growling vocal which made it easy to overlook the heavy accent. Might be the standout performance.
- The band certainly had good taste in deciding to cover The Buffalo Springfield's 'For What It's Worth', though the concept was better than the actual performance. Musically their cover stayed fairly close to the original, though it sounded like they'd learned the lyrics phonetically. Nice harmony vocals and there was a tasty guitar solo on this one.
- 'Hurry Hup and Tell Me' (nope, not a typo), sported a nifty summer-of-love folk-rock feel. Complete with acid tinged vocals and chiming guitars this one was loads of fun. Great one to slap on a 'guess who this is' psych list.
- Even with a flute solo, 'I Got a Feeling' was wonderful. Propelled by a great garagy organ this one actually got kind of down and dirty. The only complaint was that they faded it out just as it was starting to kick-in.
- The horn-propelled 'M. T.' sported a harder-edged feel which had the advantage of making you forget about the heavily accented vocals. Another great track. With a bit of promotion this one could have gotten some airplay.  
- Even though 'I Will Find Her' was a mid tempo ballad, the track opened up with a nice slug of fuzz guitar and never let up. Excellent.
- Yeah, I guess it was nice of them to pay homage to Buddy Holly, but other than a nice fuzz solo, their cover of 'That'll Be the Day' was imminently forgettable. Maybe if you'd had enough Stella Artois it would have made more of an impression.
- Another Berry composition, 'I Got Nothing' was actually a strong tune, but suffered under the heavily accented vocals; the singer apparently deciding this time out he wanted to channel mid-1960s Tom Jones. Love the way he sings the word 'things' and 'zings'.
- Time for one of those sensitive singer/songwriter numbers via 'Grey Hair, Wrinkled Skin'. This one sounded like a Bobby Goldsboro outtake. Yech.
- 'Lazy Life' found the band moving back to a more pop-orientation. Good decision since it was quite catchy and commercial. Unfortunately, for some reason they decided to end the song with an Alvin and the Chipmunks-styled helium overdose. What the hell ...
- These guys had apparently backed Cat Stevens during a brief Benelux tour and so it made sense they do a Stevens cover. It won't make you forget the original (which I think was on "Matthew and Son"), but their cover wasn't half bad. Nice organ and acoustic guitar interface throughout.

Not the most original rock album you've ever heard, but still thoroughly enjoyable and actually far better than some of the big ticket Belgian items you see listed by dealers. By the way, the haphazard English liner notes were hysterical - "Together with the New Inspiration a new pop-period of fashion became a reality in Belgium.'" Of course I wouldn't do any better if I had to write something in Flemish.

"Inspirated" track listing:
(side 1)
1.) You Made a Fool of Me (Dave Berry) - 2:31
2.) Party 68 (Lean - Dave Berry) - 2:49
3.) For What It's Worth (Stephen Stillls) - 2:48
4.) Hurry Hup and Tell Me (Lean - Dave Berry) - 2:24
5.) I Got a Feeling (Dave Berry) - 2:21
6.) M. T. (Dave Berry) - 1:59

(side 2)
1.) I Will Find Her (Dave Berry) - 2:24
2.) That'll Be the Day (Buddy Holly - Petty) - 2:15
3.) I Got Nothing (Dave Berry) - 2:58
4.) Grey Hair, Wrinkled Skin (Dave Berry) - 1:43
5.) Lazy Life (Haskell) - 1:51
6.) I Found a Love (Cat Stevens) - 2:34

For those of you swayed by such things, this one appeared in Hans Pokora's 1,001 Record Collector's Dreams book.