Artist: Cyrkle Title Of Album: Neon Year Of Release: 1967/2006 Label: Sony Country: US Genre: Beautiful baroque folk psych Audio codec: FLAC | lossless

"Neon", appeared in 1967, though the cover of that record depicted the band as a trio. Although it had some enjoyable cuts, Neon wasn't nearly as strong or accessible as its predecessor, and with no hit single to follow "Turn Down Day," the group's fortunes gradually ebbed. They did record some interesting and ambitious songs during their final year of work, including "Red Chair Fade Away," an early song by Robin and Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees; Dawes and Dannemann also proved themselves quite capable of writing good songs on their own. The death of Brian Epstein in the summer of 1967, however, interrupted whatever lingering interest there was in continuing with the group.

At around the same time that the group was collectively assessing its future, Tom Dawes happened to sell a jingle he'd written for a commercial to an advertising agency. The five-figure fee he collected for the sale (on top of any royalties from re-use) came a lot easier than a five-figure income from playing shows at that date, more than a year after their last hit. The chronology of the Cyrkle's final days is a little difficult to figure out because Dawes did quit in early 1968, followed byLosekam and Dannemann.

During the group's final days together, they contributed songs -- including some very spaced-out psychedelia to an independently financed dramatic film that was eventually released as a sexploitation vehicle under the title The Minx. Losekamp played for other groups, while Dawes and Dannemann both went on to major careers writing commercial jingles. Dannemann's company, Mega Music, also produced the scores to several top-rated children's shows of the '70s and '80s, while Fried became an attorney and Pickens a doctor. Dannemann briefly re-emerged as a recording artist in 1981 when he and his wife recorded a single, "I Did It for You," as a tribute to John Lennon.

The Cyrkle actually got back together to play a benefit in 1986, in connection with Hands Across America, but have not been heard from since. Their music is still being reissued, especially their two hits and with the occasional psychedelic cut, such as "The Words," which ended up on Psychedelic Archives, Vol. 6. In the late '80s, Columbia Records accidentally released an alternate mix of "Red Rubber Ball" on one of its multi-artist compilations that left out the organ and moved the guitars to the front of the mix. The 1991 compilation Red Rubber Ball assembled most of the group's popular and easily accessible Columbia recordings on one CD. And in 2002, Sundazed Records licensed the complete Cyrkle catalog, unearthing numerous worthwhile unreleased tracks and finally giving this underrated band the respect and attention they deserved.

Tracks:

1. Don't Cry, No Fears, No Tears Comin' Your Way (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 2:39
2. The Visit (She Was Here) (Bodie Chandler, Edward McKendry) - 2:16
3. Weight Of Your Words (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 2:23
4. I Wish You Could Be Here (Bruce Woodley, Paul Simon) - 2:51
5. It Doesn't Matter Anymore (Burt Bacharach, Hal David) - 2:00
6. Two Rooms (Marty Fried) - 1:43
7. Our Love Affair's In Question (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 2:23
8. I'm Happy Just To Dance With You (John Lennon, Paul McCartney) - 1:58
9. Problem Child (Carole Bayer, Toni Wine) - 2:33 10.Please Don't Ever Leave Me (Susan Haber) - 1:57 11.I'm Not Sure What I Wanna Do (Chip Taylor) - 2:49 12.Don't Cry, No Fears, No Tears Comin' Your Way (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 2:46 13.You Can't Go Home Again (Unknown Artist) - 2:11 14.Terry's Theme (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 2:20 15.We Said Goodbye (And Went Our Separate Ways Or So We Thought) (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 1:28 16.Turn Of The Century (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) - 2:22 17.Friends (Don Dannemann) - 2:40 18.Where Are You Going (Don Dannemann) - 2:11 19.Red Chair Fade Away (Barry Gibb, Robin Gibb) - 2:11 20.Please Don't Ever Leave Me (Susan Haber) - 1:56 21.Money To Burn (Don Dannemann, Tom Dawes) - 3:05 22.I Wish I Could Be Here (Bruce Woodley, Paul Simon) - 2:44 23.The Visit (She Was Here) (Bodie Chandler, Edward McKendry) - 2:16 24.We Had A Good Thing Goin' (Howard Greenfield, Neil Sedaka) - 2:45 25.Two Rooms (Marty Fried) - 1:44 26.Penny Arcade (Denny Randell, Sandy Linzer) - 2:39 27.The Words (Tom Dawes) - 3:22 28.Reading Her Paper (Barbara Cooper, Frank Catana) - 3:02 29.Camaro (Louis Adessa, Vince Benay) - 3:12

Personnel: Don Dannemann – Guitar, Vocals Tom Dawes – Guitar, Bass, Sitar, Vocals Marty Fried – Drums, Tambourine, Finger Cymbals, Triangle, Gong, Vocals Michael Losekamp - Keyboards With The International Brotherhood Of Brindle Makers Marching Band & Chowder Society - Brass, Strings, Woodwind