It's a Beautiful Day - ST (1969)

"Well...it was the sixties..."
Ah, the Sixties, the exalted era of rock'n'roll, when the battle cry was "peace love dope!" and Simon & Garfunkel were considered "edgy." Certainly, the Sixties remain one of the most important decades of the past hundred years, both politically and culturally. I guess it also something to do with the coming of age of the baby boom generation - just as I romanticize the unlikely resurgence of ska and swing during my college years, so does my father romanticize the musical revolution of his time.
Only - he kept all his records, and I still can't find my Cherry Poppin' Daddies CD. Oh well.
It's a Beautiful Day is the perfect sixties time capsule. In other words, it's one freaky-deaky acid trip of a record. From the very first track, "White Bird," to the sprawling closer "Time Is," it's like listening to musical gypsies jam with Captain Beefheart in Provo Park. I can almost taste the LSD.
In fact, when I put this record on for the first time, all I could think about was another piece of sixties nostalgia that my dad exposed me to when I was younger - the film "Easy Rider."

Was it awkward for me to watch something like that with my father? Yes. But it was tempered by the fact that he was excited for me to see it. It was like he was sharing with me a time capsule from his formative years. In the same way, I hope to share with my children the definitive film of the late nineties - "American Pie."
In the end, It's a Beautiful Day only gets 3 out of 5 Dads. I feel like dads may be a little embarrassed to admit that they're really into something so esoteric.
However, the record does receive 4.5 Sons, because one time I was playing this stuff at a party, and a girl said, "Hey Nelson - this is fantastic guacamole, and this music is sexy as hell!" (She was a burlesque dancer.) Seriously, though, this music is just anachronistic enough to be cool again.


Must listen tracks:
[ mp3 ]: It's a Beautiful Day - White Bird (Vinyl Rip 256kpbs)
[ mp3 ]: It's a Beautiful Day - Wasted Union Blues (Vinyl Rip 256kpbs)
Here's the full album on Rdio: