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Here Come the Nice
"Here Come the Nice" is a song by the English rock band Small Faces. Written by guitarist Steve Marriott and bass guitarist Ronnie Lane, it was released as a single on 2 June 1967, through Immediate Records. The song, which was the band's debut on Immediate, was their first promoted release of 1967, following feuds with Decca Records. It marked a distinct turning point for Small Faces' career, being their first single to deliberately venture into psychedelia, though they had previously done that on a few album tracks for Decca. The song's subject regarding a drug dealer somehow bypassed the BBC censors, who did not ban it, which resulted in the song managing to chart at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart during the summer of 1967. The song received mostly good reviews from music critics, with many positively noting the change of genres.
The song is also known for its distinct outro, which was done through electro-mechanical studio processes, similar to how the band would experiment with flanging on their follow-up single "Itchycoo Park", which was released shortly after. Nonetheless, "Here Come the Nice" became one of Small Faces' best known recordings and, although it failed to chart within the top 10 in the United Kingdom, the song ultimately led the band to continue producing psychedelic songs for the rest of their career. Despite not charting on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Cashbox Top 100, the song was eventually included on the United States-only album There Are But Four Small Faces, released approximately ten months afterward, and was also included on the soundtrack of Peter Whitehead's Tonite Let's All Make Love in London in 1968.
By 1967, popular musical genres had started changing, and Small Faces' initially strong mod following had begun decreasing as a result. Psychedelic drugs had become popular among both various subcultures and bands. Small Faces had by now been introduced to LSD, during a party at their residence on 11 May 1966, the same day as the release of their debut studio album Small Faces. On that day, the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, a regular visitor to the band, along with the Moody Blues' drummer Graeme Edge visited Small Faces at their residence, located at 22 Westmoreland Terrace in Pimlico, following a meeting with Edge at Decca Studios in West Hampstead.
At the residence, Epstein passed orange slices on a plate around to the various band members, who all accepted them, with the exception of drummer Kenney Jones. Keyboardist Ian McLagan recalled that the band's reaction to the drug varied; he states that while Lane overlooked the river River Thames, Marriott planned on going to Manchester to visit his girlfriend. However, Marriott apparently had a bad trip under the drug and eventually Small Faces, along with Mick O'Sullivan, took Marriott to Euston railway station where he went on a train to Manchester. Although they had a negative first impression of the drug, it became an important factor for the band's music.
Small Faces had begun composing new music, including some psychedelic tracks. These included "That Man", "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?", "Green Circles" and "My Way of Giving". However, during the composing time, they began to grow bitter with their record label Decca Records along with Manager Don Arden, who the band felt cheated them. The reason was because although he had given them a salary of £20 a week, along with accounts at Carnaby Street clothing stores, Small Faces failed to see income from performances or royalties from any of their singles. The two final straws came when their parents confronted Arden, to which he responded that the Small Faces were using drugs, and when the band heard "My Mind's Eye" on the radio, which was a demo they would send in to Arden, not hoping to release it.
However, hope came when Andrew Loog Oldham's label Immediate Records decided to buy Small Faces' contract for £25 000 from Decca, which was announced on 11 February 1967 in a New Musical Express article. With Immediate, Small Faces were granted unlimited studio time and finally got the royalties they needed. Small Faces still owed Decca one more song, which eventually was released with "I Can't Make It", a song that they made no attempt in promoting; it stalled at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.
The title "Here Come the Nice" comes from the comedian Lord Buckley monologue, "Here Comes Da Nazz". Marriott had first heard the phrase in 1965 when he, original keyboardist Jimmy Winston and Winston's girlfriend spent time together at her apartment. According to McLagan, Marriott had an extremely catholic taste in music, deriving inspiration from several artists and sources, and he also says that Buckley "rapped" it. He further states that "Nazz" was slang for Jesus. The song features a line which alludes to drug use; "He makes me feel like no-one else could, He knows what I want, He's got what I need, He's always there if I need some speed."[citation needed] The phrase "speed" is a synonym for the central nervous system stimulant drug Amphetamine. However, in a 2014 interview with Uncut, McLagan stated that it refers to Methadrine, an alternate form of Methamphetamine, which McLagan said was one of "all kinds of chemicals" they were using, with him wanting to express about what drugs were being used by him at the time. The song also references a dealer in the opening verse, which McLagan admitted was written as a nod towards them.
Although it was called a psychedelic pop song by AllMusic critic Lindsay Planer, Hewitt and Hellier identified it as a "swaggering soul-pop" record that contains trademarks of their earlier music. Bruce Eder of AllMusic attributes this to the increased amount of studio time that they had received after signing Immediate, which eventually "loosened" their sound. For the song, McLagan had purchased a Hammond M102 specifically to record it, drawing inspiration from Booker T. Jones' playing on Booker T. & the M.G.'s 1962 single "Green Onions". Small Faces recorded the song during sporadic sessions at Olympic Studios between 8 and 12 May 1967, with Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns assisting as studio engineers. Marriott and Lane handled production of the song.
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Here Come the Nice
"Here Come the Nice" is a song by the English rock band Small Faces. Written by guitarist Steve Marriott and bass guitarist Ronnie Lane, it was released as a single on 2 June 1967, through Immediate Records. The song, which was the band's debut on Immediate, was their first promoted release of 1967, following feuds with Decca Records. It marked a distinct turning point for Small Faces' career, being their first single to deliberately venture into psychedelia, though they had previously done that on a few album tracks for Decca. The song's subject regarding a drug dealer somehow bypassed the BBC censors, who did not ban it, which resulted in the song managing to chart at number 12 on the UK Singles Chart during the summer of 1967. The song received mostly good reviews from music critics, with many positively noting the change of genres.
The song is also known for its distinct outro, which was done through electro-mechanical studio processes, similar to how the band would experiment with flanging on their follow-up single "Itchycoo Park", which was released shortly after. Nonetheless, "Here Come the Nice" became one of Small Faces' best known recordings and, although it failed to chart within the top 10 in the United Kingdom, the song ultimately led the band to continue producing psychedelic songs for the rest of their career. Despite not charting on either the Billboard Hot 100 or the Cashbox Top 100, the song was eventually included on the United States-only album There Are But Four Small Faces, released approximately ten months afterward, and was also included on the soundtrack of Peter Whitehead's Tonite Let's All Make Love in London in 1968.
By 1967, popular musical genres had started changing, and Small Faces' initially strong mod following had begun decreasing as a result. Psychedelic drugs had become popular among both various subcultures and bands. Small Faces had by now been introduced to LSD, during a party at their residence on 11 May 1966, the same day as the release of their debut studio album Small Faces. On that day, the Beatles' manager Brian Epstein, a regular visitor to the band, along with the Moody Blues' drummer Graeme Edge visited Small Faces at their residence, located at 22 Westmoreland Terrace in Pimlico, following a meeting with Edge at Decca Studios in West Hampstead.
At the residence, Epstein passed orange slices on a plate around to the various band members, who all accepted them, with the exception of drummer Kenney Jones. Keyboardist Ian McLagan recalled that the band's reaction to the drug varied; he states that while Lane overlooked the river River Thames, Marriott planned on going to Manchester to visit his girlfriend. However, Marriott apparently had a bad trip under the drug and eventually Small Faces, along with Mick O'Sullivan, took Marriott to Euston railway station where he went on a train to Manchester. Although they had a negative first impression of the drug, it became an important factor for the band's music.
Small Faces had begun composing new music, including some psychedelic tracks. These included "That Man", "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow", "(Tell Me) Have You Ever Seen Me?", "Green Circles" and "My Way of Giving". However, during the composing time, they began to grow bitter with their record label Decca Records along with Manager Don Arden, who the band felt cheated them. The reason was because although he had given them a salary of £20 a week, along with accounts at Carnaby Street clothing stores, Small Faces failed to see income from performances or royalties from any of their singles. The two final straws came when their parents confronted Arden, to which he responded that the Small Faces were using drugs, and when the band heard "My Mind's Eye" on the radio, which was a demo they would send in to Arden, not hoping to release it.
However, hope came when Andrew Loog Oldham's label Immediate Records decided to buy Small Faces' contract for £25 000 from Decca, which was announced on 11 February 1967 in a New Musical Express article. With Immediate, Small Faces were granted unlimited studio time and finally got the royalties they needed. Small Faces still owed Decca one more song, which eventually was released with "I Can't Make It", a song that they made no attempt in promoting; it stalled at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart.
The title "Here Come the Nice" comes from the comedian Lord Buckley monologue, "Here Comes Da Nazz". Marriott had first heard the phrase in 1965 when he, original keyboardist Jimmy Winston and Winston's girlfriend spent time together at her apartment. According to McLagan, Marriott had an extremely catholic taste in music, deriving inspiration from several artists and sources, and he also says that Buckley "rapped" it. He further states that "Nazz" was slang for Jesus. The song features a line which alludes to drug use; "He makes me feel like no-one else could, He knows what I want, He's got what I need, He's always there if I need some speed."[citation needed] The phrase "speed" is a synonym for the central nervous system stimulant drug Amphetamine. However, in a 2014 interview with Uncut, McLagan stated that it refers to Methadrine, an alternate form of Methamphetamine, which McLagan said was one of "all kinds of chemicals" they were using, with him wanting to express about what drugs were being used by him at the time. The song also references a dealer in the opening verse, which McLagan admitted was written as a nod towards them.
Although it was called a psychedelic pop song by AllMusic critic Lindsay Planer, Hewitt and Hellier identified it as a "swaggering soul-pop" record that contains trademarks of their earlier music. Bruce Eder of AllMusic attributes this to the increased amount of studio time that they had received after signing Immediate, which eventually "loosened" their sound. For the song, McLagan had purchased a Hammond M102 specifically to record it, drawing inspiration from Booker T. Jones' playing on Booker T. & the M.G.'s 1962 single "Green Onions". Small Faces recorded the song during sporadic sessions at Olympic Studios between 8 and 12 May 1967, with Eddie Kramer and Glyn Johns assisting as studio engineers. Marriott and Lane handled production of the song.