The Garden

The Silver Apples enjoyed a renaissance in the late '90s, as a new generation grew to appreciate the late '60s groundbreaking experimental duo. Dubs of the band's third album, which had been mysteriously unaccounted for, were found in a cardboard box in drummer Danny Taylor's attic. The remarkable reunion of the original duo of Simeon Coxe (known simply as Simeon on all recordings) and Taylor hadn't been planned. After 27 years apart, they were reunited when a disc jockey at New Jersey's legendary WFMU radio station received a phone call from Taylor for the station's pledge drive. Taylor had been out of the music business for years, and his call put the pieces in place for Simeon, who was known at WFMU, to forge a renewed excitement for the Silver Apples' earliest recordings. Nearly 30 years after the 1968 and 1969 sessions, the recordings were finally released on the band's own Whirlybird Records. The recordings included seven complete songs from 1969 and seven drum instrumentals by Taylor in 1968. Taylor's 1968 drumming demos were blended with Simeon Coxe's 1998 "Noodle" efforts. The 30-year musical bridge makes the recordings even more exhilarating and startling. The duo chose to alternate the full songs that were recorded in 1968 with the "Noodle" tracks, resulting in a haphazardly disjointed album. The classic songs might have been better served had they been presented seamlessly, with the 1968/1998 musical experiments closing out the disc. From the jolly and bright opening track, "I Don't Care What People Say," it's obvious that the band took the song's title to heart. The Silver Apples' inventiveness was taken to a new level in an era of ever-changing musical norms. The band's version of "Mustang Sally" on track nine proves the duo's earlier passion for rousing rock. The energy resonates throughout. The effort it took to release this disc in 1998 is further proof of the duo's continuing experimental tendencies. The quirkily childlike "Again" and the penultimate track, "Mad Man Blues," serve as prime examples of how the band was ahead of its time. The Silver Apples refused to accept the standards of the music industry, instead favoring their own hypnotic sound experiments.