The Flame

The Flame was best known the fact that its members Ricky Fataar and Blondie Chaplin briefly joined The Beach Boys in the mid-'70s. But before that came to pass, the London-based (by way of South Africa) quartet was an outstanding group in its own right. While initially underappreciated, its records became the golden nuggets of vinyl cratediggers’ (and reissue labels’) dreams. Recorded in the late '60s and released in the late '70s, The Flame’s eponymous debut was recorded by Carl Wilson, who must have been taken with the airtight sibling harmonies of brothers Ricky, Edries, and Steve Fataar. Two versions of “See the Light” bookend the album, sounding like a tighter-singing version of Abbey Road–era Beatles. A touch of pre-glitter Slade resonates in the instrumentation, especially on the harder-rocking “Get Your Mind Made Up.” But The Flame also had an uncanny talent for crafting grappling melodies, as heard in the infectious chorus of “Make It Easy,” the sunny “I’m So Happy,” and the buoyant “Lady” (easily the most Brian Wilson–sounding song here).