The Appletree Theatre - You're The Biggest Thing in My Life

The Appletree Theatre was a studio group of American musicians who released the album Playback in 1967.
The project was set up by brothers Terry and John Boylan, with leading jazz session mucians.The album was essentially a loosely-woven concept album, comprising a collage of interlaced vocal narratives, sound effects, song fragments, and quality pop songs. It was issued on the Verve Forecast label, and was finally reissued on CD in 2007. John Lennon referred to it as one of his favourite albums.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• Appletree
• Theatre
• 1960s
• concept
• album
• Terry
• Boylan
• John
• Lennon

[neallm]

An incredible album that compares favorably to other "concept" albums of the era. I can't believe it has taken so long for people to start taking notice of it. It should have, at the very least, developed cult status when it was still only found on vinyl. Why it's taken so long to find its to digital I have never understood. Thank you Messrs. Boylan and company for some of the best sound tracks of my life. To paraphrase the Harley folks, if you have to ask you wouldn't understand.

[zzenzero]

@neallm

Thank you for such a passionate contribution to the thread. I could not agree more with your thoughts. It is an extraordinary album. "What a way to go" is relatively well known at YT, but a song like "Nevertheless it was Italy" remains pretty much unfound here. Your last sentence puts the case well. ;-)

[paulpellicci]

liked it a lot...Verve was a record company which sold me a lot of records in the 60's

[zzenzero]

@paulpellicci

Thank you for your feedback. :)

[WatchCity1]

@WatchCity1

Right on. I stand by my comment that it was an amazing time of creativity.

I think this album is quite a masterpiece, on a par with those other, more commercially successful oeuvres.

Firesign Theater's Phillip Proctor did acknowledge that Appletree influenced Firesign's work.

Thanks for sharing.

[zzenzero]

@WatchCity1

Thanks for your feedback. It came out in 1968, AFTER Sgt Pepper, but it was recorded in 1967. Pepper was recorded quite early in 1967( Pink Floyd were next door recording ' Piper ' ) so I would think both Appletree and Beatles created their masterpieces completely independentally of each other ... thus I retract my comment to Ardbug about this album being influenced by Sgt Pepper. However the Time aspect of both albums, also suggests Sgt Pepper was NOT influenced by Appletree. :)

[WatchCity1]

@zzenzero That's wrong, actually - I think Sgt Pepper was influenced by Appletree.

This album came out BEFORE Sgt Pepper!

OTOH, it was during that amazing period of creativity that generated a lot of Art and Music that reflected the era.

[zzenzero]

@PsychedelicGuy

Thanks for that information.According to John Tobler, three of the songs on the album - "I Wonder If Louise Is Home", "Don't Blame It on Your Wife", and "Barefoot Boy" - were later recorded by Rick Nelson on his 1969 album Another Side of Rick, in which both the Boylan brothers were involved.

Was Rick providing backing vocals on this album too?

[PsychedelicGuy]

Rick Nelson provided vocals for this and other songs on this album.

[zzenzero]

Excellent point, Ardbug.Very British.

Lennon liked their sound and they clearly are influenced by Sgt Peppers etc.