3/14/07: The Phoenix Trolley
        “Three-Part Invention (Too Many Trees In The Forest)” (1968)

First, there’s the good news that a caring Cowsills fan has allowed us to update our entry on the band’s “Beautiful Beige.” The bad news is that we didn’t do such a good job while originally transcribing the lyrics. (“I speak psychedelia,” explains our helpful commenter, in what might very well be a Barbara Billingsley reference.) The best news is that there’s little chance of us screwing up the lyrics to The Phoenix Trolley’s unfairly obscure “Three-Part Invention (Too Many Trees In The Forest.)”

Here they are, in all their psych-pop glory:

            Too many trees/In the forest

That’s it, simply sung over and over to a gorgeous and compelling symphony of swirliness.

There’s a thought you weren’t hearing from many hippies back in 1968. Who were these geniuses in The Phoenix Trolley? Were they mere contrarians, or did they even beat Governor Ronald Reagan in realizing that trees were causing pollution?

Actually, The Phoenix Trolley was just another studio creation from the feverish brain of pop wizard Stephen Schlaks—writing here with frequent collaborator Charlie Weiss. This wasn’t even the A-side of the band’s sole single on Capitol Records. That honor went to the bizarre sunshine-pop rhapsody of “When Charlie’s Doin’ His Thing.”

Anyway, it’s nice to hear people complaining about there being too many trees. This song warms our cold conservative hearts. You’ll often find shills for Greenpeace wandering the streets of Manhattan, brandishing a clipboard and asking if you care about saving the planet. We usually respond by asking if they’re getting a fair cut of the scam. We’re impressed when the earnest act is dropped while they tell us they’re getting paid really well. Now, we’ll just tell the weasels there are too many trees in the forest. Let them impress us by naming that tune.

Make it your own: You can enjoy this one as a novelty (found on the Only In America compilation of craziness), or as an important lost curio of gentle folk-rock (as part of Soft Sounds for Gentle People 4). We’re leaning more towards the Only In America collection, but highly recommend Soft Sounds for Gentle People, Soft Sounds for Gentle People 2, and Soft Sounds for Gentle People 3.

 

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