9/7/07: The Regiment “My Soap Won’t Float” (1967)
                                            The William Penn Fyve “Swami” (1967)

We came back from vacation with a modern double bill. Now here are two great songs that prove kids didn’t need Altamont to bury the Summer of Love. In fact, it’s possible that one or both of these songs are actually marking their 41st anniversary, so let’s not get too hung up on that whole obsession. Let’s just admire two bands that definitely had the right mindset in a time when minds were blown.

The Regiment has a sketchy history, despite recording a garage-psych classic with “My Soap Won’t Float.” This whirlpool of raving is the unmistakable sound of kids figuring out that they’re on the wrong side of a moronic revolution. The opening lines perfectly sum up the way that many hippies would be feeling by 1971: “Chrome-plated candy bars and plastic-covered tangerines/They are nice to look at, but you know that they are useless when you’re hungry.”

From there, The Regiment—or, more specifically, swell songwriter R. Simpson—gets a little more oblique. The band may be bummed out by the world in general, but they’re not going to get fooled again by either side. There’s more rushed muttering about colors fusing and transistors burning. Then, the song ends with a goof on the proper clowns:

        Paisley-colored kerosene
        Can’t brush your teeth to make them clean
        Please, dear, won’t you take a bath?
        You look so phony, you won't last!

You know who else got that right? Our pals in Plato and the Philosophers, and their “Doomsday Nowhere City” is definitely marking its 40th anniversary on September 24th.

We know a little more about The William Penn Fyve. That’s even their photo up above. Things still get a little muddled, partly because they only called themselves “The William Penn Fyve” on vinyl. They were known as William Penn & His Pals when they played live, and occasionally as The Wm. Penn Fyve. There were also other acts of the time whose names saluted the legendary Quaker. A lot of people think that The William Penn Fyve released their "Swami”/”Blow My Mind" 45 in 1967, but the songs seem to have been recorded in ’66. Frankly, there’s even debate over which song was the A-side.

The important thing is that “Swami” survives as brilliant raga rock. In fact, it’s brilliant raga rock that dares to goof on The Beatles. The song is alluring enough to have been on Revolver, but it’s also way too smart. Here’s the opening:

        I went to see the Swami
        I found him on his needle bed
        I tried to wake him from his trance
        But, really, he was stoned instead

Our narrator is further disappointed by the Swami’s beady eyes. Then the creep starts things out by asking for some cash. This gets us to the chorus:

        Swami, Swami
        Hasn’t even got a dime  
        Swami, Swami
        Fooling people all the time

See, The William Penn Fyve aren’t just complaining about the Swami being a fraud. They’re young capitalists who goof on the guy for not even being a success. The punch line to the song is that the narrator takes over the Swami’s turf in exchange for a decent meal: “A puff of smoke, away he went/Now I’m the owner of his tent.”

You know what the narrator probably did next? Rented it to that desperate guy from The Regiment who was just one step away from being homeless. The William Penn Fyve were based in San Francisco, too, so that tent’s probably worth millions now.

Make it your own: You can find both of these songs on the splendid Trash Box five-disc set—and we especially like how Disc 5 pairs “Swami” with “I Wanna Come Back” by The Fe Fi Four Plus 2. (Typically, The William Penn Fyve’s name is spelled two different ways in the packaging. We also get a new spelling of The Fe Fi Four Plus 2. They can’t even decide if the collection is called Trash Box or Box of Trash.)

The bad news is that Trash Box is outta print and pricey. It looks like both songs can be had via iTunes, though. “My Soap Won’t Float” also shows up on Pebbles, Vol. 10—which is a fine series of ’60s comps aligned with the Trash Box crew. The William Penn Fyve has also had their complete works assembled on William Penn and His Pals: The Historic San Francisco Group. The price is very fair for what little work they completed.

 

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