Before Kurt Cobain was even a glint in his parents' eyes, Patrick Campbell-Lyons and Alex Spyropoulos formed a band called Nirvana.  The first band signed to Island Records, Nirvana released the concept album The Story of Simon Simopath in 1967, introducing their psychedelic sound incorporating rock, pop, jazz, and classical influences.  All of Us, and the top 40 hit single "Rainbow Chaser," arrived in 1968, but the band's third album wouldn't arrive until 1970.  That's the story being told by Cherry Red's Esoteric Recordings on the new expanded edition of Nirvana's Black Flower.

Based on Nirvana's first two LPs, the choice of Mike Hurst as producer might have been seen as an unusual one; Hurst had been a member of The Springfields alongside Dusty and her brother Tom, and had gone on to produce pop, soul, and folk artists like Manfred Mann, P.P. Arnold, and Cat Stevens.  (Island's Chris Blackwell had helmed Simon Simopath, while Brian Humphries produced All of Us.)  Future superstar producer and David Bowie collaborator Tony Visconti had arranged and played flute on a track from All of Us; he returned to the fold for arrangements on Black Flower.  The album was recorded over three days in March-June 1969 at London's Pye Studios and upon its completion, turned in to Chris Blackwell at Island.  The impresario, however, was unimpressed.  Malcolm Dome's liner notes for the Esoteric reissue quotes Patrick Campbell-Lyons as recalling that Blackwell unfavorably compared the album to Francis Lai's ubiquitous "easy listening" soundtrack to the film A Man and a Woman.  Island released Nirvana from its contract.

Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos took the album to U.S. label Metromedia Records, but ultimately, only around 500 copies were pressed.  A U.K. pressing on Pye was printed under the name Dedicated to Markos III, but Campbell confirms that the dedication was never meant to be taken as the official album title.  Whatever the album title, though, Campbell-Lyons and Spyropoulos crafted an ambitious album filled with large and lush string and horn orchestrations, and a clear baroque pop sensibility.  Its widescreen sonic canvas as introduced on the opening track "The World is Cold Without You" was, indeed, cinematic.  The album took in pop melodies ("It Happened Two Sunday Ago") and moments of searing rock ("Black Flower") and gentle calm ("Tres, Tres Bien") while remaining of a piece.

Esoteric's expanded edition, newly remastered by Paschal Byrne, adds five bonus tracks.  The originally unreleased "June" and "We Can Make It Through" first surfaced on a Nirvana compilation in the 1980s, and "Taxi" was previously available only on a rare acetate.  Alternate takes of "Illinois" and "Love Suite" make their worldwide debut here.

Black Flower is available now from Cherry Red and Esoteric Recordings at the links below!

Nirvana, Black Flower: Expanded Edition (Metromedia MD 1018 (U.S.)/Pye NSPL 28132 (U.K.), 1970 - reissued Cherry Red/Esoteric ECLEC 2624, 2018) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

1. The World is Cold Without You
2. Excerpt from "The Blind and the Beautiful"
3. I Talk to My Room
4. Christopher Lucifer
5. Aline Cherie
6. Tres, Tres Bien
7. It Happened Two Sundays Ago
8. Black Flower
9. Love Suite
10. Illinois
11. Taxi (previously released only on acetate)
12. June (rec. 1967, released on Black Flower, Bam-Caruso LP KIRI 061, 1988)
13. We Can Make It Through (rec. 1967, released on Black Flower, Bam-Caruso LP KIRI 061, 1988)
14. Illinois (Take 2) (previously unreleased)
15. Love Suite (Take 2 - Instrumental) (previously unreleased)