Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree: Pre-ELO Jeff Lynne's Idle Race Selected for Next Run Out Groove Release

Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree: Pre-ELO Jeff Lynne’s Idle Race Selected for Next Run Out Groove Release

Run Out Groove has just announced its next release based on fan voting…and it’s bound to be a big one! The Idle Race’s Schizophrenic Psychedelia features the best of the Jeff Lynne-fronted band’s Liberty-era tracks, pressed on 180-gram clear vinyl in a single-pocket, tip-on jacket boasting new artwork and liner notes. Pre-orders are open now through August 8, at which time the title will be pressed and numbered to a limited quantity based on total orders.

Schizophrenic Psychedelia promises to be a vivid overview of the Birmingham band’s psych pop. The LP collects 16 tracks including singles originally released on Liberty’s U.K. arm (to which The Idle Race was one of the first signings) and in international territories, plus a couple of alternate takes. The pre-Move, pre-ELO Jeff Lynne led Dave Pritchard on rhythm guitar, Roger Spencer on drums, and Greg Masters on bass during this period, and also was the group’s primary songwriter. Lynne departed the band for The Move in January 1970, and this collection also spotlights some of The Idle Race’s subsequent efforts.

Naturally, with the announcement of ROG’s next release comes another round of voting. This time, you can choose between these three disparate titles (with descriptions provided by the label):

Alejandro Escovedo, With These Hands: Vote for Alejandro and ROG will issue his critically-acclaimed Rykodisc debut on vinyl for the first time and press on 180g vinyl;

Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks, Orange Crate Art: Vote for Brian Wilson/Van Dyke Parks and ROG will issue this title on vinyl for the first time and press on 180g colored vinyl; and

The Walkmen, A Hundred Miles Off: Back for another round, if voted to win ROG will reissue this for the first time since original release and press on 180g multi colored vinyl.

In other ROG news, Secret Machines’ Live at the Garage and Germs’ Live at the Starwood Dec. 3, 1980 will ship on July 12 and August 16, respectively, from Run Out Groove. To locate current releases as well as older titles in the label’s catalogue that are sold out, please check out their retail store locator here!

You’ll find the track listing and pre-order link for The Idle Race’s Schizophrenic Psychedelia below!

The Idle Race, Schizophrenic Psychedelia (Run Out Groove, 2019)

Side One

(Here We Go) Round the Lemon Tree (Mono)
My Father’s Son (Mono)
Impostors of Life’s Magazine (Mono)
Sitting in My Tree (Mono)
The Skeleton and the Roundabout (Stereo)
Knocking Nails Into My House (Mono)
End of the Road (Stereo)
Morning Sunshine (Stereo)
Days of Broken Arrows (Mono)

Side Two

Warm Red Carpet (Mono)
Neanderthal Man (Mono)
Victim of Circumstance (Mono)
In the Summertime (Mono)
Told You Twice (Stereo)
Lucky Man (Alternate Take)
Follow Me Follow (Alternate Take)

Joe Marchese

JOE MARCHESE (Editor) joined The Second Disc shortly after its launch in early 2010, and has since penned daily news and reviews about classic music of all genres. In 2015, Joe formed the Second Disc Records label. Celebrating the great songwriters, producers and artists who created the sound of American popular song and beyond, Second Disc Records, in conjunction with labels including Real Gone Music and Cherry Red Records, has released newly-curated collections produced and annotated by Joe from iconic artists such as Dionne Warwick, Diana Ross and The Supremes, Smokey Robinson and The Miracles, The Spinners, Johnny Mathis, Bobby Darin, Meat Loaf, Laura Nyro, Melissa Manchester, Liza Minnelli, Darlene Love, Al Stewart, Michael Nesmith, and many others.

Joe has written liner notes, produced, or contributed to over 200 reissues from a diverse array of artists, among them America, JD Souther, Nat "King" Cole, Paul Williams, Lesley Gore, Dusty Springfield, BJ Thomas, The 5th Dimension, Burt Bacharach, The Mamas and the Papas, Carpenters, Perry Como, Rod McKuen, Doris Day, Jackie DeShannon, Petula Clark, Robert Goulet, and Andy Williams.

Over the past two decades, Joe has also worked in a variety of capacities on and off Broadway as well as at some of the premier theatres in the U.S., including Lincoln Center Theater, George Street Playhouse, Paper Mill Playhouse, Long Wharf Theatre, and the York Theatre Company. He has felt privileged to work on productions alongside artists such as the late Jack Klugman, Eli Wallach, Arthur Laurents, Betty Comden and Adolph Green. In 2009, Joe began contributing theatre and music reviews to the print publication The Sondheim Review, and in 2012, he joined the staff of The Digital Bits as a regular contributor writing about film and television on DVD and Blu-ray.

Joe currently resides in the suburbs of New York City.

3 thoughts on “Here We Go Round the Lemon Tree: Pre-ELO Jeff Lynne’s Idle Race Selected for Next Run Out Groove Release”

Stephen M.H. Braitman
July 10, 2019 at 2:22 pm

Side Two is ridiculous, all non-Jeff Lynne version of the band (not necessarily a bad thing), but those ridiculous cover versions!

Reply
1. Moore Marriot
  August 10, 2019 at 5:44 pm
  
  Lucky Man and Follow Me Follow are Jeff Lynne Compositions.
  Only Neanderthal Man and In the Summertime are covers.
  Warm Red Carpet is from the Jeff Lynne period.
  
  Reply
Stephen M.H. Braitman
July 10, 2019 at 2:23 pm

And will someone please find a stereo mix of the epic “Days Of Broken Arrows”!!

Reply