Chad and Jeremy - State of the Reunion

I've been a follower of Chad and Jeremy's The Ark for some time. I pulled the album from obscurity after hearing "Rest in Peace," from their release "1967's Of Cabbages and Kings". The song is a rambling work about a headstone engraver who takes has a particularly negative view of this kind of a job. ("His time on earth, what was it worth when all is said and done? / Here lies John-we're rather glad he's gone"). The duo had flown pretty much under my radar till then, being buried not only by more-famous British Invaders, but even such lesser lights as Peter and Gordon and Freddie and the Dreamers.

Hearing “Rest in Peace” was one of those I-always-thought-those-guys-were-lame-but-they-sound-just-like-what-every-band-is-trying-to-do-right-now moments. Unashamedly pretty melodies. Humor and sophistication. Folky acoustic guitars. Unison singing. Actually kind of…gentle. But fiercely creative. Taking a song down any garden path it might want to follow, and somehow guiding it home at dusk. Anathema to Steve Albini, no doubt—and not a moment too soon.

I picked up a vinyl copy of Cabbages (still easy to find—many copies minted, few sold), enjoyed it mightily, and with some difficulty, finally scored a CD of The Ark, available then only as a Japanese import. I was truly unprepared for the wonders of the latter, especially since Chad and Jeremy had been ignored by the press for so long. In its grouping of unlikely rivaling styles into an unusual unity, it competed with other benchmarks of the period: Forever Changes, Head, Piper at the Gates of Dawn. Like the first of those, its evocative, acoustic-based tunes are supported by tasteful arrangements (courtesy of California legends Gary Usher and Curt Boettcher, along with Chad) that owe as much to easy listening as to psychedelia. Like the second, it never takes itself too seriously; the duo are amused at their own celebrity, and are not afraid to be seen having fun. Not unlike the last, it partakes of the abundance of its era but remains so un-imitabley British-dry and capricious-that misfit hippies can never change its essential earthiness.

Chad apparently is still bitter about the underwhelming reviews of The Ark, and who can fault him? Apparently the session’s producers, assuming they had a blank check, spent a little too lavishly and alienated Columbia execs. (Usher was fired.) C and J’s audience was probably unready to be dragged into the post-Pepper era. Would a hipper label have offered nurture instead of neglect? Perhaps.

Anyway, after two releases that left their fans confused, Chad and Jeremy were finished, not even making it out of the sixties. Jeremy pursued acting, with some success; Chad continued to perform, arrange and produce, landing a job as director of music on the Smothers Brothers' TV review.

Fast-forward to October 2008. I first heard word of a reunion from my friend George’s wife, who insisted that George and I go as a “date."So we journeyed to the Cutting room on a hot Friday enening. What to expect? The crowd gave some pause: Let’s just say they made us feel young, and that’s no mean feat.

The good news: These guys sound as good as they ever did; they are pristine performers, still in fine voice. The really good news: They didn’t slight the psychedelic end of their career. I was surprised by flawless acoustic renditions of "Progress Suite," "Pipe Dream," and "The Ark.” (They also perform “Rest in Peace” occasionally.) The show was structured as a capsule history of the duo, the songs interspersed with wry sketches of key points along the road. The fondness of the two for each other, for the audience, and even for showbiz itself, felt real. Jeremy is the more sober one: He’ll begin an anecdote and Chad will interrupt with zingers that border on the cynical. In the midst of an encore, members of the audience began yelling out song-titles, Chad loudly replying "no requests! This isn’t a cruise, for God’s sake.” Beautiful.

Being self assured, they can imitate almost anything without guile: Their relaxed rendition of "Purple Haze" (!) had a charm all its own, as did their not-very-faithful “I’ll Be Back.”

Clearly they have re-embraced the acoustic aesthetic: two guys, two voices, two guitars (and the occasional piano or mandolin), no ornamentation. C and J seem to like it that way, still being somewhat aggrieved at the insensitivity of their producers. One result is a new CD (Ark-eology) of some of their best songs, re-recorded without overdubs.

Now the duo is probably reveling in the kind of recognition that they deserved in the beginning: They’re making good money (not always the case back in the day), they’re controlling their own recordings and the pace of their touring, and their fans have caught up to them.

The words of Batman ring true through the years: “Fans…you have our assurance that the voices of Chad and Jeremy will be restored before another sun sets on Gotham City!”

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