Rain and Tears by The Hi-Revving Tongues

Every New Zealand #1 single…

Hi-Revving Tongues topped the New Zealand charts with a cover of Aphrodite’s Child’s ‘Rain and Tears’.

In an era where NZ acts suffered from cultural cringe, ‘Rain and Tears’ headlined a NZ-dominated NZBC listeners’ poll in November 1969.

Six of the acts in the top eight are New Zealanders: the Hi-Revving Tongues’ ‘Rain and Tears’ is at No.1,  followed by Shane (‘Saint Paul’, No.2), The Dedikation (‘Wait for Me Mary-Anne’, No.4), The Chicks (‘Miss You Baby’, No.5), The Fourmyula (‘I’ll Sing You a Song’, No.6), and Larry Morris (‘The Hunt’, No.8). 

Audioculture

The Hi-Revving Tongues

Chris Parfitt shifted from Lower Hutt (my hometown) to Auckland at 16. In 1967, he joined Mike Balcombe and bassist John Walmsley in The Hi-Revving Tongues. The new group won The Battle of the Sounds in 1968, and became famous for their stage shows.

John Walmsley’s father used to make his own fireworks and John knew how to work with gunpowder and magnesium. He made our own smoke machine – the first one burned dried grass and hay and it sent the audience rushing to the door coughing, but he sorted that out. Another time, playing the Auckland YMCA, the fire brigade from across the road came running in.

Parfitt, AudioCulture

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pF96crMBahA

Impressed with the strobe lights Larry’s Rebels brought back from Australia, the band built their own. They added audiotapes of World War II bombings to the mayhem of feedback, smoke, strobes and explosions. There were occasional minor injuries on stage. Few NZ bands went as far to entertain; little wonder that The Hi-Revving Tongues was such a popular live act.

John Dix, AudioCulture

They moved to Australia, where they played Sydney’s Whiskey-A-Go-Go six nights a week, from 9 pm to 3 am. But their manager summoned them back to New Zealand. They recorded ‘Rain and Tears’, a song that didn’t fit in with the rest of their catalogue, and which they never performed live. Despite the single’s success, the opportunities were fewer in New Zealand and the band drifted apart.

Rain and Tears

Aphrodite’s Child were a Greek pop/rock band. Keyboardist Vangelis later achieved success with his soundtracks for Chariots of Fire and Blade Runner. Egyptian-born vocalist Demis Roussos sold 60 million albums worldwide and became “an unlikely kaftan-wearing sex symbol”. The band enjoyed successful singles in the late 1960s, and also released the 1972 progressive rock concept album 666.

Aphrodite’s Child recorded ‘Rain and Tears’ in June 1968. It’s a pretty psychedelic pop tune. The music is credited to Pachelbel, with melodic motifs taken from his ubiquitous Canon in D. Aphrodite’s Child’s version reached #1 in France

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5HP1DdiqaEs

My verdict

It’s easy to get snippy about covers, especially of contemporary songs. Additionally, the Hi-Revving Tongues refused to play ‘Rain and Tears’ live, effectively disowning it. But their version works well. Even though it’s still a string-smothered ballad, it’s tougher and more streamlined than the original. Parfitt’s vocal outshines Roussos’s, still vulnerable and emotional, but less wimpy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqqaCbI4M_g

The Hi-Revving Tongues won the 1969 Loxene Golden Disc for the best pop song of the year in New Zealand. But they soon split. Their last performance was at the Redwood 70 National Music Convention, New Zealand’s first multi-day musical festival, headlined by Robin Gibb.

• 1960s album reviews
• NZ #1 hits