The success of Rhino’s 1998 Nuggets boxset justified a follow-up. The sequel covers the rest of the world since the first volume only chronicled the USA.
Nuggets II: Original Artyfacts from the British Empire and Beyond, 1964–1969 emerged in 2001. It features music from countries such as Iceland, Uruguay, and Japan. I’m profiling and rating each of the 109 tracks, working backwards.
Track 104 – One Third by The Majority
From: Hull, United Kingdom
8
Credits
4/24. ONE THIRD – The Majority (U.K.)
(Barry Graham)
PERSONNEL/BARRY GRAHAM (aka WIGLEY): vocals * ROGER FRANCE: lead guitar * BOB LANG: rhythm guitar, vocals * KEN SMITH: bass * DON LILL: drums
Produced by MIKE HURST
Recorded in London, England
Decca single #F-12453 (1966)
The Majority
The Mustangs formed in Hull in the early 1960s. They changed their name to The Majority and moved to London in 1965.
Ray Davies wrote two of their early songs. This is ‘A Little Bit of Sunshine’, which was never recorded officially by The Kinks (although a Ray Davies demo later surfaced).
On ‘A Little Bit of Sunshine’, The Mustangs sound more American-influenced than most Nuggets groups. Usually, the influence ran the other way in this era. They sound somewhere between the Beach Boys and The Lovin’ Spoonful.
One Third
In comparison, ‘One Third’ boasts a tougher edge. In particular, the hard-driving guitar solo is a nice touch. The a capella introduction showcases the band’s three-piece harmonies. The psychedelic effects on the group’s harmonies are effective.
The song is a slightly pedestrian Zombies pastiche, but the clever arrangement and production touches make ‘One Third’ an interesting record.
This brilliant piece of overlooked British pop was relegated to B-side status at the time of its release, despite its obvious A-plus appeal. The sharp three-part harmonies recall the best of The Hollies’ work, and the song boosts its cache considerably with a hard-driving, stinging guitar break and some clever echo effects.
Mike Stax, Nuggets II liner notes
Subsequent career
Like Kaleidoscope last week, The Majority also rebranded at the end of the decade. They became Majority One, and relocated to France where they pursued a more sophisticated album. They released their only album after their rebrand, 1971’s Majority One.
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Is think “One Third” by The Majority is a cool-sounding song, though given the band’s name, perhaps they should have titled it “Two Thirds”!
Yes, I probably should have made that joke! It’s a pretty funny disconnect between artist name and song.
I love the One Third song…verydone and produced. It does have a Zombie type sound I totally agree. I can see why The Dukes of Stratosphear came to be…I love this music like it is.
Sometimes psychedelia can feel a bit overdone for me – like it makes everything a bit hazy. But lightly applied, like here, it’s magical.
You can’t go off the deep end on every cut…but yes I like it when used right…I mean I would say that also with a wah wah pedal or anything like that. It’s the harmonies in this kind of psychedelia I like.
It took me a long time to get into Piper at the Gates of Dawn – it’s pretty full on at first.