Psychomodo

"Psychomodo"
Single by Cockney Rebel
from the album The Psychomodo
B-side	"Such a Dream"
Released	1974
Format	7"
Genre	Rock
Length	4:03
Label	EMI Records
Writer(s)	Steve Harley
Producer(s)	Steve Harley, Alan Parsons
Cockney Rebel singles chronology
"Hideaway" (1974) "Psychomodo" (1974) "Mr. Soft" (1974)

"Psychomodo" is a song by British rock band Cockney Rebel, fronted by Steve Harley. The song was released as a single in 1974 from the album The Psychomodo. It was released in Europe and not the UK. "Psychomodo" was written by Harley and produced by Harley and Alan Parsons.

On The Psychomodo album, the song is preceded by the opening track "Sweet Dreams", which segues into "Psychomodo".

Background

"Psychomodo" was due to be released as the leading UK single from the band's same-titled album, and had a scheduled release date of 17 May 1974 (recorded in the booklet 'The New Singles' No. 525).^[1] However, after a brief release in the UK, it was quickly withdrawn, which was most likely due to EMI not being satisfied with initial responses regarding radio-play, and whether the single was likely to become a hit or not. However, the single still saw a full release within Europe.^[2]

The song's only charting success was in Belgium (Vl), where the single peaked at #28 and lasted on the chart for a total of two weeks.^[3]

In the Belgian Popshop magazine of July 1974, an article speaking of the song stated "Psychomodo is for us the third hit single by Cockney Rebel. It is also the title of their second LP. A few weeks ago Cockney Rebel entered the UK charts for the first time with the song "Judy Teen". "Sebastian" flopped in England despite huge promotions from their record company. With "Psychomodo", Steve Harley and his boys have gone in the rock direction. In their "Sebastian" period they were being written up somewhat as successors to the Beatles and the Stones. We don't really see it like that anymore after "Judy Teen" and "Psychomodo". With songs like this Cockney Rebel could well become a one hit wonder."^[4]

The song was recorded during February/March of 1974. It was either recorded at Morgan Studios, Nova Sound Studios in London or AIR Studios. It was mastered at Abbey Road Studios, like the rest of The Psychomodo album.^[5][6]

In 1980, the post-punk band Scars recorded a version of the song as the B-Side to their single "Love Song", released on the PRE/Charisma label in May 1980.^[7][8]

Release

The single was released via 7" vinyl through EMI Records in Belgium, France and the Netherlands. The single featured the B-Side "Such a Dream" which was written by Harley, and produced by Harley and Parsons. The B-Side was initially exclusive to the single before appearing as the B-Side to the following "Mr. Soft" single. It would also later be included as a bonus track on the 1992 EMI CD re-issue of the Cockney Rebel album The Psychomodo,^[9] and on the 2012 EMI box-set compilation Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974.^[10]

All releases included artwork, a full colour picture sleeve, which featured differing photographs of the band.^[11]

Following the original release on The Psychomodo album and as a single, the song has also appeared on various Steve Harley & Cockney Rebel compilations, including the 1975 American release A Closer Look,^[12] the 1980 EMI release The Best of Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel, the 1987 EMI release Greatest Hits, the 1998 EMI release More Than Somewhat – The Very Best of Steve Harley and the 2006 EMI remastered three-disc box-set The Cockney Rebel - A Steve Harley Anthology.^[13]

Promotion

The song has often been part of Harley's set-list when performing live. On YouTube, audience recorded footage exists of Harley performing the song at various venues.^[14]

A number of live versions have also been released including a version on the band's 1974 John Peel Session, which was released on the 1995 Windsong International album Live at the BBC and on disc four of the compilation Cavaliers: An Anthology 1973-1974.^[10] The song was included on the band's 1977 live album Face to Face.^[15] The 2000 live album release ...In Pursuit of Illusion included the song - the entire album having been recorded live in Bremen, Germany in 1976.^[16] A live version of the song from a performance at Brighton/Northampton in 1989 was professionally filmed during the band's comeback "All is Forgiven" tour. The performance was released as a VHS, titled The Come Back, All is Forgiven Tour: Live.^[17]

Track listing

7" Single

1. "Psychomodo" - 4:03
2. "Such a Dream" - 5:03

Chart performance

Critical reception

George Starostin reviewed The Psychomodo album for his website and spoke of the song, where he noted that it was the joint best song along with "Mr. Soft". He stated "The album opener 'Sweet Dreams', is kinda chaotic and hookless, but that's no big problem because its real purpose is to merely serve as a short prelude to the record's quintessential track, the title one. 'Psychomodo' is simply a magnificent song, built on a series of crunchy repetitive poppy (yes, 'crunchy' and 'poppy' don't necessarily contradict each other) guitar and violin riffs, with a top-notch descending vocal melody on top - and, of course, it announces the album's theme well enough. 'Psychomodo' is like a haplology of 'psychic Quasimodo', and Steve does compare himself with Quasimodo, obviously using his being 'physically devastated' as a metaphor for his own state of mind. All the same, the song itself sounds pretty cheerful and even carnivalesque - it's only after you spend some time working on the lyrics that the truth becomes apparent."

Donald A. Guarisco of Allmusic reviewed the song and stated "One of the highlights of the Cockney Rebel style was the wild lyrics of songwriter Steve Harley, who often fused serious ideas with dazzling wordplay along the lines of Marc Bolan. An interesting example of this approach is the title track from 1974's The Psychomodo. The lyrics to this song play like a trip through the mind of a mentally frazzled rock star who name-checks everyone from the Beatles to St. Peter as the narrator lists off his crazy adventures. Throughout the song, he exhibits a jadedness that manifests itself in turns of phrase like "I seen my epitaph/I been to heaven and back." The music keeps up with these dense, wordy lyrics by underscoring them with quick-paced verses that wrap them in plenty of twisty melodic frills. It also adds an attention-getting chorus that elongates its notes to release the song's tension. Cockney Rebel's recording of "The Psychomodo" gives the song equal amounts of energy and artiness: nimble electric piano riffs and steady drums give the song a quick pace, but the usual guitar riffs are replaced with an electric violin, and Harley's stylized vocals lend the lyrics a theatrical touch. "The Psychomodo" was never released as a single but it made a strong addition to the like-titled album and is a frequent part of Steve Harley compilations."^[18]

Dave Thompson of Allmusic reviewed The Psychomodo album and highlighted the song as an album standout by labeling it an AMG Pick Track. He stated in the review "Reversing the nature of The Human Menagerie, the crucial songs here are not those extended epics. Rather, it is the paranoid vignette of "Sweet Dreams," surely written in the numbing first light of that precipitous fame; the panicked brainstorm of the title track; and the stuttering, chopping, hysterical nightmare of "Beautiful Dream" (absent from the original LP, but restored as a CD bonus track) which stake out the album's parameters."^[19]

In the Record Mirror magazine of 1 June 1974, a review of the album stated "The great merit of Steve Harley’s insanity though is that it's laid bare here for every lost blimp to indulge. The Psychomodo: "I've been losing my head, I've been losing my way, I've been losing my brain cells at a million a day, I'm so disillusioned I'm on suicide street..." Harley cleans out his soul and wherever he's going, he's going to take a lot with him."^[20]

Personnel

• Steve Harley - Lead vocals
• John Crocker - electric violin, guitar
• Paul Jeffreys - Fender bass
• Milton Reame-James - keyboards
• Stuart Elliott - drums, percussion
• Producer - Steve Harley, Alan Parsons
• Engineer – Geoff Emerick, John Middleton, Peter Flanagan, Richard Dodd
• Arranger – Andrew Powell
• Writer - Steve Harley

References