by Richard Skelly » Mon Jul 09, 2018 11:42 pm
At the height of the bitter feud between Burton Cummings and his departed Guess When bandmate Randy Bachman, there's one thing they reportedly still shared: a conviction that Beyond The Clouds was the best song The Poppy Family ever recorded. And I can't disagree with that high praise.
The sitar and tablas alone are, in my opinion, near equal on Beyond The Clouds to what George Martin and The Beatles accomplished on Within You And Without You. Producing his own band, Terry Jacks got this amazing sound out of the modestly appointed Vancouver Recording with the assistance of studio boss Robin Spurgin (RIP).
To my consternation, Beyond The Clouds apparently never got released in the US or, for that matter, the United Kingdom. Neither the Discogs nor the 45cat research sites show anything other than a Canada-only release. London Records and its UK parent Decca atoned by soon flying The Poppy Family over to add album tracks in England for an album featuring their by-then four hit singles that included What Can The Matter Be, Which Way You Goin Billy and That's Where I Went Wrong.