THINGS THAT HAPPENED THEN - Now available

We were as pleased as Punch to be able to release the first Orgone Box album, doubly pleased to see all the rave reviews come in, proof that many of you felt the same way we did about this masterpiece and now we're overjoyed at being able to release this new album - Things That Happened Then.

Basically a collection of songs Rick recorded between 1992 - 1995, this album contains some of Rick's finest writing & playing.

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Here's some notes Rick made about the album:

Jets - recorded on 4 tracks, 1990. I was on Bournemouth pier one night and heard a funfair tannoy announcing 'anyone for the last ride on the jets' - thought it was a great title. The sound fx on the beginning are from holding a mic in front of the radio (sheep,dogs and birds, Phil Collins and Anna Raeburn I think) and the TV (Countdown, Godfather and Apocalypse Now), Sheen narrates the middle 8.
Woman - Pretending to be Roy Orbison - recorded this in ' 95 I think with Gus Dudgeon producing at Chapel studios in Lincolnshire just after Orange had split. One of the earliest written songs on the album, I think I must have written it back in the late ' 80s.
Star - 4 track, wrote this while Tim Mctighe and Tam Johnstone from the Green Tambourines were living with me and my girlfriend Maria in Bournemouth in the early ' 90s after we'd moved down from London to rehearse. Thinking about the need to be more than you are when you're young.
Hard For Me - Pretending to be The Beatles - just a pop song, probably my favourite on this album. Originally recorded on 4 tracks and then I bumped it onto an 8 track machine and added an acoustic guitar, tambourine, a harmony vocal and a plastic mouth organ.
Wonderful Mind - just a love song done on 4 tracks in the mid '90s I think.
Things - one of the first good songs I ever wrote - the story's about looking back on when i was ten years old in Sheffield and arriving back home from the swimming baths with my brother one night. The backwards fx on the start are whatever was playing on the other side of the tape when I started recording.
Cheerfully Hopeless - 4 track - written the morning after the night before. This song and Things' are taken from mixes to a cassette that Tim has had for years.
Mom - recorded on 8 tracks, this is a song that i've had kicking around since about ' 95 but I only put the guitars and vocals on it some time last year. Thinking about self destruction (not mine) and how people used to jump off the old Kelvin high-rise flats in Sheffield. The rising and falling vocal fx were done with the rate knob on my BE5 guitar pedal.
Hello Wonderland - 4track written and recorded while i was in the Green Tambourines in the early ' 90s. It's about moving to London from the north and being in a band.
All The Losers - 1992 - recorded on 4trk, written in the same 'session' as Everybody's A Star. 2 guitars, bass and drums is all there is to it. The Revolver feel to the guitars is clear on this one but then that album is such a big guitar album for me. I can't recall what inspired me to write it but listening now it sounds like it might have been an unconscious swipe at some of my family's middle class pretensions. The 'Tambourines always used to soundcheck it at gigs to get gelling as a band, and listening offstage to Jon, Tim, and Tam playing the song structure was a great feeling for me.
Bestbird - 4track - ' 94 - a cynical metaphorical tale about the forming of Orange and small town ambition. My go at doing a Neil Young style riff - I was really into Cinnamon Girl at the time.
Storytime - 4track, thinking about my brother. The obscured voice is saying 1..2...3..coming ready or not, ( why? - it's just a feel thing). 'How much is that doggy' is an old jewelry box of Maria's miked up.
Barbican - 8track - 1995 - an existential moan about an ill-fated trip to Brighton to meet a musical acquaintance who was due to play the Barbican theatre with Procul Harum and a night in London with another who'd been living in New York for a while. Everything apart from the guitars was done on a Casio going through my guitar pedals.
Life Happening - 1995, kitchen sink rock like Ticket' from the last album. Another one originally done on 4 tracks and then transferred to 8 where I added extra kick, snare and hand claps to give it more groove.

REVIEWS...REVIEWS...REVIEWS...REVIEWS...
for
Things That Happened Then

Heaven Popmagazine

The Orgone Box is het eenmansproject van Rick Corcoran. Het gelijknamige debuut van The Orgone Box lag al vijf jaar op de plank voordat de eigenaar van Minus Zero, een gereputeerde platenwinkel in London, Corcoran ontdekte en het album uitbracht. De opvolger, Things That Happened Then, is nog ouder; de viersporenopnamen stammen uit de periode 1992-1995. Het grootste bezwaar van deze collectie songs – die overigens volkomen terecht nu het levenslicht zien – is dan ook de bij tijd en wijle gebrekkige opnamekwaliteit. Los daarvan is het een prima collectie (neo)psychedelische popsongs met een hoog Beatles-gehalte. Corcoran heeft een stem die veel weg heeft van die van John Lennon, dus dat verklaart de gelijkenis, maar daarnaast heeft Corcoran goed geluisterd naar Revolver. De liedjes zijn volgestopt met dominant gitaarwerk, dat soms herinnert aan de riffs van The Who, zozeer zelfs dat een rustpunt hier en daar welkom was geweest. Gelukkig komen de mid-tempo nummers aan het eind van de cd aan bod en die zijn dan ook meteen erg mooi. Al met al is Things That Happened Then een heel lekkere cd, propvol ambachtelijke rammelpop en met een vette knipoog naar de sixties. Vooral de liefhebbers van poppy psychedelica, van Cotton Mather, The General Store en Myracle Brah, zullen veel plezier beleven aan The Orgone Box.
- Wiebren Rijkeboer

POPISM (Yugoslavia) radio show newsletter

Talking about the moderndaze power-pop sound, the first thing that comes to mind is the American wing of the scene, which is pretty natural as well, considering the number of bands coming out of the US in the last ten years or so. Still, every now and then, the world is graced with a British release that remind us where it all started when it comes to the "melody men". If "Lennonized popsike" is what you'd call your cup of tea (with maybe just a little something in it), then it's more than likely that you already have the Orgone Box debut, alongside the Rooks and Cotton Mather albums. Just like it's the case with Rick Corcoran's source of inspiration, when it comes to his albums' chronology, strangely enough, it also tends to go backwards. After the last year's self titled album, recorded in '95 (!), these recordings come from even further aback, from the first half of the '90s, bringing us more of Rick's popcyclopedic sounds. The lead off track, "Last ride on the jets", clearly shows what this "revolver" is loaded with, to be followed with "Just like a woman", written with Roy Orbison in mind, but to me, it's more like reaching for the "big star" and it's gentler moments, taking Dylan's initial concept to another level. The power-pop jangle of "Hello wonderland" mixes all the important "B-bands" ingredients, "Cheerfully hopeless" is like something that's been hidden in Michael Mazzarella's "undone box", and "Wonderful mind" could've been the best song on Radiohead's "OK computer". While writing the song "Hard for me", Rick says that he was pretending to be The Beatles, though it's really more Xanadu-bound than Liverpool, even besides it's almost garagey edge, and to round up the wide sound-range, there's also "Storytime", which is probably the only thing that waltzing and "Revolver" have in common. I don't know if Mr.Corcoran has some more recordings in the vaults, but if not, I'm almost afraid to think about the possible results of his new efforts. Get ready for a popsike overdose!
- Goran Obradovic

www.powerofpop.com

Those of you who have been waiting with bated breath for more Orgone Box will flip at this 'new' album which rescues 14 Rick Corcoran tunes (recorded during 1992 to 1995) from oblivion. As blissfully psychedelic as last year's sleeper 'debut' hit was, groovy songs like "Last Ride On The Jets," "Everybody's A Star," "Hard For Me," "Wonderful Mind," "Hello Wonderland" and "Bestbird" once again exploits all the best freakbeat references e.g. Syd Barrett, John Lennon, Robyn Hitchcock, Julian Cope. Possibly matched only by Myracle Brah in its spaced-out intensity, Things That Happened Then is a pop treasure to have and to hold. A-
-Kevin Mathews

www.platomania.nl

In een zijstraat van de Londense Portobello Road zitten twee kleine winkeltjes, die samen een pand delen. De eigenaars zitten vaak nors tegenover elkaar, maar het is een lusthof voor de liefhebber van goede pop. De ene winkel verkoopt vooral muziek uit de sixties en een beetje powerpop, terwijl de andere winkel vooral powerpop verkoopt en een enkel plaatje uit de jaren ’60. Deze laatste winkel heet Minus Zero Om goede muziek te promoten is deze winkel ook een eigen label begonnen en op dit label verscheen verleden jaar (maar in 1995 opgenomen) The Orgone Box, een project van de Britse powerpopper Rick Corcoran. En gelukkig is er nu een tweede plaat verschenen: Things That Happened Then. Geen nieuwe opnamen, maar een verzameling leftovers. Desondanks is het een klasseplaat, die het niveau van zijn voorganger moeiteloos haalt. Met een aan John Lennon herinnerende stem en verder veel Beatles-invloeden, maar ook zitten er psychedelische elementen en Byrds-achtige gitaren in. Een van de prijsnummers is het geweldige Just Like A Woman, waarin de melancholie door je hart snijdt. En de nummers Hard For Me en Mom Can I Fly hadden mijns inziens niet misstaan op Rubber Soul! Voor de fans van genoemde namen, maar ook de liefhebbers van Myracle Brah en Cotton Mather een verplichte aanschaf. Grandioos!

sonicwavemagazine.com

Su primer disco, el homónimo “The Orgone Box”, supuso una de las más gratas sorpresas del 2001 para la mayoría de la crítica y prensa especializada de medio mundo, copando las clásicas listas de favoritos del año. No era para menos, pues se trataba de una de las más consistentes y deslumbrantes colecciones de canciones y sonidos de los últimos tiempos. Todo facturado por el prodigioso talento, no exagero, de Rick Corcoran, un inglés de Sheffield que lleva haciendo guitar pop de corte psicodélico desde finales de los 80, al frente de formaciones como The Green Tambourines o Orange (que editaron la seminal “Judy Over The Rainbow” para Chrysalis en 1994), pero que sólo ahora está recibiendo el reconocimiento merecido. De hecho, este “Things That Happened Then” es su segundo disco, y comprende canciones grabadas entre 1990 y 1995. Comparado con su anterior entrega, y en líneas generales, el sonido puede parecer a primera escucha más sobrecargado –mayor presencia en primer plano de las guitarras y los ambientes saturados de deliciosos ecos psicodélicos- y menos directamente pop. Pero a medida que escuchas posteriores van calando, se revela como un nuevo clásico de psych-pop, donde vuelve a brillar el talento musical de Corcoran, en una colección de 14 temas sin desperdicio, sensacionales. Lo suyo no es un ajustado ejercicio de pura nostalgia sónica, sino una correcta asimilación y puesta al día de ingredientes conocidos, sí –Beatles, los primeros Pink Floyd, hasta Tomorrow y lo mejor del psico-pop inglés de los 60-, pero que se confirma atemporal a la vez que moderna y actual. Más si tenemos en cuenta que muchos de los temas aquí contenidos fueron concebidos y grabados hace más de 10 años, y grabados en un 4 pistas en su propia casa. Olvídate de los últimos hypes del Reino Unido, The Orgone Box son the real thing. Y si no, tiempo al tiempo.
- Iñaki Orbezua

UZINE

Fourteen more tracks by Rick Corcoran, this time from the 1990-1995 period. Once again, "Revolver" (Beatles) and "Evolution" (Hollies) are the major influences, even if the Lennonesque voice of Corcoran isn't complemented by other voices. Productionwise, however, this collection also sounds a bit like one of those Big Star & Byrds-influenced American bands from the eighties-nineties, with their jinglyjangly guitars but also - unfortunately - their fierce drum sound and all... The highlight of this album, however, is an a-typical track, viz. "Barbican", a beautiful, orchestrated piece which calls to mind the baroque Roy Harper and his contemporaries; it should please those of you who love the Clientele as well - just like La's fans should find some fine fruits on this cd too. Actually, "Barbican" comes as a welcome breath of fresh air, since its feel is so radically different from most of the other songs here. Because of "Barbican", the track which follows it, the excellent "Life happening" suddenly sounds extra fresh. Indeed, although each track is worthwhile on this compilation of older material, listening to them all at a time might make you lose your focus on the innate finesse of each individual composition, e.g. the singalong title track. The opening track, with its soundtrack bruitage, deserves a special psychedelic mention too.
-PV

UNCUT

Psych maverick Rick Corcoran makes overdue run for legend status armed with a Casio and many tambourines. Genuine throwbacks like Sheffield-born Rick Corcoran, people who can't be bothered with the mainstream but delight in pursuing a singular vision, are rare indeed. This addition to his work with Orange and the original Orgone Box collects many '90s nuggets. Bournemouth Pier's loss is our gain on "Last Ride On The Jets", and the Beatles negative of "Hard For Me" transcends copycat status. If you like Revolver, the denim-patched Neil Young and classic pop in general, these things could happen for you, right now.
-Max Bell

www.fufkin.com

The new Orgone Box record is not the new Orgone Box record. That is, it is newly released, but, as the title indicates, all of the material on this disc predates the material on the first album. So, here in 2002, we have two full Orgone Box records and not a single song on either was recorded after 1996. What do we make of this? Optimistically, the man who is the Box, Rick Corcoran, has been stockpiling six years worth of material equal to or greater than the delights on this platter. Pessimistically, Corcoran, perhaps due to CIA mind control experiments or a chance meeting with Jim Steinman and Meat Loaf, has lost his ability to sing.
I prefer to focus on the concrete. That's the easy part -- 14 new nuggets from Corcoran. This sounds just a tad more raw, on the whole, than the songs on the debut, though you may need the aural equivalent of a microscope to notice that much of a difference. The songs break down into two distinct categories: A. songs that are equally as good as those on the debut, and, B. songs that are just a smidgen less delightful than those on the debut. The album tilts slightly more to category A. Granted, even if it was all of the level of category B, it would be a winning effort. Unlike the debut, the songs aren't all necessarily filed under ‘psychedelic'. A few songs are quasi power pop and are closer to earlier Myracle Brah than Syd Barrett-meets-John Lennon wet dreams. On the other hand, "Barbican" might be the trippiest Orgone Box track to date. This track is a stately fevered dream, with faux symphonic keyboard flourishes. The song positively haunts, with its melody a combination of anger and resignation. And this is an oddity in that the song is sung from the point of view of someone who is against expanding barriers: "they were talking about America/I might as well have not been there/so I sang some Orbison to a friendly face/either that or going on about/the mysteries of time and space". The song has a wonderful instrumental interlude, where you can almost picture pixies and Lilliputians dancing in a courtly manner.
Corcoran hits harder on "Everybody's a Star", a hit singley song that Karl Wallinger would give up his Beatles collection for. The meaty lead guitar updates White Album-style melody, with a ringing guitar chord introducing the spacious chorus. The main melody of the chorus is supported by ghostly "dit, dit, dit" backing vocals and counterpointed by a contrasting melody for the final two lines, which roll back into the main choral melody. While you can spot some reference points, no one else puts together a tune quite like this. I increasingly appreciate the obscure lyrics Corcoran pens. He's almost up there with Neil Finn in his ability to string together abstract concepts in a way that isn't concretely meaningful, but is suggestive and allows for multiple interpretations.
Your view of "something happened/it was easier to sleep with her/than pace the wet dream night/easier but nowhere near the high" (from "Last Ride on the Jets") may be different than mine, but we should be able to agree it sounds really cool. As do great tunes like the title cut, which contrasts languid dreamy verses with a tightly constructed pop chorus, and straightforward grabbers like "Hard for Me" and the bouncy "Hello Wonderland". Now that Corcoran has bestowed the world with these songs, let's hope that he's back in the studio (and let me put in a vote for a bit higher tech studio) and coming up with more great songs.
- Mike Bennett

www.popmatters.com

One of last year's best stories involved the re-discovery of the music of Rick Corcoran as The Orgone Box. That great D.I.Y. psych-pop masterpiece handily made my top ten of 2001, but left me wondering what was next. After all, that great music was from 1995 - I couldn't wait to hear what Corcoran had been up to since then.
While an exciting new release from The Orgone Box has arrived, my questions shall yet remain unanswered. To my surprise, this follow-up to that 1995 release again looks backward. This is a collection of fourteen unreleased Corcoran songs originally recorded between 1990-1995. I suppose it does make sense after all -- out with the old before ringing in the new.
As with any collection of older and unpublished material, it begs the question - why? One first makes the assumption that this must be lesser quality, a collection of Corcoran's castaways, so to speak. However, this is not the case. I can't speak as to why this music hasn't made it to disc previously, but I can vouch for its high quality - if this is Corcoran's slush pile, it still trumps many other artists' best efforts.
Things That Happened Then manages to provide both more and less than its predecessor. It is a solid listen, delivering nearly one full hour's worth of entertaining musical tracks. However, it lacks some of the studio polish of the first disc, as most of these songs were recorded on 4 tracks (though some have been bounced to 8-tracks and punched-up with extra enhancements). Still, Corcoran retains a magic touch for producing melodic pop classics that convincingly capture the sonic jangle of the mid-to-late 1960s era, only informed and updated by the modern man behind the tunes.
While some of these songs are merely demos (and others are more fully realized), this is well structured psychedelic Brit pop with incredible guitar sounds. On the whole, it manages to transcend the aural limits of low fidelity through the sheer strength of its songwriting ideas. With this set, Corcoran proves that the first Orgone Box collection was no fluke. Even without the finished lustre and dynamics, these songs will take up residence in your head for many days to come, subtly working their way into your subconscious.
"Last Ride On The Jets" has more of that great guitar, fine bass and wonderful fills that seem second nature to Corcoran. This is a lyrical call to one and all to feel life to the fullest ("I don't want to be a passionless bystander bored to tears with my own life"), even if it's not always pleasant ("I need sad sad sad / it gives me identity"). The sound effects were gotten off the radio and TV; Martin Sheen adds narration to the middle 8 from Apocalypse Now.
"Just Like A Woman" is the one studio track of this collection, co-produced with the late Gus Dudgeon after Corcoran's Orange had broken up. This delicate and infectious ballad dates back to the late 1980s (according to Corcoran), a slower-tempo love song to that one special woman and her whims and moods, etc. Corcoran's vocals (particularly the "Oh, and…" leading into the middle bridge) are very Beatle-esque.
"Everybody's A Star" opens with a thick psychedelic riff (reminding me something of The Dukes of Stratosphear's "Mole of the Ministry"), yet transitions into another melody (in typical complex Orgone Box song structure style). It's a song all about the fantasies of youth and the desire to be more, executed well by Corcoran who manages to weave a great tapestry between guitars, lead and backing vocals.
When you hear "Hard For Me," you'll be convinced that Corcoran channelled the spirit of a young John Lennon. This is The Orgone Box as mid-era Beatles, no question, a pretty pop love song originally recorded on 4-tracks, then bounced to 8 with additional acoustic guitar, tambourine, harmony vocal and harmonica added.
It amazes me what Corcoran achieves with limited tracks here. Another Beatle nod is found in "All The Losers," wherein Revolver-era guitars swirl and fill the spaces between the harmonies. It's a full sonic experience that takes on class distinctions achieved with only tracks of two guitars, bass and drums.
There's no shortage of love songs here, and Corcoran serves up another pleasant 4-tracker with "Wonderful Mind," a testament to the cerebral aspect of his overwhelming feeling ("such a wonderful mind / I love the soul out of you"). Spare bongo percussion gives this one a bit of an Eastern flair.
Corcoran claims the title track is "one of the first good songs I ever wrote." It opens with dramatic chimes of the guitar, appropriately leading in to a highly emotional personal tale about memories of parents fighting and the feeling of wanting to "runaway forever" in response, how such memories change you for a lifetime. "Things That Happened Then" is another great one.
Byrds-like guitars and a powerful bass that seems to have a life of its own limn the edges of another superb 4-tracker, "Cheerfully Hopeless." This is song as explanation, sung in the wake of hurting someone he loves the morning after: "I'd rather be predictable and boring than someone who could hurt you / all I really need is you to understand me / you're the only one who can." Another personal "bare it all" lyric, comfortably ensconced within tuneful surroundings.
One older song recorded on 8 tracks (with guitars and vocals added in only last year) is the haunting ballad "Mom I Can Fly." This musical suicidal confession of an inability to cope actually is based on how people used to jump off the Kelvin high-rise flats in Sheffield.
The more upbeat "Hello Wonderland" dates back to the time when Corcoran was a member of the Green Tambourines. This is the related thrill of moving with a band to the big city of London, complete with shimmering guitars.
Recessed vocals, heavy on the reverb dominate "Bestbird," a song with guitars that seem more out of the 1980s or 1990s, relating a drive to better one's self in the interest of getting and obtaining the elusive "best bird in town." "Storytime" has a sort of "Norwegian Wood" feel to its verses, and could pass for a John Lennon demo from years ago. Unusual elements included here are a voice saying "one two three, coming ready or not" and a music box rendition of "How Much Is That Doggy In The Window."
A moodier contemplative Corcoran is found on the track "Barbican," bemoaning some bad experiences, one being a trip to Brighton to meet up with a friend who was opening for Procul Harum. Corcoran gets some amazing sounds by playing a Casio through his guitar pedals, but I particularly like how he takes a certain vindictive epithet and makes it sound positively endearing (no "fook").
The CD closes with another catchy mid-tempo number "Life Happening," a song raging against the daily grind that asks for life to be more fun, rather than "something to just do."
Corcoran as The Orgone Box has a knack for making new from the old, and making it sound completely genuine in the process. With Things That Happened Then he delivers on his debut's promise with another astounding collection of psychedelic Brit-pop of the highest order. Fans of Revolver-era Beatles or the likes of Cotton Mather will be favorably disposed toward this one as well.
Corcoran manages to get a lot out of his songs, regardless of how many tracks are at his disposal. He obviously excels at writing (and performing) well-crafted melodies and isn't afraid to let his lyrics get personal and revealing. If these are his early songs, one can only imagine the grandeur of the hypothetical progression since. So come on Rick - please let us hear what you've been writing since 1995, okay? Inquiring pop minds are more than eager to know.
- Gary Glauber

Bucketfull Of Brains

The debut disc by The Orgone Box was one of the most well received of 2001, so fans will be extremely pleased that it didn't take very long for Rick Corcoran to concoct another brew of his patented psychedelia for London's Minus Zero Records. Things That Happened Then takes up where the debut left off, with a sound that falls neatly between the dense, muted psychedelic strains of Cotton Mather and the more restrained urban pop of the Rooks. The opening track last Ride on the Jets should be a classic of the genre, with shimmering guitars a la Marty Willson-Piper and a chorus that immediately grabs you. Others such as Just Like a Woman will take you back to BBC Radio circa 1970. Hard For Me is Spectorian without the wall of sound. Mom I Can Fly could have been an early Pink Floyd single, Storytime is wonderful minor-key folk psych with a soft, sea-faring undulation, the sad, baroque feel of Barbican might remind one of Nick Drake and, in a better world, Cheerfully Hopeless would be a huge hit. TTHT may not propel The Orgone Box to the charts but it will certainly let them keep the adulation they have earned in the places that really count.
- David Bash

Comes With A Smile

Having waited years to see his lost pop-masterpiece issued (last year's self-titled debut), Rick Corcoran now dips into his bag of four-track tricks to bring us the nostalgic closet clear-out, Things That Happened Then. While points will be dropped for the lo-fi sound quality that restricts the sonic scope some of these songs scream out for, there's no doubting Corcoran's mastery of his craft - he is effectively reinventing '60s psych-pop by injecting it with some 21st century angst - or the strength of the material on display. Here are fourteen unheard Corcoran classics, from the soaring opener Last Ride on the Jets via the soothing lilt of Wonderful Mind and Barbican to the 70's new wave of the title track and the all-out rawk of Bestbird. A hefty helping of dreamy psychedelia is poured over proceedings, Corcoran's Lennon-esque delivery and layered guitar pyrotechnics ensuring Things… sounds like nothing less than a lost treasure.
- Matt Dornan

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THE ORGONE BOX ALBUM

 

“This may be the best marriage of pop and psych since Strawberry Fields Forever.”

Minus Zero is incredibly pleased, honoured and downright tickled pink to be involved in making the ORGONE BOX album available. It has taken some searching, some astonishing serendipity and above all the discovery of some of the very best music to come from England in a long, long while. Music far too special to be left unheard.

Upon a solid framework of Beatles inspired melodic inventiveness, Rick Corcoran (who is The ORGONE BOX) adds layers of pulsing psychedelia, post punk/new wave dynamism and a dazzling overlay of classic blazing-guitar rock. It's a totally winning combination made all the more scintillating by appearing to be so effortless. There's no energy lost on style or attitude - every ounce of talent goes into creating Great Songs and that, in the end, is what it's all about.

Unlike other, much vaunted, Beatlesy bands, Rick never falls into the trap of merely imitating their sound; instead, he gets deep into the spirit of what exactly made the Beatles so awesomely inspirational. Applying the same principals of great song craft the result is not only incredibly creative but refreshingly original!

Check out the sound clips to get a taste of what's in store and then get ordering or ask at your local record shop - if they don't have it, tell them they should!

"Lennon reincarnated. John Lennon is alive and well, and before you ask, no, he doesn't have a monobrow. These days he passes himself off as Rick Corcoran, whose Orgone Box album from 1996 does Beatles-era Revolver better than any... It's a real contender for the best pop-psyche album of the last decade" - Pop Junkie

“...This is most definitely English Music at its best - rooted in the best of 60's Psych-Pop with an all encompassing pop sensibility...more than just a collection of undiscovered gems, this is an important release...” - Bucketful of Brains

“Glorious, pulsing psych-drenched power pop of the highest order; lyrically intelligent and driven by joyous energy and majestic melodies with more hooks than a lifetime subscription of Angler's weekly.”
-Mick Dillingham from an interview with Rick in Bucketful of Brains #58

“The Orgone Box is one full of pop delicacies, candy for the ears and mind of the more discerning listener. And not a single-layered budget box either, but a collection of surprising depth given its roots in the sugary world of The Beatles' more psychedelic outings...this is an album destined to become legendary among the ever-burgeoning legions of power-pop afficionados.” - Comes With A Smile

“...You'll be convinced that Corcoran is a giant in his field and that The Orgone Box is an essential purchase.” - Sunday Times

“A major find, purely and straightforwardly stated... Talk about digging into the tombs of Beatle-psych pop of "Revolver/Pepper", this is not only a must for any fan of great Beatle inspired pop, but fans of more modern excursions to this territory like Cotton Mather, XTC, Martin Newell, Cherry Twister or even Let's Active (singer sounds like Mitch Easter as well) will freak out...Will be right at the top of a ton of end of the year lists, you can bet on it. ” - Not Lame

“When lead vocalist Rick Corcoran intones "I've got a psychedelic mind," you can take that to the bank!...This album is swirling, pop-psychedelia all the way, and is definitely of the first order. ” - Toast Magazine

“...the CD is psychedelic as hell. It's also poppier 'n hell, with its big, lush waves of sound, irresistible hooks, and rolling harmonies...In fact, with his heliumated Lennonesque vocals, this may be the best marriage of pop and psych since 'Strawberry Fields Forever'.” - Toast Magazine

“...World Revolves has a circular melody, a variety of jangling guitars snaking in and out of the mix, leading to the type of chorus that makes you want to cruise down the highway in a convertible with the top down” - Fufkin webzine

“There really isn't much more I can say about this record, other than GO BUY IT!”
- Fufkin webzine

“It's all brilliant but 'Hello Central... Give Me Ganymede', 'Anaesthesia' and 'Ticket With No Return' are sensational.” - Evening Standard

“Above parody, beyond revival, Corcoran knew, and maybe still does, exactly what made the Beatles chord-progressions and lysergic-world special. And it shows! Well worth investigating!!” - Record Collector.

“ It's exceedingly rare these days to find rediscovered “Classics” that live up to their status but The Orgone Box is one that lives way larger than the myth.” - Q

“The opening, Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede will have you in a hallucinatory state of mind without any, um, additional help”- Shake It Up

“Basically, the songwriting and musicianship are superb.” - Uncut

“Find The One...a song that deserves to resonate from radios all over the world as Corcoran hits the upper register to send chills tingling down spines.” - powerofpop.com

“Hello Central . . . Give Me Ganymede sets the stage for what might be one of the strongest pop collections of the past decade.” - popmatters.com

“Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede has so much trippy buzzing around the tape mix that listening on headphones might cause whiplash.” - Magnet

“...more gorgeous “chunes” will not be heard this year, or likely any other.” - Miles Of Music

“The results are absolutely mind-blowing when everything clicks, as it does on just about every track...Easily a contender for album of the year, I'd say.” - Goldmine

“The collective result resembles a fantastic Baroque pop construct of Sgt. Pepper-y proportions, the kind of record that headphones were invented for. ” - All Music Guide

REVIEWS...REVIEWS...REVIEWS...REVIEWS...
for
The Orgone Box

POP JUNKIE

Lennon reincarnated. John Lennon is alive and well, and before you ask, no, he doesn't have a monobrow. These days he passes himself off as Rick Corcoran, whose Orgone Box album from 1996 does Beatles-era Revolver better than any of those oh-so-hip US bands you could care to mention. It's a real contender for the best pop-psyche album of the last decade. Named after a device created by Wilhelm Reich to capture the energy of the universe, The Orgone Box is a moniker for one-man pop-psych genius Rick Corcoran. Actually, Corcoran’s sound is more akin to Across The Universe, as he takes his inspiration directly from Lennon and The Beatles. Just listen to the pleading Find The One – it sounds so like Lennon, it’s scary. Liam Gallagher would give his monobrow to have written it. “I’ve got a psychedelic mind,” sings Corcoran on the brilliant Anaesthesia – and you’re inclined to believe him. In the mid-‘90s, Corcoran was part of Orange, who had a minor hit with the fantastic Judy Over The Rainbow. This album includes a version of that song as well as plenty of other modern pop-psyche nuggets. Originally released in Japan in 1996, The Orgone Box’s self-titled debut lay undiscovered until our friends at Minus Zero Records decided to release it. Thank god they did, it’s easily one of the finest British pop albums of the last ten years. Drawing comparisons to Revolver/Sgt Pepper-era Beatles, Corcoran has an ear for an irresistible melody – the album is shot through with instantly memorable tunes. From the Byrdsy jangle of Hello Central… Give Me Ganymede; to the dreamy Bubble and the sad-eyed Guilt Trip, this is classy stuff, Corcoran’s FX-laden Lennonesque vocals drifting in from another galaxy over a head-spinning mix of chiming guitars, hazy sounds and layered instrumentation. There’s also a temporary diversion into fuzzed-up power-pop (Noddyland) and the Dylan meets Robyn Hitchcock gem Ticket With No Return. If you like this, you’ll also love Cotton Mather’s Kontiki – more of the same Fab Four-friendly, psychedelic earcandy. It’s perfect for Mellotroning out to…. www.popjunkie.tv

All Music Guide

Sheffield-based multi-instrumentalist/songwriter/producer Rick Corcoran, who plays nearly every instrument here, is the only member of the Orgone Box. He reportedly used four eight-track tape machines, a 32-channel mixing desk, three guitar amps, a half-dozen effects-laden guitars, and laid down guide drums to a click-track during the initial home-recording sessions. Later, during four days of overdubbing at a mansion called "the House in the Woods," Corcoran was aided by a couple of friends, drummer Tam Johnstone (ex-the Green Tambourines, the General Store) and bassist/keyboardist Tim McTighe, who provided "orchestral arrangements" on a Roland MC300. The result, of course, is that the Orgone Box has that identifiable studio sheen that low-budget self-produced solo efforts of this ilk often have, where the drum/bass rhythm tracks are purposefully simplified in the early stages of recording to easily allow for sonic layers to be added above. Even so, unlike most albums that are built this way, brick by brick, from the foundation to the penthouse, the more you listen this CD, the more you realize the Orgone Box is a stylish triumph of substance over simple revisionist psych-pop. Corcoran was evidently inspired by listening to his favorites from the original 1967 era -- the Fabs, Butterfly-era Hollies, early Pink Floyd are a few that come to mind -- and "informed" by later albums released by the Dukes of Stratosphear, Robyn Hitchcock, and Oasis, but he doesn't seem to be too interested in ripping off any of his precursors. On the second track, "Anaesthesia," Corcoran even lets listeners know that he's "not into psychedelia/I've got a psychedelic mind...whatever," probably meaning that his music simply pours out of him whenever he hits "record," without him having to "psychedelicize" to get into the mood. Each track abounds with effective Lennon-esque vocals, ringing Byrds-ian 12-strings, phase-shifting guitar solos, and mellifluous multi-tracked vocal harmonies, all swirling amid confectionery pop melodies. The collective result resembles a fantastic Baroque pop construct of Sgt. Pepper-y proportions, the kind of record that headphones were invented for.
- Bryan Thomas

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Goldmine

Here's the history behind this one: a British chap called Rick Corcoran penned and released a pulsating little pop-psych track (under the name Orange, on UK Chrysalis Records) titled "Judy Over the Rainbow" during 1994, and promptly disappeared from the scene for a bit. Apparently this album was originally a collection of demos and was released in 1996 (in Japan only, yet) and quickly vanished, but the good folks at Minus Zero somehow unearthed it and are giving it a much-deserved second life.
The Orgone Box showcases the substantial talents of Corcoran, who manages to blend some of Robyn Hitchcock's quintessentially British psychedelic quaintness with a smattering of current indie-pop heroes Cotton Mather's thick guitar sound, along with a splash of Lennonesque vocals. The results are absolutely mind-blowing when everything clicks, as it does on just about every track.
“Judy Over the Rainbow” is the centerpiece of The Orgone Box and it's quite a delightful confection, with a “She Said, She Said”-like verse that glides effortlessly into a soaring, impossibly perfect chorus. As powerfully enticing as it is, it's merely the tip of Corcoran's songwriting iceberg: the trippy “Hello Central…Give Me Ganymede,” the forcefully rockin' “World Revolves,“ the gorgeous, Korgis-like “Find the One” or the maddeningly catchy “Guilt Trip” are all equally top-drawer. The Orgone Box is a record that should appeal to both psych fans and pop freaks, as it's dripping with melody and inventiveness and slathered with some deft production touches. Easily a contender for album of the year, I'd say.
-John M. Borack

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Miles Of Music

My most recent jones is for late '60s British psych pop, and lately I've been getting a pleasant lysergic buzz off of such long forgotten bands as the Flowerpot Men, Kaleidoscope and Tomorrow. Imagine my earthly delight when I came upon this ornate pillbox of sweet candy-colored songs. Turns out, the Orgone Box is no throwback to day-glo decades gone by; rather it's the contemporary masterwork of one-man-band Rick Corcoran, who released it in 1996 on a small Japanese label and is only now being made widely available. With its charming melodies and chiming guitars, this album will set your head spinning on tracks like “Judy Over the Rainbow,” “World Revolves,” “Find the One” and my fav, “Guilt Trip.” Fortunately, the music herein is not, as they say, an incredible simulation - Corcoran's oeuvre moves well beyond the nostalgia and self-conscious imitation of bands like the Dukes of Stratosphere and into a world (or should I say, dimension) that's unique and authentic in any age. Beyond that, more gorgeous "chunes" will not be heard this year, or likely any other. Slip in The Orgone Box, slap on your headphones - and give yourself a natural high.
-Eliot Wilder

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Amplifier

Part of the true splendor of The Orgone Box album is that it was almost condemned to an eternity of obscurity. Recorded in 1996 by Rick Corcoran, formerly of the band Orange, The Orgone Box was released on a small label in Japan where it received scant little attention. Blessedly, Minus Zero Records has released the album and now the world can partake in its splendor. Picking up where the Beatles left off with “Strawberry Fields Forever”, The Orgone Box shares a musical affinity with not only the Zombies but also such latter-day psychedelic bands as The Dukes of Stratosphear, The Three O'Clock, and The Fraternal Order of the All. The Orgone Box benefits from the strength of Corcoran's songwriting, and his mastery of timeless pop hooks. “World Revolves,” for example, begins with a driving, hypnotic hook that ultimately yields to a memorable, swirling chorus. “Hello Central.Give Me Ganymede” is propelled by a 12 string guitar riff layered atop a bed of scratching rhythm guitar that would do The Edge proud. Elsewhere, “Find the One”is both beautiful and uplifting, as satisfying emotionally as musically. “I've got a psychedelic mind.” sings Corcoran in “Anaesthesia.” That, fellow music lovers, is quite the understatement. Listen to The Orgone Box in the dark, through headphones.and share Corcoran's trip.
- Rick Schadelbauer, Amplifier #25

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Magnet

This frosty little jewel is a one-man project by obscure British pop/psych wizard Rick Corcoran(Orange, Green Tambourines) that's been stuffed in his foot locker since 1996. It combines the brawny pop stylings of the Raspberries with enough borrowed herbs and spices from UK jangle merchants like the Soft Boys and the Dentists to emerge sounding thoroughly English. “Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede” has so much trippy buzzing around the tape mix that listening on headphones might cause whiplash. “There'll Always Be Attitudes”, on the other hand could be a chirpy track from the Australian, pre-chart days of the Bee Gees. But it's the ornate remake of Corcoran's baroque-pop Orange single, “Judy Over The Rainbow” that might make you hunt down a powdered wig in a costume shop and dye it day-glo orange.
-Jud Cost, Magnet

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www.extract.no

Psych-Pop Extravaganza. I tiden da Blur og Oasis melket de siste restene ut av den døende Brit-popen, og Englands ære stod på spill, kom Rick Corcoran ut med denne. Året var 1996 og en liten obskur japansk label stod som utgiver. Først nå får ”verden” ta del i mesterverket. Dette kunne nemlig vært Englands stolthet på pophimmelen, i en tid da lite interessant var å finne i platehyllene med adresse fra øyriket. Om denne utgivelsen kan følgende berettes: De aldrende hippiene i den flotte platesjappa Minus Zero i London, tok kontakt med Rick og spurte pent om å få reutgi denne platen på sin egen label med samme navn. Det fikk de, og ære være dem for det! Her har vi nemlig å gjøre med en absolutt briljant psykedelisk popplate, med et sound som oser Liverpool og 1960-tallet. Ja, du gjettet riktig. The Beatles. The Orgone Box er Rick Corcoran til det fulle. Kun litt hjelp til trommer, og synth på en låt, er det han lar andre få delta i på disse 12 lysende Psych-Pop-låtene. Musikalsk befinner han seg mellom Revolver og Sgt. Pepper, og jommen meg lurer også Syd Barrett i kulissene. Og for en vokal! En slags Lennon på helium! Faktisk kan både vokal og melodier også minne sterkt om vår egen Øyvind Holm og Dipsomaniacs. Mon tro om ikke han selv snappa opp denne fra Japan engang! Tenk videre Elephant 6, og faktisk både The Tables og The Jessica Fletchers. Her er strålende gitarmelodier med herlige effekter som fuzz og klang, stødige og deilige bassganger, håndklapping, tamburin og masse koring. Det finnes ikke en svak låt, og “Hello Central…Give Me Ganymede”, “There`ll Always Be Attitudes”, “World Revolves”, “Find The One” og “Judy Over The Rainbow” er evige klassikere. Sistnevnte fikk visstnok ganske så mye radiospilletid, da den kom ut på en ep med Rick`s gamle band Orange i 1994. Temaene er hovedsakelig den evinnelige kjærligheten – både den lykkelige – og den triste sorten. Det er en type litt mismodig pop, men både energisk, lys, lekent og avslappende. Den har helt enkelt alt som dekker betegnelsen “klassiker”. Hvis du fortsatt leser dette, så bør du snart stoppe. Du bør være på vei til din lokale platelanger på jakt etter The Orgone Box. Og har han den ikke, så får du ta et godt tak i vedkommendes krage og true med evig forbannelse om den ikke snarest ligger på disken! Slik kan resultatet bli når pop befrukter psykedelia. Dette er rett og slett uforskammet bra, og helt nødvendig. I,m not into psykedelia, I`ve got a psykedelic mind (fra “Anaesthesia”)
-Thomas Aaeng,   www.extract.no (translation welcome!)

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www.popmatters.com

An orgone box is a device created by Wilhelm Reich to capture the energy of the universe, while The Orgone Box is a musical device created by Rick Corcoran to capture the energy of late '60s pop-psychedelia. While skeptics lambasted Reich's device, Corcoran's device deserves wide praise. This one truly resurrects the magical sounds of that era with a wry insouciance that is positively endearing. Once upon a time in the UK — mid-'90s, to be precise — there was a combo called Orange that scored a minor radio hit with “Judy Over the Rainbow”. From this minor hit and the mind and talents of one Rick Corcoran came a stripped down version of this hit and 11 other pop/psych gems assembled collectively as The Orgone Box. This self-titled CD featured all vocals and instruments by the gifted Corcoran, except for drums and a Roland MC300 part. Launched on an obscure Japanese label in 1996, it landed somewhere in musical limbo, where its relative anonymity remained undisturbed — a musical crime of the highest order. Thank goodness Bill Forsyth and the folks at Minus Zero Records have seen fit to finally right that wrong by re-releasing its wonderful music this past March.
Opening with a jangly electric Rickenbacker riff that sounds like Roger McGuinn interpretating Buddy Judge's Grays classic “Everybody's World”, the magically paisley journey begins. “Hello Central . . . Give Me Ganymede” sets the stage for what might be one of the strongest pop collections of the past decade. Hook-laden songs with swirling and soaring sonic passages, baroque arrangements and appropriately contemplative lyrics truly invoke the spirits of musical gods past, from Lennon and his Beatle compatriots to The Byrds to early Pink Floyd to more recent torchbearers of the legacy like Cotton Mather (shades of Kon Tiki all over the place here), Oasis, Martin Newell (Greatest Living Englishman) and Robyn Hitchcock. This is the kind of collection that quickly grows to become your favorite. Corcoran knows how to do it right, mixing the vocals and the guitars and drums and bass-lines to make tasty selections into instant classics. He does it over and over again here, making it hard to pick favorites and easy to tune in and drop out, as Dr. Leary suggested long ago. Corcoran will have you all over the musical map, perhaps hearing some Hollies in “Disposable” or Belle & Sebastian in “There'll Always Be Attitudes”. “World Revolves” trades on several musical traditions to create an original tune that holds its own with any other past jangly guitar favorite, while “Find The One” is the John Lennon song he never wrote. “The Song Formerly Known As Mirrorball” is a bit darker sounding, and as such seems to fit well into the post-Cobain musical canon. “Judy Over the Rainbow” is a trippy tribute to Judy and her dreaming reality. “Ticket with No Return” might just be the catchiest tune of them all. I heartily recommend you go out and purchase a copy to find what fun exists here. I do hope that The Orgone Box is not an isolated instance and that Rick Corcoran will give us more of his music and talents. Until he does, though, treat yourself to this fantastic genuine gem of time travel into the world of psychedelic pop.
- Gary Glauber, Popmatters www.popmatters.com

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www.powerofpop.com

Bill Forsyth, the owner of Minus Zero Records has boldly declared, “this (i.e. The Orgone Box) is the very best Pop album to come out of England in the last 20 years…” Whilst you may have cause to quibble with his assessment, you will be hard pressed to ignore The Orgone Box’s stake to British pop greatness. Consisting mainly of demos made by Rick Corcoran with Tam Johnstone and Tim McTighe (from Corcoran’s previous band The Green Tambourines) and released by a small Japanese label in 1996 to obscurity, Minus Zero Records have managed to obtain Corcoran’s consent to re-issue this unknown legend for the benefit of modern power pop listeners. Corcoran’s prior claim to fame was a critically acclaimed EP (Judy Over The Rainbow b/w Disposable & Bed) on Chrysalis Records in 1994 (at the ascent of Britpop) under the Orange moniker. However, Orange could not survive internal differences to progress further. Whatever misfortune Corcoran may have encountered in the 1990s, hopefully the re-issue of this truly sublime album will spark a reversal of fortune in the new millennium. After all, listening to the magnificent psychedelic pop on The Orgone Box, there is surely a place in every power pop fan’s heart for the music of Rick Corcoran. Reference points are obvious – The Beatles, The Kinks, Syd Barrett, Pink Floyd, The Soft Boys, XTC’s Dukes of Stratosphear phase, The Cleaners from Venus, The Green Pajamas and the irrepressible Robyn Hitchcock. Fortified with these tremendous influences, Rick Corcoran is able to fashion something so fresh and effervescent that you never ever entertain thoughts of dismissing this as derivative. How can you when a song like the gorgeously freaky “Anaesthesia” slithers and embraces your senses with phased vocals, effects-laden guitars and tongue-in-cheek lyrics like, “I’m not into psychedelia/ I’ve got a psychedelic mind.” Or the Ray Davies-evoking Anglo folk-rock reverie of “There’ll Always Be Attitudes” with its quirky sentiments – “If you want to lead a proper life you've got to listen to the wife a bit/ You're all night in the pub and you're with your mates and your brain begins to equate with little more than laughing at the size of her tits.” And what about the lively and animated “World Revolves” with its world-weary cynicism – “You wanna fight but you can't make a fist/ You're getting mad at yourself but you make yourself sick.” The clincher, in my mind, is the stunning “Find The One,” a love song in the Roy Orbison/Jeff Lynne mode, emotional and touching where Corcoran is unafraid to sing, “Find the one you love the one who's always there who always cared for you/ Find the one you love if this is a time for being hopeful,” a song that deserves to resonate from radios all over the world as Corcoran hits the upper register to send chills tingling down spines. The Orgone Box may not be the best British pop album of the last twenty years but it’s certainly close. Hopefully, this will point the way for future magical moments from Rick Corcoran. (9) .
- Kevin Mathews www.powerofpop.com

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Uncut

Ex-Orange man makes affectionate addendum to British psychedelia - even better that Mick Head's legendary lost Shack album.
If the La's eponymous album of 1990 lovingly recreated the Beatles' sound circa 1965, then the Orgone Box - aka one-man-band Rick Corcoran, a Sheffield thirty-something who with 1994's Judy Over The Rainbow single on Chrysalis was poised on the brink of megadom (and had they made an album, pundits suggest, Orange would have been up there with the Roses, Oasis et al and towered over the likes of Cast) - manage the same for the Beatles' 1966/67 output. Basically, the songwriting and musicianship are superb.
Recorded in London and originally released in Japan in 1966, The Orgone Box is now available in Britain for the first time. Corcoran's only album to date hosts a dozen extravagant psychedelic reveries complete with phased guitar solos, multitracked vocal harmonies and pure pop hooks. It's deft retro-fitting of a post-punk edginess to unabashed sixties sentimentality - happily bereft of any Brit-yob banality-makes it a perfect example of Anglocentric pop eccentricty.
**** - Paul Johnson, Uncut

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Shake It Up

Having previously seen the light of day on a small label in Japan in 1996, Minus Zero Records has pursued a labour of love in reissuing this gem. Simply, consider this one of modern pop psychedelia's crowning achievement. I won't bother with the shock of one-man-band Rick Corcoran's efforts remaining under wraps for so long but rather celebrate the fact that it's seen the light of day. What Corcoran manages to accomplish here is the contemporizing of a past genre. True, the most often heard descriptive when discussing The Orgone Box will be “psychedelic”, but there's much more at work here. While taking cues from The Beatles' trippier moments, Corcoran can deliver a truly timeless melody with similar ease as with Ticket With No Return and the steady Guilt Trip (which incidentally contains his finest vocal performance here). Corcoran's instrumentation is a little less busy on these tracks - a testimony to not falling into the ego-trap that so many solo acts fall into. Admittedly, when Corcoran does showcase a more full-blown sonic assault, he dazzles even more. The opening Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede will have you in a hallucinatory state of mind without any, um, additional help. Even better is the anthem Anaesthesia with it's crescendo to its heavy chorus. Throughout it all, Corcoran's guitars are front and center where they should be and not buried behind indulgent effects. Good taste prevails here. Take advantage of this one having been rescued from obscurity.
- Claudio Sossi, Shake it up http://www.powerpop.org/shakeitup

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Q

The Orgone Box exudes the kind of baroque gentlemanly pop that the Beatles unearthed on Sgt Pepper, and which a host of US bands have recently tried to exhume. Released in 1996 on an obscure Japanese label, the album was the brainchild of Rick Corcoran who wrote and played just about everything. However, anonymity beckoned, which is a real shame as this is a fantastic album.
Dabbling at the pop end of early Pink Floyd, while covering the waterfront from the beatles to primal Bee Gees, Corcoran switches and swirls the edges of his clean-cut pop, ladling on the vocals and pressing all the right effects buttons to make each tune a real treat. It's exceedingly rare these days to find rediscovered “Classics” that live up to their status but The Orgone Box is one that lives way larger than the myth.
**** - Dave Henderson, Q

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Record Collector

Initially released on a tiny Japanese label in the 90's, The Orgone Box passed by attracting little attention; Five years down the line and the mind-candy of the one man Orgone Box, Rick Corcoran, has finally gained a release on a British label formed by venerable London collectors' shop, Minus Zero.
Corcoran's delicate melodies and spectacular song structures still stand up, but there are a number of aural indicators that this is indeed a product of the previous decade (certain production techniques now sound somewhat dated, for instance). But perhaps that's the point; from the off, it's apparent that however much Corcoran loves Lennon circa '67, he doesn't want to go all vintage and re-create the Abbey Road studio wizardry from that technicolor era. As he sings on Anaesthesia, “I'm not into psychedelia, I've got a psychedelic mind.” This is psychedelia for today (or more realistically 1996)! The only real pastiche (and a bloody good one at that!) is There'll Always Be Attitudes, in which Corcoran's cheeky phrasing (think Peter Noone meets Gilbert O'Sullivan) and the naughty in the sense of the Hollies' lyric, clean acoustic guitars, kazoo and jangly arrangement is clearly intentionally 1960's. However that's about as far as it goes as cute re-creation goes. Corcoran has more in common with the witty British song-mongery of XTC (quintessential word-play and surreal imagery that goes right back to Syd Barrett and is still heard today from Martin Newell and Robyn Hitchcock) than cod-retroism. Then there's the similarity to both the 80's and 90's Rain Parade and Cotton Mather (Beatles-esque melodies in a contemporary setting). Above parody, beyond revival, Corcoran knew, and maybe still does, exactly what made the Beatles chord-progressions and lysergic-world special. And it shows! Well worth investigating!!
- Jon Mojo Mills, Record Collector.

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www.fufkin.com

Reading over some British reviews of The Orgone Box, I become painfully aware that my knowledge is seriously lacking when it comes to the origins of Rick Corcoran, his former band Orange, and what was apparently a radio hit in the UK in the mid-nineties, “Judy Over the Rainbow.” All I have to go on is my own nostalgia for a sound and a time I remember fondly as well as my gut reaction to a record so charming and wise and brilliant, I wish I could go over to London and kiss the feet of Bill Forsyth for pursuing the avenues that led him to re-release this wonderful record. The history behind The Orgone Box can be followed on the Minus Zero website, so I feel no need to rehash that. By all means, if you are interested in the coincidences, serendipities, and passions that fuel indie music as we know it, please have a look. As I'm listening to this record yet again and writing this, superlatives tumble from my frazzled brain that could never do The Orgone Box justice. It comes from an era in the UK that saw Blur and Oasis duking it out daily on the charts and in the headlines, a wonderful time for pop music in some ways, but also a time when a smart, smaller release could easily be overshadowed. Skip ahead to 2001, Minus Zero, and a timeless collection of songs. The Orgone Box is an album true to itself. Seemingly unaffected, Rick Corcoran revels in Briticisms like "You're all night in the pub and you're with your mates" from “There'll Always Be Attitudes.” Slightly reminiscent of Robyn Hitchcock both sonically and lyrically is the trippy “Bubble,” (this song makes me think of John Travolta, for what it's worth…,) it's dripping with hooks and a beautiful watery sound. I can't help but make a comparison with Cotton Mather's Kon Tiki only because it's a more well-known (for now!) pop touchstone. Obviously, the two are not connected in any way, other than Kon Tiki came out only a year after The Orgone Box appeared. I just hear a similar aesthetic, an overdubbed, voice in a tin can, tambourine flourish that instantly brings to mind Harrison and co. There really isn't much more I can say about this record, other than GO BUY IT! We've been given a wonderful gift with the discovery and re-release of this pop gem…I worry that if I say too much, the magic of that first listen will elude you. Come up with your own superlatives
- Anna Borg, www.fufkin.com

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www.fufkin.com

“I'm not into psychedelia/I've got a psychedelic mind - whatever.” Though Rick Corcoran may sing otherwise (on the tune “Anaesthesia”), trust me - this is psychedelia - electric kool aid acid pop of the highest order. Appropriately enough this 2001 release is actually a flashback, Corcoran recording it back in 1996. Corcoran is clearly inspired by the great British psych-pop of 60's, with The Beatles, S.F. Sorrow-era Pretty Things, Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd and Butterfly-era Hollies numbering among just some of the reference points that are appropriate. And you could also mention The Orgone Box in the same breath as modern eccentric psychpopsters like Robyn Hitchcock, Martin Newell and The Chrys&themums. But unlike that trio, the music here is more accessible, making it a best of both worlds - great tunes with some occasional wiggy edges. None of those edges are needed on the brilliant “Find The One”, in which Corcoran becomes a balladeer, making a song that blends the paisley tones of John Lennon circa 1967 with pure drama on par with Roy Orbison. The little George Harrisonish lead guitar fills and final dramatic choruses just make this all the more classic. Other songs rock in a manner that will win over fans of like minded groups like Guided By Voices, Photon Band and The Ringles. “World Revolves” has a circular melody, a variety of jangling guitars snaking in and out of the mix, leading to the type of chorus that makes you want to cruise down the highway in a convertible with the top down (presuming you've already come down in the acid tent and are fit to drive!). Whilst on “The Song Formerly Known As Mirrorball”, Corcoran adds a tad of reverb on his vocals, which in combo with his thick bass line, gives the song a heavy feel which contrasts with the airy melody. Corcoran also has a bash at plain straightforward pop. “There'll Always Be Attitudes” has a jaunty early Bee Gees feel, which gives its indictment of the class system an extra sting. Likewise, the splendid folk rock arrangement of “Ticket With No Return”, with the strummed guitars, moody keyboards and deftly placed backing vocals supports forboding lyrics (“there's a point of no return I wanna go to/not the harsh reality I have to face”). This disc demands repeated listens and rewards them, as this obviously low budget recording is bursting at the seams with sounds and ideas. In fact, I don't even think a producer like Brad Jones could improve on the product here - the tunes are here, the production is here and finally, The Orgone Box is here - let's hope Rick Corcoran comes back with more musical gifts for us.
- Mike Bennett, www. fufkin.com

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Evening Standard

Here's a find. Filching inspiration from Wilhelm Reich's device for harnessing the psycho-sexual energy that surrounds us and inventing a virtual vibrator, as t'were, the Orgone Box blows your mind and stimulates the bits beneath. Attuned to this Orgone Box (alias Sheffield-born Rick Corcoran) is a one-man, many-handed band who specialises in fantastic soundscapes of psychedelia filtered via an an autobiographical narrative that cuts to the chase like his kindred spirit David Gray, of American legends the Idle Wilds. It's all brilliant but 'Hello Central... Give Me Ganymede', 'Anaesthesia' and 'Ticket With No Return' are sensational. A vat of Kool-Aid next to a shelf full of Diet Sprite.
- Max Bell, Evening Standard

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Toast Magazine

When lead vocalist Rick Corcoran intones “I've got a psychedelic mind,” you can take that to the bank! The Orgone Box ( named for a device developed by psychoanalyist Wilhelm Reich, which could supposedly capture the “energy of the universe”) is essentially Corcoran, who sings and writes all the songs and plays all the instruments, save drums. This album is swirling, pop-psychedelia all the way, and is definitely of the first order. Cotton Mather fans will love Corcoran's dirty, muted lead vocals and the serpentine psych of songs like “Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede,” “Noddyland,” and the cooking “World Revolves,” which has an undeniable, layered chorus. Corcoran knows how to mix things up as well; he adds some Hall and Oates-esque lead/harmony vocals to “Anaesthesia”; “Disposable” is the kind of quirky, authentic psychedelia that made vintage bands like Rainbow Ffolly so delightful; and “There'll Always Be Attitudes” borrows a page from the soft pop primer. As good as the aforementioned tracks are, there's even better in “Find The One,” which is as beautiful a breakup song as you'll ever hear, with strains of a Roland MC300 (courtesy of Tim McTighe) punctuating the dreamy mood; “Judy Over The Rainbow,” (an earlier version of this song was released as a single on Chrysalis Records by Corcoran's previous band, Orange ) which features cool, phased vocals, Revolver-esque guitar licks, and is catchy as all get out; and “Ticket With No Return,” a wonderful song that could have snuck onto Jon Brion's new album without anybody finding out. (The story of how The Orgone Box came to be is marvelous, and can be read in the latest issue (#58) of Bucketfull of Brains magazine.)
-David Bash, Toast Magazine www.toastmag.com

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Toast Magazine

What Mr. Bash doesn't tell you about that lyric is that it's preceded by “I'm not into pyschedelia,” a claim which moves him squarely into Dada territory. But Bash is right: the CD is psychedelic as hell. It's also poppier 'n hell, with its big, lush waves of sound, irresistible hooks, and rolling harmonies. Corcoran manages to avoid the main pitfall of multi-track, overdub driven one-man affairs - the CD never suffers from the static claustrophobia or mechanistic construction of so many similarly fabricated discs. He also avoids the fatal flaw of self-consciousness that mars so many psych recreations such as The Dukes Of The Stratosphear, probably because he puts the pop first. In fact, with his heliumated Lennonesque vocals, this may be the best marriage of pop and psych since “Strawberry Fields Forever.”
- John F. Butland. Toast Magazine www.toastmag.com

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Sunday Times

London's Minus Zero, the hopeless obsessive's music store of choice, has rescued the songwriter Rick Corcoran's 1996 Orgone Box recordings from obscurity, and reissued them on it's own label. This is English psych-pop in the tradition of XTC or the LSD-dabbling Beatles, and deserves an audience. Upon exposure to the moment, 55 seconds into Anaesthesia, where the song swells into the chorus, you'll be convinced that Corcoran is a giant in his field and that The Orgone Box is an essential purchase.
- Stewart Lee, Sunday Times 25/03/01

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Comes With A Smile

Essentially the work of Rick Corcoran, formerly of legendary UK combo Orange, The Orgone Box is (as it's original title Confectionery suggests) one full of pop delicacies, candy for the ears and mind of the more discerning listener. And not a single-layered budget box either, but a collection of surprising depth given its roots in the sugary world of The Beatles' more psychedelic outings. Corcoran's Lennon-esque vocals at least boast geographical authenticity (unlike the scouse stylings of, say, Texas' Cotton Mather), and the strength of his songwriting soon overshadows any lazy accusations of plagiarism. Lyrically he's clearly of English descent and occasionally descends into 'laddish' nonsense but elsewhere the sheer exuberance of World Revolves, Noddyland and Judy Over The Rainbow (yes, a reworking of the Orange classic) and the affecting Bubble show Corcoran to be a master of the genre. As would benefit most pop offerings, The Orgone Box might have been a stronger set if the likes of 'Attitudes' and the meandering Song Formerly Known As Mirrorball had been relegated to b-side status but, if for the closing classic Ticket With No Return alone, this is an album destined to become legendary among the ever-burgeoning legions of power-pop afficionados.
- Matt Dornan, Comes With A Smile

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Bucketfull Of Brains

Trapped in some far eastern vault for four years, these extraordinary recordings have finally been freed to testify that the UK is also capable of producing real talent! Think Cherry Twister or Jiffipop and multiply the "Wow" factor by 10 and you'll be somewhere close to the high echelon that these songs occupy. Rick Corcoran has already attained legendary status with the Judy Over The Rainbow single that he released on Chrysalis when he was in Orange. Judy makes a new appearance in a more stripped down version as does it's wonderful b-side Disposable, which was a lost classic known only to a few until now.
This is most definitely English Music at its best - rooted in the best of 60's Psych-Pop with an all encompassing pop sensibility. The opening Hello Central...Give Me Ganymede, as well as all the songs here, has enough imaginative twists and turns to overwhelm the senses. These songs are fun and catchy. They have real depth without ever getting arty or over intricate.
More than just a collection of undiscovered gems, this is an important release that will hopefully create the right climate for Rick to return to the studio to treat us to the next chapter of his musical adventures. Genius!!
-Robin Wills, Bucketfull of Brains

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A brief historical introduction:

First there was The GREEN TAMBOURINES - a band formed round the prodigious talents of RICK CORCORAN. They played some memorable gigs around London but their guitar pop was out of step & time with the Acid house, ecstasy driven scene of the early '90s and they split after 18 months.

Shortly after, Rick was offered some studio time based on demos he'd written but the deal involved having a band so he hastily formed ORANGE and this led to Chrysalis Records releasing an amazing EP called Judy Over The Rainbow b/w Disposable & Bed. Cool radio stations picked up on it and it got quite a lot of airplay. Deservedly so, because it was considered by all right thinking Pop fans as being one of the very best records of its kind to come from an English band for a long time. ORANGE also did a couple of radio sessions and played live a few times but internal stresses caused the band to fold shortly afterwards.

Weary of bands and big record labels, Rick went back to making demos helped out by old mates from The Green Tambourines, Tam Johnstone and Tim McTighe. Eventually a small Japanese label got to hear them and very astutely put out an album in 1996 under the name, THE ORGONE BOX. Unfortunately it was only released in Japan and even then it got precious little attention. Whether it was deleted fast or the label went bust is unclear but whatever, it went unnoticed in the big wide world, and Rick's astonishing talent remained unheard.

Until now...

Through a series of fortuitous chances and not a little searching, Minus Zero has acquired Rick's permission to re-issue this lost album. We consider it to be a Psychedelic Pop masterpiece; not only that, we also want to hear more from the mighty talents of Rick Corcoran and hopefully this re-release will bring that about.

1. HELLO CENTRAL... GIVE ME GANYMEDE

don't let me open my mouth i'm dangerous bound to cause offence to you and yours i never meant it i get bored i need communication i'm hoping tonight she will say everything's a ok
hello central...give me ganymede confused? join me if i make a sudden move she'll notice it if there's a chance that i can grab a feel or better still can i reveal i need relationships like lips pressing through the night i'm hoping that she'll see me right tonight of all nights
hello central give me more speed for the monster i feed hello central give me more speed greed's the monster i feed