# The Strange Magic of: The Chambers Brothers



## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

The radio and TV show, The Lone Ranger, used to begin with the phrase "Return with us now to those thrilling days of Yesteryear...". It is 1968, and _Time Has Come Today_. And my soul has been psychedelicized, certainly with the help of The Chambers Brothers: Leslie, harmonica; Joe and Willie, guitars; George, bass; and drummer Brian Keenan. The original 1968 version ran a full eleven minutes, and there is a YouTube video, live, but it is of poor quality. Here is a shorter version, from the 20th anniversary concert at The Fillmore in 1986, that is much better recorded and still yields some of the excitement of the studio classic, whose hypnotic drums, reverb, echo, and other audio "exciters" made it sort of the "West End Girls" of its day. There is also a hazy memory of strangely aromatic cigarettes... But in 1968, just like now in 2016, there was a real sense that Time Had Come Today-- if you check the Wikipedia entry for that year, there was a whole lot going on.


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## elgar's ghost (Aug 8, 2010)

The Chambers Brothers meant diddly-squat over here in the UK but _Time Has Come Today_ was, along with the likes of Jefferson Airplane's _Volunteers_ and CCR's _Fortunate Son_, one of the great counter-culture classics. Although that song was their defining moment chart-wise there was more to them than acid soul - their roots were in folk and gospel and their aptitude for both was amply demonstrated on the compilation album I've got. On top of that they covered a wide range of other artist's material with good taste.

I gather the four brothers are still with us (the other member of the line-up, drummer Brian Keenan, died in the mid-80s) but I was sorry to read somewhere that the group were mercilessly ripped off during their career to the point where they make little or no money on the songs they wrote. 'Twas ever thus.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

B


elgars ghost said:


> Their roots were in folk and gospel and their aptitude for both was amply demonstrated on the compilation album I've got.


Right on about the Brothers' gift for folk and gospel. _People Get Ready_ is about as smooth a piece of gospel as there is.


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## Strange Magic (Sep 14, 2015)

People, Get Ready to hear the Brothers singing it Live, though there is no video, just audio. Great song!


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