Biography
Numerous British ensembles managed to lay down several psychedelic rock numbers during the closing years of the 1960s even though scant commercial returns or widespread notice followed. Jason Crest counted among these acts. Because multiple tracks later surfaced on assorted compilations targeting collectors, the band gradually acquired a modest cult following. Although they never matched the caliber of leading British psych outfits such as Procol Harum, whose style they sometimes evoked, the group ranked among the stronger lesser-known U.K. psychedelic units whose output was confined to a handful of scarce discs. In Jason Crest’s instance that output amounted to five non-charting singles issued by Philips across 1968 and 1969. No member of the lineup, incidentally, bore the name Jason Crest.
Their limited sales may have reflected a sound resistant both to easy classification and to the singles market then prevailing. While sharing the narrative and fairy-tale whimsy typical of late-’60s British pop-psychedelia, the music tended to be more introspective and subdued, often placing hymnal organ in the foreground. At the lighter extreme the band covered the Move’s “(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree” and supplied its own buoyant original, “Good Life,” in the manner of Small Faces. At the opposite pole their last single, “Black Mass,” deployed vocals suggesting demonic possession together with lyrics that prefigured the Satanic imagery later adopted by metal bands of the 1970s. They also recorded the pop item “Waterloo Road,” which reached number one in France once Joe Dassin covered it under the title “Au Champs Elysees,” though the group themselves held the song in low esteem. Jason Crest dissolved near the end of the 1960s, shortly after their Philips contract lapsed. Reissues have since presented much of their material, augmented by several previously unissued acetates.
Their limited sales may have reflected a sound resistant both to easy classification and to the singles market then prevailing. While sharing the narrative and fairy-tale whimsy typical of late-’60s British pop-psychedelia, the music tended to be more introspective and subdued, often placing hymnal organ in the foreground. At the lighter extreme the band covered the Move’s “(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree” and supplied its own buoyant original, “Good Life,” in the manner of Small Faces. At the opposite pole their last single, “Black Mass,” deployed vocals suggesting demonic possession together with lyrics that prefigured the Satanic imagery later adopted by metal bands of the 1970s. They also recorded the pop item “Waterloo Road,” which reached number one in France once Joe Dassin covered it under the title “Au Champs Elysees,” though the group themselves held the song in low esteem. Jason Crest dissolved near the end of the 1960s, shortly after their Philips contract lapsed. Reissues have since presented much of their material, augmented by several previously unissued acetates.
Albums
A Place In The Sun: The Complete Jason Crest
2020
(Here We Go Round The) Lemon Tree / Patricia’s Dream
1968
Singles
