Song Of The Day 3/12/2015: Barnaby Bye - "So It Ends This Way"

Overpop: The '70s: There are lots of angles via which one can appreciate Barnaby Bye, who came from Long Island in the early ’70s in a series of events that, like so many things in the ’70s, had something to do with the original Broadway production of Hair. (Click on that link; the story of the band’s genesis on a trip to Germany is a charmer.)

For one thing there’s the song “So It Ends This Way” itself, a very nice acoustic ballad cross-pollinated with Bread and Big Star. There’s also the Alessi Brothers, who were identical twins. Reading up on Burnaby Bye I kept mixing them up with the Addrisi Brothers, which caused some dissonance to my train of thought. There’s also the reassuring fact that Barnaby Bye is still in business and having fun with it.

For my own personal journey with Barnaby Bye I’ve decided to focus on lead singer Peppy Castro, for four reasons. (1) His name is “Peppy Castro.” (2) He was in the Blues Magoos, one of the better ’60s bands that willingly put the word “psychedelic” in one of their album titles. (3) His falsetto vocal is extraordinary, a sweetly strung lament that holds the song together in a remarkable way. And, finally, (4) The hair. It’s right there in that picture. That’s Peppy Castro, and that’s his hair. In fact, that’s a somewhat conservative rendering of his hair. It’s been bigger. You’re right: I’m just jealous.