Creative Juices: Loves Lost ... and Found

#424 / Flood Time Capsule: 1975 (Video Extras)

It was the final weeks of 1975 and the fledgling Flood’s creative juices had started flowing. Roger Samples and Charlie Bowen both were experimenting with some songwriting.

None of the songs they wrote that December ever made it into The Flood’s regular repertoire. However, looking back on them now from nearly a half century on, these tunes do provide insights into the minds of a couple of 20-somethings who were fairly sure they had it all figured out.

What follows are videos built around a trio of tunes the guys put together about loves lost and loves found.

“Magic Man”

Roger wrote this plaintive anthem to the end of a love affair. To perform it for their ever-present tape recorder, Rog taught Charlie how to sing the lead, then he added the harmony part he had rattling around in his head. Roger even suggested what he wanted Joe Dobbs to fiddle on the fills. Click the button below to hear the results:

“Charlie”

Love plays a happier role in the next tune. Charlie wrote this one about the joy he has always felt hearing Pamela say his name. In this recording from that same evening’s jam session, he and Roger demonstrate just how much they were channeling a Simon and Garfunkel vibe that winter:

“Buffalo Gals / Dear Prudence”

The final selection is one of Roger’s fevered dreams, a wild mashup of an old folk song and a little-known Beatles tune from The White Album. Front and center on this track is Dobbs’s stellar fiddling, while Bowen switches to harmony behind Samples’ lead vocal. Note that Roger's brand of buffalo gal here not only seems to speak the language of the disco ("get down and boogie"), but also is conversant with your basic Frank Zappa zeitgeist (“… boogie 'til the cows come home!"):

Life on Mount Union Road

As noted here earlier, Autumn 1975 found Roger house-sitting for Susan and David Peyton, meaning he was alone most of the time at the Peytons’ place on Cabell County’s Mount Union Road with no constant companion except Josephine the Cat (and maybe a ghost or two).

That’s because the Peyton family had left town to spend six months in Lafayette, Louisiana, where Dave was researching Cajun culture for his Alicia Paterson Foundation fellowship project.

Finally, if you enjoyed today’s and last week’s treks in The Flood Time Machine, stay tuned. A little more of this 1975 vibe will be covered in a Flood Watch report later this month, which will feature a tune from a homesick Dave Peyton. You won’t want to miss this.