Appletree Theatre was a studio group of American musicians who released the album Playback in 1967. The project was set up by brothers Terry and John Boylan, with leading jazz session musicians including Larry Coryell and Eric Gale. The album was essentially a loosely woven concept album, comprising a collage of interlaced vocal narratives, sound effects, song fragments, and quality pop songs such as "Hightower Square" and "I Wonder If Louise Is Home".
The album was issued on the Verve Forecast label and was finally reissued on CD in 2007. John Lennon referred to it as one of his favourite albums. In the wake of the set's commercial failure, Terry went solo, releasing three albums as a singer/songwriter, while John reappeared as a member of the short-lived Hamilton Streetcar before turning his attention to production with the Eagles, Linda Ronstadt, and others.
Links To Peel[]
Peel praised the album in International Times, calling it "one of the best and most adventurous LPs I've heard"[1], played tracks from it on his shows in 1968 and 1969, and returned to it periodically in later decades, playing sequences of tracks from it on shows in 1977, 1987 and 1994.
.In the Guardian newspaper of 28th June 1994, Peel mentioned meeting a lady at Glastonbury, who wanted to talk about the LP and thought he was the only person alive who remembered it. On his September 1999 (FSK) show, Peel described never having read any articles in magazines or newspapers about the album when it was first released (it was largely ignored by critics, perhaps because the Appletree Theatre didn't exist outside the recording studio) and on his 21 May 2002 programme he described the LP as a forgotten classic.
Shows Played[]
- 14 April 1968: Hightower Square (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 21 April 1968: The Sorry State Of Staying Awake (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 28 April 1968: Barefoot Boy (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 12 May 1968: Hightower Square (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 22 May 1968: Brother Speed (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 09 June 1968: Barefoot Boy (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 15 September 1968: Hightower Square (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 20 October 1968: Barefoot Boy (album - Playback) Verve Forecast FTS 3042
- 1969
- 29 June 1969: Sorry State of Staying Awake (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 1977
- 14 September 1977: Hightower Square (album - Playback) Verve SVLP 6018
- 14 September 1977: Lullaby (album - Playback) Verve SVLP 6018
- 14 September 1977: Saturday Morning (album - Playback) Verve SVLP 6018
- 14 September 1977: Nevertheless It Was Italy (album - Playback) Verve SVLP 6018
- 14 September 1977: I Wonder If Louise Is Home (album - Playback) Verve SVLP 6018
1987
- 02 December 1987: Act II (I Wonder If Louise Is Home / Chez Louise / E-Train (The Jello Song) / Meanwhile / Brother Speed (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 1994
- 01 July 1994: ‘Lullaby (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 01 July 1994: ‘Saturday Morning (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 01 July 1994: ‘Nevertheless It Was Italy (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 09 July 1994 (BFBS): In The Beginning (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 09 July 1994 (BFBS): High Tower Square (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 1999
- September 1999 (FSK): I Wonder If Louise Is Home (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- September 1999 (FSK): E-Train (The Jello Song) (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- September 1999 (FSK): Brother Speed (album - Playback) Verve Forecast
- 2002
- 21 May 2002: I Wonder If Louise Is Home (album - Playback) Verve Forecast