The Gods

Background

The Gods had roots in The Juniors (alternately billed as The Strangers), a beat group formed in 1962 by Hatfield brothers Brian (bass, 1951–1979) and John Glascock (drums, b. 1948). With singer Malcolm Collins and guitarists Mick Taylor (b. Jan. 1949) and Alan Shacklock (b. 1950), The Juniors (named for their young ages) cut the 1964 Columbia single “There’s a Pretty Girl” (b/w “Pocket Size”).^>

In 1965, they morphed into The Hi Numbers with singer Brian Redmond and (without Taylor) cut the Decca single “Heart of Stone,” a song by one Ted White (not the recent Rolling Stones hit) backed with the Martha & The Vandellas cover “Dancing In the Street.” They gigged with The Birds (featuring Taylor’s later Stones successor Ron Wood), The Artwoods (led by Ron’s older brother Art Wood), Steampacket (featuring Ron’s later Faces bandmate Rod Stewart), and The Who (who ironically cut their first single as ‘The High Numbers’).

The Hi Numbers (Redmond, Shacklock, and the Glascocks) became the The Favourite Sons with (future Warhorse) guitarist Ged Peck. Under the management of (former Springfields) Mike Hurst, they cut the mid-1966 Mercury single “That Driving Beat,” a Willie Mitchell cover backed with Hurst’s “Walkin’ Walkin’ Walkin’.” In late 1966, Shacklock jumped ship to Chris Farlowe‘s backing band The Thunderbirds.

The Glascocks enlisted Taylor for a new band, The Gods, with keyboardist Ken Hensley (b. 1945), a veteran of multiple R&B acts (The Blue Notes, Ken & The Cousins, Kit & The Saracens, Jimmy Brown Sound). They cut the June 1967 Polydor single “Come On Down to My Boat,” a hit months earlier by American popsters Every Mother’s Son. Hensley (credited as Hennersley) wrote the b-side “Garage Man.” The label on the 7″ bills the group as ‘The Gods (Thor – Hermes – Olympus – Mars).’

Just as the single dropped, Taylor joined John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers for their 1967 third studio album Crusade. The Gods disbanded but Hensley formed a new iteration with guitarist Joe Konas and drummer Lee Kerslake. After a sequence of short-term bassists (Paul Newton, Greg Lake) John Glascock returned to the fold.^>

Genesis

The Gods released their debut album, Genesis, in October 1968 on Columbia. 

Joe Konas wrote two songs (“Towards the Skies,” “Farthing Man”) and co-wrote three apiece with Ken Hensley (“Looking Glass” “I Never Know,” “Candles Getting Shorter”) and Lee Kerslake (“You’re My Life,” “Misleading Colours,” “Time and Eternity”). Side B contains two tracks (“Radio Show,” “Plastic Horizon”) written by outsiders Harold Robertson and Paul Sugarman.

A1. “Towards the Skies” (3:25)
A2. “Candles Getting Shorter” (4:28)
A3. “You’re My Life” (3:20)
A4. “Looking Glass” (4:14)
A5. “Misleading Colours” (3:40

B1. “Radio Show” (3:11)
B2. “Plastic Horizon” (3:26)
B3. “Farthing Man” (3:30)
B4. “I Never Know” (5:41)
B5. “Time and Eternity” (2:43)

Sessions occurred in mid-1968 at Abbey Road Studios in Northwest London, where David A. Paramor produced the album amid singles by Garnet Mimms, Cliff Bennett & The Rebel Rousers, and Simon Dupree & The Big Sound. Seekers soundman Peter Vince engineered Genesis in sequence with Odessey and Oracle, the Zombies‘ landmark swan song.

Genesis shows The Gods grouped tight in cloudy sky surround with Roman faces as heavenly apparitions. This was the second album cover designed by Hipgnosis, an upstart graphics firm that also created 1968 cover images for Pink Floyd (A Saucer Full of Secrets), Love Sculpture (Blues Helping), and the Aynsley Dunbar Retaliation (Doctor Dunbar’s Prescription).

Non-Album Singles

On October 11, 1968, The Gods released “Baby’s Rich,” a Konas–Hensley number backed with Hensley’s “Somewhere In the Street.” David Paramor produced this and the two subsequent singles for Columbia.

A. “Baby’s Rich” (2:45)
B. “Somewhere In the Street” (2:47)

On February 7, 1969, The Gods released “Hey Bulldog,” a Beatles cover backed with the Konas–Hensley original “Real Love Guaranteed.”

A. “Hey Bulldog” (3:00) is a song by John Lennon, credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership and recorded for the Beatles’ 1968 psychedelic animated film Yellow Submarine.
B. “Real Love Guaranteed” (2:29)

On May 2, 1969, The Gods released “Maria,” a P.J. Proby cover backed with Hensley’s “Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time,” which appears on their second album.

A. “Maria” (3:58)

To Samuel a Son

The Gods released their second album, To Samuel a Son, in late 1969 on Columbia. Side A consists of nine songs (27:10 duration) tied to the title theme, including the b-side “Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time.” Side B (16:20) contains five individual pieces.

Lee Kerslake wrote two songs (“Eight O’Clock In the Morning,” “Lovely Anita”) and John Glascock co-wrote “He’s Growing” with Joe Konas, who wrote two songs (“Penny Dear,” “Yes I Cry”) and co-wrote four with Ken Hensley, who lone-wrote “Lady Lady,” “Candlelight,” “Long Time,” and the title track. “Groozy” is their third Robertson–Sugarman number.

A1. “To Samuel a Son” (3:29)
A2. “Eight O’Clock In the Morning” (3:16)
A3. “He’s Growing” (2:25)
A4. “Sticking Wings On Flies” (2:39)
A5. “Lady Lady” (3:18)
A6. “Penny Dear” (2:34)
A7. “Long Time, Sad Time, Bad Time” (3:12)
A8. “Five to Three” (2:59)
A9. “Autumn” (3:12)

B1. “Yes I Cry” (2:40)
B2. “Groozy” (3:38)
B3. “Momma I Need” (3:54)
B4. “Candlelight” (2:31)
B5. “Lovely Anita” (3:29)

David A. Paramor produced To Samuel a Son in sequence with albums by Liverpool rockers The Koobas and Mancunian popsters The Nocturnes.

Joe Konus departed after this album.

Head Machine – Orgasm

Under the moniker Head Machine, The Gods released their third album, Orgasm, in May 1970 on Major Minor. It features seven tracks composed and arranged by producer David Paramor. 

Orgasm attributes pseudonyms to John Glascock (John Leadhen), Ken Hensley (Ken Leslie), Lee Kerslake (Lee Poole), and proto-member Brian Glascock (Brian Poole), who splits drum duties with Kerslake.

A1. “Climax You – Tried to Take It All” (6:42)
A2. “Make the Feeling Last” (3:36)
A3. “You Must Come With Me” (4:56)
A4. “The Girl Who Loved, the Girl Who Loved” (3:36)

B1. “Orgasm” (8:54)
B2. “The First Time” (5:02)
B3. “Scattering Seeds” (3:21)

Sessions occurred in November/December 1969 with engineers Jeff Jarratt (Locomotive, Quatermass) and Tony Rockliffe (Warm Dust, Samurai).

Major Minor copies appeared in a black-and-white concentric cover with a psychedelic backside line-art illustration. In France and Venezuela, Orgasm appeared on Disques Vogue with a sea shell cover image.

After The Gods

The Orgasm lineup — Hensley, Kerslake, and the Glascock brothers — joined Cliff Bennett in Toe Fat, a blues-rock band that made two 1970 albums on Regal Zonophone. Between the first and second, Kerslake joined the National Head Band while Hensley joined Spice, which morphed into Uriah Heep. After three albums, Heep on-boarded Kerslake.

John Glascock joined Chicken Shack for their 1972 album Imagination Lady. After three albums with flamenco-rockers Carmen, he joined Jethro Tull for their 1976–78 stretch but died earlier into sessions for their 1979 album Stormwatch.