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THE FREE DESIGNKites Are Fun ***** (5 Stars)
Heaven/Earth **** (4 Stars)
Light In The Attic
This '60s harmony-pop group's influence on Stereolab and Cornelius will be immediately apparent to anyone who hears these smartly packaged reissues of The Free Design's first and third albums. Recorded in 1967 by siblings Chris, Bruce and Sandy Dedrick (sister Ellen joined shortly thereafter), Kites Are Fun is a work of such delicacy and wonder that not even the dippiest lyrics or uncool cover selections can befoul its charms. The Dedricks' music is an unfairly neglected nexus of The Mamas and the Papas' close vocal harmonies, Antonio Carlos Jobim's melodic sophistication and Esquivel's sonic playfulness. Kites Are Fun stands with The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds and The Zombies' Odessey & Oracle as one of the era's most epiphanic pop discs. Only marginally less delightful is 1969's Heaven/Earth, which features a version of "If I Were a Carpenter" so achingly lovely, it could've made Johnny Cash blubber. JA
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