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The Free Design
Heaven/Earth and Kites Are Fun
Light In The Attic
In the fabulously fecund period known as the 1960s, there was so much going on musically that people are still trying to catch up with stuff that fell through the proverbial cracks. One such group was The Free Design, who released five albums between 1967 and 1972. Comprised of siblings Chris, Bruce, Sandy, and Ellen Dedrick, The Free Design specialized in deceptively cheery, intricately arranged vocal-group pop-rock with subtle jazz undertones -- imagine the Mamas & the Papas or the Fifth Dimension with arrangements by Neal Hefti or Gil Evans, or Stereolab (who are FD fans) during the Summer of Love. But along with the sunshine, lollipops, and rainbows came unexpected dissonances and eerily pensive passages of melancholia, as if they knew how fragile the carefree soap bubbles were. - Mark Keresman
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