Painter Man

"Painter Man" is a song written by British singer Kenny Pickett and guitarist Eddie Phillips, first recorded by their group the Creation and released as a single in October 1966. Although it was the final single by the original line-up of the group, it only became a top-forty hit in the UK, which eventually proved to be their most commercially successful. It later made its way to West Germany, where it managed to reach number eight on the singles chart. It was also used as the title track to their only album We Are Paintermen, released in Germany in 1967. The following year, New Zealand group Larry's Rebels reached number six in their country with it. In 1978, German-Caribbean disco group Boney M. covered it for their album Nightflight to Venus. Their rendition was released as a single the following year, and reached the top-ten across Europe.

"Painter Man"
German picture sleeve (on "Hit-ton")
Single by The Creation
from the album We Are Paintermen
B-side"Biff, Bang, Pow"
Released7 October 1966
Recorded1966
Genre
LabelPlanet
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Shel Talmy
The Creation singles chronology
"Making Time"
(1966)		 "Painter Man"
(1966)		 "If I Stay too Long"
(1967)

Background and composition

According to the pop magazine Beat Instrumental, "Painter Man" was written by the duo as a response to their stage act, which involved Pickett painting a canvas during song numbers,[1][2] occasionally burning it.[2][3] According to their manager Tony Stratton-Smith, they did this because "they felt like it",[4] with Phillips adding that "their music was visual" as much as it was musical.[4] Lyrically, the song revolves around a "suppressed" artist,[5] through lines that indicates that he went through a college education that only led him to obscurity.[5][6] It also revolves around the endless debate of art in commercialism which is referred to through lines such as "adverts on TV."[6][7] It ends with the note that classical art is dead.[8] Musically, the song has a less raunchy sound than "Making Time" and is softer, but still features Phillips in one of the earliest recorded bowed guitar parts, which prevails throughout the entire composition.[9][10]

Release and reception

Released on 7 October 1966,[11] the single managed to enter the UK Singles Chart, entering on 9 November 1966 at a position of 38.[12] The following week, it peaked at number 36 before exiting the chart altogether, becoming their only top-forty hit.[12] In West Germany, the single managed to peak at number eight on 4 January 1967, and became their sole top-ten hit in the country.[13] The single received mostly positive reviews from critics, with Record Mirror critics Norman Jopling and Peter Jones writing it that it has "avant-garde pop group sound", noting the droning of the bowed guitar.[11] Writing for Disc & Music Echo, Penny Valentine states that she thought the song had a great "looning-about atmosphere" and drew parallels to records by both the Beatles and the Who.[5] Regarding the song, Phillips has later stated that "We see our music as colours – it’s purple with red flashes.”[4][14]

In a more retrospective assessment of the song, many critics have noted the fact that Phillips used a bow prior to Jimmy Page of Led Zeppelin.[6][9][10] David Luhrssen and Michael Larson called the song "humorous"[6] Owen Bailey wrote that the song had a "superb riff" and compared it with the guitar playing of Pete Townshend, also noting the violin-bowed solo.[9] Doug Collette of Glide Magazine writes that song is instantly recognizable due to the vocal harmonies and energetic rhythm section.[15] Kieron Tyler thought that "Painter Man" ranked among the best and most innovative recordings of the 1960s.[14] Jerome Estèbe of TDG stated that "Painter Man" was one of the best things that could happen to English rock.[16] Ian Canty considered it an "art-pop nugget,"[17] while Beverly Paterson similarly stated that it a "brash and bouncy nugget."[18] AllMusic critic Bruce Eder called the track a "cheerfully trippy pop anthem",[19] while Richie Unterberger wrote that the song was elevated because of its musical arrangement,[20] noting its similarity with records by the Who,[20] while also suggesting that Phillips attempted to play his guitar "like it's a classical violin".[20]

A young citizen, Günther Zettl,[21] from East Germany recognized the song in 1969 during a contest by the West German AM station Europawelle Saar, where the listeners were requested to send a card with the song title and band to win the single.[21][22] He sent off a postcard, which was intercepted by the Stasi and resulted in permanent surveillance until 1989.[21][22] In 2013, after he got his Stasi reports, he sent the card again and, during the celebration of "50 years Europawelle" in 2014, he finally received his prize.[21][22]

Personnel
  • Kenny Pickett – lead vocals
  • Eddie Phillips – lead and bowed guitar, backing vocals
  • Bob Garner – bass, backing vocals
  • Jack Jones – drums, backing vocals

Charts
Chart (1966–67) Peak

position

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[12] 36
West German Media Control Singles Chart[13] 8

Boney M. version
"Painter Man"
Single by Boney M.
from the album Nightflight to Venus
A-side"Rasputin" (Europe)
B-side"He Was a Steppenwolf" (UK)
Released23 February 1979
Recorded1978
Genre
LabelAtlantic
Songwriter(s)
  • Pickett
  • Phillips
Producer(s)Frank Farian
Boney M. singles chronology
"Mary's Boy Child - Oh My Lord"
(1978)		 "Painter Man"
(1979)		 "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday"
(1979)

"Painter Man" was later covered in 1978 by German-Caribbean pop group Boney M., in a cover which became successful throughout Europe.[23] The group's producer, Frank Farian was active on the German music scene during most of the 1960s and 1970s, leading to him influencing the choice of songs for the group to record, including both "Painter Man" and "My Friend Jack" by the Smoke,[24] a band that suffered a similar fate to that of the Creation.[19][25] The song was initially released on their third studio album Nightflight to Venus released on 28 July 1978, but was not issued as a single at the time.[26] However, shortly after the release, "Rasputin" and "Painter Man" were released as a double A-Side in most of mainland Europe. However, in the UK, along with some other European countries, "Rasputin" and "Painter Man" were released separately, with "He Was a Steppenwolf" added to the UK release, which was issued on 23 February 1979.

The single was a success in the UK, entering the chart on 3 March 1979 at a position of 26.[27] The following week, it had reached its peak of number ten,[27] and the single was last seen on 7 April at a position of 59,[27] when it had spent six weeks on the chart.[27] Although it became the first Creation song to enter the top-ten in any form, it was not successful by Boney M.'s standards, as both "Mary's Boy Child – Oh My Lord", which had been released before, and "Hooray! Hooray! It's a Holi-Holiday", both had reached the top-three of the chart (number one and three respectively).[27]AllMusic critic Donald A. Guarisco wrote that Boney M.'s rendition of "Painter Man" had "distorted hard rock guitar riffs" that contrasted to the beat of the song.[26]

Charts
Chart (1978–79) Peak

position

UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[27] 10
France (French Singles & Airplay Chart Reviews)[23] 3
Ireland (IRMA)[28] 5
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[23] 8

Other covers

References
  1. G, P. "Song-writer's column" (PDF). Beat Instrumental (December 1966): 32.
  2. Rathbone, Oregano (2020-06-05). "What Is Art Rock? A History Of Music's Most Progressive Minds". uDiscover Music. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  3. Margasak, Peter. "The Numero Group applies its reissue savvy to underrated 60s British rockers the Creation". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  4. Drummond, Norrie. "Creation Paint As They Play". New Musical Express (4 November 1966).
  5. Valentine, Penny. "Penny spins the discs" (PDF). Disc and Music Echo (8 October 1966).
  6. Luhrssen, David; Larson, Michael (2017-02-24). Encyclopedia of Classic Rock. ABC-CLIO. p. 82. ISBN 978-1-4408-3514-8.
  7. Cooper, Neil (2020-09-09). "KAPROW! KAPROW!". Bella Caledonia. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  8. Rios, Daniela (2016-08-01). "Ten Songs All Art Lovers Should Know". artnet News. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  9. Bailey, Owen (2020-10-27). "The Genius Of... We Are Paintermen By The Creation". Guitar.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  10. Fanelli, Damiam (2017-03-21). "No, Jimmy Page Was Not the First to Play Bowed Guitar". guitarworld. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  11. Jopling, Norman; Jones, Peter. "Plenty of new big discs from Elvis, Cliff, Adam, the Hollies, Four Tops, Nancy, the Tempations, Tony Bennett, plus a load of good outsiders" (PDF). Record Mirror (8 October 1966): 9.
  12. "CREATION | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  13. "Offizielle Deutsche Charts - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". www.offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  14. "Reissue CDs Weekly: The Creation". theartsdesk.com. 2017-05-14. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  15. Collette, Doug (2017-04-05). "The Creation's 'Action Painting' 2 CD Box Set Serves Just As A Testimonial". glidemagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  16. "1966: l'année où la pop anglaise est devenue dingue". Tribune de Genève (in French). ISSN 1010-2248. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  17. Canty, Ian (2020-01-25). "Various - A Slight Disturbance In My Mind - album review". Louder Than War. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  18. Paterson, Beverly (2013-04-05). "One Track Mind: The Creation, "How Does It Feel To Feel/Life Is Just Beginning" (1967)". somethingelsereviews.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  19. Eder, Bruce. "The Creation - Artist Biography by Bruce Eder". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  20. Unterberger, Richie. "Painter Man - The Creation - Review By Ritchie Unterberger". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  21. Zeitung, Süddeutsche (2014-01-12). "DDR-Postkarte kommt nach 44 Jahren an". Süddeutsche.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  22. Rundfunk, Saarländischer (2016-11-18). "Happy End nach 44 Jahren". SR.de (in German). Retrieved 2018-09-19.
  23. "Song artist 61 - Boney M". tsort.info. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  24. Binnie, Steve (2016-01-06). Feeling Like a Number One. Lulu Press, Inc. ISBN 978-1-326-52522-4.
  25. Unterberger, Richie. "The Smoke - Artist Biography by Richie Unterberger". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  26. Guarisco, Donald A. "Boney M. - Nightflight to Venus - AllMusic Review by Donald A. Guarisco". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  27. "Boney M | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  28. "The Irish Charts - All there is to know". www.irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  29. "Painter Man - Larry's Rebels - Listener". www.flavourofnz.co.nz. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  30. "Larry's Rebels". www.sergent.com.au. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
  31. Mason, Stewart. "Television Personalities - They Could Have Been Bigger Than the Beatles - AllMusic Review by Stewart Mason". AllMusic. Retrieved 2020-12-07.
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