''Tenderness Junction'' is a 1968 studio album of

The Fugs The Fugs are an American rock band formed in New York City in late 1964, by the poets Ed Sanders and Tuli Kupferberg, with Ken Weaver on drums. Soon afterward, they were joined by Peter Stampfel and Steve Weber of The Holy Modal Rounders. K ...

, formed in 1964 by anti-war musician/poets Ed Sanders,

Tuli Kupferberg Naphtali "Tuli" Kupferberg (September 28, 1923 – July 12, 2010) was an American counterculture poet, author, singer, cartoonist, publisher, and co-founder of the rock band The Fugs. Biography Naphtali Kupferberg was born into a Jewish, Yi ...

and Ken Weaver. It was released in the U.S. by record company

Reprise In music, a reprise ( , ; from the verb 'to resume') is the repetition or reiteration of the opening material later in a composition as occurs in the recapitulation of sonata form, though—originally in the 18th century—was simply any repe ...

. A stand-alone CD was released by Wounded Bird Records in 2011, before which the entire album had appeared on the 2006 3-CD Rhino Handmade box set, ''Electromagnetic Steamboat''.

History

As the 1960s progressed, the band's core of Sanders, Kupferberg, and Weaver continued to write the Fugs' songs, but were supplemented by increasingly accomplished musicians. ''Tenderness Junction'' was their fourth studio album. The band built up a cult following, gaining admiration from counter-culture figures such as William S. Burroughs and

Abbie Hoffman Abbot Howard "Abbie" Hoffman (November 30, 1936 – April 12, 1989) was an American political and social activist who co-founded the Youth International Party ("Yippies") and was a member of the Chicago Seven. He was also a leading proponen ...

. They were known especially for their pro-

drugs A drug is any chemical substance that causes a change in an organism's physiology or psychology when consumed. Drugs are typically distinguished from food and substances that provide nutritional support. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalati ...

anti-war An anti-war movement (also ''antiwar'') is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term anti-war can also refer to p ...

stance, use of

poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and often rhythmic qualities of language − such as phonaesthetics, sound symbolism, and metre − to evoke meani ...

in their music, and large number of sexual references in their songs. Due to their overt sexual content, The Fugs were at risk of censorship. They were released by Atlantic Records in 1967, but signed by Reprise in 1968. Some of the later tracks recorded for Atlantic appear on ''Tenderness Junction.'' While on Reprise Records, the company president Mo Ostin showed a willingness to release Fugs material uncensored.

Musical style

In 1967, The Fugs' sound had developed considerably from their early works such as ''

The Fugs First Album ''The Fugs First Album'' is the 1965 debut album by American rock band the Fugs, described in their AllMusic profile as "arguably the first underground rock group of all time". In 1965, the album charted #142 on Billboard's " Top Pop Albums" ch ...

'', with several complex and interesting compositions. The band was growing in confidence, and their recordings began to feature guest performers, most notably poets

Allen Ginsberg Irwin Allen Ginsberg (; June 3, 1926 – April 5, 1997) was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Gener ...

and Gregory Corso, and sitar player Jake Jacobs. The main band had grown to six in number, with Sanders, Kupferberg and Weaver being joined by Ken Pine on guitar, Danny Kootch on guitar, violin, and Charles Larkey on bass. The album featured a newly focussed rock sound, while the underlying approach of The Fugs remained irreverent and humorous. Themes of sexual freedom, social protest and general

surreal humour Surreal humour (also called surreal comedy, absurdist humour, or absurdist comedy) is a form of humour predicated on deliberate violations of causal reasoning, thus producing events and behaviours that are obviously illogical. Portrayals of surrea ...

abound. "Turn on, Tune in, Drop out" was a psychedelic rock gem, very much in tune with the times, while "Wet Dream" is an example of The Fugs at their comic best, a musical parody of

Platters The Platters was an American vocal group formed in 1952. They are one of the most successful vocal groups of the early rock and roll era. Their distinctive sound bridges the pre-rock Tin Pan Alley tradition and the new burgeoning genre. The ac ...

style teenage love songs, with the usual romantic notions replaced by a fantasy about the "Queen of the Prom" sitting on the throne (and "sitting on my face"). Despite the increased musical skill of The Fugs during this period, there are many wild and obscure moments, most notably "Exorcising the Evil Spirits from the Pentagon Oct. 21, 1967", a real-life recording of an anti-war protest at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense. It was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As a symbol of the U.S. military, the phrase ''The Pentagon'' is often used as a metony ...

where protesters including The Fugs chanted 'Out Demons Out' and had a

love-in A love-in is a peaceful public gathering focused on meditation, love, music, sex and/or use of recreational drugs. The term was coined by Los Angeles radio comedian Peter Bergman, who also hosted the first such event on Easter, 26 March 1967 in ...

, plus the long and experimental "Aphrodite Mass".

Reaction

''Tenderness...'' was described by the Robert Shelton of the

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

as the band's "most musical work yet" as he commented favourably on their power and honesty:

Track listing

# "Turn on, Tune in, Drop Out" :49# "Knock Knock" :28# "Garden Is Open" :22# "Wet Dream" :27# "Hare Krishna" :26# "Exorcising the Evil Spirits from the Pentagon Oct. 21, 1967" :25# "War Song" :37# "Dover Beach" :08# "Fingers of the Sun" :26# "Aphrodite Mass: I. Litany of the Street Grope" # "Aphrodite Mass: II. Genuflection at the Temple of Squack" # "Aphrodite Mass: III. Petals in the Sea" # "Aphrodite Mass: IV. Sappho's Hymn to Aphrodite" # "Aphrodite Mass: V. Homage to Throb Thrills"

Personnel

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

, erectorine * Ed Sanders -

*Ken Pine -

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

oscillator Oscillation is the repetitive or periodic variation, typically in time, of some measure about a central value (often a point of equilibrium) or between two or more different states. Familiar examples of oscillation include a swinging pendulum ...

* Danny Kootch -

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

*Charles Larkey -

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gui ...

* Ken Weaver -

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

References

Additional sources

{{Authority control The Fugs albums 1968 albums Reprise Records albums Transatlantic Records albums Albums produced by Ed Sanders