10 Forgotten 60s Rock Bands Worth Rediscovering
4. Silver Apples
True pioneers, New York's Silver Apples are one of those outfits who are name-checked by many but remembered by relatively few. The reason this duo are cited as key influences by a plethora of innovative acts is simply down to Silver Apples' remarkable attitude and approach. Of course it doesn't hurt that their music remains a compelling listen, several decades on.
Two men comprised this band: Simeon (Simeon Oliver Coxe III) and Danny Taylor. Taylor played drums and Simeon employed an electronic instrument of his own devising, making them one of the very first rock/pop acts to embrace electronic music and to take such before the masses.
Suicide, Can, Stereolab and Portishead all acknowledge a debt to the Apples', and the briefest of listen to their astonishing self-titled 1968 debut will show you why. The duo's potent blend of driving rhythms and primitive synth noises sounds far ahead of its time. To their peers, they must have seemed like aliens beamed down from another planet. With hypnotic, swirling lyric-poems to match their music, Silver Apples are not only one of the least-appreciated (commercially) but also one of the most important acts of the '60s.