Elliott was the lead guitarist and principal songwriter for the Beau Brummels, who had a couple of hits in the mid-60s ("Laugh Laugh" and "Just A Little") followed by a couple of underappreciated masterpiece albums in the late 60s (Triangle and Bradley's Barn) before they broke up and faded into permanent obscurity.
I didn't know about this album until it was mentioned a few years ago in a Beau Brummels profile in our local free weekly, right after it was reissued on CD. I picked up a copy at Amoeba, expecting another Triangle, and it's a good album, but not up to that masterwork, mainly because Ron isn't as distinctive a singer as Sal Valentino. For better or worse, it sounds like a solo record.
My favorite track on The Candlestickmaker is "The Candlestick Maker Suite", a fifteen minute suite that took up the second side of the original record. It's like five three minute songs strung together, and can be yours for just 68 cents at amazon. It's also $3.89 for the entire album! It's also on emusic, but they charge 12 credits for 5 songs, which isn't that great a deal.
All the Beau Brummels albums are also on emusic, and Triangle rules! There aren't any good videos of Candlestickmaker songs, but I never get tired of this Flinstones clip!
This is the start of what may be four San Francisco albums in a row.
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