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The Creation burst on the British pop-rock scene with "Making Time", a single that seemed to have everything going for it -- a killer beat after a brief (but catchy) stop-and-go intro, a great chorus, and a flashy, slashy, crunchy lead guitar part by Eddie Phillips that intersected very neatly with and expanded on the kind of sound that the Who were carrying high onto the charts at the time. The parallel was no accident, as that single was produced by Shel Talmy, who'd also worked on all of those early Who sides. In an eerie and inexplicable portent of their future, however, "Making Time" soared to number five in Germany but peaked at an anemic number 49 in England, this at a time when they were getting amazing press for their stage performances, which included paintings being lit afire and, in anticipation of what Jimmy Page would one day be doing with the Yardbirds et al -- Phillips playing his electric guitar with a violin bow.
The group finally saw some slightly significant chart action at home in the fall of 1966 with "Painter Man", a cheerfully trippy pop anthem -- with a feedback-oozing guitar break -- that made the top 40; predictably (and one can see where this story is going), the same record hit number one in Germany. The B-side, "Biff Bang Boom", opened with a "My Generation" guitar riff and jumped into a pop-rock idiom with a psychedelic edge that could have earned it airplay on its own.
By the start of 1967, however, the Creation had hit a crisis point, as Kenny Pickett quit over creative differences and frustration at the need to continue touring in Europe, where their audience was seemingly rooted. He was eventually replaced by Kim Gardner, late of the group the Birds. Their sound at that point was still intact -- Phillips was still there on guitar, which was a huge part of what they were about musically and sonically. At this point, with whatever momentum they'd built up in jeopardy, the group took a totally unexpected turn into blue-eyed soul with "If I Stay Too Long", which was a good enough showcase for Gardner (supported by some reverb-soaked backing vocals and an organ) but offered little from Phillips except some emphatically played chords; it was as though the Who, having established themselves on the charts and the radio with "My Generation" and "Anyway Anyhow Anywhere", had suddenly issued their version of "Please, Please, Please" as a 45 -- it confused people who knew the Creation, and was mostly ignored by established fans. Much more like their established sound were "Can I Join Your Band", which somehow only got issued in France, and the UK single's B-side, "Nightmares".
They were still struggling for a commercial foothold in England, despite being one of the most widely touted live acts of the time, when the group's German label decided it was time to release a Creation LP. The latter, entitled We Are The Paintermen, ended up being better than anyone could have anticipated, highlighted by the previous hit plus a surprisingly good, crunchy, at times almost Byrds-like rendition of "Like A Rolling Stone" and a version of "Hey Joe" that had the temerity to take Jimi Hendrix's slow tempo and treat its jagged guitar line even more harshly. There was also a rousing rendition of "Cool Jerk" for anyone who cared, though a lot else of what was there was either off-point or represented the earlier line-up. One more single, "Life Is Just Beginning" b/w "Through My Eyes", showed up in the fall of 1967 -- the A-side was a rousing psychedelic showcase, with elements of Indian raga and a catchy, chant-like main body, plus jagged guitar and a string orchestra with the cellos sawing away in the best "King Midas In Reverse" manner; "Through My Eyes" was no throwaway, either, with a lean, crunchy guitar, beautiful choruses, and a great central tune, with three minutes and change of spacy sensibilities ending in a feedback crescendo.
Evidently, Eddie Phillips felt that the single was as good a showcase as he would ever get, and in October of 1967 he quit. His departure was followed by Kim Gardner's decision to exit the group for a team-up with Ron Wood, Jon Lord, and Twink, in what became known as Santa Barbara Machine Head. The Creation was kept "alive" into the spring of 1968 when their UK label, Polydor, released a single of "How Does It Feel" b/w "Tom Tom" on both sides of the Atlantic, with the US version tarted up in all sorts of dubbed on psychedelic effects. They were both good sides but never charted, and that might've been the end of the group, but for the sudden re-emergence of Kenny Pickett, who got Gardner and Jones back together to form the core of a new "Creation." That band went through a couple of line-up changes, played around Europe for a bit with Ron Wood as a member, and then dissolved, and somewhere in the midst of all of those line-up changes a new album was started and abandoned (and forgotten for 36 years). Oddly enough, the new group at its best didn't sound bad, or all that much different from the classic line-up, although they lacked Phillips' knack for brushing up right against the edge of chaos with his guitar breaks. ~ Bruce Eder & Richie Unterberg, All Music Guide
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