Itchycoo Park

"Itchycoo Park" is a song by English rock band Small Faces, written by Steve Marriott and Ronnie Lane.

Largely written by Lane, it was among a number of pop songs of the era to make use of flanging, an effect involving, at that time, electro-mechanical processes.

"Itchycoo Park" became the Small Faces' sole top-forty hit in the United States, reaching number sixteen on the US Billboard Hot 100 in early 1968.

[10] Long running British music magazine NME cites readers poll voting "Itchycoo Park" number 62 out of the top 100 singles of all time.

[14] Two synchronised tape copies of a finished recording were played simultaneously into a third master recorder, and by manually retarding the rotation of one of the two tape reels by pressing on the flanges, a skilled engineer could subtly manipulate the phase difference between the two sources, creating the lush 'swooshing' phase effect that sweeps up and down the frequency range.

"[5] Barnes says that, with the song, the Small Faces "began to veer into more period territory, while still making a brilliant experimental pop single.

[...] This pop song, with its memorable tune and alluring soundworld – and a Top 10 hit for the group – re-imagined humdrum Britain as somewhere that really could be perceived as being all to beautiful.

[42] Larry Flick from Billboard noted that front woman Heather Small "whips through" the cover version "with a smooth blend of streetwise edge and sophisticated flair."

"[44] A reviewer from Music & Media felt that "chart darlings M People have reworked this Small Faces classic with equal measures of dance beats, a Billy Joel/River Of Dreams piano sound and marvellous gospel undertones.

"[46] Gill Whyte from Smash Hits gave it four out of five, writing, "Kind of like a gospel cola ad with bonza psychedelic doings and piano twinklings.

"[47] Another Smash Hits editor, Alex Needham, viewed it as a "dodgy version" in her review of the Bizarre Fruit II album.

Photo of Wanstead Flats, London E12 near Marriott's Manor Park home