‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’: The greatest duet of the psychedelic age
Duets form some of the most memorable moments in musical history. When artists who usually operate independently come together with each other, the final product is often greater than the sum of its parts. Throughout the 20th century, music fans saw some truly unforgettable collaborations and duets, ranging from the jazz excellence of Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong to the pop mastery of Dusty Springfield and Pet Shop Boys. Within the realm of 1960s psychedelia, however, duets did not come better than ‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’ by Kevin Ayers and Bridget St John.
Psychedelia completely dominated the landscape of rock music during the late 1960s. Seemingly, the advent and popularising of mind-altering drugs opened countless creative doors in the minds of artists. What had largely begun as a fringe movement in San Francisco, with groups like the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane leading the charge, had quickly morphed into a global phenomenon, embraced by everybody from The Rolling Stones to The Monkees.
Within Britain’s psychedelic movement, Soft Machine were among the most interesting, known largely for their unique blend of jazz, blues, rock, and psychedelia. A pioneering force within the Canterbury scene, the band was also notable for its role in launching the music career of Kevin Ayers. Inspired to begin a solo career by none other than Jimi Hendrix, Ayers went off on his own in 1969, in doing so he produced some of the finest psychedelic and progressive rock albums of all time.
Alongside the psychedelic scene, however, Britain was witnessing an uptake in the relevance of folk rock. Artists like Bob Dylan had brought a renewed relevance to the genre, which was quickly capitalised upon by figures like Donovan. However, some of the nation’s greatest folk stars – the likes of Nick Drake, Vashti Bunyan, and Bridget St John – never troubled the musical mainstream in the same way as Donovan.
Despite not being a commercial success, St John crafted some of the most original and emotionally affecting songs of this folk boom. In that sense, she had a lot in common with Kevin Ayers: two artists creating groundbreakingly original material yet being largely ignored by the masses. This unifying property seemed to draw the pair together, culminating in the duet ‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’ from Ayers’ sophomore solo record Shooting At The Moon in 1970.
Opening side two of the record with a suitably strange Ayers composition, the song tells the tale of an oyster making its way through the ocean, wishing it could travel at the speed of a flying fish. Simultaneously, the flying fish wishes it could have a home like the oyster. Essentially, the message of the song revolves around the idea that the green is always greener somewhere else, and things should not be judged by one singular metric.
Loosely, St John plays the part of the flying fish, while Ayers focuses on the oyster. Their respective deep vocal styles complement each other beautifully, creating a captivating sound, which should have been afforded much more appreciation than the two-and-a-half-minute runtime of the song. What’s more, the song marks a pivotal moment in the development of both psychedelic and folk music.
Although there had been some crossover prior to this track, ‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’ perhaps best exemplified the potential to blend the themes and conventions of psychedelic rock with the gentle, emotional weight of folk music. The very fact that both artists spent much of their careers under the surface only serves to heighten the impact of the track.
Neither the song nor Shooting at the Moon became a hit upon its release. However, both artists amassed cult followings in the decades that followed and ‘The Oyster and the Flying Fish’ is viewed as a definite highlight of each of their careers. So much so that, for his final album, 2007’s The Unfairground, Ayers once again recruited Bridget St John for a duet on the song ‘Baby Come Home’, harking back to the excellence of their 1970 collaboration.
