The Telescopes - 1991 - Celeste (EP)

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Here's a very enjoyable shoegazing EP from the heyday of that particular genre. At least here, the Telescopes practiced the more gauzy form of shoegazing that Slowdive went for rather than something like the distorted growl of Ride or the complete mindwarp of My Bloody Valentine. This is music to completely drift away with.

There only three tracks present here. The title track is the main feature and is an almost perfect single for the genre with a bouncy bass line and great ethereal boy/girl vocals. The elements of this track are modified for the dance floor for the nine minute long "Celestial." That's not to say it's necessarily a dance track, as there is lots of swirling reverb and trippy dub effects. This helps it to be several cuts above a simple 'remix' status. It's more of an instrumentally oriented epic version of the title track.

Sandwiched in between "All A Dream," which I could easily mistake for one of Slowdive's early singles, although the chorus does have a touch of Velvet's style stomp which differentiates it a bit. Of course, this EP came out about the same time as the Slowdive singles, so I'll chalk it up to mutual inspiration.

I have to claim pretty much complete ignorance about the rest of the Telescopes discography, but this sweet taste of their music makes me want to hunt down more.

Jean Le Fennec -1968 - Phantastic

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.5 out of 5

To expand your cultural horizons a little bit, we'll look at a French language LP hailing from the prime of psychedelic pop. Jean Le Fennec's Phantastic has the virtue of sounding distinctive among the tidal wave of obscure late 60's albums. Here, we get a sound that is certainly accepting the sunnier side of psychedelic pop, and melding it with the vermouth swirling sounds of French pop. Think of Serge Gainsbourg with a nice tall bottle of absinthe.

The first three songs here really do give a nice 50/50 combination of these styles and make for a strong opening run. "L'Abandon" really does deserve a prime spot on the more jet-setting editions of Nuggets with it's endlessly echoed vocals and first rate garage fuzz guitar. Firmly staking out his sonic ground on these tracks, Mr. Fennec proceeds to experiment a little more. "Marie Cecile" is our nine minute epic which reaches a little towards the San Francisco sound. It's like Dino Valente's extended acoustic shambles with a few full band interruptions. And like Valente, I'm still on the fence as to whether I like Fennec's voice or not. I guess he does well with the sleazy baritone, but doesn't work so well ouside of that comfort zone.

There are some truly strange arrangements here, as "Mes Enfants D'Autre Part" and "Le Chat Et Le Souris" sport some strangely place screeching horns and string respectively. "La Boule Et Le Verre" give us another prime dose of distinctively French psych pop. Make sure to reach the end of the album as "Le Disloque" is another major highlight. It's like swinging out in a totally trash Vegas go-go dancing bar, with French vocals of course.

Phantastic may not quite live up to it's name, but it still is a damn fine blast of French-styled psych. Still, you'll find at least two or three phenomenal tracks on this LP (the first one and the last one for me), and that's more than you can say for a lot of freakish 60's albums rearing their head in the present.

The Mesmerizing Eye - 1967 - Psychedelia, A Musical Lightshow

Quality: 2.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This album really does earn the title of one of those psychedelic relics. It seems to be very much of a psych exploitation piece, with likely B-list session players rocking away with some pretty standard grooves. The concept here seems to be with the sounds effects slathered on to each track. It's all pretty entertaining for those who are market for that sound of thing, but it's definitely more of a niche album. This is the sort of thing that makes for groovy background music deep into a decadent hipster party.

I suppose the real star of this LP is the sound effects. They wildly streak through the album in a manner that make me recall the Grateful Dead's far better Anthem Of The Sun. Maybe you could look upon this as the low rent version of that album; all the crazy sounds without the songs to back them up.

In fact, it seems as if the songs were written around the sound effects. "Birth Of A Nation" features some rather annoying crying baby sounds, while "May The Bird Of Paradise Fly Up Your Flute" has, wait for it... birds sounds and a flute solo. In it's defense it does also have the unadvertised sound of crashing waves. Meanwhile "Dear Mom, Send Money" have plenty of cash register 'ka-ching!' sounds, and "The War For My Mind" wins me over on title alone.

I can't really give The Mesmerizing Eye a proper recommendation, but if you think that you're up for this sort of thing, this lost album should hold your attention for a listen or three. Actually, I'd say the best use for this album would be to display the striking cover as wall art.

The Open Window - 196? - The Open Window

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25 out of 5

I'm not going to pretend that I know anything about this band other than what I can glean from the album cover. This three person group seems to be working on the socialist model as all three members provide songwriting, keyboards, percussion, vocals, and recorders. They claim that their M.O. is as a chamber-jazz group, which make a certain amount of sense. With retrospect in hand though, that's not quite what I hear.

This strange album to me is the sound of Smile-era Brian Wilson and Van Dyke Parks drifting away into the lysergic ether (that is to say a slightly more produced Smiley Smile, I suppose). In the wall of keyboards are some serious choir-boy vocalizing and the arrangements are like the various sections of a Wilson production disintegrating, creating but an impressionist blur. While this is a very enjoyable album, it's often difficult to focus in on the heavily echoed vocals, pianos, and organs.

The album starts off at its most accessible with "Wild Bill Hickock Rides Again," which could pass off for a Smiley Smile outtake by the Beach Boys, but for the vocals which hit a much more nasal, cutting tone than the Wilson brothers do. It's a pretty cool piece, evoking the wild west both with it's subject matter and piano rolls, while psychedelicizing the sound with echo and droning organs.

The album then pleasantly clouds up with the sound of multiple electric pianos and choral vocals before reconstituting for the jokey "The Girl From Tarentum." I'm sure the band was going for jazzy, but there must have been too many strange substances hanging aroung the studio.

Side two is mostly instrumental, walking a strange line between jazz and classical. This is the Open Window getting a little more pretentious on us. "Italian Symphony" comes across as a more analog, organic version of some of Frank Zappa's early 80's synclavier experiments , while "Piano Concerto No. 1 In G Minor" is basically some disciplined boogie woogie piano with an organ line working its way through the barrage of notes. "The Priest Of The Raven Of Dawn Curtain Call" is a nine minute suite that is completely strange and tripped out. It could cause you to fear for your sanity if you're into that sort of thing.

The Open Window is not quite an A-list lost album. It does manage to create a very unique sound though (although Brian Wilson is the best reference point), and is certainly worth your while for that. It's pretty extreme for a group that seems to see themselves as a sunny jazz pop combo.

The David - 1967 - Another Day, Another Lifetime

Quality: 4.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

This album is an interesting meeting between scuzzy garage rock and Hollywood-esque orchestration with a touch of sitar and other odd instrumentation. I guess it would be easiest to label this as sunshine pop, but it does tend to be a bit louder and kick up a little more steam than that genre generally implies. Regardless, Another Day, Another Lifetime provides some awesome 1967 vintage West Coast sounds.

The band seems to have been primarily the vehicle of one Warren Hansen, who is responsible for the songwriting, production, and the very strong lead vocals. Although the group apparently existed for at least half a decade, this album makes up almost their complete recorded output (there's a single or two also drifting out there somewhere). It's a shame as the 30 minute platter found here does give you a thirst to hear more.

Everything here is pretty strong in a groovy, go-go dancin' shindig sort of way. That said, the thick orchestration does add a little more gravity to the sound. In fact, it occasionally threatens to drown out the band on tracks like "Tell Me More" or "Down To You." I guess this is why The David garners a lot of Left Banke comparisons. But in contrast to that seminal sunshine pop, the actual members of the band seem to be trying to grind away more like the Electric Prunes.

The highlights here are nicely spread out through the album. As a good album should, the opening title track provides a nice overview of the bands sound, with some amusing sitar breaks adding a little dimension to the song. "I'm Not Alone" gives the band a chance to do their own garage rock stomp without the orchestra getting in the way. I also dig the strange time changes found in the appropriately named "Time M." "Mirrors Of Wood" introduces Hansen's homemade Plasmatar instrument. How could you not love something with that name. Meanwhile, "Of Other Days" gives the disc a almost too happy send off.

For those with an obsession with the sounds of the Summer Of Love, Another Day, Another Lifetime will provide you with a good 30 minutes of top shelf material to chew over. It's certainly an album that begs for rediscovery by the discerning psych-head.

Buy Me:
The David - 1967 - Another Day, Another Lifetime

Diga Rhythm Band - 1976 - Diga

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

Mickey Hart has made a name for himself beyond his percussive presence in the Grateful Dead with a series of worldbeat styled records over the past 30 years. This disc is the start of his headfirst dive into the world of world percussion. Working with tabla player Zakir Hussain, Hart sets out to theoretically pound out some Indian rhythms, but with the wide range of percussion present, we get more of an enjoyable jungle of percussive sound.

Most of the tracks here are strictly percussion instrumentals, with vibraphone guiding the melody along. "Sweet Sixteen" opens the album with a dense wall of organic percussion. Even if the melody is not the best, the track never fails to be interesting. Better are the extended tracks "Magnificent Sevens" and "Tal Mala," both of which include more Indian-like patterns, and really give the drum company some nice room to stretch out and do their thing.

For the committed Deadhead, Jerry Garcia shows up to provide some signature guitar runs to "Happiness Is Drumming" and "Razooli." I suppose it was nice of him to contribute, his name being much more of a household name at the time than Hart's, but I personally prefer the percussion only aesthetic of the other tracks.

Although the Dead connections run rampant, Diga Rhythm Band is a very different creature. It certainly caters to the 'hippy drum circle' crowd, but these are top percussionists at the top of their game, and makes this much more essential listening than the odd smelling fellows in the city park. I'd really put this more in the exotica ballpark along with Martin Denny. This makes for a perfect island sunset album, perhaps with a Tequila Sunrise in hand.

Buy Me:
Diga Rhythm Band - 1976 - Diga

Milton Nascimento/Lo Borges - 1972 - Clube Da Esquina

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.75 out of 5

One part of the world that has never had trouble forging its own identity in the wily world of popular music is Brazil. The tropicalia movement of the late 60's was pretty small, but highly influential. A few daring individuals threw together a melting pot of pretty much anything they wanted and the reverberations still continue today. Seriously, if you haven't heard it, this stuff often equals the A-list artists of the United States and Great Britain. The Brazilian musicians even get some extra counterculture points as they worked under the threat of possible execution from the military dictatorship in power at the time. Leading lights Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil found themselves in prison and then exile due to their music.

The album we're looking at here isn't exactly part of the proper tropicalia movement, but is some glorious fallout from a few years later. The musicians making up the Clube Da Esquina worked in a slightly more chilled out mood, meeting every week or so, drinking beer, talking about the Beatles, and getting a few jams in. This disc documents the wonderful music they ended up with. Mr. Nascimento is the deserving headliner here, contributing plenty of songwriting and the bulk of the vocals. A few years later his start would rise considerably as a proper solo artist, but I'd be willing to say that his best work of a fine career is present here.

As a sprawling double album, I guess that this is the Brazilian equivalent of a White Album. While Clube Da Esquina does go on a bit longer than may be optimal, I'd be hesitant to choose anything to erase from here. Even scraps like "Saidas E Bandeiras" are relatively well thought out and earn a place here.

Of course, the choice tracks are among the best music that I've heard period. "Tudo Que Voce Podia Ser" is an awesome opener with nice building percussion. We'll also fine some immaculate Brazilian percussion on "Cravo E Canela." Some other highlights include "O Trem Azul," which is a paramount example of a drifting cloud of stoned psychedelia. "San Vicente" sounds like "Go Only Knows" for a Brazilian Pet Sounds. I mean this as a high complement.

Making it past the hour mark, it's sometimes a little difficult to take this all in at once. Still, the pacing is pretty even, with the slightly more uptempo "Trem De Doido" and "Nada Sera Como Antes" appearing near the end of the album.

All the lyrics here are in Portuguese. The word on the street is that the lyrics here succeed in reaching some nice poetic highs and are worthwhile if you can make it out. I don't know a word of the language prsonally, but it sounds damn fine being sung here.

Never breaking past the language barrier to popular acclaim abroad, Clube Da Esquina is one of the better albums of the early 70's. Expand your culture and sonic mind with these recordings.

Buy Me:
Milton Nascimento/Lo Borges - 1972 - Clube Da Esquina

Happy End - 1971 - Kazemachi Roman

Quality: 3.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3 out of 5


Happy End's second disc is pretty much their attempt the band's attempt to refine and crystalize their basic sound. It's a brighter and folkier affair than their debut, and I'd say that they seem more confident and both songwriting and playing. This doesn't necessarily mean that I think it's a better album however. Like the cover art you see, the music comes across as a lot more 'blah.'

What I really dug about the first disc was it's often almost tongue in cheek experimentation. It seemed to somehow mix the sound of a solid, but not completely inspired professional band and the sound of some very talented, but undisciplined kids making music in a garage. Here, the balance is more on the side of the competent, but less interesting band. In particular, the band seems to be exchanging their more psychedelic sounds for CCR rhythms and pedal steel channeled through the Eagles. Personally, I don't think that is a very exciting prospect, but maybe you do.

So this is a nice, solid album, even if not providing much variation; I guess you could say the same for a Poco album. You've heard "Kaze wo Atsumete" if you've seen the film "Lost In Translation," and it's most certainly responsible for Happy End's recent international visibility. If you dig that track, you'll find more to like here, although you should expect a stronger infusion of imported country rock on other tracks. Nothing really hits the peaks of the first album, but everything here is at a consistently "pretty good" level. I prefer tracks like "Haikara Hacuch" or "Taifuu," which shift to a more rock sound. Elsewhere, "Ashita Tenki ni Naare" is an extremely stange attempt at funk. Basically, you need to hear this album at least one, but my guess is that you'd play the first one a little more often.

Buy Me:
Happy End - 1971 - Kazemachi Roman

Happy End - 1970 - Happy End

Quality: 3.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.25 out of 5

Getting into popular world music is often a slippery slope. Of course you can always track down traditional and/or folk sounds and at least appreciate it. With popular world music, however, I feel musicians tend to take one of two routes. Most artists latch on to the sounds of best-selling American and British artists and copy it. Unfortunately, this falls victim to the law of diminishing returns, and woe to our ears for the artist that is using bad western pop as their template. Restoring my faith in humanity are the more select artist who still may use western popular music as their basis, but really try to incorporate something new and/or distinct from their culture.

Happy End is not one of the best bands I've heard, but they deserve some respect. In the 60's, Japanese rock tended to consist of instrumental 'surf' style bands and folks covering western rock songs or trying to write their own in often broken English (those wanting Japanese lyrics had to turn to the ultra-melodramatic Japanese pop called 'enka'). Happy End did draw a lot from light psych bands and sunshine pop in the west, but they carved out their own unique sound with some interesting production touches and sang completely in Japanese, often drawing their melodies from native folk ideas.

This debut is a solid psych/folk groover, with the band creating their own spacey atmosphere rather confidently. The disc starts well with the catchy "Haruyo Koi," but I think they saved their better material for the midsection of the album. The backwards swishes of "Tobenai Sora" signal a shift into more experimentation and stylistic shifts. This and the three following tracks could have made a perfect sundrenched Japanese psych EP. The band's eponymous track near the end is another folky winner starting of like Appalachian porch music in the middle of the Japanese Alps before shifting into a groovy marching rhythm. This runs into the weirdly experimental "Zoku Happyend," which closes the album.

For me, the big hook for this band is Takashi Matsumoto's vocals. Often coming as a double-tracked wall, Matsumoto usually sings in sort of a strange dispassionate tone. Yet, the emotions of the song still come through, even with a language barrier in place for non Japanese-speaking listeners. It's as if he is able to suggest emotion rather than express it.

While not the best psych album you'll ever hear, Happy End is a nice comfortable 36 minutes that is a distinctly different flavor from more western sounds and certainly worth a little of your time.

Buy Me:
Happy End - 1970 - Happy End

The Hollies- 1966 - For Certain Because...

Quality: 3 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 2 out of 5

This album came out in late 1966, and unfortunately the Hollies were a little behind the times. For Certain Because... has a lot more in common with the pure pop rock of 1965 than of the wild experimentation steady building to a Summer of Love explosion. The Hollies do attempt a few more contemporary production touches here, but they mostly fall flat on their face and leave the convention rockers here as the highlights.

For Certain Because... starts off strong. "What's Wrong With the Way I Live" bursts straight out of the gate with a strong composition and plenty of the immaculate harmonies that were the Hollies' trademark. "Pay You Back With Interest" was a deserving medium size hit and "Tell Me To My Face" has a slight touch of bossa nova that works well.

The Hollies then spend too much of the rest of the album uncomfortably trying out random styles. "Clown" and "High Classed" are dripping with that kind of 60's cheese that keeps forcing images of Davy Jones into my mind. Meanwhile "What Went Wrong" includes pompous orchestration that sounds like it belongs in a 1960's Vegas awards spectacular. By trying to stretch their sound they end up just sounding hopelessly square.

Not that there aren't some bright spots later on. "Suspicious Look In Your Eyes," "Peculiar Situation," and "Don't Even Think About Changing" are all solid pop, although I'd imagine that they sounded dated even in late 1966. The Hollies only manage to stay on the crest of the wave of musical change on the closing track "Stop! Stop! Stop!" It's the only track here that I'd actually rate as being psychedelic, and it's a harbinger of the next two albums where the band would find a lot more footing to expand their sound.

Also included on this disc is the non-LP "On A Carousel." It's another track that would have been a perfect track for 1965; meaning once again that it's a solid pop track, but has little new to offer. We also get the stereo and mono mixes of everything. I wouldn't say that there's much of a difference, although my personal pet peeve concerning extreme stereo separation is very present in the stereo mix. I prefer at least a little percussion in both channels.

Those looking for the more psychedelic sound of Evolution or Butterfly will only find small hints of that sound here. If you're cool with some B-list 1965-style folk rock, you should end up with a couple choice tracks from For Certain Because...

Buy Me:
The Hollies- 1966 - For Certain Because...

Shpongle - 2005 - Nothing Lasts... But Nothing Is Lost

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out 5


This is a damn fine album. Here Shpongle refines some of the atmospherics and world beat elements of Tales Of The Inexpressible and uses them to create a voyage more like their first album. The concept here is a series of dreams which equates to what I like to think of as some awesome audio paintings. Although there are 20 listed on the back cover, it's better to think of these as several long tracks, especially as there is no pause between many of the tracks.

Posfords guitars return here as do many of the female vocals and other worldbeat elements. But where the last album used these in a jarring manner that sometimes threatened to make these psychedelic explorers sound more like Deep Forest, everything here is fully integrated into the trance-inducing rhythmic structure. Of course Raja Ram is present to contribute some odd utterances and make sure things are properly twisted.

As far as I can tell, the first dream sequence is like a surreal trip to Rio, maybe a little fear and loathing during carnival. The second sequence makes me think of a flying dream, an out of body experience perhaps above the London skies. For the next sequence we have an encounter with ancient Mayan shamanic culture. The fourth sequence places images of a extremely technological future in my head; sort of a happier Blade Runner landscape. For the finale we get a sequel to "Divine Moments Of Truth," which sounds like another DMT trip to me, including a Ned Flanders sample from the psychedelic chili pepper episode of "The Simpsons."

Of course the beauty here is that everyone will probably come up with completely different images and interpretation. This is a concept as no concept, or perhaps an attempt to tap into the collective unconscious.

Shpongle's third album is a nice Roarshach Test. It's not enough to listen to this album passively. To really appreciate it properly you must imprint a bit of yourself into the music and listen actively and using your own imagination.

Buy Me:
Shpongle - 2005 - Nothing Lasts... But Nothing Is Lost

Shpongle - 2001 - Tales Of The Inexpressible

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.25

Shpongle continued to inhabit their distinctive little musical niche on this 2001 album. Fortunately, they did not attempt to recreate the blueprint of their debut as many electronic acts tend to do. I don't think this is quite as good as the debut, but it is still quite impressive and manages a different feel.

While the first album evoked wild psychedelic trips through multi-dimensional space, this one sounds a little more like the hip tribal ceremony down by the beach. The tracks are somewhat shorter, focusing on a distinct vibe rather than the shifting canvases of the first album. Additionally, there is far more organic sounds here. Simon Posford breaks out his Spanish flavored guitar straight away on "Dorset Perception," and it turns out that his fine playing fits perfectly in Shpongle's music.

Shpongle does a great job matching atmosphere to song titles. "A New Way To Say "Hooray"" takes on a humorous bent as we listen to the almost plodding march-like rhythm. Raja Ram gets plenty of space for his strange exhorations and spacey flute too. Meanwhile, "My Head Feels Like A Frisbee" is set to a rhythm that seems to be sonically spinning, before it collides with a little space age mambo. The most 'epic' track here would be "Around the World in a Tea Daze." It shows some signs of Berlin school pulsing, but ends up throwing a wall of worldbeat sounds and vocals. Honestly, it probably comes close to the line of being a bit cheesy, which was never an issue on the first album. If you're ok with a couple symphonic synths and an occasional club beat, you'll be fine. Besides the song eventually glides into Raja Ram nice introspective "Flute Fruit," which closes the album.

I would definitely suggest picking up Shpongle's debut first, but if you find that the atmosphere is your thing, then Tales Of The Inexpressible will add some fuel to your musical fire.

Buy Me:
Shpongle - 2001 - Tales Of The Inexpressible

Shpongle - 1998 - Are You Shpongled?

Quality: 4.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Shpongle is a criminally underrated electronic psychedelic band which successfully mixes the sound of pulsing psychedelic trance, with first rate ambient atmospherics. Like Steve Hillage in System 7, Shpongle is the modern home for a former 60's underground psych musician. Raja Ram, formerly the flautist and vocalist for Quintessence, provides the personality and basic aesthetic for Shpongle, along with some flute and strange chanted vocals. Supporting him the more nitty gritty side of drum and sequencing programming, and synths is Simon Posford. The two apparently hooked up musically after witnessing a solar eclipse in India while tripping the life fantastic. That scenario pretty much sums up the sound of the album too.

Are You Shpongled? presents a very unique and interesting form of psychedelia. The tools here are made up of your basic late 90's electronic music kit, although with some nice organic sounds sprinkled in, but the aim has more to do with the 60's. Posford and Raja Ram seem to be attempting some sort of spiritual nirvana through their music, which I doubt the Chemical Brothers tend to try (even if they have managed several awesome electronic psych tracks).

The first half of this disc presents some relatively short songs (only 7-9 minutes!) that are a fine introduction to the world of Shpongle. There are lots of world percussion sounds, cool samples, and plenty of Raja's flute. I tend to view this as the prelude for the second half, however.

Starting with "Behind Closed Eyes," the album takes on a more epic bent. The 12 minutes track is like a voyage through a dance club slowly but shifting into a ayahuasca induced Peruvian forest. It's very visual music, especially if you follow the instructions of the title.

Even better, and the peak of the album is "Divine Moments of Truth." Pick out the initials and you'll find that this is a tribute to this strong psychedelic substance. Fortunately, the music does a perfectly fine job on it's own evoking the kaleidoscopic, multi-dimensional world beyond this one. The shifting beats, and vocoded and organic chants do an amazing job of pushing the listener through an auditory trip. Following this is the far more chilled out "...And the Day Turned to Night," which owes more than a bit to late 70's and early 80's Tangerine Dream synth epics, while still including Shpongle's own trance-like bent.

Shpongle's debut does a great job melding modern electronic beats and effect to music that aims for a 60's aesthetic. There's really nothing else that sounds quite like this band.

Buy Me:
Shpongle - 1998 - Are You Shpongled?

Mort Garson & Jacques Wilson - 1968 - The Wozard Of Iz

Quality: 3.25 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Occasionally, you run across an album that almost gives psychedelic exploitation a good name. This certainly rates in that category. What we have here is a positively strange combination of elements which tried to be completely turned on and tuned out, and failed to a certain degree. Yet, in it's failure it turned out so odd that it is still wildly tripped out.

Let's go for the negatives first. The whole "Wizard of Oz" overlay is pretty cheezy. Apparently, here Dorothy (who may or may not be voiced by Nancy Sinatra) is a Kansas kid who tries to become one of the groovy people and getting to where it's at, but ends up surrounded by her psychedelic new friends in a reality bending field of poppies. Yes, we get about every psychedelic cliche possible in 1968 thrown at us during the course of this album. Hopefully you'll find this naively charming as I did rather than annoying. More annoying for me are the voices of the Wozard, Scarecrow, and Tin Man. It sounds like they pulled Sid Caesar, Carl Reiner, and Milton Berle off of a Borscht Belt stage, hopped them up with 28 hits of acid each, and tossed them into the recording studio. Actually, now that I've read my description, you might dig it.

On the sunburnt side of the teeth (I got this fine descriptor from the album), we have an interesting pedigree running the show here. Jacques Wilson wrote the poetry for the Zodiac's Cosmic Sounds album, and the ramblings here are equally strange and amusingly cliched. "Blue Poppy" in particular gives us a truly deranged stream-of-consciousness ranting. The scoring here is also an interesting slice of early electronica. Here's a couple quotes I found just from randomly clicking around the album. Really, it's full of them:

"We have forgotten things that we've never known"

"I have to find out where my head belongs, and listen to the songs, the groovy people sing. I want to do my thing."

"Johnny is marching home again... and again... and again. No, not again!"


Mort Garson, the arranger of Cosmic Sounds, teetered on the edge of being one of those Moog pioneers who devoted their talents to those strange bleepy and bloopy easy-listening albums of standards that you can hear daily in Tomorrowland at Disneyland. Fortunately, this being facinated with exploitative psych, he juxtaposes this kind of easy listening side with some wild screaming synth sound and plenty of odd sound effects. Once again "Blue Poppy" is the freaked out six minute focus for all of this. We also have "Leave The Driving To Us," which comes across as a first draft of Pink Floyd's "On The Run."

I can't guarantee that you'll like this album, but you owe it to yourself to give it a listen. It's alternately embarrassingly cliched and mind-blowingly insane. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

Kevin Ayers - 2007 - The Unfairground

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.75 out of 5

A musical slacker in the best possible sense of the word, Kevin Ayers has apparently been lounging on the beaches of Spain for the past 15 years strumming these songs on his guitar. Someone fortunately heard the quality of these songs and has been occasionally shoving Mr. Ayers into the studio for the past few years. The final product is surprisingly prime Ayers and comfortably sits on the shelf along with his great late 60's early 70's psych/folk.

The production distinctly harkens back to the sound of "Joy Of A Toy." There's a extremely diverse and organic collection of instruments on "The Unfairground." Fortunately the glam/prog experiments of the 70's and the thin, uninspired sound of his 80's recordings are nowhere to be found here. If anything, the well-done orchestrations present here suggests "Sgt. Pepper's" or "Forever Changes." Still, this is just icing on the cake as the core of the tunes here really is just Kevin and his acoustic guitar playing some of his best written tunes since, uh, well... ever. Ayers' also manage to dodge any signs of aging in his vocals. The fellow is well into his 60's, but sounds pretty much the same as he did in 1969 (maybe there's a slight touch of gravel, but it sounds fine). I'm sure it helps that Ayers has always sung in a warm baritone rather than a soaring falsetto or something.

Even on the classic "Joy Of A Toy," Ayers often let his ideas overstay their welcome and threadbare constructions would drone on for five minutes. Here we have fully realized compositions, so the production serves the songs instead of the other way around. I'd be willing to say that what would make up the first side on vinyl ("Only Heaven Knows," "Cold Shoulder," "Walk On Water," "Friends And Strangers") is Ayers' best run of songs ever and is even able to stand side-by-side with a classic like "Forever Changes." The second half of the album loses a little steam, but "Wide Awake" logs in one more essential Ayers tune.

With the first side presenting some of the best tunes of 2007, "The Unfairground" isn't just a comeback, but rather a complete reinvigoration. Hopefully given a couple more years on Spanish beaches, Ayers will find a little more inspiration in the back of his mind and bless us with a follow-up to this fine album. If not, this is the perfect coda for an underground psych superstar.

Buy Me:
Kevin Ayers - 2007 - The Unfairground