Tommy Roe - 1967 - It's Now Winter's Day

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

Tommy Roe's career stands mostly as a textbook example of a teeny-boppin', bubblegum rockin' "how-to." For a year or two in the late 60's, however, Tommy must have gotten the itch to be more relevant, and this great album is the result of the fruits of his labors. First off, Mr. Roe clearly chose the right producer in the guise of psychedelic sunshine master Curt Boettcher. Along with Boettcher came some of the awesome musicians who hovered around the Sagittarius and Millennium projects. Even beyond this first-rate psychedelic gauze, we've got to give Tommy Roe credit for penning some great pop songs (he has a credit on every track and sole credit on about half of them) and laying down some vocals that at least the Monkees would have been envious of (and keep in mind that I consider Mickey Dolenz a great vocalist).

Most of the tracks here sound like prime singles fodder, although this ended up as the low point of Roe's career commercially. I can't imagine why as the first four tracks here have pretty much been in constant rotation in my head since I bought the disc a few weeks ago. "Leave Her" is a driving, harmony-laced rocker, followed by the backward cymbals and endearingly goofy lyrics of "Moontalk." "Aggravation" and "Golden Girl" easily match the bubblegum psych standard of the Monkee's Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn and Jones. Later on the album we get the oddly ominous sounding ballad "Cry On Crying Eyes," which resembles a jukebox track from 1956 slowly melting over a psychedelic furnace. Even better is the title track, closing the album with ethereal pads of Boettcher-arranged harmonies and strange reverberating shimmers of sound.

As readers of this blog know, I'm a big fan, so let's give Boettcher's production some closer attention. At it's heart, this album really is not a far cry from Roe's teeny boppin' days. The difference is all in the details. The backing vocal arrangements are every bit as spaced out as the best moments of the Millennium while Boettcher throws in just enough instrumental twist, turns, and oddities to keep Roe floating somewhere past the ozone layer. It probably helps that Roe's lead vocals are not a far cry from Boettcher himself.

You've got to be receptive to a taste of sugar to really dig this one, but those of you willing to stare into the sunshine very well may end up regarding this as at least a minor classic. It's not quite up to the level of the Millennium's Begin, but it inhabits the same ballpark of sound and more than deserves your ear.

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Tommy Roe - 1967 - It's Now Winter's Day

The Olivia Tremor Control - 1997 - Those Sessions

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

Here's a bit more OTC esoterica. These sessions (I hope that doesn't count as a pun) date from some late 90's Peel Sessions, and give us the only taste of the live experience that I know of unless you happened to catch these guys in concert back in the day (I did!). Although obviously lacking the psychedelic tapestry feel of the band's studio creations, this is another essential addendum for a few reasons. Among the couple of song suites present are a few tracks that were either unreleased or were drawn from obscure EPs. We also get a few renditions from the great LP, Dusk At Cubist Castle. More importantly though, the songs are stitched together in a series of mini-suites that almost play like proper EPs. It's also interesting hear the band attempt to fuse their bass/drums/guitar core with various sound effects and odd instrumentation in a live setting.

Leading things off is the only isolated song, non-LP track "I'm Not Feeling Human." The next two tracks are eight minutes each, and meld together about four songs a piece. These sport a far drier sound than their studio counterparts, and truthfully are not as good, but they do have the benefit of sounding very different. Hearing the altered atmospherics and more immediate punch is worth the price of admission.

If you have more than a passing interest in the Olivia Tremor Control, you'll find this an interesting listen. It doesn't come close to upstaging the band's short but masterful recording career, but it adds welcome perspective to that legacy.

Gruppo Di Improvvisazione Nuova Consonanza - 1967 - The Private Sea of Dreams

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

Somewhere past the precipice of sound, we find these avant-garde Italians making a curious racket. The ensemble began in 1954, obviously long before the psychedelic era, and their approach was along the more atonal side of contemporary classical composition than anything resembling popular music. Enrico Morricone was the most notable member of the group, although I have no evidence if he is part of this particular recording or not. Regardless, the mostly improvisational results here are definitely mind bending, and are sure to create a curious atmosphere in your music space.

Nothing here really resembles 'music' in the traditional sense of the word. We're looking more at alien soundtrack-scapes. There are plenty of seemingly random percussive and piano strokes scattered about the tracks, along with the occasional wailing horn. A few tracks like "Perfect Union," "String Quartet," and "Sunrise" scare me off with the screechier sound of string instruments, but I'm down with the more percussive odysseys of "Rkba -1675 Take One" and "Side One-Band Four." Honestly, even the more adventurous of you will probably find a few hits and a few misses on this one; it just depends on your personal tastes or aversions regarding abstract yet sparse orchestral sounds.

The big draw for me here is that this album is an interesting aural document of a specific artistic time and place. A few of you might be a little more up for the avant-garde orchestration, but I doubt that you're going to break this one out for your next dinner party. If you're looking for interesting nightmares, this could be a good bedtime album too. 'Private sea of dreams' could be 60's Italian code for nightmares for all I know.

The Cryan' Shames - 1966 - Sugar & Spice

Quality: 3 out of 5

The Cryan' Shames' debut album was typical of the more thrown-together rock LPs of the era: both sides of their first two singles and a bunch of cover versions. The singles, actually, were pretty good, including their most well-known song, "Sugar & Spice," a cover of a Searchers hit that actually was more memorable and imaginative than the original. Its B-side, "Ben Franklin's Almanac," was a respectable original with shades of the Byrds, the Yardbirds, and California harmonies; the second single, "I Wanna Meet You," was a decent meld of Beatles-Byrds jangle with Beach Boys harmonies; and its flip, "We Could Be Happy," was an OK soft rock number

Originally known as The Travelers, this Chicago-based act were clearly influenced by the British music invasion. Indeed it was their cover version of Sugar And Spice, which had given The Searchers a big U.K. hit back in 1963, which attracted the attention of Columbia, leading them to take over the distribution of their 45. A latter cover of Lennon-McCanney's You're Gonna Loose That Girl, which was probably intended as the follow-up, got lost somewhere in their switch from Destination to Columbia and only got an airing much later when Happy Tiger included it on their Early Chicago compilation.

After signing to Columbia they concentrated on putting out their first album which had a considerable Byrds influence and some good original compositions, notably Jim Fair's Ben Franklin's Almanac. It also contained some well done cover versions of classics like, Hey Joe, If I Needed Someone, We Gotta Get Out Of This Place, We'll Meet Again and She Don't Care About Time. It peaked at No. 192 in the U.S. Album Charts.

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The Cryan' Shames - 1966 - Sugar & Spice

Glaze Of Cathexis - 2008 - The Visions Surround You

Howdy folks. Here's my most recent collection of music for your discerning ear. Unlike the other albums of my own, this one probably reflects more the sounds that you hear in the psychedelic garage. About half of this was recorded earlier this year in my Japanese mountain layer while the other half ended up on tape in the past month back in my hometown of Atlanta, Georgia. Attempting to channel the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band and other wacky nuggets, "Future Quake" was composed and recorded for a radio show of the same name out of Nashville, TN. Their website is at www.futurequake.com. "Focus on the Sun" is my tribute to the lovable, but endearingly naive bands of the 60's and beyond. Meanwhile, you'll find that I haven't given up on my shoegazer trip on "Elliptical." I carted out a few old compositions as "Spinning Top" and "Your Kingdom" are a direct result of my introduction to Syd Barrett and Flying Saucer Attack 10 years ago. I'll stop ranting, so download this and send me your comments. As always, I'd be more than happy to see this posted elsewhere too.

Track Listing:
1. Everything Is Not Wrong (3:26)
2. Future Quake (3:16)
3. Your Kingdom (5:42)
4. Revelation (3:03)
5. Elliptical (3:51)
6. Mayan Dawn (6:29)
7. Focus on the Sun (3:22)
8. I've Been Flying (3:03)
9. Spinning Top (2:51)
10. Yr. Old Dreams Dissipate (3:23)
11. Mayan Dusk (1:14)
Total Time: (39:35)
74.4 MB

The Olivia Tremor Control Vs. The Black Swan Network - 1997 - The Tour EP

Quality: 4 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.75 out of 5

About 10 years ago I saw the Olivia Tremor Control in concert. Off to the side of the stage they had a small booth that you'd step into which included a microphone. The idea was that you'd record your dreams and that the band could use it for later recordings. Unfortunately, I didn't make it in time for this sole album that utilized the dreams. But you'll hear the murmur of dreams scattered throughout this recording, and the whole mix is a rather tripped out experience.

Obviously intended to be heard on vinyl, this album is divided into two side long tracks. The music exists in a netherworld between the full on psych rock of the band's proper albums and the ambient blur of Explanations II. When you get down to it, the flow of the disc reminds me a whole lot of Frank Zappa's Lumpy Gravy. Don't let that scare you off as this album has a far more organic and less pretentious sound that Zappa's opus (and if you already dig Lumpy Gravy then you're set). We hear a lot of sound collages (featuring barely audible dreams) and on a few spot the band actually kicks into gear for a few moments for a more inviting run of music. The beginning of side two especially stands out with its skittering drum beat and twin theremins. As always with the OTC, you're hopefully attuned to and open to the sound of rapidly flying tape loops and sudden reversing sounds. At a base level this is a pretty top flight psychedelic musical experience.

Even more experimental and out there than the Elephant 6 collective's reputation (of which OTC was a major part of), this Tour EP is a pure strain of strange music. It's a shame that this recording is all but forgotten as it adds an enlightening wrinkle to an already great band's legacy.

The Olivia Tremor Control - 1996 - Explanation II: Instrumental Themes and Dream Sequences

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

I pretty much consider the Olivia Tremor Control the best psychedelic band to record during the 90's. Admittedly, I may be a little biased as I was a student in their home base of Athens, Georgia during their prime. Regardless, you need to hear their two long-players, Dusk at Cubist Castle and Black Foliage, if you haven't already. This strange, long out-of-print release cropped up as a bonus disc that came along with the first pressings of Dusk at Cubist Castle. The rumor was that the disc was to be played along with the album for an extra layer of freakiness. Considering that the tracks don't match, nor does the timing of the album, I personally put about as much stock in that idea as the Wizard of Oz/Pink Floyd think (the end of 2001 with "Echoes" does work well as a side note). Seeing as this is an ambient album, I suppose you have nothing to lose by playing both, but we'll look at this as a singular entity.

If you are already acquainted with the OTC, you won't find much of their signature sound present here. This is an ambient exercise very much in the mold of Brian Eno's more amorphous albums. Listening to this either requires a zen-like focus, or you can let it roll purely as background music. There are nine tracks with various tonalities and varying degrees of background noise (much of this was supposedly recorded on an Athens porch), but there's not much to say about the tracks individually.

Sliding through you mind as you try to grasp it, this is a wonderful album to go to sleep with or set up an unobtrusive vibe in an otherwise silent room. It's a testament to the band that they were willing to branch this far out, but this is about as far from the quintessential OTC sound as you can get.

Caldera - 1970 - A Moog Mass

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4 out of 5

Continuing on the religious themed albums for the day, we find Caldera with their Moog Mass. This album hits me in a couple of soft spots. I'm typing these reviews out accompanied by my trusty Moog Voyager on the table, so obviously I've got a yen for hearing that sort of instrument. I also receive an irrational amount of enjoyment from the Electric Prunes' Mass In F Minor (admittedly even more that the legitimate Prunes releases), which this disc just seems to beg comparison with,.

Now for those of your coming in for your Moog fix, this isn't necessarily the best place to find the signature space-defying filter sweeps. Much of the synthesis seems to be relegated to a somewhat annoying vox/vocoder sort of sound (I guess you'd run the mic through the filter and max out the resonance) while some of the harpsichord, strings, and organ sounds seem to be organic; that or these guys were master synth programmers, which I sort of doubt. "Who is the Man" does introduce us to a nice ball-busting synthetic brass sound that will continue through the album though, so you'll find something here to like. When the Moog does take on the organ parts, it's a lot of fun too.

Ditching the rock and roll approach of Mass In F Minor, A Moog Mass stays relatively true to a solemn old school Catholic service, albeit filtered through a, uh, Moog filter. There's occasional narration from a fellow with a nice cultured accent who keeps making me think that we're going to slip into Moody Blues territory (this never happens if you're wondering). I guess it does approach a sort of 'Switched On Gregorian Chants' vibe, but the couple of acoustic instruments present fill up the sound and keep that from happening.

Once again, like the Mass In F Minor this is an amazingly short album not quite topping out at 25 minutes. But it does provide a welcome contrast with that earlier disc. If your overly pious aut and uncle show up for a pious radish dinner while you're having a great booze-up in the next room, playing this will hopefully make everyone happy.

P.S. - I think I hate this album cover.

Fr. Pat Berkery - 1969 - Prayers for a Noonday Church

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

How could we go wrong with a tripped out, turned on, hip priest? Certainly not on this album. I mean we're not really looking at a lost classic, but if you've got an itch for some psychedelic exploitation with a practically incomprehensible religious twist, then this is the right place to turn. I know nothing about the good father beside the evidence in front of me. I grew up in the Episcopal church, and I'd wager that this is justified along the lines of some strange mission. Good for time, and demented sounds for us.

Musically, this is pure psychsploitation. There is an anonymous backing band hitting the requisite fuzzed out guitar patches along with tripped out organs (not church organs) and some groovy backbeats. They do get some chances to shine as on the rollicking, almost-flying apart "Chalice."

But the main act here is the spoken word voice overs of Father Berkery. I think that the idea here was to have a series of short sermons, but in order to stay hip and 'with it,' the religious rhetoric is laced with third-rate Jim Morrison-isms. That's why we end up with lines like "Bless me father, for I have sinned/Stop pushing; I am the next to get in" on "Confession." Also keep in mind that this is just after he's referred to the snakes slithering around the church pews. No, Fr. Berkery never shows any signs of actual musical ability; he's just here for the chicks as with William Shatner Transformed Man (at least I hope that's why Shatner was in the studio; there's no other rational excuse for that one). I guess he manages a few moments of white-priest filtered rapping on the almost funky "Seminary." Later, just the concept of "Celibacy" depresses me just a bit; but the good Father does have a nice psychedelic explanation of it. "Preaching" comes acroos like the rightfully long-lost Byrds collaboration; actually make that with second-rate Byrds soundalikes.

This isn't really something that you're going to cruise around town groovin' to. But if a psychedelic album with a priest on the cover intrigues you, I don't think that this will disappoint. It's certainly something that would be fun for your next party playlist.

The Merchants of Dream - 1968 - Strange Night Voyage

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

This disc seems to be a bit ahead of its time. We've got the requisite psychedelic sounds, but also some strange touches of prog rock and disco before the full emergence of those forms. If that's not enough, we get a Peter Pan concept album. Strangely, the band doesn't take the 'happydaystoytown' approach so much, but works out some stranger noises to guide the story along. The Who's rock operas aren't a bad reference point, although the Merchants of Dream do carve out their own niche.

Even if we throw out the whole concept, there is some prime psychedelic pop hiding out in the grooves of this disc. After an enjoyable overture (take notes as side B will also start with an overture), we hear the disco-pulsing and orchestrated "Strange Night Voyage of Peter Pan." "Wendy" follows well as a back-pulsing, mid-tempo freak-out. After a few story advancing tracks is the full-speed forward, psych rocker "Lovelife's Purple Circus." Hiding out on the second side is "Alicey," which comes across as your personal sonic morphine drip. We also will find "(We Are) Dream Vendors," which closes the album as the best track with a catchy chorus and a groovy beat.

I've got to admit that I rarely mentally apply myself to album concepts, and for better or for worse Strange Night Voyage is no exception. Fortunately, we get enough little nuggets of great psychedelic pop that the story doesn't really matter a whole lot. I don't know, show me the Broadway revival of this and maybe I'll get that aspect more; except that I'm not really a Broadway fan in the first place.

Bohemian Vendetta - 1968 - Bohemian Vendetta

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

While not the grooviest band on the block, Bohemian Vendetta manages to rip out some nice face melting sounds on their sole LP. I would rate this quite on the level of the Electric Prunes at their best, and especially not the Chocolate Watchband, but I'd imagine that these guys could give the Strawberry Alarm Clock some competition at the local civic center's battle of the bands.

The good news here is that the first track, "Riddles and Fairytales is what we might call the 'shiztatch' here in the ATL. It's a prime garage rocker and deserves a prime spot on your next tape mix (although I guess we'll substitute the mp3 mix in this modern world). Elsewhere, we find a few questionable covers. Their cover of "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" gets five points for some great acid guitar leads, but then loses 76 by being painfully slow and having screechy vocals. They also tackle "House of the Rising Sun," and it's much better, but as you may figure it doesn't lick the poopie toilet paper of the Animals' rendition.

The other originals are no great shakes, but they do seem to get better as the album progresses (nevermind the phenomenal opening track). "Paradox City," "Images," and "Deaf, Dumb, and Blind" all nicely meld some searing acid rock guitar to some mind-bending structures. Things are spotty on this album, but the high points are more than worth your attention.


Bohemian Vendetta probably is a good candidate for the quintessential acid garage band. That is to say they don't take home the first prize unopposed, but they do manage to stumble onto some inspired sounds from time to time. I'm sure your friends will give you cool points for pulling this one out on vinyl (and there is a 180-gram reissue somewhere out there).

Gentle Soul - 1968 - Gentle Soul

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

Yeah, Gentle Soul. I guess that's a nice, peaceful nomenclature for the late 60's, but matched with this music, I can't help but imagining these folks getting a beat down in the back alley. Visions of blood and bruises aside, this is a very adept mix of whitewashed folk/pop and some production trappings from sunshine pop. If you're hip to harpsichords, you'll find plenty to dig here. The vocal harmonies are supremely sweet and dead on, but I do feel an occasional need to strike the cheese alarm. For the collectors out there, there are some big names affiliated with this album. 60's producing legend Terry Melcher is behind the boards while Ry Cooder and Van Dyke Parks make some instrumental appearences (never mind any puns; take the sentence at face value).

There is not a ton of stylistic variations here. Pretty much everything is centered around happily strummed acoustic guitars, with sugary-sweet boy/girl harmonies on top and very light chamber orchestration ornamenting the music. With the opening "Overture," we hear a little more complexity since there are no vocals, and in many ways it's my favorite track here. The rest of the album is like eating white bread for lunch, although if pressed to pick favorites I'd tell you to skip forward to "Marcus," "Through A Dream," and "Renaissance." The happy folk of Gentle Soul come across as a little plain, but there are no major missteps here, and many acts of this sort tend to drift out into the overly syrupy.

This is some very adept soft folk pop, and if that's your bag then you need to hear this. For the rest of us the clean production and assured performances should hold your attention at least for a couple of spins.

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Gentle Soul - 1968 - Gentle Soul

Paul Parrish - 1968 - The Forest Of My Mind

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

For all of your patient psychedelic archaeologists, here's your big payoff. I've got to admit that I know less than nothing about troubadour Paul Parrish, except that this release is amazing. It's a very groovy slice of Donovan-inflected psychedelic pop graced by the voice of a fellow that comes across like a hipper Micky Dolenz (although I have to admit that I do dig the Monkees).

Parrish rates as a first rate song writer going by the merits of this album. The first three tracks all sound like hit singles that never where and if the title track hasn't shown up on a Nuggets-style compilation, it certainly deserves to. Bringing up the Donovan comparison again, I might even go as far to say that as an album, I prefer this over Mr. Leitch's LPs. At least it's in cahoots with Sunshine Superman.

Even the covers come across pretty well. Usually, I'm a little wary when I see Beatles covers on an obscure bit of psychedelia, but Perrish pretty much hits the nail on the head on his cover of "You've Got To Hide (Your Love Away)." The album closes with an interesting folk-psych take on Motown with "I Can't Help Myself," although Parrish's voice lacks the grit to really make this one work completely.

As we move through the album, Parrish's tracks get a little more pastoral. "The White Birds (Return to Warm Seas" once again gives Donovan a run for his money,while "Flowers In The Park" tread lightly on Simon and Garfunkel territory (if you're familiar with them, it sounds even more like Heron).

Although coming directly from the deepest fog of obscurity, The Forest Of My Mind rates as a totally first rate album. It's pristine psychedelic folk pop that deserves some latter-day notoriety.

Brainticket - 1974 - Celestial Ocean

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

Although Cottonwoodhill seems to get all the freakish glory in the universe of Brainticket, for my money this is the better album. Although I suppose it's lacking a bit in the full on, balls-to-the-wall freakiness of that earlier album, Celestial Ocean is a more assured and graceful psychedelic voyage through parts unknown.

One big plus here is the much more varied sound present here. Instead of spending half the album on a bubbling groove, the band explores a much wider series of sonic vistas. There's a mystical vibe here that manages to evoke Egyptian pyramids, Mayan temples, and Indian countrysides.

The album functions on sort of a bell curve of energy. The tracks, while very different, form sort of a suite. The first three tracks, "Egyptian Kings," "Jardins," and "Rainbow" start things off on a lilting note. Joel Vandroogenbroeck and Dawn Muir share a strange, half spoken duet on "Egyptian Kings" while "rainbow" definitely brings up the images of that aforementioned Indian countryside. Then the gears kick up a notch on the next three percussive tracks that throw in some awesome modular synth squeals. It's almost as wild as the first album, but it's much tighter and has more of a sense of traveling somewhere. There are also plenty of shades of early Popol Vuh and Tangerine Dream added in for fun. "Cosmic Wind" and "Visions" give us a beautiful coda, focusing more on acoustic sounds.

This is a more relaxed album than Brainticket is generally known for. I think that it's the sound of a band very much in a prime groove and is a must hear.

Buy Me:
Brainticket - 1974 - Celestial Ocean

The Chocolate Watchband - 1966-1969 - 44 (singles compilation)

Quality: 3.50 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 2.50 out of 5
Garage-O-Meter: 3 out of 5

The group's producers had other ideas, however, releasing two more albums (The Inner Mystique, One Step Beyond) in 1968 and 1969 , sporting the band's name but not too much else associated with the group. That would probably have been the end of the group's story, but in the early '80s, record buyers and, more particularly, young musicians discovered the Watchband. A set of Australian reissues of the group's albums quickly found a market in America and Europe. Thus, it was no surprise when, in 1994, Sundazed Records reissued the complete Watchband catalog on compact disc. (Am)

Bueno aca va un gran compilado lanzado por Rhino en la decada del 80 para sacar a relucir de vuelta la epoca gloriosa de los Chocolate. Un compilado poco comercial por cierto, con canciones que no eran de lo mas conocidas y joyas, bellezas y documentos poco conocidos hasta la epoca, como los son los temas lanzados bajo el nombre de "The Hogs". Este disco se ve integrado por el vasto repertorio de covers que tocaba la banda, tambien encontraremos lados b, outtakes y tomas no editadas en los futuros albums de la banda. Una vez mas vamos a recordar esta banda y sobre todo a deleitarnos de vuelta escuchandolos. No tiene desperdicio este disco.

Buy Me:
44