Research 1-6-12 - 1968 - In Research

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.25 out of 5

Here's a pretty schizophrenic band for your consideration. At times, they go for the full-on biking hard rock sound, yet then stick in spacey folk-rock songs or honky-tonk songs in between. They certainly get an "A" for diversity. They get a "C-" for album sequencing, however. Unlike the common flaw of front-loading an album, somehow Research managed to stick all of their better songs on side two, with the opening tracks being a little underwhelming. Maybe that's supposed to leave you with a good impression should you make it through the first half without turning it off. Just as a side note, the stereo separation here is particularly annoying, with the drums often hanging out isolated in the left channel. At least it's a pet peeve for me.

On side one we get the balls-out, biker schlock of "Can You Baby" and "Juicy." Those don't particularly manage to keep my attention, but. Neither does the 'old-timey' sounds of "Highway Song" and "The Grass is Greener." I'm down with older styles, and I still love to occasionally put on my Roots and Blues box set, but most of the 60's bands trying to go down that road made a grave mistake. Research is no exception. Fortunately, the side two tunes almost seem to be a completely different, and much better band. "Lip Smakin' Good" comes across like a hairy, freaky, and entertaining Rolling Stones parody. "Omar" is one of those minimalist, reverbed folk-rock tunes. It's like one of the quieter songs from the Jefferson Airplane's "Surrealistic Pillow" with a touch of Donovan thrown in. "The Feeling" is a fun acid rock anthem, and "I Don't Walk There No More" is a more straight faced Stones interpolation.

Do yourself a favor and skip straight to track five or six to give yourself a good impression of these guys. Then decide on your own what to make of side one. This is far from essential, but you never know when music grabs you the right way, and Research gets at least a sporting chance at doing so for you.

Mars Bonfire - 1968 - Faster Than the Speed of Life

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

Mars Bonfire is not the name of the band, but rather the pseudonym of Dennis Edmonton, who played with an embryonic version of Steppenwolf. As soon as you take a glance at the track listing, you'll note the presence of "Born to Be Wild." The version here is in fact the original. As with the rest of Mars Bonfire's album, the hard edge rock is blunted, for a slightly more wacked-out, psychedelic rock vibe. Obviously the connection to Steppenwolf is going to stand out, and the music here doesn't have the thick crunch of that band, but opts for a thinner, yet phased and sometimes sleeker sound. There is a little more instrumentation present here as well, but like the more famous band, rock organ remains in its position of primacy. Really, I prefer the Mars Bonfire vibe and find the version of "Born to Be Wild" here to be superior. It helps that Mars Bonfire is generally a fine songwriter.

As such, there are some other standout songs here as well. The first three tracks really would fit right into your acid rockin' AM playlist. Sure, Mars Bonfire's voice is a little ragged and spazzy, but it gives the impression that he's really trying. I think "Sad Eyes" is a particular winner, splitting the difference between hard rock and AM sunshine pop. As the album moves on, that smaltzy AM pop sound does work its way in. "How Much Older We Will Grow" encroaches on Procol Harum's territory and "Sad" and "Tenderness" sound like something you'd program in to follow the Grass Roots. Still, you get "So Alive With Love" and "The Night Time's For You," which are both basically the same song but at least share the same groovy beat.

If you have any interest in Steppenwolf, it's a no-brainer that this deserves your attention. For the rest of us, there is some enjoyable, single-like material to wrap our ears around. This album may be chock-full of filler, but the highlights really are highlights and nothing here is so bad that I feel compelled to move on to the next track.

The Beatles Remasters - Stereo vs. Mono

Note: I made revisions to this review on Sept. 12th, having spent more time with the mono box.
Obviously the Beatles are not particularly obscure, but these patron saints of psychedelia deserve at least a little monkey luv at the Psychedelic Garage with their remasters. We'll focus our psychedelic lens starting with "Rubber Soul" and continue through to "Abbey Road," bypassing "Yellow Submarine" because it's not worth it, and "Let It Be" simply because I don't like that album. I've heard most of the stereo remasters at this point, and the sound is quite sterling (I'm patiently waiting for my mono box to show up in the mail, but I have heard them all in Ebbett's form). All the bass missing from the 87' discs have returned, sometimes with a vengeance. I had to flat line the bass listening to "Abbey Road" in my Volkswagen Beetle, whose sound system usually annoys me due to lack of bass. There is some grunge back in the voices, which helps McCartney sound a little more human in those cheeseball moments of his ("Your Mother Should Know," "Ob-la-di Ob-la-da," and the list disturbingly goes on), makes Lennon sound more awesome, and Harrison spacier. Of course in the stereo versions allow for greater clarity in the instrumentation and allows the listener to have greater appreciation for the arrangements. Still, the Beatles were mostly involved with the mono mixes up until around the "White Album," and I'm greatly looking forward to the denser, but in my opinion generally more interesting mono mixes.

The mono set finally came in the mail, and sounds quite phenomenal. They didn't compress and limit and throw all the sound into the red, so it has a very smooth, quarter inch tape sound that the stereo remasters lack (and makes it sound firmly of 60's vintage). The liner notes for the mono are pretty impressive as well, even more so than the stereo version, whch I still enjoyed. Rubber Soul and Help! also include the 1965 stereo mixes. They're not too far off from Martin's 87' mixes, but they do benefit from the more appropriate remastering.

For those of you still stewing over which mix to go for, here are a few of my album-by-album notes:

Rubber Soul
The rockers like "Drive My Car" and "Run For Your Life" end up with a much sharper edge in the mono mix. Still, this album tends to be known for its folk rock cuts (especially in the U.S. version, which isn't part of either set). The stereo gives them a little more of an open, 'playing folk in the field' sort of sound, which is likely appealing for many of you. I still have to give my vote to the mono, which has a more claustrophobic, darker sound. I like my folk-rock a little hairier. Anyway, those of you sticking with the mono disc still get the 65' stereo mix, which is pretty oddball, but not as different from the 87' mix as some would have you believe. both of them feature hard stereo separation, which is a major pet peeve of mine.

Revolver
I'm pretty split over which mix of this I prefer. In the column for stereo is "She Said She Said" and "Tomorrow Never Knows." The mono mix of "She Said She Said" annoyingly brings down the instruments when the vocals come in. Maybe I'm too OCD, but this almost ruins the mono album for me. "Tomorrow Never Knows" works pretty well either way, but I can't deny that the swirling sound effects in stereo is a major plus. Mono manages to add focus and aggression to rockers like "Taxman" and even "Doctor Robert" that the stereo lacks. "Eleanor Rigby" works a lot better when Paul and the strings are not in separate channels as they are in stereo, and in general George's Indian excursions, like "Love to You" here, work much better in mono. Sitar and tabla work much better when not spread out.

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band
Y'know, I always thought that this album was waaay overrated until I heard the mono mix. Now it stays in contention for my favorite Beatles album. I will give that "A Day in the Life" works better in kaleidoscopic stereo, but the rest of it deserves to be heard in mono. The title tracks rock much harder in mono, as do "Getting Better" and "Lovely Rita." "She's Leaving Home" runs a touch faster and mono, giving it a grace completely lacking in stereo, the version on which I always found the track a drag. Paul knew what he was doing here- it just doesn't sound like that in stereo. Well, almost. I have trouble dealing with "When I'm Sixty-Four" in either mix. Lennon fares well in mono as "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds" becomes, like, eight times more psychedelic and "Mr. Kite" is much groovier as well. "Within You Without You" is far more focused in mono, and I no longer consider it a dull excursion as I did with the stereo version. All in all, I'd call the mono a psychedelic masterpiece while the stereo strikes me as a mere shadow.

Magical Mystery Tour
I guess that the EMI engineers had figured out the whole psychedelic mixing thing by this time as the stereo version is generally listenable. The only major flaws are that "I Am the Walrus" infamously switches to mono since the "King Lear" broadcast at the end would otherwise be impossible, and "Baby You're a Rich Man" sounds pretty thin to my ears. Still, I feel like the mono has a groovier vibe - especially for the actual soundtrack songs and "Penny Lane," which comes across too cutesy for me in stereo. Although "Blue Jay Way" loses some elements in the mono, the mysterious vibe comes across just as well, if not better than the stereo track. There is something to be said for the wide open instrumentation of "Strawberry Fields Forever," but in the end I still prefer mono. Basically, this album is a toss-up in the sound debate. Oh yeah, I know the picture cover is incorrect; I just like the EP version better.

The Beatles
By this time the Beatles were taking more of an interest in the stereo mixes, and some of those were even created before the mono mix. In fact "Revolution 1" and "Revolution 9" (the latter of which I actually LOVE) never saw mono mixes and the ones on the mono album are simply fold-downs of the stereo (meaning both tracks are simply shoved together). The mono mix does sound more like a cohesive band than the stereo mix, which led most listeners to assume that the songs were basically solo pieces. There are many differences in the mix, for examples the extra bit at the end of "Helter Skelter" is missing in mono (including the famous shout of "I've got blisters on me fingers!"), and the mono "Good Night" goes straight into the orchestration, while the stereo fades it in. In general, I feel that Lennon's and Harrison's tracks, especially "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," "I'm So Tired," "Happiness is a Warm Gun," and "Cry Baby Cry," tend to have superior mono mixes, while McCartney's and the sole Ringo track are better in stereo. Ringo's "Don't Pass Me By" is sped up and mono and it sounds like he's been snorting helium. In general, the stereo is perfect for cruising in your car or listening on the hi-fi, while the mono is great for a different perspective and headphone listening. For this one, you may very well need both.

Abbey Road
This album never had a proper mono mix (there are a few rare fold-down mono mixes), so at least there's no problem deciding which one to go for. I will say that I never really 'got' this album with my 87' CD, but with the improved sound I totally dig it. The fantastic arranging of the side two suite comes to light, and "I Want You (She's So Heavy)" becomes dynamic proto-metal as opposed to the monolithic slab of dung I always took it for. I've also found myself listening to "Mean Mr. Mustard" repeatedly, which could cause insanity since it's only one minute long.

Past/Mono Masters
I'm totally biased here. Since these are the singles, it seems to me that the mono tracks are the definitive ones simply as AM radio stations in the 60's could only play mono. Of course, with the mono edition you miss out on the great "Ballad of John & Yoko/Old Brown Shoe Single," as well as the superior single version of "Let It Be," which only saw stereo mixes, but you do get the Beatles' tracks from "Yellow Submarine" in never released mono mixes. Harrison's tracks there really flower in mono, and "It's All Too Much" strangely comes across a little more like the Steve Hillage cover from 1976. That's pretty groovy. Meanwhile, "Don't Let Me Down" has a lot more power with the stereo version. With either edition, you get my sentimental favorite Beatles song in mono, "You Know My Name (Look Up the Number)."

Roland P. Young - 2006 - Isophonic Boogie Woogie

Quality: 3 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.75 out of 5

I don't know very much about Roland P. Young. I've gleaned from the music that he 1) is most likely a saxophone player, and 2) probably completely out of his mind - not that we're viewing that as a necessarily bad thing. The insanity present in these grooves make me recall the sounds of the great Sun Ra. Young definitely emits that sense of adventurous, sonic daring-do. He is missing, however, Ra's method behind the madness. Although obviously lacking in discipline, straight up musical madness can have its own charms.

"Crystal Motions" is pretty interesting, with a tight grid of chiming percussion, eventually interrupted by odd vocals and a blast of saxophone. After a couple of straight-up saxophone experiments, "Loveliness" balances some more conventional (but still out there) sax soloing with a drone and more chimes. The minimalist experiments continue until "Magenta Sky," which sounds like it's from another album with it's programmed slightly askew smooth jazz. I almost hate to admit it, but it's my favorite track here.

Even after several listens, I'm not sure what to make of this one. I want to like it for it's odd vibe, but in the end it's a little too minimalist to truly appeal to me. I doubt it helps that some of the tones here veer into a headache inducing treble range. But hey, maybe you have more tolerance for that than I do.

Sky Picnic - 2008 - Synesthesia

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

It's pretty difficult to actually recreate the psychedelic, garage-punk sound of the 60's. There's a certain sensibility in the playing, a vocal flow that is distinct for the time, and of course the need for clunky, tube-driven production. Sky Picnic is another modern group to make the attempt. Truthfully, they don't get all the way there. The production is way too clean, and I can't help but hear a touch of indie rock sensibilities in the vocals - it's fine but doesn't quite fit. That said, the songwriting does hit the nail on Syd Barrett's head and the playing would fit nicely in an underground, pop-art soaked psychedelic club. All in all this is a pretty fun listen for the heads out there. At the very least, it manages to rate pretty favorably with the better Elephant 6 bands.

"Half the Queen's Face" is definitely a winner, throwing the Floyd's "Astonomy Domine" into a blender and making an groovy beast from the acid-soaked pulp left behind. I love "Moons of Jupiter," which once again has something in common with the Floyd ("Interstellar Overdrive" for those of you not paying attention), but even more so makes me think wistfully of the fake-Chocolate Watchband's "Dark Side of the Mushroom" or "Expo 2000." "The Wise Man Lost His Head" filters in some of the more psychedelic moments of the Beatles while the closing "Sequence IV" goes for the epic, multi-part vibe, although it doesn't quite hit me in the sweet spot that the preceding three tracks do. I imagine that last one works quite well live, though.

This is enjoyable, if somewhat derivative psych-rock. But I don't think that Sky Picnic's goal is some much to innovate as to try and recapture some 60's vintage psychedelic lightning in a bottle. At this they do a pretty fine job. With hindsight as their guide, they tend to hit on the finer points of that musical era while gleefully avoiding the missteps and dross that even the better bands of that vintage occasionally stumbled into.

Visit these folks here:
http://skypicnicmusic.com/

LSD-25 - 1967

LSD's a hell of a drug:



I have a bit of a vintage educational film obsession. When entertaining, I usually try and shove a few down my unwitting guests' throats. This is one of the better ones I've come across and definitely among the best 'drug scare' ones I've seen. It'll be on this DVD come October along with another phenomenal drug scare film called "Your Amazing Mind." Thanks to Andrew of Gonzoriffic Films for passing this one my way.
The Love Statue LSD Experience

Sun Ra - 1978 - Lanquidity

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

Although Sun Ra has long since departed for space, it seem that there are always new recordings of the prolific avant-jazz master cropping up. That, or he's transmitting from his space pyramid located on one of the moons of Saturn. Anyway, this one appeared to some cultish fanfare about ten years ago. It far from his most experimental works, but it does have a late 70's jazz funk vibe creeping up that is a bit of a departure. There are no improvised, screaming horn sections here, making this somewhat less intimidating than some of his other work from the decade. I will go ahead and note that side two does crank up the avant-garde voltage a touch, but it all makes for a pretty smooth listen.

The opening title track does of fine job of a slow burn funk intro amongst the swirling sounds of the horns and synths so that "Where Pathways Meet" and "That's How I Feel" can be more straight up funky. It's like an abnormal evening in the weird part of the city. The last two tracks launch a little further into the stratosphere. As a basic reference point, you might think of Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" period, but in the end Sun Ra rarely sounds like anyone else. These tracks feature some pretty phenomenal, wild electric piano pounding by the sun god.

As Sun Ra dabbled in many styles, there's not a particularly good starting point for his music short of a compilation. This is a fine, accessible album, though, and isn't the worst place to start. Those of you already inducted into the cult of Ra will find this an interesting excursion into electric jazz funk that Ra never really replicated on his other albums (although there are probably five more in the vaults that only 17 people have heard).

Buy Me:
Sun Ra - 1978 - Lanquidity

Andrew Bland - 2009 - Atypical Dimensions

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

As usual with this fellow, I should probably point out that this was my college roommate for several years, so I can't say that I'm completely unbiased here. That said, I haven't been in the same general vicinity as him for three years, so I feel able to approach this music with pretty fresh ears - and to those ears this is the best set he's come up with so far. Andrew's M.O. is to create hazy soundscapes with a variety of world and folk instruments alongside his guitars, drums, and an analog Korg. The liner notes suggest that these tracks are destined for a series of short experimental films, and they are mostly perfect for that venue.

Most of the tracks contain an early morning acid hangover sound that has cropped up in fringe music for the past forty years. While it's not quite destined for a David Lynch movie, it would fit in with those inspired by the eerie nightclub vibe of those films. My favorite track here is "Hurdy Gurdy," which comes across like a Brightblack Morning Light track, but is a touch brighter, which I think helps the vibe. I also dig the polyrhythmic percussion and dulcimers in "Sheet Lightning" and "Fuse." "Being in Time" is a fine rhythmic drone, although lacking in dulcimers. Almost everything here is pretty short, so if you do run across a tune that fails to tickle your ear, it's not a long wait for the next bit.

This is a fine album to lend your ear to if you're in the market for some hazy, homemade instrumental psychedelia. Andrew has a few new sound combinations to offer, and the experiments that don't quite succeed (for me the slightly spastic "Paper Lantern") still manage to remain intriguing. Here's his website if you have the urge to poke around: http://andrewbland.net/

Listen to Me:
Andrew Bland - 2009 - Atypical Dimensions

Steve Reich - 1974 - Four Organs/Phase Patterns

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

Either you like Steve Reich or you don't like music. There, I said it. Granted, I'm not really choosing his best work to make that assertion (for that head for "Music for 18 Musician" or "Electric Counterpoint" off the top of my head), but this is still damn fine stuff. At this point Reich was climbing out of his proto-sampling, pure phase music shell, and starting to make streamlined music with a melodic core. This is definitely a 'transition' work, but the oceans of sound waiting here are worth wading in. Jeez, I hope no one reads that last sentence out loud.

The first piece here is "Four Organs," wherein the four organ players each stick with one note at various lengths while a maracas player drones on. Apparently Philip Glass is one of these organ players, although a piece like this isn't a particularly good showcase for one's musical personality. This is more for sending your mind to Valhalla. "Phase Patterns" is definitely the more intimidating piece here. We get an organ phrase played at slightly different speeds so that in falls in and out of synch. Some bits are wildly beautiful, while others come across as mismatched hell. This one is for brainwashing yourself.

I'll admit that the first half of this gets played on my stereo far more than the second. These pieces do manage to take pure music theory and make something often visceral and always impressive out of it. Reich would later figure out how to combine his experiments into amazing, full-blooded works, but these building blocks are still worth your attention.

Buy Me:
Actually, this doesn't include either of the pieces reviewed here, but it's an awful lot of Reich bang for your Steve buck.
Steve Reich - Phases

Kitaro - 1979 - Ki

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

Kitaro has always been near the top of my scale for new age cheese, although still several notches lower than schlockmeister and Entertainment Tonight guru John Tesh. But like many otherwise fine musicians who committed musical sins in the late 80's and 90's (I'm looking directly at you Vangelis and Tangerine Dream), there are some charms to be found on some of the 70's records. You will have to have a tolerance for synthesized flutes and brass, but at least they're coming out of an analog beast of a machine (maybe a Yamaha CS-80) here. If that fails, Kitaro gets five extra points for his earlier involvement in the Far East Family Band.

Anyway, if you've made it thus far, it's time to consider a few of the tracks. The opening two meld into a nice, drifting suite, but the "dream" sequenced "Kaleidoscope" is the first cut here to get my full attention. It has plenty of fun twinkly sound FX in the background, and some nice creamy, warm analog synth leads to propel it along. "Sun" belongs to the school of rarefied, narcotic washes of sound, which always holds my attention. The epic "Cloud in the Sky" closes the album with more distinctly 70's synth leads, and what I imagine must be a legitimate drum set.

While it does come with a side of cheese, Ki is an enjoyable slice of analog synth dreaminess. I wouldn't rate this with Tangerine Dream's albums from the same period, but it certainly would have made a fine alternate soundtrack for Carl Sagan's "Cosmos" had Vangelis been caught in a wall of Greek fire. Just as a side note, when I first worked in Japan, the company president had several of the trainees try to push him over. He said they failed because of his "Ki," but I was of the opinion that no one tried that hard as to not get fired immediately. Maybe that was in fact his "Ki."

Bill Plummer - 1967 - Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood

Quality: 4.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 4.5 out of 5

You might not be aware of it yet, but you've come to the Psychedelic Garage today to become a fan of Bill Plummer and the Cosmic Brotherhood. I'm willing to say this obscure sitar-infused psychedelic jazz album is one of the absolute best I've heard from the legendary Impulse! jazz imprint. Why they haven't reissued it yet is beyond me. Bill Plummer's primary trade is in the string bass, which does provide the awesome backbone for all of these songs. But someone must have tossed Mr. Plummer in a vat of acid (almost like Jack Nicholson in the 1989 "Batman") before the making of this album. With it's layers of Eastern gauze, occasional blasts of spoken word and free jazz, and oddball covers, this is the most ear pleasingly far-out legitimate jazz album I've come across (the wild fury of John Coltrane's Om, also on Impuse!, is probably the most far out, but it's not easy to listen to).

The first track, "Journey to the East," is far beyond awesome and deserves a place on every psych compilation. It's got a rock-solid groove, crazy chanting, a wall of sitar, and a totally entertaining spoken word rambling. Practically every 60's cliche is packed into the spoken word, but it's all convincingly sold by the dispassionate reading and the phenomenal music backing it up. I think I've listened to it about 600 times in the past week; I can't think of a better complement than that. For your own mind journey to the East, you need go no farther than "Arc 294," which plays as Indo-psychedelic free jazz for about ten minutes. The covers here are of note as well. Seeing "The Look of Love" on a track listing typically makes me groan, but with sitar drones and a groovy beat accompanying the tune, it works out just fine. Even better is the similar treatment to the Byrds great, yet-neglected "Lady Friend." I didn't know that that song required a transcendental Indo-jazz reading, but apparently it did. To hear Mr. Plummer score at making more conventional jazz, head for "Pars Fortuna" and "Song Plum"

This album manages to fuse jazz, Indian music, and wacky psychedelia, while still ending up as more than the sum of its parts. You need to become part of the Cosmic Brotherhood as soon as possible. In fact, I've renamed the 'followers' tab on the side of this page as such so you can (kind of).

Nino Nardini and Roger Roger - 1971 - Jungle Obsession

Quality: 3.5 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: 3.25 out of 5

Before the advent of proper psychedelia, the lounge strain of exotica was arguably one of the better places to look for proto-psych sorts of sounds. Brian Wilson certainly understood this as he tried in vain to put together his psychedelic opus Smile in the mid 60's (obviously the modern finished product reflects this as well). This album is pretty late period exotica, and manages to incorporate a touch of later psychedelia and rock among its generally straight ahead exotica. Note that you'll probably need a love of lounge coming in, but with that in mind this is a pretty enjoyable album.

Many of the tracks here do have a distinct air of familiarity. I'm not sure if that's more from soundtracking use of this material or just from ripping off Martin Denny, but you probably won't have your mind blown. With a rum in juice in hand (well hopefully in a glass first), the groove of this album should become apparent. There's definitely a consistency of jungle-lounge sounds emanating from these French fellows, so I'll simply note that I tend to dig most the wah-wah guitar tracks of "The White Snake" and "Shere Khan," and the light funk of "Bali Girl" and "Tropical." "Mowgli" does a fine job of bouncing back some of the Smile-like sounds. I want to like some of the more mysterious tracks like "Murmuring Leaves" and "Creeping Danger," but I just keep waiting for the damn things to completely morph into "Quiet Village."

I've read a few articles branding this as a classic. I wouldn't go that far, but you're unlikely to find many 70's albums that nail the exotica vibe better than this one. Once again, I must stress that you'll be best off with a rum drink in hand for Jungle Obsession.

Stringsonics - 1972 - Mindbender

Quality: 2.75 out of 5
Trip-O-Meter: only fake trips

This is a bit of a depressing album, although well-constructed in a easy listening sort of way. You see, not only are these guys trading in psychedelic exploitation, but they're pretty late to the party. We must note that by 'Stringsonics,' these guys mean syrupy 101 Strings sort of orchestral gloss. There are a few guitars lurking about as well, but much of the album is devoted to the less inventive side of string arrangement. Even with this is mind, we'll give them a couple props for the wonderfully trippy, if ill-fitting, cover art.

"Mindbender" opens the album without doing anything of the sort. Still, this music is generally pretty non-offensive, never stretching into the truly saccharine except on the easily skipped "Freedom Road." At this point, you may wonder why I'm even bothering with the album (barring the cover art). While never plowing any new ground, there are a few hidden surprises on side two. "Dawn Mists," which actually closes side one manages an interestingly ominous vibe with its oddly delayed guitar harmonics. Then for the dumpster diving crowd, the stretch of "Afro-Samba," "Tropicola," and "Safari Park" actually manage some entertainingly funky sounds. The last two even make their way into David Axelrod territory, especially with their rhythm sections. That's a somewhat impressive feat.

So, this is no lost treasure. It will probably entertain those of you hip to the lounge scene, and there are a few surprises hiding in the deeper recesses of this album that may properly catch your attention.

Flute and Voice - 1971 - Imaginations of Light

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

Flute and Voice seems to be a bit of a misnomer for this band, but we'll give them a pass as the music is pretty enjoyable. Yes, there are some flutes and voices to be had, but the focus seems to be more on stringed instruments such as sitar and geetar (er, I mean guitar). Although not particularly flashy, the musicians here create a fine flow that brings to mind the pastoral vibe of Popol Vuh's Hosianna Mantra for me.

The opening title track has a strong Indian influence, with the main melody coming from sitar but finding some great space for the namesake flute and voice as well. I still get an image of a bunch of vacationing hippies trying to go Indian, but the result here comes across as classier than the stereotype suggests (check out the still enjoyable Saddhu Brand for contrast). We're then treated to some guitar meanderings which I suppose are striving for some transcendental enlightenment. I don't think they make it there (that would be a five star album), but the attempt is still worth your attention. There's a practically disembodied-sounding vocal helping "Resting Thinking of Time" along its way. "Notturno" aims for a twilight folk sound, and is probably my least favorite as the 'voice' makes it's way a little too far above the surface and doesn't really fit the chill vibe that permeates the rest of the album. There's a bonus track here that manages to nail the Hosianna Mantra sound not just in vibe, but in actual sound as well.

Imaginations of Light is a deeply introspective album that probably is not the first thing that you're going to play for your friends or make it onto a mixtape. Still, I've found myself returning to it constantly as it is very visual and relaxing music. This will definitely make the musical payload when I take my space capsule to Neptune. It's also worth mentioning that the above is only half the cover art as this has a gatefold sleeve. You can stare at the full version for, like, weeks (No, I'm completely sober right now. Why do you ask?).

Buddy Rich and Alla Rakha - 1968 - Rich ala Rakha

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

For those of us living in the West, jazz drumming legend Buddy Rich is the marquee name here, although it's not particularly representative of what you're going to get with this recording. Neither is the trendy, 68' vintage psychedelic exploitation lettering gracing the cover. No, this is in fact a collaboration with the sterling Indian percussionist Alla Rakha, and it's his musical DNA that is most apparent here. Fortunately, the end result is a quite good album of classically-minded Indian music with a few jazz flourishes (although for the most part it seems that Mr. Rich is joining in with hand percussion or just a tom drum).

The first side of this album consists of a few short, percussive pieces. They are uniformly good, but the side opener and closer ("Khanda Kafi" and "Nagma E Raksh" respectively) probably deserve the most attention. It's on these tracks where Rich blasts through as a distinct jazz counterpoint. It's invigorating when his trap kit appears and is one of the more successful renditions of East/West fusion that I've heard. His entry on "Khanda Kafi" never fails to send a chill down my spine. Rakha is far from a slouch himself, providing an amazing tabla pulse for Rich to riff off of, and impressing well with his own solo moments. "Tal Sawari" takes up side two, and includes only Rakha doing impossible things with his tabla, a dim drone, and a touch of chanting. I suppose that the idea was to better introduce Rakha to a western audience, and an impressive introduction it is. As a side note, it seems that Ravi Shankar had a hand in composing and arranging a few of these tracks.

Basically a classicist Indian album with a western twist, Rich ala Rakha will never find a place alongside your typical psychedelic obscurities from the 60's, but that would probably be slumming anyway. This is first-rate music that will transport and perhaps better the mind. It more than deserves your ear and is highly recommended.