Dennis Olivieri - 1968 - Come to the Party

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


It certainly is an odd party that Dennis Olivieri has invited us to. There are components of bad trip lyrics, jazz rock, blue eyed soul, and a touch of psych rock wafting around the grooves of this record. Olivieri's voice does tend to be somewhat warbling, but he keeps it under control just enough that it usually works in a 4am bar sort of way. This doesn't always add up to musical nirvana, but there are a few winners lurking about as well as a couple tunes that will leave your jaw hanging bemusedly.

The first couple tracks serve up some jazz rockers that chug along nicely. Although "Opportunity" has a jaunty, jazzy beat, Olivieri seems to be going on about something significantly more depressing. After a few minimalist tracks like "Mama's Funeral Song" and "Walk Rite Out," "I Cry in the Morning" gives us an eerie psych ballad. It's tremeloed organ is enticing, although the production does seem oddly muffled in this one. Olivieri seems to be trying to channel Astral Weeks period Van Morrison as much as he can on "Lady Fair" and the title track, while he comes across as drunker-than-hell on the closing "Yesterday Wan Nuthin' Like Today." I guess it's supposed to close the album in a similar manner to the Stones "Something Happened to Me Yesterday" on Between the Buttons, but Mr. Olivieri doesn't really have that level of songwriting chops.

This isn't the most wacked out thing that we've come across at the Psychedelic Garage, but there are a few oddball moments to be found. Dennis Olivieri's disc can be quite amusing should you have an affinity for jazz-rock and don't mind a few copied Van Morrison moves. That said, you won't quite get the psychedelic freak out by way of Kenneth Anger that the cover suggests.