
This
blog is an extension of the Psych Trail Mix fanzine that had a run of
10 printed issues from Winter 2008 through Spring 2016. The Psych Trail
Mix archive of full, free PDF files of the printed zine will continue
to be hosted at this link. Print copies remain of the last 3 issues (8, 9, 10), see the main PTM page to purchase copies.

_________________________________________
09-09-2022
- Back To The Land: The Mystical, Bewitching Psych Of The Perth County Conspiracy (part 1)
This
post takes on a bit of a personal significance for me. I've
recently sold the home I've inhabited for the last 13 years, this place
was just outside the city of Philadelphia. I was then fortunate enough
to land a new home out 'in the country,' where I really want to be. In
fact, launching this post the second weekend in the new place! It took a
lot of work to get here, but it's pure joy to be away from all of the
urban ugliness and just being so CROWDED on top of people essentially
(row home life). The neighborhood wasn't getting any better either; a
mugging on the corner in broad daylight, multiple shootings just down
the road... Twas' certainly time to head for zee hills! So, I'm
currently OUT here near the farmlands of Pennsylvania, MUCH more open space and
room to BREATHE. It's a sort of a Relatively Clean Rivers Phil
Pearlman-esque trip, as Patrick Lundborg once said; 'the fallout from the post-acid lifestyle, told
from the third cardinal point,' ya dig? Anyway, this leads me to the
main topic of this post,
centering upon THE PERTH COUNTY CONSPIRACY.
Richard Keelan, one of the founders of the group had been residing in
Detroit, MI and he and his wife were witnessing the Detroit riots in
1967. Part of the neighborhood had been completely destroyed and in
Richard's words, the 'pastoral peacefulness' in rural Southern Ontario
sounded very appealing to him at the time. Richard and his wife Connie
moved into Cedric Smith's farmhouse in Ontario, it was there that the
early seeds of PCC were sown and some material started to be worked
on. There's always been this notion of a COMMUNE, and when you look at
the "Does Not Exist" album cover, it can be easy to see how that notion
could be gleaned. However, instead of a single central 'commune' in the
purest sense of the term, it was more of a commune of several different
farms with people working together in a creative sense and even just as
family; looking out for one another, sharing food from their farms
w/one another, making toys for the children, meeting up at the local
coffeehouse to perform together. It was in a sense like a society unto
itself, w/many of the members seeking peace from the big city, or even
fleeing the U.S. due to the draft. A 'back to the land' culture of
like-minded folks who wanted to create their own culture rather than
conforming to what society has deemed as 'normal' or appropriate.

PCC had signed a record contract with Columbia and recorded their debut album "Does Not Exist"
at world renowned studio Toronto Sound with Terry Brown producing it
and being much responsible for the magic in masterfully intertwining
the collaging that PCC is known for within the songs. Believe it or
not, this album has NEVER been released officially in digital form, or
even a good proper reissue in fact. Also, I admit I had a vinyl rip in
my possession for a number of years, but due to the poor quality
transfer, I never really listened to it much. Flash forward many years
later and I would be truly turned-on to this masterpiece like never
before when a proper vinyl transfer/restoration was done by the
incredible Poodle over at UPV
(link coming in a bit here). Yes folks, sound quality matters! This
record is unlike any other, it's like stepping into another world.
Hearing a proper transfer of this album was breathtaking in that the
QUALITY of the recording is just phenomenal. It's like the band is
playing right in your living room if you blast this from some good
speakers. The opener, "Midnight Hour,"
is a 6+ minute suite that immediately shows off PCC doing what they do
best, and what was a staple of their live show during the time, that is
melding together and 'collaging' multiple songs into one w/poetry,
literature, various time and mood changes, and doing it surprisingly
perfectly as if it was all meant to be. You'll hear sound effects
peppered throughout the album that set the tone/mood such as a
crackling fireside, sounds from the country and more. I find that the
album succeeds in retaining a heady, tripped-out edge without the
overly-psychedelic sounds effects that were prevalent back in the day
(backwards tapes, sound effects etc.), this record is psychedelic in a sort of
all-natural vibe, the PUREST psychedelia you can have my friends. The
record is often what I call life-guiding, in that there's messages
within that inspire. "Keeper of The Key"
is one of these tracks, I remember during a rather difficult time of my
life, I took a walk on a bright, sunny day along a path through the
forest beside a creek and listened intently to the words and it all
just sort of came together for me, centered my being and my soul, the
warmth of the bright sun on my face and the awe of the cascading water
over the rocks in the creek... 'the
water of life does flow freely, said the keeper of the key, drink the
light and be the music flowing forth in harmony...' 'be true to the
virtue that you seek.' I find this track to be truly cathartic at high volume levels! "Don't You Feel Fine"
- this is another, doesn't get anymore life-guiding that that one, many lessons within if you choose to turn-on an listen! Jan
& Lorraine, whom were friends with PCC would cover this song on
their "Gypsy People" album. "Truth & Fantasy"
is another big standout here, again with the collaging that works just
oh-so-well here on this song especially... This is another sort of
multi-song suite that goes in some different moods and directions, even
a fun little spoken-word piece before bringing it back to completion
with how it started. A sort of orgiastic sing-along with Richard and
Cedric's vocals complementing one another so brilliantly as they do on
the
entire record. The whole record is like a life unto itself, so unique
in how it draws you in while at the same time having this sort of
mystical vibe to it all like it's some lost key to the universe or
something. "Trouble On The Farm"
breaks things up with a jammy little groover about a pot bust that
Cedric Smith endured when the cops busted him with a load of weed on
his farm. "The Dancer" is a
beautiful piece, this is another one I was in the forest hiking with,
GREAT setting for this record if you're able... I was sitting upon an
enormous rock overlooking the creek, the sunlight was creating prisms
through the trees, little leaves and things were creating trippy
ripples all over the water, the lyrics were just beautiful in this sort
of meditative nature scene, then Richard's frantic chord progressions
on the acoustic guitar to launch the song into the great beyond. Ahhhh,
pure bliss. The closer, "Crucifixation Cartoon"
is almost like a warning, at least to me, that it takes effort and work
to reach the levels spoken about in previous songs, a sort of somber
ending that works the more I listen to the album. So, like I said,
unreal that an album THIS good has not seen proper reissue. But we're
in luck as the Poodle over at UPV has ripped a copy from an Acid
Archives contributor (full circle eh?), a copy with new stampers and
improved sound over the 'two-eyed' originals - you'll hear more about
the originals next in my interview with RICHARD KEELAN, yes you heard that right! In the meantime, go and get this NOW, you've never heard this record sound this good, BLEW ME AWAY and made me fall in love with this gem, shooting it right up into my favorite albums of all time - The Perth County Conspiracy - Does Not Exist (1970) [Canadian LP]

It
took some time, but I finally tracked down Richard Keelan who was
gracious enough to let me pick his brain about his band and their magical record that I've been
madly obsessed with for the past couple years. Enjoy!
So you initially left the States for a
more peaceful, serene setting in Canada on a farm? What ultimately led
you to depart the States?
I had heard of Cedric some time before we met. In the early 60s he
was playing a circuit of Midwestern US coffee-houses billed as Ric
Smith, some of which i had also played. My playing journey saw me end
up in Detroit in '64, where I lived for the next five years, eventually
becoming an original member of The Spike Drivers, a psychedelic
folk/rock band of considerable local fame. When that band devolved, two
of us (Ted Lucas RIP and I) formed a duo we called the Misty Wizards,
and in 1968 we were booked to play the Black Swan Coffee House in
Stratford ON, which is where Cedric and I eventually met. Connie and i
lived in a mostly black neighborhood in Detroit when the 'Black Day in
July' erupted in 67, a sobering experience indeed! Our daughter Caitlin
came along in '69, and we decided to emigrate to Canada that year.
Cedric and his wife Joan offered to have us stay at their farmhouse til
we soon found a place of our own. While we were at their place was when
Cedric and I started tossing song ideas together and plotting our
non-existent Conspiracy. The rest, as 'they' say, is history.

How did you first meet Cedric and what were your first impressions of him?
At the time we met, I already had a fair amount of original songs in my
repertoire, while Cedric, up to that time, mostly performed some
standard folk songs, British and Irish trad ballads and so on, but was
also writing some original material. He obviously had a strong, vibrant
voice, and we harmonized well together. He had interesting ideas for
'collaging' songs together; thus we came up with (best example) 'You've
Got to Know,' a finished song of mine (Love to Make) with a mash-up of
lyric snippets by Cedric in the beginning and middle to form the whole
piece. We worked like that a lot of the time, sometimes improvising
chunks live onstage which became set pieces along the way. Just about
everything we ever recorded is now up on YouTube, with those who post
it apparently earning ad revenue if they have enough subscribers... er
something... We get little, if not nothing, from all that (my last
payout from SOCAN songwriter royalties was .43 cents ... nuff said.)
That said, here is a YT posting of our independent 'white album,' which
I mixed down from two-track tapes taken from the soundboard on this
Western Canada concert tour. I've always felt this represented our live
shows quite well, although the audio quality isn't quite
studio-grade... Good songs, improvised comic relief, and enthusiastic
crowd
response. David Woodhead, bassist with PCC later on, transferred this
to CD a few years ago... have a listen.

How
did you feel playing in the PCC versus the garagey-er Spike-Drivers
& Misty Wizards? Did you find it easier to be creative in the
smaller collaborative unit of PCC?
The two situations were completely different. The Spikes were already formed,
and I was the last to join. They already had a repertoire, and we added
my already written songs to it; there was no co-writing going on. In
PCCDNE, Cedric and I were collaborating as the group accreted around
us, and we collaged more and more chunks of material as the collective
grew, It was
a much more progressive improvisatory process.

Similarly,
how did you find working with Reprise versus Columbia? Both labels seem
to have aspects (at least) of extremely poor artistic management.
Artistic management?!! Surely you jest... Major labels don't - and
don't care to 'manage' artists careers unless they're profiting from it
- then they just manage the money. So, with a new artist/new contract,
they're throwing artists and money against the wall to see what
sticks. Without adequate financial returns, their 'investment'
becomes a tax deduction, and so much for 'artistic management.' The
artists slither down the wall to obscurity. The Reprise contract we
Spikes signed in the U.S. in '65 stipulated: artists receive 8% of
sales after expenses (studio time, promo, whatevs...), artists
relinquish 50% of composers royalties and 50% of mechanical licensing
royalties to Warner/Reprise publishing house. The Columbia (Canada)
contract PCCDNE signed in 1970 was...(checking my notes).... yep -
exactly. the. same. 8%, 50/50 on
publishing and mechanicals. The main distinction was with Reprise, the
Spikes only recorded singles - searching for a 'hit'; with
Columbia, it was for making an album, which was progress, at least. In
neither case did we ever receive any money from sales from either
company. In fact, in Columbia's case, we told 'em to fuck off and
didn't sign away half our publishing on our second album cuz we were
not pleased with what they did with it. So they just dumped
'Alive' into the market with no real promo, and we parted company. At
some later point, they sent us an invoice for $18,000 for 'expenses
incurred' or some shit... We had a good laugh and sailed that invoice
into the wastebasket. Never heard from 'em after that.
Did you guys come to record Does Not
Exist with all the material prepared ahead of time? How much of the
record was created on-the-fly vs. prepared upon arrival to the studio?
Yes, all the material was rehearsed and prepared for recording. I must
point out that the recording engineer at Toronto Sound, Terry
Brown, was key to how the album turned out. Once we helped him
understand the 'collaging' aspect of how we combined song and spoken
word with flights of fancy, his engineering wizardry resulted in the
finished album having the impact it has had with folks like you and our
fans over the last 50+ years. (if you google Terry, you'll find he
later produced/recorded major Canadian acts like Rush and many others)
Were drugs often used when creating songs, or when in the studio?
If, by drugs, you mean cannabis - hell yes! I mean, I've been smokin'
it from well before it was deemed 'medicinal'; for me, it was
always the cure (read: medicine) for the accelerating insanity we've
all survived through the 20th and into this 21st century... And yes, it
played a part in the creative process. But sometimes getting high while
recording, under the time restraints and money pressures, was not
usually a good idea - it was work, and best to be efficient and
workmanlike in most cases.
I was not able to find any advertisements for the band or album stateside. Did PCC ever have aspirations of a US tour?
Obviously Columbia (Canada) felt they weren't making enough profit off
us to warrant US promo and/or release - which was fine by me; I like
Canada, and there was plenty enough to do in this country.

Could
you comment about each song on the album, what it means to you? In
particular, I wonder what was going through your head when writing
"Keeper Of The Key" and the poem that became "Crucifixation Cartoon" -
if you could elaborate even more on those two in particular, that would
be fantastic.
I must say up front: I've never felt any compunction to explain songs I
write. Whatever I say in a song is for the listener to take whatever
the words say to mean for themselves. And no two listeners will likely
take the same meaning, IMHO. I don't want to tell people what to think,
but to think! Interpret for themselves, apply to their own life...or
not! Exercise choice.
That said, firstly, I'll offer no opinions or comments on Cedric's
stand-alone songs, just as I won't for my own - except for the two
examples you asked me to comment on. They offer the polar opposites of
what I'm talking about: I had written 'Keeper of the Key' in Detroit,
before I moved to Canada. That's nearly 60 years ago! I was a
twenty-something, and have no fuckin' idea what was going through my
head, other than the thoughts that produced the song. Frankly, I don't
remember writing it... so there's that.
The other song, the one collaged into 'Crucifixation Cartoon,' was maybe
titled 'Love is not a Game,' can't recall, once it was subsumed into the
whole piece. But a lyric like "love is not the same as acting in a play"
fit with our whole theatrical ethic in putting together 'scenes' within our
musical set pieces. The same idea would apply in the collaging of
'Truth and Fantasy,' with snippets of poetry cascading into Cedric's
'Goddess Fantasia' song, then the reprise of 'Truth and Fantasy' as a
closing parenthesis. Again, the idea applies to 'Listen to the Kids,' putting
that little kiddie ditty I'd written together with poems by children that
Cedric curated and were read by youngsters from our community... simple
idea that worked. Oh yeah, I'd written 'Easy Rider' after seeing that
movie, and the war scene at the end was a collage of an old Lord
Buckley bit, plus
catastrophic sound effects... and the word 'AmeriCanadian' was actually
a motto emblazoned across the top of my membership card in the local
Canadian branch of the American Federation of Musicians! (I've
long-since abandoned that union like they abandoned me) And that's
about as much as I want to parse out our writings from half a century
ago. I leave it to the listener to glean what they can, and search out
their own meanings.

Thanks Richard! Any additional bits of information you'd like to share, please go ahead as the final piece of this interview.
There's one other ridiculous anomaly regarding this record's actual
physical manufacturing. Columbia marketing guys came at us with this
new 'microgroove process,' touting it excitedly as a way to get all the
material we'd recorded onto one disc! Now, most vinyl LPs average 20
minutes per side, or about 40 min total. 'Does Not Exist' totaled... um
... 54 minutes or so. There was a huge flaw in this idea. The
'micro-grooved' discs began to break down soon after purchase quite
quickly. We saw it ourselves, and others told us about it. So the irony
there is that the audio messages of 'Does Not Exist' began to fade with
every playing into the mode of doesnotexistance - because of Columbia's
delusional incompetence. But they didn't stop there. After we had
recorded two nights live in concert for our second album, those
marketing guys decided to s-t-r-e-t-c-h the material out over a
two-disc package - obviously to sell for a higher price. We objected;
they persisted, and as noted above, we refused to sign away our
publishing. In the end, the 'Alive' album tracked for less time over
four sides of vinyl than 'Does Not Exist' did on two sides - and
'Alive' had just 3... three! cuts per side, fa'chrissakes... If i was
easily given to paranoia, I'd suspect those marketing Einsteins were
sabotaging us. But that would be giving them too much credit for being
smart.
After all is said and done, I'll just quote Gregory Porter, who sings:
"it's just water under bridges that have already burned"
*STAY TUNED FOR PT. 2 OF THE PCC STORY
IN AN UPCOMING BLOG POST (near future, promise!) - in the meantime
enjoy the remainder of this post below

Its
been a long time since I've gone on a hunt for a live show video,
unofficial live show video that is. This one proved to be quite the
challenge. I'd enjoyed a live clip of The Red Telephone from
youtube for a number of years, I always thought it was a primo live
version of the song. I also always wondered if a FULL live version of
this Love concert existed. I went on the hunt and found out that a FULL LIVE VIDEO
of this concert was filmed - House of Blues - Aug. 19, 2003 in West
Hollywood, CA!
I began scouring the internet with deep searches of all kinds. It
seemed every lead I got eventually led to nowhere. I was elated to have
FINALLY found a dedicated Love fan who dug this out of his archives and
uploaded the full, uncompressed DVD files for me. This show blew me
away even more than I could have imagined. The official live Forever
Changes DVD? I can't even see myself putting that show on anymore now
that I've obtained this show. This is an audience-recorded video, but
it's nicely done; filmed on a tripod, center-stage, tasteful
close-ups throughout and nice full-stage shots. Nice, beefy setlist,
but of course the centerpiece is the sublime, the timeless, the
life-guiding majesty that is the great FOREVER CHANGES, and they play
the album start-to-finish with a full orchestra just like the studio
album to do it justice. You can tell Arthur is really feeling it here
and in a fantastic mood, dancing about the stage and traveling the
length of it, gyrating about. I got goosebumps throughout the set, no
joke. "Old Man" was one of those moments, Arthur is brilliant in his
tribute to the late Bryan MaClean, and at one point he's looking at the
lyrics then just tosses them as if saying 'I don't need these.' After
the FC set, they play some other favorites including the frantic "7
& 7 Is," and a couple of my faves off Four Sail including "August"
and "Singing Cowboy." Unfortunately, the DVD ends just prior to Johnny
Echols joining on guitar and Don Konka on drums for the encore, BUT
this DVD has those two in some sweet bonus footage of a jamming a
little "Smokestack Lightning" with Arthur in an intimate little
rehearsal space. This is one for the archives folks! It took a bit of
sleuthing, but it was worth every minute to track down this treasure.
The link above (FULL LIVE VIDEO) goes into more detail on the personnell
and a first-hand review of this show. And they also mention like I do
how THIS show is worlds better than the officially released "Royal
Festival Hall" DVD. A shame the pro cameras weren't there to capture
THIS night instead, but this is a MORE than watchable live show video
that's well-shot indeed and we should be forever grateful to the dedicated fan
who recorded this legendary gig. I can see repeated viewings of this
well into the future.




Michael
Stuart Ware was the drummer for Love from 1966-1968. He wrote "Pegasus
Epitaph" about his experience in the band and the music industry in
general. This differs from the "Forever Changes" book in that it's a
book all from someone with FIRST-HAND experience in the band. I like
Michael's style of writing, he's got a great, sort of natural flow to
his writing, and he does a good job in taking you back in time to the
60's... Jesus, working with Arthur sounded like a real pain in the
ass... Hard to believe that someone who wrote something as
mind-blowingly beautiful, eloquent and timeless as Forever Changes had
so many demons... Well, I guess a lot of genius artists are like that.
If you love LOVE as much as I do and insist on gobbling up any worthy
reading on the band like myself, then I highly recommend adding this to
your reading list. So far it's the only book I'm aware of written solely
by an actual member of the band.

On
a more somber Love note, we lost a great this past year. You've likely
read my post praising Love's "Four Sail," especially the guitarist on
that record, the great Jay Donnellan and his acidic-freakout guitar
solo on the song "August," it truly elevates your being and leaves you
befuddled and speechless afterwards. ALL his guitar is TOP on Four
Sail, without him the album simply would NOT be the same. We lost that
great psych-guitar
wizard this past year. I had tried to secure an interview with Jay a
few years back but was informed by family that he was in an assisted
living home at the time. I would have loved to have had a convo and
picked his brain about Four Sail.
Jay, I hope you're shredding those leads up in the great beyond, you will live
on forever through your music. Click the image below for the best
article you'll read on Jay Donnellan, from Melody Maker, 1973.

Wildfire - Smokin' (1970)
If you're just
looking for some killer HARD rock with RIPPING guitar work, this album
is where it's at. These guys hailed from Austin, TX and Laguna Beach,
CA. Apparently, they played LOUD and their massive Quilter amplifiers
are what gave them their sound, built specially for them in Pat
Quilter's garage. This album was recorded at Sonobeat Records in
Austin, TX, produced & engineered by Bill Josey Sr. Hey, wonder if
they ever ran into the Cold Sun crew? Would've been right around the
same time-frame. This record has been criticized for its
songwriting/lyrics, but I think they're just fine for what this is. A
great record to put on an just rock out with loads of killer fuzz
guitar leads that sound so tasty BLASTING out of your speakers. Yeah,
play this one LOUD! The opener, "Stars In The Sky" is my favorite track
off the record. Stinging fuzz guitar throughout with heavy, pounding
drums. Simplistic lyrics, but I think they work nicely and convey a
cool message, dare I say 'life-guiding,' a pondering of life then a
sort of ode to all to just be fucking cool... to look at the beauty in
things. Simple, but effective. The first handful of songs are my
favorites and "Down To Earth" is another great one - a bit more mellow
than the opener, but still rocks pretty hard. Simple lyrics, sure, but
like I said before, they work for what this is. You'd have to be a
total snob not to take at least SOME enjoyment out of this album. And
believe me, I've been called a music snob on more than one occasion in
my life! "Free" is another standout for me - starting in typical
Wildfire fashion w/Grand Funk-style heavy jamming, but then it breaks
into this gorgeous piece a little over a minute and twenty secs in with
some acoustic guitars and sounds of birds chirping, ya know I always
love a bit of contrast like this. I have the
2006 reissue on cd, self-released by the band themselves, which is
sourced from an 'open reel dub' of the master tapes which were
apparently lost years ago. This discs sounds plenty good to my ears. Snag it if ya don't have it and CRANK IT!!!

Krokodil - Invisible World (1971)
Here we've got
a Swiss band that started in 1969, apparently getting their name from
their guitarist who kept a young crocodile as a pet! Their first couple
of records are a more bluesy/garagey sound, still great records, but
this one is my favorite as they get bit more tripped-out and
experimental, diving into the psych waters and other-worldly for
our listening pleasure. The album opens with one of the band's best - "Lady of Attraction,"
effect-laden vocals from Walty Anselmo, flute, and some harmonica in
there. Yes, harmonica is not abandoned from the band's earlier bluesy
output, but they do it tastefully and I think it workss quite nicely
and fits the mood. "Looking At Time"
is a lengthy 14-minute track, but it does not bore and I never found
myself reaching for the skip button. It's done nicely with a contrast
of acoustic/electric guitar combo and some tasty leads, floaty
Gilmore-esque leads at one point, trippy/contemplative lyrics.. An
excellent track indeed. Also, possibly my favorite on here is the 15+
minute "Odyssey In Om," I highly suggest dimming all the lights,
lighting up the lava lamp and listening intently without distraction to
this one as it gets quite heady my friends; loads of tripped-out sitar,
background sounds coming from all-around, and again that lovely
flute... Doesn't flute work so nicely in psych music when done
properly? "Odyssey In Om" also
includes a heady little spoken word piece close to 10-minutes in that
gives vibes of Group 1850 'Agemo's' era, yes this song has all a head
could ever ask for! This record makes you feel like you're in another
land, perhaps that freaky album cover at times... then the inside
gatefold at other times where the band is all sitting with multiple
candles lit in a somber-looking foresty cemetery. Anway, no great
digital version exist, so The Poodle at Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ
transferred an original M- pressing so we can all hear this gem how it
was meant to be heard. Hi-Res scans of the brilliant album artwork also
included! Grab it here: Krokodil - An Invisible World Revealed (1971) [German Original]

Twink - Think Pink (1970)
This is one that I can't believe flew under my radar for so many years. Twink was no stranger to psych-rock, he was in the band Tomorrow of "My White Bicycle" fame among others, he also played drums on a few tracks off the Pretty Things "SF Sorrow."
Oh, his name comes from a brand of hair used for perms, referencing
Twink's curly hair and not the slang used for a slim, fem-boy type of
male! It's 2022, and this album was released in 1970, slang has changed
a bit! This one was recorded in '69, released in '70 and features a
recognizable crew including the great Viv Prince from the Pretty Things on "Mexican Grass War," Mick Farren from the Deviants doing some vocals, who also produced the record, and even Steve Peregrin of T-Rex! The album opens with an acid-freakout sound collage "The Coming Of The Other One,"
this could be seen as a bit goofy and self-indulging upon first listen,
but it sets the mood for the killer songs laden with acid-guitar that
make this album a joy for all heads from all around the globe. Next up
is my favorite track on this record and what initially drew me in - "Ten Thousand Words In A Cardboard Box"
- dark-acidic lyrics with loads of delicious, unrelenting fuzz guitar
accompanied by pounding drums that are nice and up front in the mix.
Yes, this is heady, dark psych my friends... Here we have English psych
that is not about auntie's tea-sipping and scarf-knitting, this is
stuff you wouldn't blast around old gam-mah." "Tiptoe On The Highest Hill"
is another big favorite of mine on here; heady, sort of contemplative
big-picture lyrics, and a hazy-stoned vibe throughout. Starts with the
mellow sort of hazy-stoned vibe I mentioned, then a couple minutes in
some killer swirling fuzz guitar comes in and out of the mix, this is
like the coming-down of an acid-trip, sitting on a hill and realizing
how small you are and contemplating life, the universe and all of its
creations. The two songs I mention are by far the best that grace the
record, but the rest is no slouch either. "Fluid"
is a great instrumental, again with some great experimental
acid-guitar, dual guitars in fact in each channel, really dig this one.
"Rock & Roll The Joint" is another great instrumental with lots of fuzzed-out wah guitar and feedback. "Three Little Piggies"
is really the only dud on here, a total unnecessary, goofy throwaway
that should have been saved for the 'bonus' outtakes track on a cd
reissue decades into the future or something! The first cd reissue from
1991 on World Wide Records is the one you want to go for as far as
excellent sound quality.

The Travel Agency - s/t (1968)
Formed in San
Francisco, this group released their one and only record on Viva in
'68. Now, the album cover might be deceiving to say the least. I could
see being in a record shop on Haight St. back during this time and
without a doubt thinking this could be something that's going to be so
tripped-out that I might need to make a night out of it, BUT that's not
the case here. With that being said, there's still a great album that
has gone fairly under the radar as far as I can tell. It's more of a
pop-rock album, but there's some tinges of psych peppered in here and there. The
first few tracks are the best, and the album opens with a haunting,
moody keyboard intro with tripped-out sound effects on "What's A Man,"
before launching into a killer guitar riff. Great anti-war lyrics that
are sadly still quite relevant. They don't mince words on the lyrics
here - "we've got to fight them while they're small, or they're disease
will soon be spreading, and then we then we'll never kill them all."
Whoa! Bit of a Beatles Revolver-era flavor in spots here, including
"Sorry You Were Born," with its great message of 'just find something
that you can do, something that you enjoy will do.' A simple sort of
life-guiding message that many of our fellow talking apes should start
following! "Cadillac George" is a fun little goofy tune, great for
anyone who enjoys brain-massaging fuzz! "Lonely Seabird" is probably my
favorite on here, and the most PSYCHEDELIC, probably the one TRUE psych
song on the entire album. A breezy, floaty, mesmerizing piece of psych
that in my opinion stands up with some of the best breezy/light psych of the time. "So Much Love" is a nicely done little acoustic piece, more
despair than the title would lead you to believe. "Make Love" is rather
cheesy I must admit, but the only one that's a sort of throw away on
here in my opinion. No other tracks stand up to the first handful, but
I dig "I'm Not Dead," it's catchy and enjoyable, again with a sort of
Beatles flavor. "She Understands" is another very catchy, enjoyable
song that stands out side from the creme de' la creme of the first
side. "Come To Me" is also another great pop track. Come to think of
it, I think a few songs on side one outshine things on this record so
much that it leaves much of the rest of it unappreciated. They should
have spread these songs out differently perhaps! As per usual, with
many of these old 60's records, a quality digital reissue has yet to
see the light of day, but the great ThePoodleBites at UPV has ripped us
a nice mint copy for our listening and archival pleasure. Full hi-res
scans and all here: The Travel Agency - self-titled (1968) [US Original]

West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Part One (1968)
After
having only owned the Sundazed reissue of the stereo debut of WCPAEB, I
was delighted to see that the Poodle over at UPV ripped us a white label promo of an original MONO pressing! For a while this was my
favorite WCPAEB album, but in recent years I've come to enjoy what are
what I feel their more heady output, that being Vol. 2 and Vol. 3. But
I still love this record. This one always made me feel like I'm on a
desert trip or something, just the feeling it gives me. It's like this
breezy sort of vibe. It's mellow and heady, gets plenty weird... They
cover Zappa's "Help I'm A Rock," and while not as far-out at Mr.
Zappa's original, I still quite enjoy it. This tripped-out 'breezy'
vibe I speak of is most prevalent on tracks like "Shifting Sands" and
"Transparent Day." "Will You Walk With Me" is another one in this vein,
a beautiful piece with some violin and chimes. I won't go too detailed
in my review of the music here b/c I have reviewed it in past issues of
Psych Trail Mix, back in the days of the actual print copies, but I had
to get this review in to recommend the punchier mono mix here provided
by the great/talented Poodle, see the link with his review to see the details of
actual differences between the mono and stereo versions, full hi-res
scans too, with an album cover like that, those are essential! The West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band - Part One (1967) [Mono Mix]

Nurt - s/t (1970)
This is a band
from Poland, they've been described as prog-rock, but I think that sort
of does a disservice to their sound. I'd equate it more to hard-rock
with psych elements peppered throughout, some jazz elements as well.
Guitarist is incredibly talented and one of the main draws of the
album, and ya gotta love that fuzz bass! "Synowie Nocy" (English
translation: Sons of The Night) is one of my favorite songs off the
album - some groovy wah guitar jamming, then it breaks into some tasty
sitar that sends you to liftoff. That's one of the things I really dig
about this album is its diversity in that it can rock hard, then it has
some beautiful mellow pieces as a contrast, it all blends quite nicely.
"Holograficzne Widmo" (English translation: "Holographic Spectre") -
just killer winding, wah guitar work and that drummer really shines,
trippy effects peppered in with a few mood changes throughout the song,
certainly a trip I must say! The closer, the 9-minute epic "Syn
Strachu" (English translastion: Son of Fear) is another highlight -
some tasteful trumpet throughout, which actually works quice nicely,
again with all the time-changes throughout, these guy knew their craft
and were not novice by any means. Not a dud on here really, super
enjoyable start to finish. You'll see a few different reissues of this,
but the one you want is the cd on Yesterday from 2003, the sound
quality clearly outshines all other relases.

_________________________________________
08-06-2021
- These Trails: Continuing The Quest For Inner-Peace In A World Gone Mad
This
blog post is a bit like a continuation of the last one. NATURE again
playing a dominant theme in much of the beef of this post, as you'll see. I've since
expanded my hikes to even vaster landscapes, including sort of
meditative sessions at creeks and on rocks, and again I must say that
after 4 years of an incompetent buffoon as President of USA, a
worldwide pandemic, and a violent insurrection at our U.S. capitol
(yeah, shit's been weird for us 'Muricans folks), NATURE has proved to
be beyond therapeutic. There's no better "getting away" from it all
than ignoring your cell phones and any of the other screens of your countless
devices and just getting out in the woods, on trails and bathing in the
sunshine. Normally, the birdsong and sound of the babbling creek is enough to
induce the near narcotic-like, inner-peace effect desired on my
journey, but sometimes you get that itch for some MUSIC on your
travels. So I've always got a loaded portable music player for my trek
chock full of all the greats for nature; Donovan, Byrds, Rick Saucedo,
Creation of Sunlight, Relatively Clean Rivers and yes... THESE TRAILS!
I've got quite the surprise, a real treat for everyone here as I
continue with some These Trails material for this post: an exclusive
interview with Patrick Cockette - writer, guitar player, tabla player and vocalist of These Trails! A super cool guy who
was beyond friendly and open in providing well thought out answers to
my questions. I'm proud to present the first interview to grace the PTM blog
here, the first since the old days of printed versions of my zine, ENJOY!
How did you first meet and get to know Margaret Morgan?
I was born on Kauai. Although Margaret is from Oahu, her mother’s
family was from Kauai. We used to spend summers in Hanalei Bay, which
is where I met Margaret. Her family had a beach house not far
from ours. She was maybe 12 or 13. We were friends and enjoyed the
beauty of Hanalei. And so it went. We would see each other during the
summer. Then one year Margaret showed up playing music. Things changed.

What was Margaret like as a person, could you please share some memories of her?
Margaret was zany. You would not expect her to be the author of her
music and journals. When she showed up as a musician she was playing
“Excursions” by Samuel Barber. She also was playing the guitar. So we
started playing music. And eventually wrote the songs for These Trails.
She was a wonderful swimmer and bodysurfer. Yogini. We were together
off and on through the years. Her mother had a significant effect on
her. To my mind, it was not good. She threatened to sue me because I
let Drag City release the album. I could tell even her lawyer didn’t
like her.
How much of an influence was the nature surrounding you guys in Hawaii on the music, it surely comes through in the tunes.
Margaret loved to climb trees. She was always up in them. She liked to
sit in groves of trees, balancing equations, as she called it. Natural
images support her lyrics. Garden Botanum is totally about nature. We
wrote the lyrics driving from Lihue to Hanalei one day about a garden
we lived in on round top drive, Honolulu.

You
mentioned that you only released the "straightest" of the material you
recorded. Would you mind sharing some details on the other songs like
song titles and how those unreleased songs sounded?
There
were other songs recorded with Carlos Pardeiro. He now owns a TV
station in Tennessee and is still releasing his music. However, our
producer, Peter, said no mas. We recorded a song called "Majagua" that
was not released. I really liked this one. some nice guitar
interaction. I only remember the first line - 'there's a way through
the bush back to home, leave your two shoes behind, shed a glass eye.'
Another song about cactus: 'Cactus storing the drink I must win. You
whisper damp secrets, you're living in unliving skin. Let me come in.'
As with all her songs, musical surprises abound. Another title - "Cat
Among Caladiums". Karen (Margaret's sister) might have the words. My
favorite song by Margaret is one I played at her funeral. I don't think
her mother got it. "Far Away" - 'There's a shadow losing ground,
falling from mother's eye, once did please her sky. Now she knows to
rain down. / The longest night could it be approaching light/the moon
ceases to fight/her sinking into some sea/some see the
light/some see the one/is only
one the way to shine the light?/come be my fondest star/be near from
far/far away/come on and sweep me away away
I got this song back. So interesting. I may record a version. Margaret
was really prolific. She continued writing songs all her life. In my
opinion, the songs she was writing early on were the ones that were so
extraordinary.

Click the above image to check out a hand-written note by
Margaret to Patrick, reminiscent of
what Margaret's lyrics are like in a way (courtesy of the private
collection of Patrick Cockette)
What was the vibe like in the studio recording the songs for the album? Can you share some memories of the recordings?
Although
it was Peter's studio, the main man was David Choy. David was very
eclectic - like doing Beijing Opera. He is responsible for the Arp
synth.
At the beginning, we were just laying down the acoustic tracks. David
wrote some string parts for Waipoo. It was fun and exciting. Margaret
and I spent a lot of time rehearsing. Think we were staying in a teepee
on Maunalani Heights. Then we moved to the end of Kalihi Valley road. I
came home one day and Margaret was gone. Her mother guilted her into
going back to school at Dominican College. Luckily, we had all the main
tracks. So then it was me and David finishing it. This part of the
production was pretty stoney. In retrospect, it was probably not a good
idea to mix on elephant weed.



Click the above image to check out hand-written dulcimer tunings by
Margaret. Note the "Official Mind Bending Dulcimer Tunings" written by Margaret at the top (courtesy of the private collection of Patrick Cockette)
What are your favorite tracks from These Trails?
I like all of Margaret's songs and Waipoo.
Any old stories of hanging at Rusty's house?
Rusty Miller was a famous surfer before he moved to Hanalei to join
Joey Cabell. I surfed with those guys. Rusty's house was a caretaker's
cottage for the Allerton estate. It was perfect for him. Long trail
along the stream, lovely seclusion. We played a lot of music on his
porch. He was a drummer and harmonica player. At that time, Hanalei was
a slower and mellower place. He has a book called Turning Point II
about those days. It really was a remarkable time, with great uncrowded
surf.


Admittedly,
I didn't know much about Frank Zappa, but once I saw the trailer for
Alex Winter's "Zappa" doc, I knew it was the perfect place to start
when it came to expanding my knowledge of the man. Alex Winter is a man
of eclectic and very good taste, so it's no surprise he'd be up for
tackling this project on the great FZ. We all know Alex from Bill &
Ted, but he also directed a much-watched short film from my youth -
"Bar-B-Q Movie" that featured a spoof of Texas Chainsaw Massacre where
the psychos are the Butthole Surfers! The cult classic "Freaked" is
another great and oft-watched film from my youth by Alex
Winter. There was much I didn't know about Zappa that I learned from
this well-done doc including the time he set up his own recording
studio only to be run out of town after being stormed by a vice squad
who accused him of making porn! He was actually convicted of a felony
and sentenced to six months in prison. I also had no idea that some
asshole in the crowd ran up and shoved him off-stage, leaving Zappa
with injuries that would plague much of his life. Jesus... no shortage
of assholes on this planet, even back then. Alex Winter had full access
to Zappa's vaults, which are seen in the film, and my God.. that guy
documented EVERYTHING. So much of the footage you see in the doc was
previously unseen. You also get from watching this that Zappa was an
ARTIST to his CORE, even up until his last breath essentially as we see
footage of him continuing to work even when visibly ill and weak. He
was a truly fascinating guy and I highly recommend this documentary. We
can only hope for a DVD or Blu-Ray release featuring FULL-LENGTH
performances which understandably couldn't be squeezed into the
doc format.

Relatively Clean Rivers - s/t (1976) [Original US Private Press]
This is
big... Like HUGE. I've written about this album in previous blog posts,
but one of the main things about it is that it has never been given a
proper reissue. So unless you had loads of cash to drop on an original
pressing, you're stuck with the mediocre (to put it VERY mildly)
bootleg copies that are out there. The original pressing is the only
way to hear this psychedelic masterwork, its clarity
unmatched. But even if you got your hands on an original, there's
about a 101% chance that it's warped, with varying degrees of warp. Let
me cut to the chase, your listening experience with this album changes
now. An original M- pressing from the first 100 run, with the most
minor of warps (corrected in the restoration by the way), has been
handpicked by Phil Pearlman himself, straight from Phil’s goat farm and
sent to ThePoodleBites over at Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ for a full
restoration, and even given blessings by Phil himself to be presented freely for all
of us to hear in stellar sound quality. This project is many years in
the making - seeking the perfect copy for the restoration. And when
finally obtaining a suitable pressing, no corners were cut in the full
restoration of this masterpiece. This is likely as good as you will
ever hear this album, for various reasons pointed out in the blog post
link at the end of this review. Like I said, I have reviewed this album
in previous blog posts, but let me just touch upon a few key elements.
This is essentially like the fine wine of psychedelic music folks. The
effects and things aren't over the top and in your face, but interwoven
into the music in an almost subtle, sexy sort of classy manner. It has
a very reflective feel to it throughout, and it's one of the type of
albums that I like to call “life guiding.” Its been accurately penned
as a rural-psych album with an acid-vision for the fallout of the
post-60’s days of the original psychedelic era. Again, no corners were
cut and it's truly a revelation when you hear this album in
pristine quality. The restoration also includes full high-res scans of
all the album artwork and more. Bootleg copies contain hazy artwork at
best, the scans within this presentation will blow you away. And let's
be honest, that beautiful multi-colored psychedelic album cover deserves
to be treated with full respect. This is something that I thought might
never happen, so it's truly a joy that this is now a reality. You'll
see Psych Trail Mix name-dropped in the post, something that I'm not
shy to say that I'm a bit proud of, with being a part of at least the
encouragement aspect over the years to make this happen. FINALLY, this
psychedelic masterpiece has been properly digitally archived so that we
can enjoy it for years to come:
Relatively Clean Rivers - s/t (1976) [Original US Private Press]

Linda Perhacs - Parallelograms (1970)
I'd
heard this album name-dropped for years, but am just now getting around
to checking it out. As usual with female singer-songwriters of the
time, comparisons are drawn to Joni Mitchell, and you do get some Joni
vibes at times. This one didn't really blow me away upon first listen
as much of the gushing reviews would have you believe, I think this one
is more of a grower, and grow it did. Like I said, you get some Joni
vibes, but there's more of a sort of somber, reflective feel
throughout the album, and yes it does fall into the folk-psych
category. Folk-psych is a term that's bandied about a bit TOO much from
what I see, so how is it PSYCH you ask? Well, its lyrical depth rings
of an enlightened sensory-heightened state at times. Like on "Chimacum
Rain" for example - "I'm spacing out, I'm seeing silence between the
leaves," that definitely evokes a higher sensory level, no? The title
track is also fantastic, its sort of geometric-freeform lyrics are
quite trippy and the production of this track certainly give it a tasty
psych edge that will satisfy many heads cravings for that sought out
'out-there' vibe. I really dig how the title track gets into that
tripped out part in the middle section and then brings you back to base
with Linda's singing, almost like the back and forth of a trip if you
will. The 'folk-psych' label aside there are just some stunningly
beautiful songs on here, "Dolphin" for example. Linda's delicate
singing on this track just seduces me, it's like I'm wrapped in a warm
blanket, getting away for a bit, life's daily responsibilities and
mundane tasks vanish for a moment. Getting away, to where? Even in the
lyrics, Linda asks "But what is there?" And "what good is back?" To me,
it's a great song about just getting away, to somewhere else outside of
your normal sort of daily actions and patterns and behavior. I have the
cd from 2003 on
the Wild Places label, apparently this is the version Linda herself recommends, I haven't compared it to any other reissues, so I can't give you a 100% answer, but the sound should be satisfactory to most.

San Francisco Sound - Fifth Pipe Dream - Volume I (1968)
Here
you have a fantastic psych comp from 1968! I've heard several songs off
of this comp from various sources, with many becoming favorites, but
finally here we have a pristine transfer from an original M- pressing
thanks to ThePoodleBites. 50 YEARS later this is still the only
tape-sourced available release of the material within. The album starts
off with a completely different version of "Bulgaria" by SF greats It's
A Beautiful Day. This version is much different than what would
ultimately end up on their album the following year, but it sort of
gives off the same vibe lyrically in its message of inner-space and
opening up your mind. Undoubtedly, some of the strongest
material on here is by the great Tripsichord Music Box! Frank
Straight's fuzzed-out guitar leads just ooze out of the speakers so
deliciously on "You're The Woman." All three Tripsichord songs included
on this comp are very strong, but I think the winner of the trio is the
8+ minute keyboard/guitar driven epic "Family Song." Definitely a
Doors-y vibe here with those keyboards, then Frank Straight's guitar
comes in and really gets you 'out there.' Mislabeled on the comp
(thanks to Matthew Katz), are four songs by WEST COAST NATURAL GAS (NOT
Indian Puddin & Pipe), along with Tripsichord, these are clearly the
best of the batch here. "Hashish" has been a favorite of mine for many
years, but it's a treat to hear the massive upgrade in sound quality
here straight from an original pressing. Read a transcription of that
song and all about its meaning in a free PDF of Psych Trail Mix #10.
West Coast Natural Gas' sound is a rich, eclectic potpourri of organ,
piano, 12-string guitar, bass, drums and fantastic vocal harmonies,
it's easy to see why they remain big favorites for what would be the
one and only "Pipe Dream" comp. "Hashish," as mentioned, "Beyond This
Place," "Water or Wine," and "Two's A Pair" are all top-notch. A band
called Black Swan are featured for a couple tracks, the standout being
"She Encircles Me," and as pointed out in the blog post link at the end
here notes, it sort of gives off the swirling psych sort of vibe with
its stoned-out declarations of female beauty as compared to "She Lives"
by the 13th Floor Elevators. Grab this perfect vinyl
transfer/restoration here:
San Francisco Sound – Fifth Pipe Dream – Volume I (1968)


Truth - Of Them And Other Tales (1969)
Recorded
in Chicago in 69/70, this music did not see the light of day until 26
years later in 1995! I'd be remiss if I didn't first thank Curtis
Bachman for safely preserving the music (contained on half inch tape
and acetate) for decades! Some Van Morrison fans identifying themselves as
“Truth Seekers” had read about this music and went to the effort of
trying to track it down, eventually making contact with Curtis. I was
turned on to this gem just some months ago, and I can not believe I
hadn't heard before. Apparently, leftover band members
from an incarnation of Them. Stellar from start to finish, not a dud on
the entire thing. Top-notch musicianship, and loaded with some great
raga-psych guitar excursions that'll put ya right in the state ya wanna
be in bub! What a perfect opening statement too - "Music Is Life." Just
listen to the 10-minute epic "Archimed's Pad (Squared Room)," I'm not
even a fan of wine (more of a beer guy), but I get this vibe that
sitting down with some good wine and a few tokes might be the perfect
concoction to enjoy this journey. "High" is another big favorite -
starting off with the sound of feedback, then some stinging fuzz guitar
leads, great lyrics and lovely vocal harmonies. The songs are breezy
and sort of flowing, but they also have balls, a perfect balance.
There's also a nice eclectic selection of instruments we're treated to
with the flute and some tasty droning sitar to name a couple. Jim
Armstrong is an unsung guitar hero in my opinion, this dude needs to be
more well-known! At one point, the band and their music were featured in
a film from 1970 titled “College For Fun and Profit.” I have searched
high and low but it appears that a digital version of the film
doesn't exist. From what I've read, it had maybe a one time theatrical
showing at the now-demolished Playboy Theater in Chicago. The original
cd put out in '95 by Epilogue sounds great and is from the master tapes,
also including extensive liner notes of the full story of the band and
the journey in getting out this disc. Check this one out if ya have yet
to do so, comes highly recommended here at the Psych Trail Mix compound!

Oh Sees - Orc (2017)
You'll
notice that it's fairly rare that I write about new music for this
blog. So for me to tip my hat to something new, especially within the
last few years, its really gotta “get me nice.” This album by the Oh
Sees came out in 2017, and I think it's one of their strongest albums.
Truth be told, I was turned on to this band after hearing that one of
their main influences is the great acid punk band Chrome. Also, just
this year they covered several Chrome songs in a live “Levitation”
session, and they blew me away, giving the songs the respect that
they deserve and doing them justice. I also think that witnessing this
band live will make you a true believer. I watched several live videos
of these guys and they really just give it their all on stage, with very high
octane energy. I'm set in my first return to live music since
covid started to see these guys play in about a month, and I am beyond
excited to have their show as my first return to a venue to witness
live, loud, in-your-face music, LONG overdue feeding of the soul. “Orc” is Is a good place to start as
far as their albums. From the in-your-face acid-punk tinged
“Static God” to the 8+ minute hypnotic psych rock journey of “Keys To The
Castle,” the gamut of this album should itch every scratch you have. I
actually recommend watching a live performance of this band PRIOR to
listening to this album, and this one from PressureDrop.tv
just blew me away. You can't deny that John Dwyer is a phenomenal
guitarist. So all you fellow old heads out there who are reluctant to
check out newer music (I'm guilty as charged myself), take these guys out for a spin, you likely won't
be disappointed.

Spirits & Worm - Spirits & Worm (1970)
Here we have a band that is aptly described in the blog post link at the end of this review as "think of the hard-edge psych guitar work of Kak uniting with the mesmerizing vocal harmonies of the Mamas & Papas."
This one was brand new to me, and I'm glad my introduction of the album
was this primo rip of a SEALED, MINT original pressing on A&M
records! Also, as with A&M pressings, the sound quality is
absolutely stellar. Original pressings of this are quite rare, so it's
fantastic that this sealed copy was procured for a proper digital archive that we
can enjoy for years to come. It's hard to pick favorites here with this
diverse selection. "Fanny Firecracker" is a fantastic rockin' groover
with back and forth sort of vocals and an upbeat mood. Anytime this
song comes on I get the urge to just crank my volume dial on the ol'
stereo into the red and let the neighbors hear some actual GOOD music for
once in their lives! The guitar work on this really rocks like a mofo,
just listen to those RIPPING leads on "Sunny Please Hold Me"! And the
male/female vocals are just top-notch, right up there with the best of
the California sunshine-pop-psych groups of the time. The title track
is also a standout, and I love how that fuzz guitar in the left channel
just seductively teases me and massages the brain ever so nicely, a
little feedback to sweeten the pot followed up by the orgastic return
of the ripping fuzz guitar! Ahhh yes, give it to me. "All I Need Is A
Little You" is another personal fave and seems to get stuck in my head
for days after a listen. This song features some fantastic flute that
appears throughout this great album, and I just love psych records that
incorporate the flute, especially when juxtaposed with the contrast of
distorted fuzz guitar, it's such a winning combination that scratches
all my itches. It's baffling how this band and this record didn't go
further, apparently the LIKELY story is that the album was test
marketed but no airplay/sales resulted from it and so it was shelved.
Dealer hype over the years would like you to believe that it's because the
album cover with the goats and headstone evoked satanic imagery!
Anyway, read about that and more on the history of this record in the
blog post over at UPV where you can grab the rip of an original MINT
pressing:
Spirits & Worm - Spirits & Worm (1970) [USA Original]

Q65 - Revolution (1967) [Mono]
I’ve
reviewed this record many years ago, however this first legit reissue
of the essential mono mix put out by Pseudonym necessitates another
review. Q65 were a group who were lumped into the category of
“Nederbeat,” with “Neder” meaning Netherlands and “beat” being the beat
music of the time. Many consider these guys to be a raunchier, nastier
version of the Pretty Things and I agree. “The Life I Live” is the
total quintessential party anthem. The fast-paced punked-out SNARL of
“I Got Nightmares” is worth the price of admission alone folks. That's
one of the things that really boosts the appeal of this album is the
snarling, snotty vocals of Willem Biel. One of the things I also love
about this record is the diversity, it's not just a collection of foot
stomping R&B garage rock numbers (of which those included here are great), there's
also some choice, mellow nugs in here as well like “Just Whose In
Sight” with its classical guitar work and flute, giving off a sort of
Eastern vibe. “Spoonful” is a great one to listen to on an outdoor
wooden porch with an ice cold brew with that killer bottleneck guitar
and those attitude-laden vocals of Biel. Really the only stinker is the
final track which consists of a long blues jam. Anyway, I could go on,
but go way back to Psych Trail Mix - Issue #2 If you'd like to read
another review of this album. The main reason for this new review is
the MONO MIX, which after hearing it proves to be THE mix you want for
this. The PUNCH is what's needed for these songs. The high-end is there
as well, apparently on original pressings the high-end was rolled off,
so the reissue is actually the choice pressing for this album. Not a
vinyl guy? No problem, the great Prof. Stoned has pulled through once
again and provided us with a stellar rip of the mono reissue on
Pseudonym: Q'65 - Revolution (1966) [Mono Version]

_________________________________________
04-23-2021
- THESE TRAILS RUN THE COASTLINE AND ELEVATE MY HEAD
Well,
what a year right? This has been an era like no other, and I'm sure all
of you out there reading this have experienced loneliness and isolation
due to this pandemic as every inch of the planet has been affected by
it. Also, I'm sure most of you are burned out even thinking about it at
this point, so I won't delve further into discussion on it, there are
24/7 news channels displaying various images to be bummed out about, in
full technicolor! I did want to bring up the pandemic however, because
once again the MUSIC has been THERE, as it always has been, and has
been one of the major sources of comfort for me in these times. Music
has gotten me through so many things in life, but this past year made
me realize that it's even more valuable than ever before. Never before
has it been so apparent that having a good record collection (or
cd/digital in my case) is more than just a superficial thing to show
off rarities to people on the internet, or those weirdos who leave
their records SEALED and keep them as mantelpieces! Another revelation
I've had in the past year is the importance of NATURE. This is another
element that has aided in my dealing with the isolation of these
Covid-days. I've been hitting nature trails as often as my current life
situation allows me and it's always invigorating to breathe fresh air
and take in the sunlight - and really just turn off electronic devices - just to
think and BREATHE and just BE. This leads me to a specific album that has been
particularly comforting this past year, the great Hawaiian folk-psych
masterpiece: THESE TRAILS.

Best
album in the folk-psych exotica genre? I think so. Some truly beautiful
Hawaiian psych here with much of it thanks to Margaret Morgan whose
enchanting, ethereal vocals really make this album soar to some heady,
cerebral levels. They were clearly influenced by the beauty of nature
that surrounded them in Hawaii and it shines through in the music and
lyrics. One of the unique things about this album is the use of the Arp
synthesizer which provides some awesome sound effects of wind, ocean
and canyons. I always loved this record, but as mentioned earlier, with
the isolation of everything this past year, I've grown to fall in love
with it all over again. I realized in putting this album on that no
matter where you are in the world, it's all in the MIND - with the
music and right mindset you can put yourself into some very nice
spaces. Especially on headphones with this one, find yourself
immediately transported to a Hawaiian nature trail with birds singing, sounds of trickling water, or chilling on the deck of "Rusty's House" with a sea
breeze blowing around all that pungent indica smoke swirling about as
good times abound. I recently discovered a photograph of the actual
house/porch they're speaking of in the song! Check it out below!

The
album really has some heady cuts on it like the tripped-out "Share Your
Water," again with that Arp synth really adding a sort of other-worldly
edge to the overall sound of the song, this really gets into some deep
sort of introspective moods. "Rapt Attention" has been a big favorite
for me, just a stunningly beautiful love song with the sweet vocals of
Margaret Morgan using metaphors of nature to describe aspects of a
relationship. There's really not much at all out there when it comes to
the history of this record, but there is one newspaper article from the
Honolulu Register - July 30, 1973 that gives us plenty of insightful
info about the players, the inspiration, the music and more. According
to the article it took "over a year" and consisted of "thousands" of
hours to create the sound you hear on These Trails. It also leaves my
mouth watering for any of the outtakes that weren't used as it's quoted
they chose the "least strange" of the cuts for the album! Click the
thumbnail below to read this great article on the history of how this
brilliant record came to be.

My
go-to for listening to These Trails is the 1999 cd put out on Sinergia
- this is directly from the master-tapes and sounds about as perfect as
you can get, and it was put out by the band. This disc can be had on
Discogs for under ten dollars, no-brainer really. Original pressings of
this even in not that great condition will fetch several hundred
dollars, so good luck finding or affording one of those! Speaking of, I
did stumble upon a SIGNED original pressing, I can only imagine how
much this went for! See it signed on the back by "Mars," which was
Margaret Morgan's
nickname at the time, the other signature I can't
make out, I'm assuming another band member's signature. Check out that
below as well as the rest of the images of this rare original
pressing including the full lyric sheets:






In
accumulating more survival tactics for this isolated, lonely year, the
silver lining, for me at least, is enacting some better habits. One of
those is putting down electronic devices before bed and picking up
BOOKS instead. It has been infinitely more rewarding than mindlessly scrolling
through social media feeds, plus I've slept much better. After getting
into reading again, the first book I decided to pick up was one I read
years ago, but fell in love with the band WAY more since reading it
long ago - "Forever Changes: Arthur Lee & The Book of Love" by John
Einarson. This is the most definitive book on Love
you will read, giving loads of inside information on all the recording
sessions for the various studio albums that had me not wanting to put
the book down and probably staying up a bit too late on work nights. Arthur Lee was a genius, but with many geniuses there is often a dark element and inner-demons within, and Arthur Lee
was no exception as the book delves into various personal demons he
had through his life. The author also got exclusive access to Arthur's personal journals,
so you'll see sections lifted from those included in the book with
Arthur sharing info on what inspired certain songs and various other
personal anecdotes. Most reading this will know the story of Arthur
doing some years in prison, but the story ultimately ends on a high
note with him being more determined than ever upon his release, eventually
touring his life's masterpiece FOREVER CHANGES around the world. I paired this with watching the "Love Story"
documentary from 2005, which was a nice Love combo. I was recently
hooked up with a beautiful BBC live-stream capture of Love at the Glastonbury Festival
in 2003 featuring an outdoor show with sunlight and some incredible
shots of the sun beaming above Arthur's head. He even points to it
during the "waiting on the sun" line in "The Daily Planet." I plan on indulging this in full shortly to top off my Love fest.


Another book I've completed in the rediscovering of my love for reading is the one below - Bob Dylan: Performing Artist - 1960-1973 - The Early Years. The late Paul Williams put this together, who if you didn't know, started rock music's very first fanzine entitled CRAWDADDY!
right up the road from me at Swarthmore College in Swarthmore,
Pennsylvania
- this is about the only "local pride" you'll get out of me! You can tell
that Paul is a MASSIVE fan of Dylan, and that comes across in the book
as he writes with a ton of passion and mountains of enthusiasm. This
book was published in 1994, many years before the internet REALLY took
off and grew, but Paul seemed to have access to a load of bootleg live
Bob Dylan shows from the early years which he often cites as reference
points throughout the book, I recognized many from my archives and Paul
was spot on in describing Dylan at the times of each era of said
performances. That's the main theme of the book really, Bob Dylan
as a "performing artist." I've read a handful of Dylan books in my day
and I can tell you that Paul was one of the best when it came to
interpreting Dylan's work and his lyrics. If you're a Dylan fan I
HIGHLY recommend picking this book up, even if you already know a lot
about the subject at hand. I'm still scratching the surface of Paul's
work, I have a digital archive of all of his old Crawdaddy! magazines that I need to get to reading. OH, reminds me, I highly recommend his piece "Understanding Dylan" from the July 1966 issue of Crawdaddy!, full scans of that in my blog post below from 05/20/2017

This
was a very brief flash-in-the-pan that some were maybe lucky enough to
grab before the powers-that-be pulled the plug on it unfortunately.
Perhaps the GREATEST psychedelic rock album... no I'll say it - THE
GREATEST psychedelic rock album ever recorded: 13th Floor Elevators - Easter Everywhere
was treated to the best digital transfer EVER and knocked the socks off
of ANY officially released reissue of this psychedelic masterwork, and I
think anyone that heard it would attest to that declaration. This was a
true labor-of-love from the person who transferred and restored this
from an original pressing from 1967 containing the ORIGINAL STEREO MIX.
HUNDREDS of hours were poured into manual restoration that resulted in
exceeded expectations all-around. There were several previous vinyl
rips that were always go-to versions compared to the "official"
reissues, and while they were definitely much better than those
official releases, they suffered from various undesirable faults; EQ
was applied to boost the highs and treble, resulting in a rather fake
transfer of an album that in my opinion should NOT be tinkered with
whatsoever, vinyl noise, and in the most recent rip, some very boomy
bass. This latest "taken-down" transfer I'm speaking of was SMOOTH AS
BUTTER. It had no EQ applied (wasn't necessary), and it was
meticulously manually de-clicked and restored. Listening to this
transfer, you never thought this album could sound THIS fucking good,
no lie. MASTER TAPE sound.
It's highly unlikely that this transfer will EVER be topped, unless the master tapes
are discovered which is about as likely as a Qanon member accepting reality, and even if they were around
they could be in some lame, greedy hoarder's clutches anyway who could
give half a shit about the MUSIC and more about "I have this and no one
else does HAHAHA," as he sits in his incel cave having no understanding of psychedelia whatsoever. If you were quick
enough to snag this one then enjoy it, cherish it, relish in it as
literal shivers run up and down your spine.

I
leave you as I always do, ending with some album reviews and of course information and links (if applicable) to the best
digital versions. Thanks for reading my blog and I really hope to make
these posts more frequent than once every several months, so please
check in once in a while as I plan to continue to post more entries.
Modality Stew - s/t (1978)
Here's
a private press gem that's well worth your time. The word in the title,
"Stew" is appropriate as you have a potpourri of various musical styles
melded together within the grooves of this eclectic, diverse record.
You've got a mix of vibraphone, Indian tabla drums, flute, banjo,
acoustic guitars, washboard! I'm probably even missing some instruments
here, but you get the idea! This is another one I've spun often during
the isolation and loneliness of pandemic times - it just has this
meditative, introspective, reflective sort of vibe that has been
enriching during these times. Some of my favorites are the ones with
the female vocals, or even the male/female vocals. "Karmic Strip"
is great - I love the flute and those female vocals, and the lyrics are
fantastic. Apparently, a lot of this was improvised, but it all seems to
gel together and work nicely. "D-Sense/Descents"
is another one that has been on my playlist a lot - more acoustic
guitar and flute and those female vocals, more like a chanting almost
than traditional VOCALS, and this song is one that fits in with the
vibe I mentioned earlier of being a sort of meditative,
reflective piece that has been comforting the past year. The album
closer "Sultra Blues" is
another absolute standout song here - awesome sort of existential
lyrics, the male/female vocals, tasteful harmonica thrown in there.
Just when you think this song can't get any better you hear the click
of the fuzz-pedal activation, WHOA! I LOVE the line "And we both know, the release from pain comes from letting go."
Those howling, almost shamanic-like vocals from the woman on this track
combined with that fuzz guitar embodies the musical-freedom vibe of
this album. Siddhi even mentions in the liner notes that he created
this record after an unrewarding experience with greedy record labels
and rigid environments, he was inspired on a spring day on a
mountainside in Crete where "spring spoke." He returned home to nature
to record this. A perfect transfer from a mint, SEALED original done by
ThePoodleBites over at UPV with the full package (hi-res scans etc) is
available here: Modality Stew - s/t (1978) [Private Press]

Sunlight - Creation Of Sunlight (1970)
A
number of years ago I tossed this one to the side as it didn't hit me
initially, but this great rip/restoration of an original pressing and
the urging of a friend made me revisit it and give a proper full listen
and goddamn am I glad I did! This is some of the most excellent
sunshine psych-pop you'll ever turn on to! The ONLY stinker on it is
"Sometimes A Woman," that's it! The rest is fantastic stuff. Most
people seem to cite "David" as the best song on this, and while not a bad track, in my mind the clear winner is "Light Without Heat"
- there's some flute in there that literally just takes you away,
transporting... elevating you into this spacious realm of beauty and
awe, and those backup vocal harmonies, wow! "Seven Times Infinity"
is another favorite and includes some horns, but don't worry! I know
horns can immediately turn off some heads when it comes to psych, but
it's all done very tastefully here and on "Seven Times Infinity"
it actually complements the guitar nicely, especially that little bit
of wah-infused guitar work in the middle of the song, some tasteful
PIANO thrown in there as well! There's some great musicianship in the
grooves of this one that is undeniable. The album closer "Fun Machine"
is probably my second pick on this, just a fast-paced fun song laden
with good vibes and some fucking BEAUTIFUL vocal harmonies - "It's
not a car, it's not a train, not even a supersonic aero-plane, it's a
brand new thing, never thought before, takes a strange state of mind to
even open the door,"
those are some beautiful vocal harmonies
drenched in lysergia my friends. Tasty fuzz guitar and Hammond organ
throughout, with upbeat vibes (much needed during these nutty times
we're living through) and loads o' sunshine ;-) Excellent album for
sunshine-summer vibes that are right around the corner! Once
again, unless you have an original pressing to throw on, when it comes
to digital versions, The Poodle over at UPV has transferred an original
M-
pressing on Windi Records, so go soak up the California rays with the
most pristine digital version of this great album and grab it here: Sunlight - Creation Of Sunlight (1970) [Original Pressing]

The Paisleys - Cosmic Mind At Play (1970)
Some incredibly heady psych that is often underrated, possibly due to the 18+ minute single-song - "Musical Journey" that takes up all of side B. Honestly, side B isn't even BAD, and it's got some deep lyrics: "listen dear friends close your eyes, and take a trip with me, clear your head of all your thoughts, just set your mind at ease."
If they shortened this song and condensed it then it would be a bit
more appealing, but again - it's not terrible. Side A however, is all
top-notch! "Now" is a highlight
- a pounding groover with a constant flange and about the headiest
lyrics any head this side of the crab nebula could hope for: "Now
as we awake to the super-conscious state, now as were traverse through
heaven's gate, arriving at last upon the radiant shores of the pure
spritual realms." WHOA! I hate to be the guy that keeps quoting lyrics but another line from this one: "Now
far away in the depths of infinity, now far away in the clear white
light of reality, know thyself and abide forever in this tranquil
state, know thyself and remember that it is all what you make." Sounds like a post-acid-trip reflection. Dig those heady existential lines in the title track: "Cause we're just actors in the show baby, the universe our stage, acting out our little parts baby, here in the timeless play." "The Wind"
is another clear favorite, an atmospheric piece with some moody
organ and some delicious, screaming fuzz guitar bouncing from ear to
ear. Yes folks, back when men were men and fuzz was FUZZ ;-) "Smokey Windows"
was sort of a soundtrack to me through the Coronavirus pandemic and it
sounds like it was written today. A sort of tongue-in-cheek song: "well
the strange times we're livin' in is all just a phase, we're surely
glad to report, and we'll tell you everything although we don't know
anything, and together we'll become alive again." Even musically it's a play on the Beatles "Obla-Di,"
which is mentioned in the song! Another line that still holds true
today that rings of a post-vaccination hope that we all
share: "Well the atmosphere's
polluted and the rivers sure ain't clean, or is it only a dream? Well
we know for sure that somewhere there's a place we all can be, and
we'll all be reunited once again." Originals of this are nearly impossible to find, or find at an affordable price, but you're in luck with the Sundazed reissue from 2003, it sounds fantastic and true to the original pressing.

Country Joe & The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die (1968)
This
is a classic piece of American psychedelic rock here that most of you
will already know about. I also find it to be the one that most of the
"weekend hippies" know via the "Fixin' To Die Rag" from the Woodstock
film, but the rewards of this album run much deeper than that my
friends. I must admit that for quite some time their debut "Electric
Music For The Mind & Body" was my favorite, but after delving into
this one for a bit I'm finding they get MUCH deeper and headier than
Electric Music... The debut may have had a flashier album title, but
I've grown to loving "Fixin'" infinitely more. I mean just listen to the
deep, heady introspection of "Who Am I," a stark contrast to their big
anti-war opener, this one cuts deep. It's such a diverse, atmospheric
record too - just listen to "Magoo" with the sounds of the
thunderstorms, rain and the moody acoustic guitars, and again in a
similar vein to "Who Am I" with the deeply introspective lyrics. I just
get completely enveloped into this song when I listen to it. Wow, what a
way to end the first side of an album! Next up is "Janis," one of my absolute
favorites on this - Joe's love song to his ex, Janis Joplin. While not
overtly psychedelic: no backward effects or studio trickery, this
love song retains a psych edge to it in my opinion via the floaty sort
of airy feel of the vocals and acoustic guitars combined with those
lyrics that just paint visions of lysergic beauty: "Into my life on waves of electrical sound, and flashing light she came..." and "Into my eye comes visions of patterns, designs the image of her I see..."
- Fucking beautiful! "Thursday" is another beautiful love song, this
one gets a bit more instrumental and jammy as it goes on with some
great organs and a lovely little jangly guitar interlude. "Eastern Jam"
is just fantastic, and it JAMS, yep.. just like the title says, I never
tire of this song. I LOVE right at like 2:59 you can hear the fuzz
pedal kick on and we get some STINGING fuzz guitar with Melton meltin'
the butter here. Ahhh bliss my friends. "Colors For Susan" is a
beautiful closer and just perfect for this album, leaves you feeling
great after this Country Joe trip. What makes this even better is that
you can hear this in PRISTINE sound quality straight from original
pressings in mono OR stereo. Both of the links below knock the socks
off of any official cd reissue that has been released, be prepared to
be blown away: Country Joe & The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die (1967) [Original USA Stereo Mix]
Country Joe & The Fish - I-Feel-Like-I'm-Fixin'-To-Die (1967) [Original Mono Mix]

Dragonfly - s/t (1968)
BADASS
acid-blues RIPPER here! There's some HEAVY fuzzed-out guitar on this
one that will just rip your head clearly off your torso! Don't get
discouraged with the reference of "blues" I made, no folks, there's
also plenty of special effects, backwards guitar and surprises to give
it a nice hard-PSYCH edge throughout. Hell, even "Hootchie Kootchie Man,"
which you expect to maybe be the snoozer of the album doesn't suffer at
all thanks to those stinging FUZZ guitar leads throughout, and I
absolutely love the ending of this song with the backwards vocals that
melts right into the opening guitar note of "I Feel It," this is one of the perfect segue-ways I've ever heard when it comes to one song going into another on a record. "I Feel It"
also has some cool Doors-esque keyboards going on, and I'll tell you,
it's little surprises like this that just boost the album even more,
you've got this ripping acid-fuzz guitar (courtesy of a Maestro
Fuzz-Tone!) and then you're hit with various treats throughout. "Miles Away"
closes out the album in spectacular fashion, starting out as a
fast-paced nimbly-guitar number, then a BLAST of heavy distorted,
delicious fuzz guitar, ending with a cinematic-like piece for the
final two and a half minutes or so that I doubt would leave any head
un-satiated. I originally had the first cd reissue on Eva from 1992,
and it's not bad at all, actually way better than any subsequent
reissue, but once again The Poodle over at Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ tops it with a cleaner, more pristine transfer straight from an original 1968 pressing from Megaphone. No EQ applied, or futzing around with the sound, just closest-to-master-tape quality you can get, grab that here: Dragonfly - s/t (1968) [US Original Pressing]

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe As Milk (1967) [Stereo]
This
record was already reviewed in the last blog post below, so check that
out if you have yet to do so, that was as review of an unbeatable vinyl
transfer of the MONO edition by Prof. Stoned,
which is absolute MUST-HAVE. Another chunk of space here on the blog for this album was
necessitated by a recent transfer of an original white label promo of
the STEREO mix! I thought the mono was the forever go-to when it comes
to reaching for this experimental blues-psych monster, but this is a
case where BOTH mixes are essential to have at your disposal. There are
various things buried in the PUNCH of that mono mix that are revealed
with the stereo separation here. "Plastic Factory"
with it's unrelenting, mind-blowing blues-riff is perhaps the one case
where it's hard to make the argument that the stereo tops the mono mix,
but just listen to "Zig Zag Wanderer"
in stereo, if that doesn't make you a believer, then I don't know what
will! Also, the songs with some psych-tinged elements like the theremin,
given a bit of room to float around in the stereo mix, one could argue
that the stereo mix is the more PSYCHEDELIC
of the two. Anyway, you NEED both, so grab up this perfect transfer of
an original white label promo from UPV and HEAR for yourself: Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe As Milk (1967) [Stereo]

_________________________________________
7-03-2020
- Quarantined Psych Dreams: Four Sail Arthur Lee Mix, Private Press Holy Grails, Rolling Thunder & More!
I
have to start this post out by saying that its been a YEAR since my
last post. I intended on writing much more here and I plan on doing
just that. So consider this post the kickoff to much more in the
future. I believe that art and music
are the best things for the soul
and the mind during these crazy times and wild ride we're living
through. There's always LOADS to ramble on about
anyway. Plenty of time to write during this pandemic, that's for
certain! All-right, let's get down to brass tax! This is something I
must write about. As
you know, Love - Four Sail is a BIG favorite of mine and I did an
entire blog post about it, so I won't ramble too much about the album
here. After hearing the unadulterated "original Arthur Lee mix"
versions of a handful of the Four Sail songs from the "Love Story"
compilation, I HAD TO HAVE the entire album in this VASTLY superior
mix. All the shitty reverb that Elektra added to the mix was gone and it was CLEAR that
the sound was superior in Arthur's original vision of the album.
I tracked down everyone I possibly could to obtain this mix in full,
but it always just lead to dead ends. I was BUMMED thinking I'd never
hear this masterpiece in full with this superior mix. Well, last
summer, July to be exact, I stumbled upon an Instagram post about this
album and see the hype sticker with "Featuring the Arthur Lee Mixes" on
it and I nearly leapt from my chair! After seeking these mixes in any
possible way that I could, they seem to have just fallen in my lap! I
found out it was on green vinyl which caused a bit of concern as
colored vinyl is known to be noisy sometimes, but I purchased a copy
and it played beautiful and clean. This was part of the Rhino "Summer
of '69" set of releases to celebrate the 50 year anniversary of the
year and Woodstock. This was also a limited edition VINYL ONLY release,
but luckily my good friend ThePoodleBites over at the Ultimate
Psychedelic Vinyl HQ did a beautiful rip of this from a virgin play, so
cheapos like myself who don't collect vinyl can hear this and enjoy it
for years to come. So I gladly shipped my brand new copy to The Poodle.
This was truly an amazing thing to happen, the mix is CLEARLY superior,
it's indisputable. All other versions including the original pressing
are obsolete now. It's a beautiful thing to listen to this entire
record in Arthur's original vision and in such better sound than any
issues ever of what I believe to be the last truly great Love album.
"I'm With You," one of my absolute favorites, was a true treat to hear
in this mix without the added reverb, sounds almost like a totally
different song! BE SURE to grab the rip from Ultimate Psychedelic Vinyl HQ: Love - Four Sail (1969) [Original Arthur Lee Mixes]


I
was a bit surprised that I hadn't heard of this private press HOLY
GRAIL of psychedelic rock before. Rick Saucedo - Heaven Was Blue was
released in 1978 by get this... an Elvis impersonator! In fact he's
still a very successful imitator of Mr. Presley to this day. I first
heard this on youtube and was absolutely blown away even on first
listen. There were zilch good digital releases of this album, a
horrendous sounding one on a bootleg label was all I had. I then found
that the Guerssen label put out a double vinyl set with bonus tracks
and the works. I purchased a sealed copy of this reissue and sent it
off to ThePoodleBites who very generously digitized it, so I now had a quality digital backup
of this TOP psych grail. I'll cut to the chase at this point and say
that a bit later an ORIGINAL PRESSING in M- condition was procured, and
it turns out that as per usual, the original wins out in terms of sound
quality. In fact, side 2 is much more dynamic on the original pressing AND
side one is a completely different mix than the Guerssen. So the
original mix is available on the original pressing ONLY,
which can go for hefty sums, especially ones graded very high. I
pitched in some cash for the project and once again ThePoodleBites
pulled through with a PRISTINE rip/restoration, even correcting his
system's frequency response, getting this about as close as you can get
to hearing the original master reel. MUST HAVE: Rick Saucedo - Heaven Was Blue (1978) [Original Private Pressing]
- Now the Guerssen is also essential due to some bonus tracks,
especially "Oh My God," a song originally intended to be on the album
but removed against Saucedo's wishes. Also, the Guerssen sports
in-depth liner notes that are essential as well, just chock full of
fascinating info. The music here is incredible, melodic, dreamy psych
that will turn-on even the most jaded heads upon first listen. The late
Patrick Lundborg summed it up nicely as "almost like a psych head's
fantasy invention rather than an actual vinyl object." It opens with
the tracks "Reality" and "In My Mind," which sound like they were meant
to go together, just two pieces of absolutely spellbinding melodic
psych genius. The next two songs are roots-rockers, long puzzling psych
fans as to why they would even be included, tainting what is
essentially a perfect psych grail, but these songs can easily be
skipped/omitted (especially with the digital master referenced above). The
final track is the 18-minute multi-part suite "Heaven Was Blue," WOW.
It is easily one of THE most beautiful pieces of psychedelic music I've
ever heard in my life, in fact it brought tears to my eyes during one
of my earlier experiences with it. A swirling, enchanting, mesmerizing,
dream world that encompasses everything that you love about psychedelic
rock! It's a truly inspiring piece of music full of meaning and a plea
for brotherhood and humanity, it circles life and death - just amazing.
There's even thunder and rain sounds, howling dogs that come in
sandwiched between the multi-dimensional dreamlike landscape of acid
guitars and Rick's delicate, wistful vocals. It gives you goosebumps! I
give this psych holy grail my absolute highest recommendation!

Admittedly,
I was rather unfamiliar with this 1974-75 era of Dylan, the Rolling
Thunder Revue. This film changed all that and once I watched this I was
hooked! Rolling Thunder Revue - A Bob Dylan Story By Martin Scorsese
was released on Netflix June of last year (2019). "Story" is a key word
in there because some of the interviews with folks in this were
completely fictitious and BS, to which was criticized widely upon the
film's release. One example is Sharon Stone knowing Dylan and meeting
him on this tour and going on the road with them. My view is that it
was kind of silly and un-needed, but
the BEAUTIFUL restored video footage more than makes up for it to the
point where I don't care either way. The live footage is incredible and
Dylan is absolutely ON FIRE in these intense, energetic performances.
Highlights for me include a solo acoustic Dylan playing "Simple Twist
Of Fate" that easily stands up with his live '66 solo acoustic sets he
would play before the electric half of the performances, rollicking
intense version of "Hurricane," "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" joined by
Roger McGuinn contributing vocals and some majestic 12-string guitar
work interwoven with an inspiring quote from Allen Ginsburg. That's
just a few of the choice nugs within, you also get the band on the road and
all sorts of backstage inside stuff, it's phenomenal, fascinating viewing. There's a
scene in the living room of a house with Joni Mitchell playing "Coyote" accompanied by Dylan and
Roger McGuinn on guitar. Over 2 hours and 20 minutes and worth every
second of your time. Now we just need a film of equal length on Dylan's
live '66 tour! Come on Dylan and the Scorsese camp, we've waited long
enough!




Just
when you think you've seen all the photos in existence of Texas psych
outlaw heads the 13th Floor Elevators, Paul Drummond drops this
on us just in time to peruse during a worldwide pandemic. 13th Floor
Elevators - A Visual History contains a nice laid out presentation of
13th Floor Elevators photographs, gig flyers and plenty of reading on
the incredible story of our beloved psychedelic outlaw legends.
Drummond wrote "Eye Mind" some years ago, and I believe this new book
is a more condensed version of that book, but essential for the
incredible visual representation of the band within. Just to name a few
things; some awesome unseen photos of Stacy Sutherland looking very stoic and
angelic like he does, Tommy Hall smoking a joint in his San Francisco
apartment post-Elevators 1974, for the first time ever reproduced in
full - from Mother magazine 1967,
the only interview with the band during the days they were active -
fascinating interview with of course Tommy Hall doing most of the
talking. I think this is well worth picking up for any fan of what are
arguably the ultimate, original pioneers of psychedelic rock.




Lastly, time for some album reviews of what I've been digging on lately.
Jimi Hendrix - Electric Ladyland (1968)
For
a long time "Axis: Bold As Love" was my favorite Jimi Hendrix album,
but in the last few years Electric Ladyland has grown into my favorite
as Jimi's definitive artistic statement. This double LP masterpiece
was recorded from around the summer of '67 up until the beginning of
April '68 at various recording studios. Hendrix had evolved much at
this point and you can tell by the heady, deep compositions throughout,
even starting off with the trippy intro "And The Gods Made Love," you
know you're in for a ride. The album also includes maybe the BEST cover
song ever recorded in Hendrix's nod to Bob Dylan with his ripping
version of "All Along The Watchtower," Bob Dylan approved 100% and I
believe even said something to the effect of "that's Jimi's song," a
very high compliment from Dylan indeed. I've seen some claim this is
overrated, absolutely NOT - for one thing I think this record is best
digested as a whole, immerse yourself into it, to me it's a cohesive
artistic statement from beginning to end. "1983" has got to be in the
top 5 Hendrix songs easily, a heady orchestral experience containing
backwards guitar, the sound of seagulls, feedback, a simple yet catchy
main riff that just engulfs your mind into psychedelic bliss - and the
LYRICS are genius, Hendrix paints a sort of apocalyptic vision of a
world battered and torn with war and fighting, the lyrics are sadly
still very relevant today. Ultimately, "1983" offers a positive vision
of leaving those things behind and in an interview from 1969 he
explained really how I personally navigate these times myself, with the
music being the "something" for me: "something to keep your mind off
what's happening … but not necessarily completely hiding away from it
like some people do." I could ramble on an one about the music; the
dripping acid psych guitar genius of "Voodoo Child (Slight Return),"
the absolute guitar SHREDDING as Hendrix melts your mind on "Come On
(Let The Good Times Roll)," the angelic psychedelia of "Burning of The
Midnight Lamp," and so forth. Like always, if there's one out there I
like to point you to THE best digital version you can acquire, and in
this case it was done by the great Prof. Stoned. His source was the
2010 vinyl release from "Experience Hendrix" wherein all the edits
between tracks are there, which apparently wasn't the case on most
vinyl releases, and the sound is a beautiful, bright, clear, defined
sonic glory. Prof. Stoned put this rip out a number of years ago, but
recently did some minor mastering tweaks to make the sound a bit more
neutral, making this even more so the DEFINITIVE way to to hear Jimi's
final masterpiece, ENJOY: Jimi Hendrix Experience - Electric Ladyland (1968)

Los Impala - Impala Syndrome (1969)
Be
sure to check this one out if you don't know of it, not a dud track on
the entire thing really. The band was originally from Venezuela, but
moved to Spain where they would record this album. Howbout' that
perfect English they're singing in? Mix of garage psych rock with some
killer fuzz guitar throughout. "Love Grows A Flower" and "Children Of
The Forest" are a couple of my faves. Grab this pristine rip of an
original pressing in M- condition, it sounds amazing! Los Impala - Impala Syndrome (1969) [US Original]

Anonymous - Inside The Shadow (1976)
This one from
'76 is a fairly new record for me, but it's quickly growing into one of
my favorites. I'd heard it name-dropped before and read the entry in
Patrick Lundborg's Acid Archives, but never delved in. Such great
music! One description that's fairly accurate is "Fleetwood Mac playing
60's psych." The musicianship is incredible and lyrics are very real,
heartfelt, sincere, and deep, straight from the soul. I listened to
this years ago and shelved it because it didn't grab me, but this album
is the definition of a "grower" - it just gets better and better with
repeated listens the more it seeps into your consciousness. Beautiful
male/female vocal harmonies where Ron Matelic and Marsha Rollings even
sound like they could be siblings, their voices just pair beyond
perfect together. Blistering guitar work with JUST the right touch of
fuzz where needed. All combined with deep, heady lyrics for the full
package. This easily rivals any of the mainstream acts of the mid 70's,
these guys really should have been bigger. An ORIGINAL PRESSING was
transferred and restored to provide the ultimate digital archive and
listening experience (all reissues pale in comparison to the sound of
the original). Be sure to snag that pristine digital rip here - Anonymous - Inside The Shadow (1976) [Original US 1st Private Pressing]

J. Rider - No Longer Anonymous (1977)
I
thought it wouldn't get near Anonymous (see above review), but after a
proper full-listen of this, holy smokes! GREAT album! You still have
all the essential elements intact; Marsha's vocals, Ron's guitar style
and tones. The DRUMMING on this is unbelievable! Love it. Just to name
a couple faves - the meditative, breezy, flowing "Pike River" washes
over you with Marsha's vocals enveloping you like a warm blanket,
clearing your head of anything else going on in your world at the
moment, "We Got More," which I didn't think could be bested when it
comes to the Anonymous version, but every time I hear this one those
skeptical thoughts are questioned, and I must mention the ROCKING
proggy psych of "Sunday's Hero." J. Rider was also clearly recorded
better than Anonymous - Inside The Shadow. Hard to pick a favorite
between the two honestly, "Inside The Shadow" may still take the cake
for me as it retains a more mysterious sort of air in many places if
that makes sense, whereas J. Rider
gets a bit more hard-rock and loses
a tinge of the psych edge that Anonymous retained, but BOTH are
essential listening and compliment one another, outstanding albums
indeed.
The cd from 2000 on Aether Records combining this with Anonymous is the
one to hear for THIS record as it's from the tapes and sounds perfect,
but the Anonymous record must be heard from the vinyl rip/restoration
of an original U.S. pressing linked to in the previous review above.

Bobb Trimble - Harvest Of Dreams (1982)
Hard
to believe that a psychedelic masterwork such as this private press gem was created in the 80's! I had heard this years ago but
didn't give it a true deep listen until recently. Bobb Trimble's
lyrics are so incredibly sincere and real. There are some
breathtakingly mesmerizing, lush, dreamy psychedelic soundscapes on
this. A mix of both acoustic and electric instruments interwoven
perfectly to put you in an immersive dreamlike dimension for the length
of this incredible album. There's lots of experimentation also, Trimble
uses lots of effects, even on his vocals. I was even getting some CHROME
vibes in spots here. All reissues had EQ, compression & limiting
done on them as is usually the case. Also, the original mix has never
been released in full on any of said reissues. Finally, the original
pressing in full, unadulterated high res sound has been ripped/restored
from a beautiful RARE M- original pressing! HIGHLY recommend this one!
The late psych aficionado Patrick Lundborg stated "Rated
by most as the best psych LP of the 1980s. One of those obscurities
(like Golden Dawn) that blows even non-psych fans away... an essential
experience." Snag the pristine rip of an ORIGINAL pressing here: Bobb Trimble - Harvest Of Dreams (1982) [US Original Private Press]

T Kail - Somewhere, Sometime (1980)
This
is one I was shocked was released in 1980 as it sounds like straight up
west coast Jefferson Airplane style psych with male/female vocals,
dreamy melodies and all! The female singer even has a strong Grace
Slick vibe to her vocals, and I love the attitude. The only thing that
distinguishes this record from the original psychedelic era is that the
keyboards sound more modern and of the times, but they still sound cool
and work with the music. "Peace Of Mind" opens the album and is one of
my favorites for sure, great guitar and I always love lyrics with a
message, I'm especially a sucker for lyrics about seeking peace of
mind. "Somewhere, Sometime" is another one in the same vein, with an
even heavier, deep message within about the chaos and troubles of the
world and seeking peace within. There's a section in "Bye Bye" that has
some of the tastiest psych/prog head-candy that would even give some
similar Floyd material a run for its money! Ahhh yes, so tasty indeed.

Oliver - Standing Stone (1974)
Here
we have another ones of those albums that leaves you thinking in your
head 'why haven't I heard of this one before now?' This is a slice of
U.K. psychedelia not to be missed, this ain't no whimsical auntie's tea
drinking crap as a good chunk of psych from the U.K. was bub, no
sir. The songs are kind of split into 2 camps; one half is sort
of folk-psych acoustic stuff, the other half is fuzzed out, effect
laden driven psychedelic blues rock of the highest order! Some people
complain that this makes for a inconsistent trip, but to me it all gels
together nicely into a cohesive package, and I enjoy folk-psych.
Admittedly, my faves are the fuzzed-out experimental psych trips like "Trance" with its phased/flanged guitar weirdness and Oliver's bizarre crooner vocals, and "Cat And The Rat" featuring some great guitar tones and effects with more bizarre effect-laden vocals from Oliver.
Apparently, the man had massive disdain for the music industry as the
experience is quite unique and experimental clearly drawn from the
man's own artistic vision. The cd I have is on the Wooden Hill
label from 1995 and really sounds fantastic, which is a great thing
because original pressings are ridiculously rare and incredibly
expensive if you were ever even able to find one.

The Fallen Angels - It's A Long Way Down (1968)
I
had listened to this years ago and set it aside because it wasn't
hitting me. I think the front cover threw me for a loop because I was
expecting something harder and more fuzz-drenched. I recently spun this
one again and I'm REALLY digging it! Instead of hard psych, it's more
in the vein of a mellow, introspective, heady trip - think along the
lines of Love's "Forever Changes" kind of vibe. In fact, this has been compared to that Arthur Lee
masterpiece, and I definitely see the reasons why. Of course I wouldn't
go as far to say that this is near the utter masterpiece of Forever Changes,
those are shoes nearly no album in existence could fill, but this
stands on its own as a fantastic late 60's psych album. They go deep
for sure. I'm listening to the cd of this on the Collectables label (Roulette Masters Part 2),
that is direct from the master tapes and sounds great to my ears.
HIGHLY recommend this one if you haven't yet given it a spin!

The Beat Of The Earth - The Electronic Hole (1970)
Unlike
Phil Pearlman's Beat of The Earth debut from 1967, consisting of
free-form freakout, anything goes type jams, Electronic Hole consists of
tunes with a bit more song-structure to them. Don't take "song
structure" TOO much to heart though, this album consists of some
droney, at many times rather lengthy trips. This was supposedly from
1970 (recorded at the end of '69), but didn't see the light of day
until around 1999 when Pearlman sent a batch to a friend along with a
note reading "peel slowly and see." Speaking of, Velvet Underground
comparisons have been brought up by many with this record, and I happen
to agree. You do get some VU vibes in spots for sure, maybe VU with a
bit more psych influence I would say. There's a lot of speculation as
to why Phil waited this long to unleash this, one theory points to
legal issues that could have ensued due to the cover of Frank Zappa's
"Trouble Every Day," great fuzzed-out wild cover of that song it is!
There's stuff in here to surely delight any head including loads of
sitars, organ, and some HEAVY fuzz guitar, particularly on the last
track that was apparently created by Phil running his Fender guitar amp
through the amp circuit of a child's chord organ! The last track is
probably my favorite, a cathartic experience with that wall of thick
fuzz and the heady, simple yet tripped-out lyrics that work just
perfectly - "hey Molly and I, you got to go when I get high." The
lyrics throughout the album are deep, trippy, and rather esoteric -
perfect for a great long lost psych album, I can imagine the excitement
when this hit the vinyl collectors circuit. No decent reissue has ever
been released and originals fetch quite hefty sums when Phil puts them
out there once in a blue moon in dribs and drabs. The album was
released as a bootleg in 2004, but the usual noise-reduction and lazy
methods were employed to quickly get it out to obtain quick cash. While
a lo-fi recording itself, about a year ago ThePoodleBites obtained an M-
original pressing to produce what is now (and likely in the foreseeable
future) THE definitive digital archive release of this long lost psych
gem from the great Phil Pearlman
archives, in fact The Poodle's copy
came directly from Pearlman's private stash! This rip/restoration is
light years better than the bootleg and can be snagged here: The Beat
Of The Earth - The Electronic Hole (1970) [Original Private Pressing]

Bob Dylan - The Rolling Thunder Revue - The 1975 Live Recordings (2019)
A massive 14
cd set of shows (and rehearsals to start) of Bob Dylan's Rolling
Thunder Revue tour was released to coincide with the Scorsese film. Like mentioned earlier in this blog post, I was
first turned on to this era of Dylan through Martin Scorsese's
film on
this tour, and after watching that I wanted MORE, and boy does this set
deliver plenty of it and in outstanding sound quality! Dylan returned
for this tour with a fire and intensity really only matched nearly 10
years prior during his 1966 "goes electric" tour. Some people ask the
question "is there really a need for all those shows and 14 discs?" The
answer is YES! The shows differ in experience and even in the setlist.
Also, like I mentioned before, this is the first fiery, intense Dylan to
emerge since his '66 tour, you can tell he was absolutely into it, he
got that fire back for sure! One of the first things I did when I got
this set was to immediately try and track down the performances I heard
from the film. The breathtaking version of "Simple Twist Of Fate" for example is on disc #7 - Harvard Square Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Also, when you listen to these recordings they're of a different sound
quality, better than what was in the film, the recordings in this set
have everything much more up-front and in your face. That awesome
version of "Knockin' On Heaven's Door" from the film is on disc #11 - Boston Music Hall in Boston, Massachusetts. In the film at one point Roger McGuinn breaks out into this beautiful little interlude on his 12-string guitar, and while perfectly placed, Allen Ginsberg
pops into the picture with an inspiring quote about life and the tour,
you miss a large chunk of the McGuinn 12-string segment. Well on the
live recordings you get it all, uninterrupted and in fantastic sound.
Just a couple examples, the live performances in the film are
interrupted with people talking, but on this live set you can sit back
and enjoy the wonderful music. Another reason you need all these sets
is that the setlist varies between shows. "Simple Twist Of Fate" is actually only on one of the shows, "Tangled Up In Blue,"
an essential Dylan classic only appears at one of the shows and is a
FANTASTIC live performance of that song. Also, the WAY the songs are
played vary from show to show, maybe due to the large number of
musicians Dylan had on stage with him for these gigs and the overall renaissance sort of vibe. Anyway, I think
this is an essential set for the various reasons I've outlined.

_________________________________________
06-28-2019
- THE INFINITY OF SPACE: THE UNDERGROUND PSYCH GEMS OF PHIL PEARLMAN,
CHROME TREASURES FOR THE ARCHIVES, WHAT DOES REGRET MEAN? & HEADY
AUDIOPHILE PSYCH
I
have to start this post out by saying that we recently lost one of the
true originators of psychedelic rock earlier this month. Roky Erickson, whom most reading this will already know was in the 13th Floor Elevators
and had some of the best vocals in the history of not just psychedelic
rock, but rock music all-together. Roky would deliver Tommy Hall's
lysergic-charged pro-psychedelic message in a way that could only be
done by Roky in his at-many-times wild banshee Texan wailing howl. I'm
sure Tommy felt that no other but Roky could deliver his message with
such urgency and at such soaring impressive heights. The 13th Floor Elevators have always been in my top 3 favorite bands of all time and I've done many features on both 13th Floor Elevators and Roky Erickson in print issues of Psych Trail Mix, so I'm not going to delve too heavily into the history of the band here, just check out past issues free in PDF format HERE
- issues #4, #6, and #10 in particular have plenty on the subject. For
me, the news of Roky passing stung more than any past musician's death
than I can remember. Just knowing Roky's story, his recovery and the
fact that he was out there still playing shows and doing well was a
good feeling (I feel very fortunate to have witnessed Roky perform
twice), knowing Roky was out there in the world and doing his thing in
itself was comforting is what I'm trying to say. I noticed in reading
the flood of posts on social media that a lot of people out there
shared this same feeling about Roky passing. Roky of course will live
on through his music, and he left us LOADS of incredible music, even
his post-13th Floor Elevators days and beyond. The best way to pay tribute to Roky is to play his music. Rest In Peace Roky, never another like you...

I was recently reintroduced to Relatively Clean Rivers (1976), the creation of Phil Pearlman.
I had heard this album briefly years ago, but I never really gave it a
chance, and I just sort of tossed it to the side. Well, now I know what
I've been missing after truly LISTENING to it from start to finish and
really taking it all in. This album is a true grower. I get more into
this EVERY time I hear it. It's like the more I listen to it and the
more it soaks into my consciousness, the more it becomes part of me or
something. Its majesty and psychedelic genius are also revealed the
more I listen. This is what I call one of those "life-guiding"
type of albums, it has a very reflective feel to it throughout and has
accurately been penned as a rural-psych album with an acid-vision for
the fallout of the post-60's days of the original psychedelic era, like
Phil Pearlman
has taken those ideals and virtues to heart and they've remained at the
core part of his self. He has remained true to his core as the weekend
hippies who were never into it for the right reasons anyway have passed
him by and "moved on." The album has a very rural earthy sort of feel,
and the psych elements are weaved in there in a sort of sexy, subtle
kind of way making the whole thing a rather sophisticated sort of
psych. This album is very REAL. The acoustic/electric combo in the
songs have a beautiful, satisfying contrast to them and the synth/sound
effects are perfectly placed. I'd be remiss if I didn't mention how
GREAT that incredibly trippy multi-colored album cover is that
perfectly encapsulates the feeling of the music. Steer clear of the
garbage bootleg "reissues" on Phoenix/Radioactive records, as they're
nothing but poorly done vinyl rips done from an original that was
pressed off-center and very compressed/limited. No official reissue
exists and you will not get the real deal from the above mentioned
bootlegs. Your best bet is seeking out an original on Pacific Is
or even a raw rip of an original in nice condition done on good
equipment, which is what I've luckily found and is my go-to version to
listen to this masterpiece. I highly doubt any official reissue will
come from the mysterious Phil Pearlman
as Phil prefers to leak maybe one original pressing or so a year
through his friend/record-collector Clark Faville to sell on ebay.

While Relatively Clean Rivers may be Phil Pearlman's swan song, his other underground psych classics are totally worth seeking out as well. Beat of The Earth from 1967 was the first private press put out by Phil himself on his "Radish" label. BOTE
is an unrehearsed, free-form acid jam with many interesting moments
throughout and some great guitars and organ. The idea was that there be
many people on the recording, all doing their own thing in this
primitive, unrehearsed, primate 'beat of the earth' type sound. Same
thing with BOTE - no official reissue exists, so you need to either
hear the sub-mediocre bootleg of it, seek out a pricey original, or get
a hold of a decent rip of an original. Recorded at the same time but
not released until 1994 is another Beat of The Earth record entitled "Our Standard Three Minute Tune." These are outtakes from the original BOTE record and of much better sound quality. I'm happy to pass along a primo quality rip of an original pressing of "Our Standard Three Minute Tune,"
that was ripped on the record's virgin playing, you won't hear this
sound any better than this quality digital download (credit
@ThePoodleBites) - Beat of The Earth - Our Standard Three Minute Tune


Last, but most certainly not least in the underground psych gem rabbit hole of Phil Pearlman is Electronic Hole from 1970. This one I prefer over Beat of The Earth
as the songs are just a hair more structured yet still very free-form
and flowing. You even get a fuzzed out drone-psych version of Frank Zappa's "Trouble Every Day." Lots of cool moments with some HEAVY walls of fuzz and a Velvet Underground
vibe at times throughout, some trippy sitar as well to get the groove
flowing. Essential underground psych classic! Again, as with all the
great psych nugs in Phil Pearlman's
archives, no official reissue exists and you'll either need to fork out
a mortgage payment for a decent original or be lucky enough to have
friends with vinyl, good equipment, and ripping capability to be able
to hear the album without the compression and sub-mediocre sound
quality that the bootlegs offer.

I received my copy of What Does Regret Mean? recently, the new Butthole Surfers
visual coffee table book. Visually lovely book of one of the best
post-60’s underground psych bands, specifically their hey-day all
through the 80’s. The book features loads of photographs spanning their
entire career from the early 80’s all the way through present-day along
with various quotes from other artists/musicians telling stories about
the band, praising them, and citing them as inspirations to them. This
is limited edition, not sure if copies are left, but snag one for sure
if you’re a big fan of the band. For the actual HISTORY of the band,
told in great detail, I highly recommend James Burns’ book “Let’s Go To Hell: Scattered Memories of The Butthole Surfers.”
James is the true historian of the band and has put in the most
homework out of anyone on the planet. James' book also contains some
mind-blowing photographs and an extensive discog section in the back of
the book. James and I both did featured pieces on the BHS back before it was cool, mine being issue #9 of my zine Psych Trail Mix, the Butthole Surfers Special which features loads of exclusives including an in-depth MUST read interview with the band’s long time drummer Teresa Taylor, snag your copy of that here - Psych Trail Mix - Butthole Surfers Special

While on the subject, it’s always a delight when some new footage surfaces of Butthole Surfers live shows from the 80’s, and recently a great video of the band playing at the I-BEAM in San Francisco in ’86
popped up and it’s a great shot with audio straight from the board, so
this sounds fantastic! Be sure to check out this newly surfaced vintage
BHS footage. The other footage I must mentioned has been the stuff of legend for many years, the "Ritz house-cam" videos, shows from The Ritz in NYC, recorded on the clubs cams with audio feed straight from the board. FINALLY a 9 minute piece of footage
surfaced from these tapes and the footage is just a mouth-watering as
you may have imagined when reading about these tapes. It's quite the
tease though, we can only hope that one day the dorky hoarders will
release the tapes from their greedy lame hands so that these legendary
shows can be enjoyed before we all croak.
While we’re on the subject of a psychedelic acid-punk bands, I must once again bring up the great U.S. Chrome tour
of last year and pass along links to downloads of some full live show
videos that I was recently elated to be able to add to my Chrome/Helios Creed
archives. Two INCREDIBLE live shows from Illinois I was recently hooked
up with straight from the band. These are both balcony-shot videos,
shot onHD cameras with excellent sound and I’ve been given permission
from the band to share them with all. Both shows are beautiful
documents of this already legendary Chrome tour that featured Helios at the absolute TOP of his game. The best of the two is clearly March 26, 2018 in Chicago, IL – a stunning balcony-shot video with plenty of multi-colored lights on-stage that illuminate Helios & the band throughout the entire show. The other is March 27, 2018 in Rock Island, IL
- another excellent balcony shot, great stage lighting and plenty of
close-ups. Be sure to grab these two excellent must-have live documents
of Chrome in HD video! This Chrome tour produced some of the best live video documents of what I believe to be any Chrome/Helios Creed
tour in history, so if you haven’t already snagged them, be sure to
also grab these full live video downloads of shows from this legendary
U.S. Chrome tour; 5-31-18 Philadelphia, PA & 6-4-18 Atlanta, GA


The reviews section here will be broken down into 2 sections; the first
section "Heady Audiophile Psych Upgrades" contain links to excellent
upgrades that were obtained of these albums, below that will be some new
reviews to close out this blog post.
HEADY AUDIOPHILE PSYCH UPGRADES
Autosalvage - S/T (1968 - MONO)
*see original review
HERE
A nice copy of one of the more rare mono versions of the great
Autosalvage was obtained. Mono really makes this record shine and rock
HARD on a lot of these tracks, this mono mix is essential in addition
to the stereo mix. Grab a great rip of the mono and hear for yourself
(credit @ThePoodleBites) -
Autosalvage - s/t (1968) [Original US Mono Mix]

Zerfas - s/t (1973)
This is a record that has only been officially reissued ONCE
and only on vinyl. The bootleg versions on Radioactive sound like
muffled garbage and can be used as Frisbees once you hear the 1st and
only official reissue from 1994 sourced from the master tapes.
The fact that this one and only official reissue came out on vinyl only
required hunting down a nice unplayed copy for this rip/restoration.
Originals of this are incredibly rare in good condition and very
expensive if you can even find one, so this MASTER-TAPE reissue
will be THE very best you'll ever hear of this fantastic private press
release. (credit @ThePoodleBites) - Zerfas - s/t (1973) [1994 Master Tape Reissue] {Official 700 West}



Love - Four Sail (compiled version)
*An entire feature on this album has been done within this blog previously - LOVE - FOUR SAIL: ARTHUR LEE'S UNDERRATED HARD-PSYCH MASTERPIECE
This is the "compiled version"
and really the best way you'll hear this album in terms of sound
quality. This compiled version consists of five songs that are
considered "Arthur's unadulterated" mixes,
these are untfutzed-with mixes that are Arthur Lee's original vision of
Four Sail, and they are much clearer than the Elektra album version
that you're used to, these original mixes were only ever included on
the "Love Story" compilation from 1995, with the exception of "Singing Cowboy,"
in which Arthur's original mix was included in the bonus tracks of the
2002 reissue cd with slightly better sound quality than the one off of
the Love Story comp from '95 (so the '02 bonus track version was
included here). The remaining four tracks on this compiled version are
from an original Monarch pressing from 1969. Be sure to grab the best
way you'll ever hear Four Sail until (if ever) Arthur's original mixes
are released in full (credit @ThePoodleBites) - Love - Four Sail (1969) [Compiled Version]

Cold Sun (original Rockadelic)
*see feature on Cold Sun here - Psych Trail Mix - Issue #5
*see album review here - Psych Trail Mix - Issue #4
Most people these days are
probably only familiar with the W.I.S. reissue of this record put out
in 2008 and don't have their hands on one of the limited to 300 copy
originals on Rockadelic from 1989.
A lot of digital editing was done for the 2008 reissue and there's
noticeable distortions throughout. One of the rare (and often quite
expensive) originals on the Rockadelic label was obtained and a great many man hours was put into transfer/restoration of it so that it can be enjoyed by all in MUCH
better sound quality. The DR (dynamic range) numbers beat the living
crap out of the 2008 cd reissue, so don't pass up downloading the
original of this dark psych masterpiece here (credit @ThePoodleBites) - Cold Sun - Dark Shadows (1989) [Rockadelic RRLP-2.5]

Mad River - S/T (1968)
*see original review HERE
It was noted in Patrick Lundborg's great Acid Archives book that the German reissue of from 1979 of the '68 dark psych classic Mad River was a "slightly better pressing than the U.S. original," so a NM copy of German reissue,
which can be had for a super cheap price (less than ten bucks!), was
obtained for a primo rip/restoration. All other cd issues PALE in
comparison to this rip of the German reissue. You may have thought (as
have I) that your cd version (all sourced from vinyl rips) wasn't that
bad, well wait until you're blown away by the rip of this German
reissue! (credit @ThePoodleBites) - Mad River - Mad River (1968) [1979 German Reissue]

NEW REVIEWS
Buffalo Springfield - Again (1967)
Buffalo Springfield's second album, and arguably their best. Some lovely earthy/rural vibes on songs like "A Child's Claim To Fame" and "Rock & Roll Woman," to full on 60's fuzz tone delights with "Hung Upside Down." I must say that my favorite tracks are the full-on psychedelic head-twister "Mr. Soul" and the breathtakingly beautiful "Bluebird." Neil Young's "Mr. Soul"
can be a real mind-fuck of a song, I had some great experiences with
this one, Neil sings it with moody attitude too which works really well
with this song, and that brain-massaging fuzz in the middle of the song is just killer and you get doused with it quite heavily. "Is it strange I should change, I don't know, why don't you ask her?" repeated at the end of the song still trips me out to this day. Stephen Stills penned "Bluebird"
is the other gem on this for me, and within this beautiful song that
paints incredibly colorful images in your mind is a technique the Buffalo Springfield
employ to great effect for me - the combination of both that
rural/earthy feeling of the acoustic guitar accompanied by little
blasts of stinging fuzz guitar leads that pop in, a great contrast that
complement one another into a lovely synergy.. Then a full on banjo
riff comes in toward the end to top things off when you least expect
it! Mono is my preferred way to hear this and a pristine vinyl rip of
an original U.S. mono pressing
done by a one stoned Professor can be easily found doing a little
digging and it will save you a hefty sum if you were ever to track down
an original in nice condition.

Salem Mass - Witch Burning (1971)
Here's a private press treasure
that was recorded in a beer bar in Idaho called the Red Barn! Don't let
that fool you though, the sound quality of an ORIGINAL pressing is fantastic. The music itself features one of the earliest uses of the Moog synthesizer (early version of Moog called Mini Moog), and man do they use it to great effect on this! The clear standout tracks are "Witch Burning" and "Bare Tree,"
both of which feature some incredibly WILD psych sounds coming from
that mini Moog! My personal favorite on here is the 10+ minute "Witch Burning," full on sonic assault with those INSANE gyrating Moog sounds,
I also really love the raw sound of the guitar on here and they get
into some badass riffage, this truly grooves. No good cd release
exists, the only decent reissue was on Guerssen Records on vinyl only,
but once you hear an original U.S. private press you hear how good this record truly sounds. Well, now you CAN hear how good an original sounds, snag it here (credit @ThePoodleBites) - Salem Mass - Witch Burning (1971) [Original US Private Press]

Group 1850 - Paradise Now (1969)
Agemo's Trip To Mother Earth has always been my favorite/go-to album from Netherland's dark-psych masters Group 1850, a great late night trip of a concept album. Due to my love for Agemo's, I kind of neglected their next record "Paradise Now," big mistake! This is one hell of a psych mind-blower from 1969. Loads of very heady dark-psych brilliance with tons of acid-fried guitar excursions
throughout. The album really sets a mood/tone from the start, just
listen to those eerie keyboard effects at the start of the first track "Paradise Now,"
the almost chanted vocals, those dual acid guitars in the left and
right channels, truly heady psych my friends, acid leads forever ahhhh.
Certainly not for those who think psychedelic music is all just
bell-bottoms, peace signs and phony attitudes, this will leave those
types running back to the mall. The guitar is the best part of this, I
mean just listen to "Hunger"
with those delicious acidic leads laden with feedback and sustained
notes, then all of a sudden at the same time this wah-infused guitar
emerges from the right channel... DAMN, this is good stuff. I find
myself listening to this these days more than Agemo's. This acid-guitar mindfuck ends perfectly with "Purple Sky," a 10 minute psych monster with explosions of dual acid guitars that will blow away even the most jaded head around!

Lydia Lunch & Rowland S. Howard - Shotgun Wedding (1991)
Released in May of 1991, we have a dark post-punk collaboration between Lydia Lunch and Rowland S. Howard
(Birthday Party), but really this album is special and defies the usual
"goth" and "post-punk" definitions if we really want to be honest with
ourselves. Lydia & Rowland were a couple at the time and Lydia
thought that New Orleans was
the perfect environment to create this awesome little dark swampy
psych-tinged (thanks to Rowland's guitar work) gem. Lydia explained
about the record that they "wanted to do something very swamp-rock, very ethereal."
They were MORE than successful in achieving this desired outcome.
There's something both dark and magical about this record, and at many
times so very sexy. It's my
favorite album of all Lydia Lunch's work. Listening to this it makes me
think it could have easily been a good soundtrack to the 1987 film "Angel Heart" which was filmed in New Orleans and included all sorts of voodoo and references to the occult. I love the line in the first song "Burning Skulls"
where Lydia drawls "I'm gonna let this one rip, just another fucked up
trip." Ahhh and Rowland's unique, dirgey, even sexy psych guitar
soundscapes accompany Lydia's moody vocals so beautifully. The final
track, the 9+ minute "Black Juju"
ends the album perfectly with bouts of Rowland's wailing feedback-laden
guitar work, the song slows down at one point only to build up into a
bubbling cauldron like a massive green bubble from a New Orleans swamp,
orgasmically exploding all over with distorted guitars and vocals from
Lydia that Courtney Love could only dream about imitating on her best
day. The very last minute and thirty seconds PERFECTLY end this album
with a sustained, distorted sound from the absolutely delicious guitar
sounds/tone/effects of Rowland S. Howard.

Marcus - From The House of Trax (1978)
The late Patrick Lundborg (Acid Archives) brilliantly described this psych gem as "Hearing this on acid is like walking around inside a psychedelic cathedral ..."
It's hard to top that great, concise little summation of this
mesmerizing album. Many times you'll see that some people are turned
off by the "modern FM rock radio production"
on this one, but honestly, the more I listen to this record the more I
realize that this layered, high-end, multi-track production is
absolutely PERFECT for the majesty of the glistening tripped-out sounds
contained on this 1978 masterpiece. Yes, 1978, you heard me right! This
proved to heads that psychedelic music didn't die at the end of the
60's and that there were still those out there keeping the torch lit.
During the utterly lame disco years there was still great music out
there being made to be found if you dug around a bit. The album
consists of some incredible heavenly swirling synth sounds and some impressive acid guitar work all with a clear psychedelic message throughout many of the songs such as "A Trip In Time," and "Locked Inside A World." Messages that ring true of the sort of "day after" reflection of a psychedelic experience. "Right Inside of You Baby"
contains one the most beautiful, majestic musical interludes consisting
of tripped out swirling synthesizers and guitar that will send you
straight to space, just listen to the song right at 2:27 through 3:09 and tell me that you don't get goosebumps. TRUE
originals of this are very hard to come by in nice condition, many
copies are floating around out there claiming to be true originals, but
a simple look at the images on this Discogs page
outlines the clear and noticeable differences between an original and
one of the "found" originals from the early 90's. A rare NM copy of a TRUE original
was obtained for a rip/restoration to be heard by all, hear this late
70's psychedelic masterpiece in THE best sound you will ever hear it
and snag this pristine rip with full high-quality artwork scans as well (credit @ThePoodleBites)
- Marcus - From The House Of Trax (1978) [Original US Pressing]
*Note: be sure to check out Patrick Lundborg's inspired post about this album here - A retrospective tribute to Marcus' "House Of Tracks"

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band - Safe As Milk (1967)
Released in 1967 on Buddah records, this was my intro to Captain Beefheart
and it's a good place to start for anyone with an interest in checking
out Mr. Vliet's work. This was always said to have been inspired by
delta blues, but that kind of oversimplifies it, it's so much more than
that. It's more of a psych-blues organism born out of the swamp
somewhere in New Orleans in the summer heat and humidity. "Zig Zag Wanderer"
is a simple yet powerful and catchy song with a riff that doesn't leave
my head and just keeps me craving for more. The raw guitar tone of Ry Cooder
is one of the main ingredients of the stew here and it gives the album
loads of balls, it takes the grit and delicious abrasiveness to the
level that Vliet's howling, banshee vocals require. The psychedelic
ballad "Autumn's Child" contains one of the most beautiful uses of the theremin that I have ever heard. The U.S. mono pressing is the one to get and an excellent rip done by a one stoned Professor can easily be tracked down, so be sure to grab that!
