A Slight Disturbance In My Mind
Jan 30, 2020 0:28:15 GMT
distantlight, The Dude, and 4 more like this
Post by cameron on Jan 30, 2020 0:28:15 GMT
I completely forgot about 'Notorious Byrd Brothers'! Without doubt the most thought out and neatly polished album that the Byrds ever recorded. It's a shame that the album cover is at such a jarring juxtaposition with the incredible music contained within, no doubt putting many people off. There's every possible psychedelic element here: phasing, vari-speed, vocal effects, deliberately messed up orchestral embellishments, sound effects and early synthesisers. Accompanied with a beautifully fat bass sound and that almost cavernous loud crack of Michael Clarke's share drum.
People often malign the Zombies' 'Odessey And Oracle' with psychedelia too, which it's not. It's just a perfect pop album, much like the Kinks' 'Village Green' or the Association's 'Birthday' (GREAT album to check out if you love the Hollies, btw.)
I think the Small Faces' 'Ogdens Nut Gone Flake' was WAY behind the curve by the time of its release in May 1968. Only the much heavier side one redeems it as being progressive. The Small Faces were frustratingly not exactly prolific in the studio, and the whole third album took almost a year to get off the ground due to lack of material.
I'm glad that people are seeing the Stones' 'Satanic Majesties Request' as among their best work. It's certainly the most varied and ambitious LP they ever made. Yes, there's a bit of filler, but you'll find that on most psychedelic albums of the era.
Another few to check out:
1) Eric Burden And The Animals - 'Winds Of Change' (1967). No, not THOSE Animals, but a whole bunch of new ones recruited for Eric's West Coast venture into psychedelia. The opening title track is absolutely mesmerising, and actually tells the story of the lead up to the summer of love. Nearly all gone is Eric's trademark screaming warble, with a generous dose of reverb on his vocals and a very loose laid back group behind him, it's a short but great album.
2) Tremeloes - 'May Morning' (1968). The Tremeloes were asked to record a soundtrack for an Italian film. Armed with ex-Idle Race keyboard player Jeff Lynne's (yes, that one) Mellotron, they retreated to a studio in Italy and literally let their hair hang down with this freakout album that actually was never released at the time. Alan Blakley floods the Mellotron all over it, and Ricky Westwood wears his guitar wah-wah pedal out. The stand out is the epic 'Anything' which starts as a folky number, before launching into a five minute freak-out. The album was finally released in 2000 on CD, but is hard to find now.
3) Traffic - 'Heaven Is On Your Mind' [US Version of 'Mr Fantasy'] (1968). The debut album for Traffic was drastically re-worked for the US market. Adding in the big singles 'Paper Sun' and 'Hole In My Shoe', both huge psychedelic anthems of 1967, and linking all the tracks together with elements of 'Here We Go Around The Mulberry Bush', before tying up the whole LP with the fade out of 'Paper Sun'. The whole thing just flows better than the UK version, and drops some of the weaker tracks on the original UK album.
4) Johnny Rivers - 'Realization' (1968). Johnny Rivers was hugely successful in the US leading up to 1967. 'Realisation' was a career standout as being his attempt to be "cool". It's actually just a great pop album with plenty of references to the Summer of Love; the standout 'Summer Rain' contains the line "all summer long, we were dancing in the sand. Everybody kept on playing, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Nothing else that he recorded comes close to the ambition and the depth that he achieved on this album, a pleasantly surprising lighter take on psychedelia for sure.
5) Kaleidoscope - 'Side Trips' (1967). This is a real mixed bag (in a good way) of some superbly played and well arranged songs. I like to think of it as the equivalent of the Hollies' 'Evolution', if they'd have gone as psychedelic as the cover suggested. There's so many new and unique sounds, with varied instruments littered throughout the whole LP.
6) Hermans Hermits - 'Blaze' (1967). What are Hermans Hermits doing on this list? Well, they pulled out the stops for their last studio LP together and left us with this popsyche gem that starts with a superb cover of Donovan's 'Museum', complete with Eastern-tinged guitar pedals throughout. You've got similar things going on with 'Moonshine Man'. Definitely on the light side of psychedelia, but nonetheless still worthy of a mention if you like the Hollies, you'll love this.
7) Jefferson Airplane - 'Surrealistic Pillow' (1967). How can you ignore the psyche classics 'Somebody To Love' and the extremely trippy 'White Rabbit'? But the whole album is a knockout from start to finish. It's San Fransisco psychedelia at its very finest. Spaced out, almost folky, but with very serious lyrical content set to a backdrop of some ver capable musicians. Grace Slick just adds magic to the album, and the two stand-out psychedelic singles were both hers.
People often malign the Zombies' 'Odessey And Oracle' with psychedelia too, which it's not. It's just a perfect pop album, much like the Kinks' 'Village Green' or the Association's 'Birthday' (GREAT album to check out if you love the Hollies, btw.)
I think the Small Faces' 'Ogdens Nut Gone Flake' was WAY behind the curve by the time of its release in May 1968. Only the much heavier side one redeems it as being progressive. The Small Faces were frustratingly not exactly prolific in the studio, and the whole third album took almost a year to get off the ground due to lack of material.
I'm glad that people are seeing the Stones' 'Satanic Majesties Request' as among their best work. It's certainly the most varied and ambitious LP they ever made. Yes, there's a bit of filler, but you'll find that on most psychedelic albums of the era.
Another few to check out:
1) Eric Burden And The Animals - 'Winds Of Change' (1967). No, not THOSE Animals, but a whole bunch of new ones recruited for Eric's West Coast venture into psychedelia. The opening title track is absolutely mesmerising, and actually tells the story of the lead up to the summer of love. Nearly all gone is Eric's trademark screaming warble, with a generous dose of reverb on his vocals and a very loose laid back group behind him, it's a short but great album.
2) Tremeloes - 'May Morning' (1968). The Tremeloes were asked to record a soundtrack for an Italian film. Armed with ex-Idle Race keyboard player Jeff Lynne's (yes, that one) Mellotron, they retreated to a studio in Italy and literally let their hair hang down with this freakout album that actually was never released at the time. Alan Blakley floods the Mellotron all over it, and Ricky Westwood wears his guitar wah-wah pedal out. The stand out is the epic 'Anything' which starts as a folky number, before launching into a five minute freak-out. The album was finally released in 2000 on CD, but is hard to find now.
3) Traffic - 'Heaven Is On Your Mind' [US Version of 'Mr Fantasy'] (1968). The debut album for Traffic was drastically re-worked for the US market. Adding in the big singles 'Paper Sun' and 'Hole In My Shoe', both huge psychedelic anthems of 1967, and linking all the tracks together with elements of 'Here We Go Around The Mulberry Bush', before tying up the whole LP with the fade out of 'Paper Sun'. The whole thing just flows better than the UK version, and drops some of the weaker tracks on the original UK album.
4) Johnny Rivers - 'Realization' (1968). Johnny Rivers was hugely successful in the US leading up to 1967. 'Realisation' was a career standout as being his attempt to be "cool". It's actually just a great pop album with plenty of references to the Summer of Love; the standout 'Summer Rain' contains the line "all summer long, we were dancing in the sand. Everybody kept on playing, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band". Nothing else that he recorded comes close to the ambition and the depth that he achieved on this album, a pleasantly surprising lighter take on psychedelia for sure.
5) Kaleidoscope - 'Side Trips' (1967). This is a real mixed bag (in a good way) of some superbly played and well arranged songs. I like to think of it as the equivalent of the Hollies' 'Evolution', if they'd have gone as psychedelic as the cover suggested. There's so many new and unique sounds, with varied instruments littered throughout the whole LP.
6) Hermans Hermits - 'Blaze' (1967). What are Hermans Hermits doing on this list? Well, they pulled out the stops for their last studio LP together and left us with this popsyche gem that starts with a superb cover of Donovan's 'Museum', complete with Eastern-tinged guitar pedals throughout. You've got similar things going on with 'Moonshine Man'. Definitely on the light side of psychedelia, but nonetheless still worthy of a mention if you like the Hollies, you'll love this.
7) Jefferson Airplane - 'Surrealistic Pillow' (1967). How can you ignore the psyche classics 'Somebody To Love' and the extremely trippy 'White Rabbit'? But the whole album is a knockout from start to finish. It's San Fransisco psychedelia at its very finest. Spaced out, almost folky, but with very serious lyrical content set to a backdrop of some ver capable musicians. Grace Slick just adds magic to the album, and the two stand-out psychedelic singles were both hers.