Traffic - Heaven is in Your Mind. 1967 England

Heaven is in Your Mind is essentially the US version of Mr. Fantasy (and was originally released that way here in the States). Psych era classic from one of England's most inconsistent groups. You all know how I hate to throw the term overrated around, but damn this band gets a lot of praise for a lot of mediocrity. But their debut was really something special, tapping into the nascent UK psychedelic movement perfectly. 

Ownership: CD: 2000 Island. Thrift shop find from a year ago (2021). Another excellent CD with full liners, and 4 bonus tracks, two of which are the missing songs from the original UK release. It must have been awful to be a collector the late 60s. You see this with The Beatles and The Rolling Stones (and others I'm sure) where the UK and US releases were different, forcing people to consider importing the other version (which was a bloody fortune in those days).

12/2/21 (CD 2.15); 11/23/22 (new entry)

2021 Psychedelic / Garage Journal Vol. 4 - Complete

The New Colony Six - Attacking a Straw Man. 1969 Mercury (LP). More from the 25 cent grab at Independent (Nov). This is the 4th album from The New Colony Six, a Chicago area garage band that moved into the Baroque pop psych area at the end of their career. I tend to enjoy Popsike as it is, though this has some of the usual novelty styled sounds that require skip over. There's extensive use of horns (good) and strings (not so good), along with some lovely flute. Nice album, but inessential.

*Eric Burdon & The Animals - The Twain Shall Meet. 1968 MGM mono promo (LP). From RT (Oct). I finally found the Animals album I was looking for. I've loved 'Monterey' since I was a kid, and most of this album matches that quality. I love that part in 'Monterey' where the band's rhythm is driving wildly, and Burdon is doing his usual declarative vocals, and at one point he just says "fly" with spacing before and after. Seems like one of those recording mistakes that they left in. It's so perfect. This promo version is actually very rare, as it's the only US mono pressing they did. 

*The Bee Gees - Holiday / Every Christian Lion Hearted Man Will Show You. 1967 ATCO (SP). From RT (Sep). I've already forgotten the a) side, but the b) side is really trippy - not a sound one usually associates with The Bee Gees. Loaded with mellotron and medieval chanting. What? How this ended up on a single, even for a B side, is craziness.

*The Yardbirds - I'm Not Talking / Shapes of Things. 1966 Epic (SP). From RT (Sep). The b) side is one of The Yardbirds iconic tracks, and I believe it was only released as a single originally. The a) side comes from the album For Your Love, and has a very nice guitar riff. 

Don & The Goodtimes - Sweets For My Sweet / Hey There Mary Mae. 1966 Dunhill (SP). Thrift shop find (Sep). Don & The Goodtimes were a garage band from Portland, Oregon. Big fat beats, and each side has a nice jangly electric guitar solo. A bit like the Stones from this era. Good, but inessential.

*The Spencer Davis Group - I'm a Man / Can't Get Enough Of It. 1967 United Artists (SP). After throwing Davis under the bus below, this 45 came up from RT as well (Sep). But as mentioned, I love 'I'm a Man', just one of those great energetic funky tracks that you always want to hear when in a public setting. The b) side is probably my second favorite Davis tune. Great, both on one 45.

Spencer Davis Group - I'm a Man. 1967 United Artists stereo (LP). From RT (Aug). Love the cover. Musically it's a bummer - put this in the same category as The Animals. Back then, it does seem the A&R guys really did know the best tracks. 'I'm a Man' is super, and groundbreaking for its day (though I still prefer Chicago's version). The rest is pretty boring British r'n'b pop. Comes in as a disappointment. 

Cream - Live Cream Volume II. 1972 ATCO (LP). From RT (Aug). Cream was always better in a live situation, and this album is one more example of that. First place to feature the almost 14 minute jam 'Steppin Out' (I think). The whole album is excellent of course. At some point in my life, this album swept through, but this is my first time to own it. 

The Numbers - Anthology '64-'67. 1983 Voxx. An odd one from the RT collection (Aug). For some unknown reason in the 1980s, bands felt compelled to make up a 60s past and claim their recordings are archival. The Numbers, on the back cover, has the most detail of any band trying to do this back then. Of course it's easy to disprove, and they weren't trying that hard to deceive. As for the music, it sounds all the world like an indie 1980s band. There's nothing 60's garage or psych about this. So we're a long way from Plasticland here. This is a waste of time, really. 

Nazz - Nazz Nazz. 1969 SGC (LP) red vinyl. From RT (Aug). Too bad I didn't get much out of this listen. Fairly ordinary psych garage, especially for 1969. There's a long track here, but it doesn't really gel as a cohesive whole. It's been stitched together. Nothing radical and no memorable songs. It has a pleasant sound like most psych albums do, but nothing that transcends the good. 

The Blues Project - Live at Town Hall. 1967 Verve (LP). From RT (Aug). Similar in many ways to the Paul Butterfield Blues Band, The Blues Project is taking traditional blues out for a psychedelic run. Nowhere is this more apparent than the proto Krautrock 'Electric Flute Thing'. Still, it's mostly blues rock, and some of the improvisations go nowhere. This is their second live album, and it's the first album for me to hear, having once owned a copy of Projections but unfortunately it wasn't in playable condition. 

Traffic. 199? Island (CD) (1968). Been looking for this one in the wilds on LP, but no such luck. I found this CD last week at a thrift shop (Jul), and it's NM, so why not try it via this medium instead? I believe this is the first time for me to hear Traffic's second album all the way through. This appears to be another album that I'm supposed to like, but I'm not feeling it. On that topic of feeling, the one song I recognize from this set is 'Feelin' Alright', which seems to receive unanimous approval as a great song. I never liked it and I still don't. Sometimes I wonder if I'm even part of the human race... Other than the hard rocking 'Pearly Queen', I can live without the first six tracks. It does get better from B2 to B4, before going to back to their folk and blues rock ways on the final track. Albums like this have to survive on the quality of the composition. And this one doesn't make the cut for my tastes. Good only. 

Moby Grape. 1967 Columbia stereo (LP). Another one from RT (Jul). Yet another one of those classic psychedelic era albums that the majority (i.e. those from that era) insists is brilliant, and we all must agree on that right? (shrug). I just don't hear anything that warrants gaga-isms. Moby Grape is another album that you can tell came out of the folk music movement of the mid 60s. Really not that far from The Byrds here, minus their truly psych numbers like 'Eight Miles High'. As for the songs, I didn't recognize a one of them, which is usually a good thing. But in this case, the album kind of blows by without notice. I would still categorize it overall as good, but like with many of these 60s San Francisco groups, the legend is questionable. It's a 2 eye Columbia original with a beautifully preserved poster. But alas, it's still a second press, as the "middle finger" has been airbrushed out. Bummer.

The Who - Happy Jack. 1967 Decca mono (LP). From the RT collection (Jul). I had never heard the album proper, but was familiar with a couple of the tracks, especially the title song. I find The Who at this stage more charming than dangerous. For 1966 (original release date), they were definitely beginning to branch into different directions. Very good for its vintage, though not something I need to hold onto. This seems to be the theme with me and The Who at this stage of my life. Happy Jack is the US release, and the track itself is not on the original UK edition (known as A Quick One). By the time the album hit these shores, 'Happy Jack' was a successful single so they appended it onto the album and changed the name (no way in 1967 were the censors going to allow "A Quick One"). It replaced a track called 'Heatwave' which I'm not sure I've heard before.

* - Keeping for the collection

2021 Psychedelic / Garage Journal Vol. 3 - Complete

Paul Butterfield Blues Band - Golden Butter. 1972 Elektra (2xLP). Golden Butter is a compilation of his music up to this point of Butterfield's career, which was pretty much over by then anyway (and he died young in 1987). The first side is dedicated to their 1965 debut, while the second side is all about their pioneering 1966 East West album. Both albums are way ahead of their time, and could be considered the homewreckers of the festival folk scene that still permeated the American underground at that time. I doubt my dad even knew who Paul Butterfield was, but had he known, he would have hated him for that. I'll have to ask RT as well, given I have yet to find any of his albums in his collection. Butterfield mixed south Chicago blues with folk and, God forbid, rock 'n roll. We're talking electricity here. The tool of the devil. When I first heard the jam cycle known as East West (2005), I was in complete shock that something like this existed here in the States in 1966. I was 40 years of age when that happened. It's still somewhat unknown that Butterfield more or less created psychedelic rock, and that the genre's roots are in the Blues. BTW, I encourage everyone to hear Many Bright Things' 21 minute rendition of East West. It's jaw dropping. I had to hear it again last night after hearing the original. The other disc from Golden Butter briefly covers the years from 1967 to 1971, and two tracks from an obscure 1966 comp. I heard enough to certainly explore any Butterfield album that comes my way, but these tracks pale in comparison to his early work. I already have the LP of East West, so I'll let this one go.

The Neon Philharmonic. 1969 Warner Bros / Seven Arts (LP). From RT (Jun). Neon Philharmonic is an orchestrated soft rock, light psychedelic themed album. Geared more for mainstream "safe" nightclub audiences, and miles away from the underground. What they call "Baroque Pop" but even that's generous. It was OK at first, but as the album played on, I found myself going from bored to sleepy. Not for me. Incidentally one of the two leaders of the band is named Tupper Saussy. Now there's a name! I had always wanted a cool name like that. For those who actually know my real name, it's incredibly boring. Now that we live in a creepy information age that includes lots of voyeurs and spies, I'm completely grateful for my boring name. 

*Jimi Hendrix - Rainbow Bridge. 1971 Reprise (LP). From RT (Jun). One of the earliest of the posthumous Hendrix albums. Features a good set of tunes, and some excellent jamming from Hendrix. Pretty much what you would want from a Jimi album. Comes in a fine gatefold cover. Keeping this one. 

Traffic - Last Exit. 1969 United Artists (LP). Also with The Music Machine (May). Third album from Traffic, a mix of studio and live tracks. The first side is made up of five new tracks that are clearly still in their 60s phase. They're pretty decent but they do feel like leftovers. The second half is live, and shows Traffic stretching out in Soft Machine mode. It's quite good if not a little lethargic in places. I've been keeping titles such as this, but the collection space is too tight, and need to start thinning the herd. So off you go Last Exit. 

*The Music Machine - Turn On. 1966 Original Sound stereo version (LP). Thrift shop find (May). This is my first time to hear the album throughout. Way back in the late 80s, a local Dallas FM station (with a metal slant) would occasionally throw 'Talk, Talk' into the mix. It seemed to be a new discovery for those guys, and given that it was 22 years old by then (and long forgotten), it certainly would make sense. I was very much intrigued by its combination of garage, 60s punk, and psychedelia. All genres that I was some years away from truly appreciating. Now we're 55 years from its release, and it sounds as fresh as ever. The Music Machine were definitely on the cutting edge of what America and England were about to experience. The band leader and primary songwriter was rhythm guitarist Sean Bonniwell, whose recorded music career only lasted about three years. One of those guys you'd have to think was dropped to Earth by aliens to get things moving along. There are also some covers (de rigueur in its day), most of them well performed, and perfect for the band's sound like 'Taxman' and 'Hey Joe'. For me the highlights include 'Cherry, Cherry', with some fine (uncredited) flute, 'Talk, Talk', 'The People in Me', and especially 'Wrong'. You don't hear too many folks call out the latter, but it's downright sinister and predicts the oncoming heavy psych / acid rock movement. Great album.

More 45's from the RT collection (Apr)

Illinois Speed Press - Get in the Wind (vocal). 1969 Columbia promo (SP). Different than the versions on Discogs, as this has the same track on both sides. It's a kick ass heavy psych track though.  I've never heard the album, but in reading the reviews, this appears to be something of an outlier. Bummer. This is a keeper. Off to a good start.

Cartoone -  Mr. Poor Man / Knick Knack Man. 1969 Atlantic promo (SP). Pretty lightweight stuff here. A) is pretty much MOR pop music. The flip is better, though hardly essential. 

The American Revolution - Come On and Get It / Cold Wisconsin Nights. 1968 Flick Disc promo (SP). Flick Disc had The Boston Tea Party and The American Revolution. I sense a theme. Unfortunately this is lightweight sunshine/baroque pop.

* - Keeping for the collection

Traffic - On the Road. 1973 England

In that same stack with Argent's Encore was another double live album, this time by Traffic. Unlike Argent, I'm much more familiar with Traffic's studio albums, and still own a couple. They've never been my favorite band, often questioning their association with progressive rock, or even psychedelic, though they clearly emerged from that era. They always seemed like a band on the cusp of a great album, only to crawl back into the comforts of commercial oriented music. The critics loved them and they had a strong fandom, so why mess with success?

On the Road is what I want to hear from Traffic. This is their classic sound, but stretched out, and here the band shows their true ability as musicians. Traffic seems to conjure up Soft Machine at times, with their jazzy prog display and reckless abandon. For my tastes, this is the best Traffic album I've heard. I realize they have another earlier live album that I should investigate, as well as giving their earlier studio albums another shot.

Ownership: LP: 1982 Island (USA). This is the 2 LP set. Recent thrift store find.