Tag: psychedelic

425. Donovan

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(July 2022) Episode 425 is DONOVAN. The Prince of Hippy Folk Rock. I had only known him through a greatest hits disc, but discovered there is a lot more to enjoy. His first two albums were Dylan clones, but he found his own original voice and style in a series of late 1960s albums, full of flower power, psychedelia, whimsy, and cosmic musings. Even the children’s music has charm.  The quality dropped in the 70s and 80s, but a couple of his 21st century albums were strong and creative.

Favourite album: A Gift from a Flower to a Garden 

Favourite song: Hurdy Gurdy Man

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: the greatest hits will suffice but you’ll probably enjoy a deeper dive into the 60s albums.

409. Procol Harem

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(May 2022) Episode 409 is PROCOL HAREM. You know them from their first single “A Whiter Shade of Pale” but they were more than a one-hit wonder. The first three albums, with Robin Trower’s fuzzy guitar and Matthew Fisher’s reverberating organ, are a peak late-60s mix of quasi-psychedelia and baroque rock. They are also considered one of the first prog-rock bands. Vocalist and pianist Gary Brooker, with a voice that is the love child of Steve Winwood and Pete Townsend, is the constant from the beginning though a long run of avoidable albums.

Favourite album: Procol Harem

Favourite song: She Wandered Through the Garden Fence

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: relevant for a deeper dive into late 60s British rock, as well as those interested in the roots of prog rock

375. Dengue Fever

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(January 2022) Episode 375 is DENGUE FEVER. I had no idea there was such a thing as Cambodian psychedelic rock until I was introduced to this band. Dengue Fever combines a couple of indie hipsters from LA and a Cambodian immigrant singer. Their music recreates the sound of that scene from the 60s and 70s (until undone by Pol Pot), a mix of surf-style guitar, fuzzy keyboards, world music rhythms and lyrics sung (mostly) in Khmer in a Eastern pentatonic style. It’s an odd mix that works.

Favorite album: Escape from Dragon House

Favorite song:  One Thousand Tears of a Tarantula

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: if you like hearing styles you’ve never heard before

368. The Brian Jonestown Massacre

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(November 2021) Episode 368 is THE BRIAN JONESTOWN MASSACRE. It’s impossible to summarize the ever-evolving sound of Anton Newcombe’s ever-evolving project. As the name suggests, at its heart it pays homage to the departed Rolling Stones’ innovator, and much of the music (especially the guitar tone) seems an attempt to pick up where he left off. Lots of neo-psychedelia and shoegazer/slacker rock recorded in undisciplined arrangements, but also experimental, pseudo-soundtrack and other hard-to-characterize stuff.

Favorite album: …And This Is Our Music

Favorite song: Sailor

Compared to expectations: ↓

Recommendation: not for everyone but yes to those who like artists who don’t give a f**k what anyone else thinks. I suggest starting with “Take It From the Man!”

322. Vanilla Fudge

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(March 2021) Episode 322 is VANILLA FUDGE. They made their mark with heavy, slowed, over-wrought versions of contemporary pop songs (you may recognize their version of “You Keep Me Hangin’ On”) and, oddly, it still kinda holds up. I prefer the albums with more original material. Their heavy sound, slathered like so much fudge in Hammond organ and fuzzy guitars, helped birth heavy metal. You can hear it most immediately in Deep Purple’s early work, and Mark Stein’s vibrato vocals presaged the operatic style of Bruce Dickinson el at.

Favorite album: Renaissance

Favorite song: Good Good Lovin’

Compared to expectations: same

318. Shocking Blue

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(February 2021) Episode 318 is SHOCKING BLUE. The Netherlands’ top contribution to the psychedelic explosion of the late 1960s, Shocking Blue is most famous for “Venus” (you know, covered by Bananarama).  They put out several decent albums of rock songs with a somewhat groovy/hippie vibe.

Favorite album: Inkpot

Favorite song: Shadows

Compared to expectations: same

283. The Soft Machine

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(September 2020) Episode 283 is THE SOFT MACHINE.  Not well known, but quite influential as one of the first prog -rock and jazz-rock bands.  This UK outfit started out as a 60s psychedelic band, and their debut album is my favorite. “Third” is one of the definitive prog albums, but they didn’t linger long in that genre, moving on to jazz fusion. There are many spinoffs, but I only did the albums under The Soft Machine name.

Favourite album: The Soft Machine

Best album/magnum opus: Third

Favourite song: Why Are We Sleeping?

Compared to expectations: ↓

280. Os Mutantes

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(August 2020) Episode 280 is OS MUTANTES. What do you get when you combine psychedelic rock, weirdness and Brazilian rhythms? Pure awesomeness. Added bonus: they used their music to subvert the Brazilian military dictatorship.  I’ve known them for a couple decades, but this review confirms them as one of my favorite bands of the 1960s. Amidst lineup changes, they did a couple of prog albums  (not bad) in the 1970s and a couple reunion recordings (just ok) in recent years. 

Favorite album: Os Mutantes

Favorite song: A Minha Menina

Compared to expectations: ↑

268. Sly and the Family Stone

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(June 2020) Episode 268 is SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE. Look up “ground-breaking” in the dictionary and there’s a photo of this band. The music synthesized trends of the late 60s — soul, rock, psychedelic and the San Francisco Sound — into a rocket of sound, with timely social commentary, reinforced by their composition as first fully integrated rock group. But Sly’s most lasting musical contribution may be as one of the Founders of Funk.  As with anything, best when funky.

Favorite album: Stand!

Favorite song: Stand!

Best funk song: Loose Booty (just ask the Beastie Boys)

Compared to expectations: same

Stand-slyfam

266. Hawkwind

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(June 2020) Episode 266 is HAWKWIND. My interest is their role as a pioneer in space rock. The acidly cosmic albums of the early 70s are good head trips. Their peak featured Lemmy before he founded Motörhead (from the name of a Hawkwind song). But then they became Yet Another British Band That Never Ends, with multiple lineup amid countless recordings over half a century. Their dip into New Wave wasn’t bad, but mostly it’s Dave Brock’s (the only consistent member) shifting efforts to put out spacey material (new age, techno, tepid prog rock).

Favorite album: Hall of the Mountain Grill

Favorite song: Silver Machine

Compared to expectations: ↓

Hawkwind-mountaingrill