"PSYCHEDELIA AT ABBEY ROAD" 1965-1969

This is a phantasmagorical collection of 60's psychedelic rock and pop. Either a great way introduce yourself to a fascinating era in music, or an excellent way to get ahold of some hard to find tracks. Of interest also to prog rock fans (prog rock's roots lie in psychedelia) for the tracks by Tomorrow (featuring a 17-year old Steve Howe on guitar before he joined up with Yes) and "Kites" by Simon Dupree and the Big Sound, a precurser to the band Gentle Giant. The CD comes with colourful detailed liner notes too. A must buy for any fan of psychedelic music! (Amazon)A 22-track single CD seems a bit paltry given the scope of the title -- except, of course, that the 1969 cutoff date here puts the material from Harvest (a label started late that year and containing the lion's share of EMI psychedelia) out of reach. Of course, there are no Beatles tracks and, likewise, no Pink Floyd here, but we do get cuts by the Hollies, Donovan, Tomorrow, the Fingers, Focus 3, the Tales of Justine, Simon Dupree & the Big Sound, the Pretty Things, the Aquarian Age, the Koobas, the Nocturnes, Locomotive, the Gods, Mandrake Paddlesteamer, Mark Wirtz, and Syd Barrett. Most of this stuff, apart from "Sunshine Superman," "My White Bicycle," and "King Midas in Reverse," isn't exactly routine material, and two tracks -- "Delighted to See You" by the N'Betweens and "Why" by Tomorrow -- are previously unissued. The latter, a cover of the Byrds' song, features a tour de force guitar break by future Yes member Steve Howe. Just as revelatory is "Monday Morning," a 1967 single by the largely forgotten the Tales of Justine, featuring David Daltrey, with arrangement and production by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, respectively. Everything on the album has been remastered in 24-bit digital sound, and the long version of Donovan's "Sunshine Superman" has been remixed, bringing out extraordinary detail in the percussion section, from the choppy rhythm guitars and harpsichord down to the exceptionally busy drumming. The annotation by Brian Hogg is detailed without going overboard on trivia, and the entire collection turns out to be great fun. (Bruce Eder, Allmusic)

trax:
1. Sunshine Superman (Full Version) - Donovan 2. My White Bicycle - Tomorrow 3. Delighted To See You - The 'N Betweens 4. Sunny South Kensington - Donovan 5. Circus With A Female Clown - The Fingers 6. Why - Tomorrow 7. King Midas In Reverse - The Hollies 8. 10,000 Years Behind My Mind - Focus 3 9. Monday Morning - Tales Of Justine 10. Maker - The Hollies 11. Kites - Simon Dupree & The Big Sound with Jacqui Chan 12. Talkin' About The Good Times - The Pretty Things 13. Walking Through My Dreams - The Pretty Things 14. (He's Our Dear Old) Weatherman - Mark Wirtz Orchestra 15. 10,000 Words In A Cardboard Box - Aquarian Age 16. Carpet Man - The Nocturnes 17. Barricades - The Koobas 18. We Are The Moles (Part 1) - The Moles 19. Mr Armegeddon - The Locomotive 20. Hey Bulldog - The Gods 21. Strange Walking Man - The Mandrake Paddle Steamer 22. Golden Hair - Syd Barrett
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