"LOST SOULS" Vol. 2 - Garage Psychedelic Rock from Arkansas 1965-1971

Lost Souls Volume 2 - Garage Psychedelic Rock from Arkansas and Beyond 1965-1971 gathers unheard, unknown, and legendary garage and psychedelic rock from Arkansas and Southeast Missouri in the 1960s. PLUS for the first time the garage punk classic The Modds - Leave My House is sourced directly from a recently discovered reel to reel tape revealing more than ever heard before. The Esquires "Sadie's Ways" is also here from the master tape. It charted #1 in Memphis before getting banned on the radio for suggestive lyrics in 1965! ALL tracks are sourced from reel to reel tapes recovered from the private collections of the original musicians and studio owners. 15 bands are featured in an extensive 20 page full color booklet including liner notes with details on EVERY band. The sounds contained within reveal a hidden history of garage and psychedelic music previously unknown to exist. Hear new sounds from the past ranging from primitive garage to heavy psych and beyond. As a result of these discoveries, old bandmates and friends have reunited to discuss and celebrate the music of their past. The CD is the product of years of research into the garage groups that formed in Arkansas in the wake of the British Invasion. Bands from all over the state formed at this time to make their own records at a handful of local studios. Psych of the South is dedicated to uncovering the lost 1960s and early 1970s recordings of Arkansas and the surrounding area. Through interviews with original band members, studio owners, and fans, Psych of the South is bringing new life to the sounds of the past with the Lost Souls Volume 2 CD.Doing exactly what it says on the tin, this compilation starts magnificently with a quintessential slice of garage snarl as The Modds rip through Leave My House, a track filled with nasty overdriven guitar and venomous vocals. With a more commercial feel, well less fuzz anyway, The Electric Sunshine were 9 years old when they formed and recorded, fair play to them as it is a decent effort albeit derivative. Despite sounding like Steppenwolf, The Tuesday Blues display some fine musicianship on the wonderfully arranged Have You Ever Loved Somebody, whilst have a excellent sound one a brace of psych songs, with Sky Flight being the pick of the two. Another fine brace of songs is presented by The Coachmen, whose Byrdsian jangle has a commercial edge, backed by some fine vocals. The band have even re-united recently for some 40th anniversary shows, the original songs being recorded in 1966. It always amazes me that compilation such as this, that rely on a small (relatively) geographical area for their material, can find enough decent quality material for such a collection, and while the quality may dip slightly in places, this cd contains some real killers spread across its 24 tracks, including the excellent psych (ish) version of the soul classic Ninety Nine and a Half, recorded by Scorpio, and featuring some lovely Hammond organ. Those of you with a love of the West-Coast sound will enjoy, the swirling psych of Stonehenge, whose Try to Help Each Other comes complete with eco-aware lyrics and a moody guitar riff. A similar, psych swirl is provided by The Purple Canteen, a band who owned a foot operated lightshow and rehearsed in a canteen painted purple and whose If You Like It That Way contains some fine fuzzed up guitar work. Offering a trio of strong songs, Woo Too Country Band, Feature powerful female vocals courtesy of Susan Gent, whilst the rest of the band display some maturity in their playing, fine arrangements and subtly, all this and a garage cover of What a Friend We Have In Jesus, what more could you want!! With honourable mentions going to L.D. Mitchell & the Amalgamated Taxi Cab Service, for their moody anti-draft song Roses Roses, as well as the funky/slowburning album closer It Could make You Know the Truth- Jimmy Roberts, a song with piano and trombones included, giving it a completely different feel, this compilation is one that you will return you more than once, bring on volume three. (Simon Lewis) --Terrascope Online

This is another second shot, but rather than being a separate album by the same artist, it is instead a further compilation of old recordings by bands from the old days, i.e. the Sixties and thereabouts. One can definitely discern the British invasion influences on these bands (and the pieces are a great deal of fun to listen to and to cogitate on, e.g. there is one track that is so very Buddy Holly, by whom the Brit bands were heavily influenced). They are mostly from Arkansas, but there are a couple of Missouri bands in the mix as well. The liner notes give a lot of information on the groups and where they recorded and even in some cases how they went on to reform as different bands; in fact, it is almost as much fun to read them as it is to listen to the music. The is an instrumental track featuring Jonesboro native Gary Baker, who invented his own instruments and was obviously influenced by jazz organist Jimmy Smith. This is a classic blast from the past and should be in the collection of any follower of music history or fan of music from what we could call a gentler era and, while most of the cuts are dated, there are some that will remind you of bands playing today. The more things change, the more they stay the same? Go to psychofthesouth.com for more data. --Nightflying Magazine

Clearly, this is part of a worthy and ongoing local history project to trace and document the garage and psychedelic music of Arkansas in the 1960s. Listening from the inside, this is something to be proud of, coming as the music does, from unreleased reel to reel tapes in private collections. From a wider perspective however, it does not, to my ears at least, maintain the same consistency of its predecessor. Its strength lays in the first 12 tracks. The Models Leave My House is a garage cruncher and there s soulful and acid fuzz in tracks by The Dust, The Right Track and Saturday s Children. Much of the second half though, is punctuated by indifferent mid-paced instrumentals and so-so melodies. There s a period warmth and glow about it as a package though which helps make it more than the sum of its parts. Paul Martin --Shindig Magazine

trax:

1. Leave My House - The Modds 2. Stop!! - Electric Sunshine 3. Sadie's Ways - The Esquires 4. Have You Ever Loved Somebody - The Tuesday Blues 5. Through A Silk Keyhole - Dust 6. Sky Flight - Dust 7. You Destroyed My Soul - Right Track 8. Your Loving Ways - Saturday's Children 9. Two New Girls - The Coachmen 10. Lovelight - The Coachmen 11. All The Time In The World - The Modds 12. Ninety Nine And A Half - Scorpio 13. Try To Help Each Other - Stonehenge 14. Riverland Blues - The Saint James Group 15. If You Like It That Way - Purple Canteen 16. Thunder Forest - Electric Sunshine 17. Green Was Green Woo Too - Country Band 18. What A Friend We Have In Jesus - Woo Too Country Band 19. Only Going Up The Road - Woo Too Country Band 20. Together We Stand - The Tuesday Blues 21. Roses Roses - LD Mitchell & The Amalgamated Taxi Cab Service 22. It's Your Thing - Scorpio 23. Livin' Ain't Easy - The Tuesday Blues 24. It Could Make You Know The Truth - Jimmy Roberts

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