"Let's Go Down And Blow Our Minds" The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1967 CD2

This box looks at British psychedelia (one tune "reported to be very weird") from the year 1967. Some of the bands are well known like Procol Harum, The Attack, The Pretty Things, The Move, and a few others. But the compilers have wisely excluded well known songs from these bands in favor of lesser known tracks. But fully half of these tracks are by lesser or totally unknown bands who recorded a slice of psychedelia from that time. But fans have no doubt heard "Granny Takes A Trip" by The Purple Gang and "Defecting Grey" by The Pretty Things and maybe a few other tracks before. Included are a number of previously unreleased tracks which add some pretty good interest to the set...

...Check out "Toyland" by The Alan Bown!, where this set gets it's title for an in-your-face set of lyrics. Mention has to be made of The Attack with their Who-like "Magic In The Air", a tough piece of psyche/rock. Or "Subway (Smokey Pokey World)" by The Tickle (before guitarist Mick Wayne formed Junior's Eyes--check out their compilation) for a burst of tough psychedelia. Or "Dogs In Baskets" by Geranium Pond, an unreleased gem. Plus there's "Double Sight" by One In A Million, a fried example of English psyche. This band was a favorite of Pete Townshend because one member was guitarist Jimmy McCulloch. Another example of what went on in 1967 is "Smokeytime Springtime" by The Doves, with some backwards effects. Or maybe the demo of "Family Tree" by The Late, sounding vaguely reminiscent of The Hollies in their psyche/pop period. And then there's "Lazy Man" by The Mirage sounding much like The Beatles' "Rain". And how about "Village Green" a Kinks-like tune from The Brood. There's also a relatively unknown song written by David Bowie, "Silver Tree Top For Boys", by The Slender Plenty. Throw in a menacing version of "Evil Woman" by Guy Darrell (before Spooky Tooth's awesome version) and you have some pretty interesting music. And so it goes throughout this collection.
The mastering has brought out the clarity in these tracks which sound clean and open. The 40 page booklet is the usual from this label--a track-by-track analysis with lots of photos and other ephemera. Each disc slips inside a cardboard sleeve decorated with a psyche image and a track list on the back side. Everything fits inside a thick cardboard clam shell box which lists all the tunes on the back. All in all a nice presentation of this music.
While this set can't include every band from this year that dabbled in psyche, it does give a good idea of just what was going on in Britain in 1967. But with some many lesser known groups and lesser known songs from more well known bands, this collection does a nice job focusing on British psyche from that pivotal year. Worth twenty bucks.

trax disc 2:
1. Flames (mono single version) - Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera 2. Double Sight - One In A Million 3. Keep It Out Of Sight - Paul & Barry Ryan 4. Defecting Grey (extended version) - The Pretty Things 5. Desdemona - John's Children 6. Smokeytime Springtime - The Doves 7. Flowers In Your Hair - John Williams 8. All So Long Ago - The Sweet Feeling 9. Reflections Of Charles Brown - Rupert's People 10. Toy Soldier - The Riot Squad 11. The Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone - The Rats 12. Something To Write About - Circus 13. Funny Face (mono LP version) - Dave Davies 14. Village Green - The Brood 15. Mr. Sun - Tony Rivers & The Castaways 16. Your Servant, Stephen - The Peep Show 17. And The Squire Blew His Horn - The Uglys 18. Vote For Me - The Move 19. A Day In My Mind's Mind - The Human Instinct 0. She Was Perfection - Murray Head 21. Little Girl Lost And Found - Peter & The Wolves 22. Spare A Shilling - The Bunch 23. Flower Power - Big Jim Sullivan 24. Kaleidoscope (extended stereo mix) - Procol Harum 25. Crazy Dreams - The Searchers 26. In The Deep End - The Artwoods
…served by Gyro1966...