"Golden State Psychedelia" 1968-1970

Some of the earliest releases in Big Beat's Nuggets From The Golden State series were based around the output of top San Francisco recording facility, Golden State Recorders. The latest instalment in the series, 'Golden State Psychedelia', continues to celebrate the studio's legacy, restoring material from deleted volumes as well as exhuming more psychedelic gems from the GSR vault. Aside from rare singles by the Tow-Away Zone and Seventh Dawn, 'Golden State Psychedelia' is comprised wholly of material that went unreleased, though not for reasons of musical quality. As studio boss and producer Leo Kulka said, the sheer volume of acts in the San Francisco of the era meant pitching material to labels became increasingly difficult. Nevertheless, Kulka gave bands a professional home in which to record, and the contents of 'Golden State Psychedelia', all recorded between 1966 and 1970, reflect the freaky, experimental flavor of the times. (Melody Maker)
The Big Beat label has issued other collections from this same era under the Golden State title, and this latest is in the same mold. This set is a sort of back pages to what other more famous bands were doing at that time. Some of these tracks were issued a long while back, while a number of them have never been issued until now. It's pretty safe to assume that fans of this type of music from relatively unknown bands will hear some pretty cool things. This set is aimed at those fans (like me) who like hearing the "second/third -tier" bands from a certain period/region.
These bands all recorded at Golden State Records in S.F. in the late '60s/early '70s which gave them a chance to record in a professional studio. What came out will probably stretch your mind a bit. These are garage/bar band groups with lots of fuzz guitars and that sometimes cheesy organ sound typical for the period. And the lyrics--hmmm--there's some seriously demented things here. These bands push into sometimes distant, unknown psyche areas that more famous bands didn't venture into. And that's what makes this collection interesting. (Stuart Jefferson, Shindig)
trax:
1. Blow Up - The Goody Box 2. Meditorium - Carnival 3. Shab'd - The Tow-Away Zone 4. Sunless Night - The Bristol Boxkite 5. Rubaiyat - The Immediate Family 6. Black Diamonds - The Ticket Agents 7. Highway Highway - The Short Yellow 8. Speed - Celestial Hysteria 9. Fuck For Peace - Magician 10. Infinitation - Carnival 11. Mad Rush World - The Bristol Boxkite 12. Don't Worry Me - The Seventh Dawn 13. My Kind Of People - Just Slightly Richer 14. Daddy's Zoo - The Tow-Away Zone 15. Hand Full - The Short Yellow 16. Ah Gee - The Goody Box 17. Wet Chant - The Immediate Family 18. Chasing Rainbows - The Bristol Boxkite 19. New Song Aka Going Home - Celestial Hysteria 20. Years Have Passed Away - Carnival 21. Solitude - Just Slightly Richer 22. Who Are We - The Bristol Boxkite 23. Start Seeing - The Short Yellow 24. Love Is The Greatest Thing - Royal Family 25. Sunday At The Lotus Parlor - The Gants