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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 6:03:51 GMT -5
In total, this list contains over 500 albums from the '65--'75 period.
Here's some general musings on my part, now that I can analyze everything that was in my longstanding queue as a whole.
Overall, the majority of obscure albums fell thru the cracks for a reason. But there's still a very large amount of them which were very good and deserve more recognition than they currently receive. Even within the pool of albums I didn't like, I could see how they would appeal to others—many just plain weren't my style. And as often as not I found at least one track I liked enough to add to my playlist. It's well worth your time to explore a bit, especially if you're like me and get bored just listening to Jimi Hendrix and the Beatles for the millionth time.
You have your music, your title and your cover art. Most albums excel at one of those, some at two, and only a very small handful (think Dark Side of the Moon and Forever Changes) get three. So basically, if you see an album with a great name and great cover, it's very likely the music is going to suck. This is just a weird correlation I've noticed., but by no means a hard and fast rule.
Sundazed is a saintly label that makes it their business to rerelease amazing but forgotten albums, such as the United States of America and Genesis by Wendy and Bonnie. If you see that an album is a Sundazed release, check it out because it's almost certainly going to be good. This rule has only let me down once.
Generally speaking, albums with covers of other artists, especially Beatles covers, suck. There are some very notable exceptions to this rule but more often than not this observation holds true. And the more covers on an album, the probability of it sucking increases exponentially. Also, it's amazing how often the Beatles in particular are covered as compared to other contemporary bands. The next most covered is probably Bob Dylan, and the gap between the two is huge. I've only ever seen one album with a Beach Boys cover, for reference's sake.
1967 truly was the golden year for music. When you see an album from that year, check it out, because it's likely very good if not amazing. I've found that most of the disappointments tend to come from 1969 for some weird reason—I guess because progressive rock was still ironing out the kinks and psychedelic rock was mostly dying out by then. Obviously, that's not to say '67 doesn't have a few stinkers and '69 doesn't have some standouts.
Harmonicas are the worst instrument ever. Whenever one of those is used, you know you're in for a terrible album. Unless you like scratchy, unrefined, garage-y/country flavor in your psych/prog rock. If you do, thats awesome. But for me, it's not.
Women vocalists are a lot rarer than men. And within the pool of albums with a female lead vocalist, they tend to be good more often than not. I personally prefer them. I think women singers are able to capture a sweet spot between serene, sensual and commanding that guy singers can't often match.
The first song on ~75% of these albums is the best, because in those days the first song on each side were usually the single. So many times in this search, I would put on an album, the first song comes on, and I'd think “fuck yeah this is gonna be great!” and then it all goes downhill from there.
The self-titled one offs are either the best or the worst of the bunch. Examples of the former—USA, Toad, Ptoof. Examples of the latter—Incredible Hog, Velvet Fog, Marshmallow Way. There's also a lot of them from this era.
Some uploaders label the genre of music in the title. I never knew what “acid rock” was before embarking on this journey. I was just mostly keeping to psychedelic, progressive and sunshine pop since those are my favorite genres of music. And I've affirmed that those really are my favorite genres now. I don't think there was even a single “garage rock,” or “acid rock,” or “heavy prog/psych” that I really liked. For reference, “heavy” tends to mean louder and less refined in my experience. A good number of the stuff in my reject pile is because it was one of those four genres I just don't particularly care for—but I'm sure they're great as far as that goes and you might like them. I apologize for not keeping track of genre in this list. I never originally intended to share my findings here until someone specifically asked me to.
“Albums” that are really just old demos or live performances that were never released at the time of recording were more likely than not left unreleased for a reason. They don't tend to be godawful or anything, so much as just bland and uninteresting. The two biggest examples of this are Baby Grandmothers and Lemon Drops, but there are several other examples of this phenomenon on the list. They can be interesting listens, but if you're looking for something that'll blow you away and become a staple of your collection, you can safely skip all of them.
I've gained a new appreciation for the Beatles and several other bigger bands after doing this search. I originally sought out so much buried music due to a belief that the Beatles and other bands, while great, weren't better than a lot of other bands at the time that just didn't catch on. While I did find a lot of great music that deserves more attention than they got, I will concede the Beatles rose to become #1 for a reason. Listening to them after several dozen subpar obscure albums in a row was like a breath of fresh air.
This is just me being bored and trying to make sense of nothing, but I propose there are five categories of "rarity/obscurity" in the album pantheon:
1. The top tier is stuff that both record collectors/rock critics and the general public know and respect. This includes the Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, the Doors, Pink Floyd, etc. We might call this group “The Classics.” Any casual fan of pop music has at least heard of the stuff in this category.
2. You've also got your groups/albums that are well known to record collectors/rock critics, but not so much by the general public. In this group you'd find your Procol Harum, 13th Floor Elevators, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Moby Grape. We might call this group “The Rarities.” If music were wine at a fancy restaurant, these would be the "off menu" items only certain cultured people know about.
The next two groups could be considered subcategories of group 2:
3. Then you have groups that were big at the time but fell through the cracks as the years went by. Here you have Country Joe, Spanky and Our Gang, Arthur Brown, Strawberry Alarm Clock. We might call this group “The Time Capsules.”
4. Then you have the opposite—albums that were never popular in their own time but were later rediscovered and praised due to their quality. Here resides your United States of America, Gandalf, Wendy and Bonnie, Forever Changes. These are “The Vindicated” and many of them have been rereleased by Sundazed.
5. Finally you have the stuff that isn't widely known by record collectors/rock critics and is all but totally lost to the general public. They may have their fans, and they may genuinely be great albums. But they just didn't catch on in their own time and haven't been reevaluated since, so they remain largely overlooked. Some might have never even been released on any format except vinyl. This makes up the vast majority of stuff I've sorted through the past 3 years, including your Grapefruit, Critters, St John Green, Silver Apples. These are “The Unknowns.”
The really great music you'll find in this group are your true “Buried Gems,” and you should be proud for discovering them. That's the stuff you really had to go digging for, that couldn't be found in a critic's "best of" list, opinion poll or music forum—only through word of mouth from a friend/curator or painstakingly sampling hundreds of albums to sort the good from the bad. That's how I found Sweet Smoke, Third Rail, Bonnie Dobson and more.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 6:04:49 GMT -5
The Keepers
The United States of America Forever Changes by Love Gandalf Cottonwoodhill by Brainticket Sweet Smoke--Just a Poke The Peppermint Rainbow "Will You Be Staying After Sunday" 1969 Bonnie Dobson Kaleidoscope - Tangerine Dream Aguaturbia – Psychedelic Drugstore (Erotica is good, as is clover) Byrds—Younger than Yesterday Liquid Sound Company - Acid Music for Acid People the serpent power Tim Hollier—Message to A Harlequin Mamas & Papas—If You Believe Your Eyes and Ears Ivory Moby Grape The Third Bardo –Im five years ahead of my time [An EP, not an album] Procol Harum's first 3 albums classics 4—traces [slower, softer and folksy] Oar The Millenium--Begin Incense and Peppermints The Collage (1967) quicksilver messenger service Rain (1972) The Crazy World of Arthur Brown central nervous system—i could have danced all night Peak Impressions Spanky and Our Gang [their sequel album is good too, but nowhere near as good] Agemo's Trip to Mother Earth Three Man Army—third of a lifetime Fuzzy Duck Toad man made the crow—crow music ora The Zodiac—Cosmic Sounds Brainbox Fapardokly Electric Flag—A Long Time Coming Los Mac's –Kaleidoscope Men (2nd track and 10th to the end are the best) 5th Dimension—Magic Garden The Peppermint Trolley Co. Orange Peel Lori Burton –Breakout charisma cruciferius—a nice way of life colours 1968 captain marryat wendy & bonnie--genesis leaf hound--growers of mushroom the amboy dukes—Migration the smoke sunshine company “happy is the sunshine company” Ptooff samurai—green tea ID Music by The Third Rail Colosseum – Valentyne Suite The Critters "Younger Girl" Mesmerizing Eye—Psychedelia, a music lightshow the Remains The Cowsills We Can Fly (a little meh but still good) (Track: Baron Saturday by SF Sorrow) the actual self-titled album is worth another listen Eternity's Children—Timeless graffiti Big Foot Laurelie shotgun LTD Art—Supernatural Fairy Tales Roger Bunn - Piece Of Mind Nektar—A Tab in the Ocean The Beat of the Earth (1967) Wake Up Its Tomorrow, Sacred Mushroom, Love at Psychedelic Velocity, Rainbow Follies, plastic cloud, mighty baby, dada, Brain Police, leaf hound, beggars opera's pathfinder, edens children, Homer's grown in usa, Killing Floor - Out Of Uranus, twentieth century zoo, wilkinson tri-cycle, Christopher, Fruupp—Future Legends, OUT OF FOCUS-WAKE UP!, The Aerovons—Resurrection (Bessy Goodheart and Song For Jane plus last track), The Washington Apple - Fresh Country Apples, The electric prunes, Silver Apples—Silver Apples Ahora Mazda Wigwam—Hard and Horny, The Frost—Through the Eyes of Love The Family Tree Miss Butters the astral projection—the astral scene Nick Drake—Bryter Layter the flock—dinosaur swamps Sagitarius, the hardtimes—blew mind The Hunger—Strictly From Hunger starfire (many moods ago and slippery are the best tracks) Bonniwell Music Machine Nosferatu Fields 1971 twilight (day and night) flea on the honey sleepy john (first half is great anyway) The Gods - To Samuel a Son
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 6:07:26 GMT -5
Worth Another Listen
Happy Trails, Vanilla Fudge, morrison hotel, LA Woman, crown of creation, waiting for the sun, Fresh Cream, Red Krayola, I feel like im fixing to die, Morgen, Fallen Angels, chrasylis definition, tiffany shade, sacrifice, arzachel, bubble puppy, psychedelic lollipop, Moving Sidewalks, Skip Bifferty, Ogdens' Nut Gone Flake, oxford circle, The Moon - Without Earth & The Moon 1968-1969, Bold 1969, Jupiter Sunset - Back In The Sun 1970, The Sugar Shoppe, The Hollies – Evolution, Tomorrow (1968), tea and symphony—an asylum for the musically insane, ant trip ceremony – 24 hours, Wimple Winch [FIRST FEW TRACKS ARE GREAT], visions of time by we the people, music in a dolls house, faintly blowing by kaleidoscope, Emotions by The Pretty Things (first three or so songs are great), Wow by Moby Grape (couple good tracks), the seeds – web of sound, NGC-4594—skipping through the night, where's my daddy?, The Deep Psychedelic Moods (first track and shadows on the wall are good), Midwinter to Find a reason, the fallen angels, the dovers—we're not just anybody (first track is great), street, headstone circus, pidgeon, Harpers Bizarre—Feeling Groovy (alright, but a little too happy/peppy sunshine goodness), Lucifer's Friend (some great tracks, especially at the beginning but kinda drags at the end), Fever Dream, Cold Sun –Dark Shadows (first track's really good), bow street runners (plastic hand and the last track are good), The Other Half Plus, The CA Quintet—Trip Through Hell (some good moments but mostly shit), Eternal Tapestry—Beyond the 4th Door (good for background noise if high but thats it), the gentle soul (too folky, cutesy), grapefruit, the beethoven soul, the collectors, Bear - 1968 - Greetings Children of Paradise, The Music Machine - Turn On, T-Bones—No Matter What Shape, ARCADIUM-Breath Awhile, Mandrake Memorial – Puzzle, apple—apple a day, Salt Water Taffy—Finders Keepers, Caravan--1st Album (first track, place of my own, is good), Susan Christie—Paint a Lady (Yesterday, Where's My Mind and No One Can Hear You Cry are the best), Children of the Mushroom, Wildfire—smoking, mephistopholes—in frustration I hear singing, stud, Action—16 Slices of the Action, Majic Ship, the cleves, The Hunger—Strictly From Hunger (Trying to Make the Best, Mind Machine), purple overdose—reborn, Crystal Syphon—Elephant Ball, Growing Concern, the collectors—grass and wild strawberries, Incredible Hog - Volume I, Kennelmus—Folkstone Prism, Truth—of them and other tales, acid mothers temple and the cosmic inferno—anthem of the space, The Ghost—When You're Dead (first few tracks especially good), Mother superior, stained glass—aurora, Friar Tuck and his psychedelic guitar (its mostly blah and starts out just okay, but theres some real gems too.), the new colony six—revelation (its cute sunshine pop but the lyrics are bland), julian jay savarin—waiters on the dance (pretty good, first two tracks the best), The Novac—the fifth word (actually pretty good if hectic album), Broselmaschine 1971 (starts good but then descends into the sitar and is overall too mellow for me), beacon street union—clown's overture, blodwyn pig, GTO's—permanent damage (fascinating. Like Zappa), Mystic Siva—under the influence (starts off okay, drops off. Vocals are just meh), Garrett Lund—Almost Grown (first two to four tracks are great tho), dino, desi and billy—souvenir (forgettable but not terrible sunshine pop), stone circus, quatermass, snow 1968 (decent but bland sunshine/psych), five day rain, cynara, gracious (uk underground), spring, O.P.M.C. - Amalgamation, great bear 1971, Appaloosa 1969, cosmic corridors, think—variety (mostly very good, drags in the end), Missing Link - Nevergreen 1972, Dedalus (offbeat like Mesmerizing Eye), Guru Guru – Känguru (another weird free form album), Ian Carr's Nucleus – Roots, Flake - How's Your Mother, Goldenrod – 1969, The Little Boy Blues - In the woodland of Weir, Nucleus - We'll talk about it later (all instrumentals), Short Cross - Arising 1972, Heavy Cruiser - Lucky Dog (1973), heavy cruiser, Swallow (1973), cherry people, Road (1972), john and ann ryder—I still believe in tomorrow, Steeplechase - Lady Bright, lost nation—paradise lost, Lovecraft - Valley of the Moon, T.I.M.E. - Smooth Ball, Cottonwood – Camaraderie, Jokers Wild - Liquid giraffe, Horn - On the people´s side, the jarvis street revue—mr oil man, Hero 1974, Mad Curry (I really liked this one), Jack Bonus, Maggi—clockwork cosmic spirits, A new place to live (1972), Banchee 1969, Mom's Apple Pie 1971, Sams apple pie (1969) [both the apple pie albums have good first tracks.], Luv Machine 1971, food brain, Gentle Giant – Octopus, McPhee 1971,
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Post by Deleted on Dec 31, 2018 6:09:26 GMT -5
WASNT IMPRESSED WITH:
13th Floor Elevators' 3 albums, HP Lovecraft's 2 albums, Small Faces, Music Emporium, Savage Resurrection, Magic Lantern, moon blood, introspection, july, clear light, kak ola, weed, stoned age man, cromagnon, supreme psychedelic underground, leviathan, magic bubble, one, Q65, chocolate watchband 44, shades of deep purple, Dragonfly, shadows of knight, distortions by litter, out of foucs, Xhol Caravan - Electrip (1969), playback by appletree theater, Fifty Foot Hose - Cauldron (1967), Neon Pearl – 1967, armageddon by maze, The Lollipop Shoppe – Just Colour [Full Album] 1968, Bohemian Vendetta 1968, The Tea Company - Come And Have Some Tea 1968, Chocolate Watch Band - The Inner Mystique, The Asylum Choir - Look Inside, Magic - Enclosed 1969, Pugh's Place - West One 1969, Night Shadow – The Square Root Of Two, The Open Mind 1969 , Thrice Mice, UFO, ///Faine Jade-Introspection, St John Green [[BUT THE FIRST AND LAST TRACKS ARE GREAT]], Index—black label album, the haunted, the master's apprentice, the superfine dandelion, Please, chocolate watchband no way out, kaleidoscope-Side Trips, beacon from mars, grape jam, The Misunderstood—before the dream faded, roger the engineer by the yardbirds, zipper, groundhogs blues obituary, the love depression, fate—sgt death, Haymarket Square –Magic Lantern, farm, The Clique –Sugar on Sunday, boston tea party, federal duck, PC KENT—Upstairs Coming Down (first track is good tho), velvet fog, blueberry pancake—heavy, autosalvage (first intro is good), condello (first track or two are good), chameleon church, red dirt, Suck—time to suck, The Yankee Dollar, Pearls Before Swine –One Nation Underground, Dantalian's Chariot (last two tracks are good), the fool, trees—on the shore, Electric Prunes—Stockholm 67, Dschinn, Bulbous Creation—You Wont Remember Dying, Gun, Lemmy Kilmister – Sam Gopal – Escalator, fear itslef, Apryl Fool (Tander and Sunday are good), The Search Party_ Montgomery Chapel (1969) (first song has nice beat), Area Code 615 – Trip in the Country, Morning Dew, Octopus, string cheese, Jellyroll, A Trip Down The Sunset Strip" by The Leathercoated Minds, tax free, every mother's son, paupers—magic people, Freakout USA, The Mascots – Ellpee, the outsiders CQ (wish you were here with me today and Love you #2 are good), Beauregard Ajax—Deaf Priscilla, Pink Fairies—Never Never Land, Them—Belfast Gypsies, The Mugwumps, buzz linheart—buzzy, tinkerbell's fairydust, Night Sun - 1972 – Mournin', count five--psychotic reaction, the barbarians—are you a boy or a girl?, the immigrants, The Jack Wild Album, The Litter—Distortions, The Action—Rolled Gold, The Electric Banana—Blows Your Mind (eagles son is good), Gabor Szabo—Dreams, Pacific Gas and Electric—Get It On, Keith Hartley Band—Halfbreed, Chicken Shake—Imagination Lady, The Third Eye—Searching, Lyd, First Album by the Fugs, The Perth Country Conspiracy Does Not Exist, The Fun and Games—Elephant Candy (cool cover of DontWorryBaby), Bakery—Momento (starts off great tho), Atomic Rooster, power plant—golden dawn, Saturnalia—Magical Love, Asylum Choir II, elysian fields, Stepping Out—Another Concert Somewhere, velvet night, Leonard Cohen—Songs From A Room, ThunderMother—No Red Rowan, Randy Holden—Population II, hootch (not bad, just kinda one note), power of zeus—by the gospel of zeus, pluto, spooky tooth—its all about, The Ceyleib People—tanyet, The Fire Escape - Psychotic reaction, Moby grape—very fine citizen, brain ticket—celestial ocean (first track is good tho), Chambers Brothers—The Time has come today (title track and first track are good), Larry's Rebels—A study in black (stormy winds and "lets think of something we can talk about" is good), Taj Mahal - 1968 - Taj Mahal, Grootna (Your Grandma loves you is okay), Lazy Smoke—Corridor of Faces (sarah saturday is okay), One in a Million—Double Sight, Day Blindness, atlantic ocean—tranquility bay, dry ice—mary's meth dream, Forever more—yours and words on black plastic, Time—before there was...time, 3's A Crowd "Christopher's Movie Matinee (wasnt it you isnt bad), The Human Instinct—Stoned Guitar, lemon fog and the nomads—3 o clock merrian webster time, Open Road—Windy Daze, Mops—lijanaika, atomic rooster—in hearing of atomic rooster, Marshmallow Way, the flying machine, the crazy people—bedlam (after six and head job arent bad), Mock Duck—Test Record, sugar cube blues band, five leaves left, pink moon, andwellas dream—love and poetry, the cryan shames—synthesis, the id—the inner sounds of the id, Douglas Fir-Hard Heartsingin', the black foot—the foot steps, Mason—Harbor 1971, lost and found—everybody's here, yesterday's children, The Flying Karpets - The Flying Karpets, the spoils of war—spoils of war 2, chimera, galadriel, Ashkan—in from the cold, eastfield meadows, Bulldog Breed—Made in England, michaelangelo—one voice many, peter paul and mary—album 1700, the freak scene psychedelic psoul, methuselah—Matthew Mark Luke and John, linda perhacs—parallelograms (wasn't really my style but tho the titular track was AMAZING!! so was Moons and Cattails), the rainy daze—that acapulco gold, the fanz—the grand illusion, Jokers 1972 (horrible), fever tree—another time, Euphoria - 1969 - A Gift From Euphoria, another place (either jokes are for sad people is good), free action ince—plays eddy korsche rock and blues, the dog that bit people, jardine—look in the window, neon, after tea—jointhouse blues, TS Bonniwell—Close, Ken Little—Solo, big lost rainbow, krokodil, Edgar Broughton Band, the unspoken word, Sam Gopal Escalator, stark naked, hole in the wall, Eugene Carnan, Kath, Iota, crash coffin, Escombros, the idle race, Peace and Love album, Raven album, pax album, forest album, Fleur De Lis - Facing Morning, Tobruk - Ad Lib 1972, Ian Carr – Belladonna, elizabeth, brigg, february the 31, Isolation, Clem Alford - Mirror Image (sitar), groundshaker, Hurdy Gurdy, Estes Brothers—Transitions, Candida Pax – Day, Wilson McKinley - Spirit Of Elijah (horrible christian rock), Rockin Foo 1969, Apocalypse 1969, Rex Holman - Here In The Land Of Victory, John Compton – To Luna, GURU GURU-Ufo, Arbuckle, Boondoggle & Balderdash, Peace & Quiet , The Frays - 90 Wardour Street, Redwing, Redeye, The Koala, mount rushmore—high on mount rushmore, manna, Cornbread (1971), TEAR GAS, Excalibur - The First Album, Medicine Head - Dark Side Of The Moon, Uganda 1972, Thunder And Roses - King Of The Black Sunrise, The Lemon Fog - The Psychedelic Sound of Summer (liked the first track or two), Dennis Coffey Trio - Hair & Thangs 1969, Ramases—Space Hymns (I like Life Child tho), little free rock, Flying Bear Medicine Show, Circus 1969, Greezy Wheels - Juz loves dem ol', The American Revolution (1968), Markley - A Group 1969, Formerly Fat Harry – 1971, Lacewing (1970), bullet—the entrance to hell, Challenger's (1969), Eric (1970), Heavy Balloon - 32,000 Pound (1969), ashes 1970, nirvana—songs of love and passion, Maury Muehleisen – Gingerbreadd, The Corporation (1969), CREEPY JOHN THOMAS - BROTHER BAT BONE, WRITING ON THE WALL - POWER OF PICTS, Sabicas with Joe Beck - Rock Encounter (1970), Sabicas - The Soul of Flamenco and the Essence of Rock (1971), Christopher - What'cha Gonna Do? 1969, Megatrip 1978, The Rhythm Dukes – Flashback, Fat Water 1969, Head Over Heels 1971, donovan—mellow yellow (i like the title track tho), Mars Bonfire - Faster Than The Speed Of Life (1969, The Patron Saints - Fohhoh Bohob 1969, Baby Grandmothers—Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 3, 2019 15:07:04 GMT -5
Thanks for all these suggestions!
I quite enjoyed five leaves left, particularly the opener (time has told me, I believe?) but I haven’t listened to Drake’s other works. I’ll have to dive further into his discography
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Post by Beach Boys Fan on Jan 3, 2019 21:14:22 GMT -5
This is delicious! Many thanks, @iluvleniloud ! I'm interested precisely in obscure albums/ bands. I used to do the same as you but didn't get to listen to as many as you did. I shall save these to my computer, if it's fine by you (I save things I like when I see it in blogs, sites etc., be it nice b/w picture or nice musings).
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 9, 2019 0:37:28 GMT -5
That's an insane list. I consider myself a fairly serious psych fan/collector, and I've heard maybe 30% of those.
It's cool that you seem to follow your own muse when you come to this stuff. Some of the albums and artists in your cast-off pile are very highly rated when it comes to most collectors. I'm thinking mainly the Elevators, the Chocolate Watch Band and stuff like the Music Emporium, the Lollipop Shoppe and Population II. But if garage and heavy psych isn't your bag, then it's totally understandable that you wouldn't gravitate towards these.
I can't disagree with your classics list. Of the ones I've heard, those are all really strong records.
Unlike you, I'm a huge garage rock nut, and my hobby lately is collecting 45s. There's a lot of incredible bands out there that never got the chance to cut a full album, and it's a lot of fun when I stumble upon a long-lost classic amidst all the dross.
I agree that most Beatles covers, at least by other bands, suck. Here's one IMO that's incredible, though.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 11, 2019 14:36:58 GMT -5
That's an insane list. I consider myself a fairly serious psych fan/collector, and I've heard maybe 30% of those. It's cool that you seem to follow your own muse when you come to this stuff. Some of the albums and artists in your cast-off pile are very highly rated when it comes to most collectors. I'm thinking mainly the Elevators, the Chocolate Watch Band and stuff like the Music Emporium, the Lollipop Shoppe and Population II. But if garage and heavy psych isn't your bag, then it's totally understandable that you wouldn't gravitate towards these. I can't disagree with your classics list. Of the ones I've heard, those are all really strong records. Unlike you, I'm a huge garage rock nut, and my hobby lately is collecting 45s. There's a lot of incredible bands out there that never got the chance to cut a full album, and it's a lot of fun when I stumble upon a long-lost classic amidst all the dross. I agree that most Beatles covers, at least by other bands, suck. Here's one IMO that's incredible, though. Thanks @barto Beach Boys Fan for your nice comments! You too, Jason! I'm aware that a lot of the more respected niche artists wound up in my reject pile--that was actually the inspiration for another thread I started on PSF (Albums you're "supposed to like" but dont). I really wanted to love 13th Floor elevators, Velvet Underground and Blood Moon in particular considering how highly recommended they were but it just didn't happen for me. Its a great feeling isn't it? Like "I'm one of a select few who've got to experience this masterpiece!" If there are any 45s you'd think I'd love based on what you see Im into on this list, I'd love to see
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 11, 2019 20:03:44 GMT -5
Thanks @barto Beach Boys Fan for your nice comments! You too, Jason! I'm aware that a lot of the more respected niche artists wound up in my reject pile--that was actually the inspiration for another thread I started on PSF (Albums you're "supposed to like" but dont). I really wanted to love 13th Floor elevators, Velvet Underground and Blood Moon in particular considering how highly recommended they were but it just didn't happen for me. Its a great feeling isn't it? Like "I'm one of a select few who've got to experience this masterpiece!" If there are any 45s you'd think I'd love based on what you see Im into on this list, I'd love to see It's kind of hard to pin down your precise tastes, but I can sure try. It's funny, if somebody told me they really loved the U.S.A. album, I might well point them towards 50 Foot Hose which you seem not to have liked much. Ditto Eternity's Children and The Fun and Games. But I get that; I'm into pretty much anything Curt Boettcher produced, but a lot of other sunshine/harmony pop stuff leaves me flat. I guess we all just like what we like. Anyway, since you seem to enjoy Curt Boettcher and his work with Sagittarius and Millennium, you might enjoy some of the one-off acts he produced in between. This song by The Oracle is probably my favorite. (It's written by Ruthanne Friedman of "Windy" fame.)
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 11, 2019 20:05:51 GMT -5
Eddie Hodges was a famous kid actor in the late 50s and early 60s before he transitioned into a career in pop music. He must've experimented with LSD at some point, as his name comes up on a lot of mindbending psych-pop singles. This is Eddie and Tandyn Almer's one-off group The Paper Fortress:
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 11, 2019 20:13:47 GMT -5
Turquoise hailed from Santa Barbara, and they were often the opening act for national touring bands at the Earl Warren Showgrounds. Unfortunately they only released two singles (one a promo only) before their singer Tim Pearson tragically died. "Beautiful Death Dealer" is their opus. If I had to describe them, I'd say a mix of The Doors with St. John Green. Definitely "heavy", but you might enjoy it all the same.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2019 6:59:13 GMT -5
Sorry if I missed this in the list of 500 but American Crucifixion Resurrection by the Four Seasons is an obscure psychedelic album I really enjoy.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 18, 2019 19:55:27 GMT -5
Last night I delved into the work of Todd Rundgren since I enjoy the song "Hello It's Me" so much. I listened to his first two albums with the band Nazz and tonight I plan on checking out Nazz III as well as his solo album Something/Anything. (I'll share my thoughts on them later.) I was somewhat iffy on the first two Nazz albums. They're about half psych rock and half garage. My favorite tracks were the first on their debut album, " Open my Eyes," and the final two on the followup, " Letters Don't Count" and "A Beautiful Song."
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 21, 2019 18:24:14 GMT -5
Leni and jasonpenick: I check the music blog in which the blogger shares playlists consisting of obscure tracks in obscure albums by obscure bands. That's where I found about Fun And Games. He posted "3 by Fun And Games", tracks in the album you mention, Leni. I do agree with you about the DWB cover, it's nice. But, will agree with jasonpenick in regards the album. "The Grooviest Girl In The World" is the best song, catchy and isn't forgettable like many obscure bands' material. Meaning, this band didn't luck out but *could've* with the right time in the right place, as they say. "Close to Carmel" is the best song on that album by a wide margin. The reason they didn't luck out (as you put it) is that the singer made disparaging remarks to several MCA execs while onstage during an industry showcase convention, and the group instantly lost label support as a result. Up until that point they were poised for better things, with "Grooviest Girl" hitting #78 on the US Billboard Hot 100.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 7:32:24 GMT -5
Sorry if I missed this in the list of 500 but American Crucifixion Resurrection by the Four Seasons is an obscure psychedelic album I really enjoy. You mean "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette", or is that an alternate title I've never noticed? "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" is a great yet very obscure album, and "Saturday's Father" is my favorite. There's one more album by the same songwriter team, "Watertown" by Frank Sinatra, which is also fascinating (and Sinatra's only truly successful attempt at contemporary pop in my opinion) The Four Seasons is definitely not an album-oriented band, but they have a few really solid albums: "New Gold Hits" (1967, not a comp in spite of its name) is a ingenious attempt at sunshine Pop, and "Half & Half" (1970) is a respectable soft rock album.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 7:37:26 GMT -5
Another obscure album I'm very much fond of is this one by "Harmony Grass", a British sunshine/harmony pop band led by Tony Rivers.
The first track, "Move In A Little Closer Baby" was a hit at the time in the UK. It's a thoroughly great album that requires much more attention.
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Post by jasonaustin on Jan 22, 2019 15:23:13 GMT -5
Sorry if I missed this in the list of 500 but American Crucifixion Resurrection by the Four Seasons is an obscure psychedelic album I really enjoy. You mean "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette", or is that an alternate title I've never noticed? "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" is a great yet very obscure album, and "Saturday's Father" is my favorite. There's one more album by the same songwriter team, "Watertown" by Frank Sinatra, which is also fascinating (and Sinatra's only truly successful attempt at contemporary pop in my opinion) The Four Seasons is definitely not an album-oriented band, but they have a few really solid albums: "New Gold Hits" (1967, not a comp in spite of its name) is a ingenious attempt at sunshine Pop, and "Half & Half" (1970) is a respectable soft rock album. Check out Chameleon from 1972.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 22, 2019 15:36:43 GMT -5
Sorry if I missed this in the list of 500 but American Crucifixion Resurrection by the Four Seasons is an obscure psychedelic album I really enjoy. You mean "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette", or is that an alternate title I've never noticed? "Genuine Imitation Life Gazette" is a great yet very obscure album, and "Saturday's Father" is my favorite. There's one more album by the same songwriter team, "Watertown" by Frank Sinatra, which is also fascinating (and Sinatra's only truly successful attempt at contemporary pop in my opinion) The Four Seasons is definitely not an album-oriented band, but they have a few really solid albums: "New Gold Hits" (1967, not a comp in spite of its name) is a ingenious attempt at sunshine Pop, and "Half & Half" (1970) is a respectable soft rock album. Yes that’s what I meant...I said the title track by mistake. I love Bob Gaudio. Excited to see he is in the new Brian Wilson documentary
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Post by Deleted on Feb 11, 2019 16:21:14 GMT -5
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Post by kds on Feb 12, 2019 12:42:34 GMT -5
Cry of Love is a band that likely would've been far bigger had they not come out at the height of grunge.
Their 1993 album, Brother, is one of the best albums of the 1990s for my money.
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Post by jk on May 28, 2020 6:47:15 GMT -5
I have drawn on these lists at several forums and indeed used to join in here first time round. Time, then, to revisit this fine topic. Unlike the OP, I was in my teens and twenties during the years 1966-1975. So many of the names in her list were familiar to me although many of the actual albums were not. For me it has been a fascinating trip of discovery and rediscovery down... well, Memory Lane is perhaps a misnomer but you get the idea. My grateful thanks to that person for dozens of hours of listening pleasure! First up, for many reasons, is a track from the 1968 album The United States of America. Out of many I love on this album, "Cloud Song" is probably my favourite. "Blissed out" is an overused cliché but never was it more apposite than here. And I'm a sucker for wordless sung lines--they often say more than the lyrics! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_United_States_of_America_(album)
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Post by jk on May 28, 2020 7:53:16 GMT -5
I used to own Love's Forever Changes on vinyl for a while but never really warmed to it (unlike their debut and side one of Da Capo). Forever evidently does change because now I think it's a thing of wonder, every song a gem. This is "Andmoreagain", an Arthur Lee composition and the first track to be committed to tape: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forever_Changes
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Post by jk on May 28, 2020 7:57:09 GMT -5
Out of all the "Keepers", I shall forever associate Gandalf with the OP. In some ways it's an unlikely candidate for a list of psychedelic albums--eight of the ten songs are covers, including the seriously non-psychedelic likes of "Scarlet Ribbons". But it works wonderfully well--and the cover is stunning in itself. I know this is her favourite track, "Can You Travel In The Dark Alone": en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandalf_(American_band)
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Post by jk on May 28, 2020 8:32:18 GMT -5
Brainticket's Cottonwoodhill is another highly original psychedelic album I would never have come across if it weren't for the many hours the OP diligently spent scouring YouTube looking for gems like this. The album opens with the stunning "Black Sand". And the quality never lets up! www.progarchives.com/album.asp?id=3608
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Post by jk on May 28, 2020 8:35:53 GMT -5
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