Interesting curio of lost psychedelic classics, UK style
Tad Nastic | place USA | 09/22/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Many of the songs are psychedelic in the manner that Beatles "When I'm 64" and King Crimson and the like are psychedelic (don't expect Jimi Hendrix- or The Who-style music). Many of the songs here are of recordings never before released. The quality of the songwriting is good and suggests how rich an era it really was that such talent could not contract themselves to a studio in an already flooded market. The song listing by Amazon isn't correct, however. Actually, the listing is: CLOVER: Dream, Dream, Dream / THE SWEETSHOP: Barefoot and TipToe / DAVE JUSTIN: You Outside / CECIL McCARTNEY: Liquid Blue / PATTERN PEOPLE: Take a Walk In the Sun / JUICE: The Elastic Band / MYSTERY TRACK / THE SCOTS OF ST. JAMES: Eiderdown Clown / TOGETHER: Memories of Melinda / PRICE AND SHERIDAN: Tracy Smith / THE CYMBELINE: Fire / THE TIMOTHY GRASS: Second Glance / QUEEN FLORA'S RECOLLECTIONS: Red Brick House / MOTIVATION: Little Man / LEZE MAJESTY: Regency Garden / SPARROW: Dream Song / KATE: Don't Make a Sound / THE IDLE HANDS: Remember / GREEN PAVANE: The Nymphs Of Umtwalumi Wood / THE AMELIA SMILE: Father Good's Space Flight / THE FACTORY: Red Chalk Hill (Demo) / THE ESSENCE: Call Me a Friend / PETER AND THE WOLVES: Smokey Wood / THE MAJAMOOD: 200 Million Red Ants"
24 obscure British psychedelic wonders
cookieman108 | Inside the jar... | 04/25/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Strange Things brings about a plethora of musical pop gems from the past, artists who probably never even qualified for the `One Hit Wonder' club, but their accomplishments are recognized here. Some of these are a bit rough and certainly dusty, but well worth looking into if you enjoy early, obscure English psychedelic pop.Track one features the Clovers singing `Dream, Dream, Dream', a haunting melody that meanders at a wonderfully slow pace. The falsetto voice accompanied by similarly sounding background singers massages the sensory lobes of your brain, lulling you into a near state of semi-conscious bliss.Track two `Barefoot & Tiptoe' by The Sweetshop is a light, psychedelic pop type musical commercial for Vitalis, a hair care product akin to Brlycream, but not as greasy. It's quite an interesting lost piece of advertising from a different time, a different place. Track three `You Outside' by Dave Justin is a pretty rousing piece of pop that sounds very much like the kind of song you might hear in a bar and sing along with...the singing and musical style reminds me of a little bit of The Royal Guardsmen. The song is loose and seems to lack a great deal of production, but it works well as it's performed with a familiarity of someone who has performed it many times before, and has gotten better and better along the way.Track four `Liquid Blue' by Cecil McCartney (any relation to Paul? I have no idea...) uses some very interesting musical instruments to make it sound sort of `old timey' but the lyrics certain put it into psychedelic overdrive. There's an orchestral touch that rounds the song out quite nicely as the singer switches between singing and speaking parts.Track five `Take a Walk In the Sun' by Pattern People has a more pop produced feel to it, sounding similar to the group The Association crossed with The Mamas and The Poppas presenting a well crafted melody. It's very bouncy, but avoids one of the pitfalls of pop, lacking the sugary sweetness normally built in to you average pop song.Track six `The Elastic Band' by Juice is one of my favorite tracks, a wonderful mix of 60's pop, with a slight dash of psych in the mix to give it an edge. It's got a great sort of catchy pop groove, and wonderfully crafted, yet very simple lyrics sung with great energy and just a whole lot of fun.Track seven is a mystery track. What is it? It's a mystery...buy it and find out. Why should I spoil it? I'll just say it isn't one of my favorites, but I did like the instrumentals on it, relaying a strong English 60's feel. It did seem a bit overproduced, but still it ain't bad.Track eight `Eiderdown Clown' by The Scots of St. James is a great song that starts out in a herky jerky fashion, but smoothes out giving a glimpse of it's thick bluesy roots.Track nine `Memories of Melinda' by Together is a light, sweet but not sugary pop composition that holds together well, making it incredibly catchy. Imagine The Archies, but much, much better.Track ten `Tracy Smith' by Price & Sheridan is another I didn't really care for, but it's not bad. Melodic like a Monkees song, with less fun.
Track 11 `Fire' by The Cymbeline, sounds a lot like The Beach Boys, but with a more Midwestern feel, and a little more fast paced, with some interesting choices in instruments.Track 12 `Second Glance' by The Timothy Grass sounds early Floydian steeped in blues funkadelic. I liked it muchly.Track 13 `Red Brick House' by Queen Flora's Recollections suffers probably due to poor quality of the source material, but it actually fits the song, which is a bit repetitive but much like a group sing-a-long song you'd sing in a pub.Track 14 `Little Man' by Motivation...eh, not bad, but not my favorite. Nice find, though. I liked the organ music that accompanied it, though...Track 15 `Regency Gardens' by Leze Majesty sounds like a psychedelic church hymn, with pipe organ and all...Track 16 `Don't Make A Sound' by Sparrow sounds like a spooky, melodic song sung by a female with a really good voice. Very sort of sultry and sexy...the hint of violin midway through was a nice tough, though...Track 17 `Dream Song' by Kate sounds very Monkees, without the Davy Jones. Really nice melody...Track 18 `Remember' by The Idle Hands is a quirky pop song that grew on me...sounds like less drugged up Doors. I likie...Track 19 `The Nymphs Of Umtwalumi Wood' by Green Pavane sort of defies description...reminds me a little of the Who's Boris the Spider...very weird...Track 20 `Father Good's Space Flight' by The Amelia Smile seems very pre-glamish, sounding like early Sweet. Didn't care for it much...Track 21 `Red Chalk Hill' by The Factory is a wonderfully creepy little pop song with a slow bounce and lots of melancholy. One of the most interesting things about this track was the about the only instrument used was a piano, and it works well. Sounds a little rough, but one of my more favorite tracks.Track 22 `Call Me A Friend' by The Essence is another great track...a hard driving popish tune full of urgency sung by a man who's either smokes too much or sings with gravel in his mouth...either way, it works for me.Track 23 `Smokey Wood' by Peter & The Wolves is a wonderfully haunting melody sung by someone sounding like Davy Jones of the Monkees, with better range.Track 24 `200 Million Red Ants' by The Majamood sounds very folksy with a dash of blues and twangy guitar. Very unusual...Cookieman108"
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1