I don’t quite exactly recall when I added this album to my queue, but I’m sure it was in the ‘suggestions’ category for an album I listened to sometime in the past week or two. According to Wikipedia, this psychedelic garage rock group formed out of a folk rock group called The Bittersweets in Phoenix, Arizona in 1967. The band went on to open for bands including Blue Cheer and The Byrds, and eventually moved to Los Angeles, which is when the name change occurred. The band had some regional success, and was signed to Vault Records, according to Wikipedia. The band basically broke up after the lead guitarist was drafted into the Army. I’m pretty excited to hear what this one has to offer, as I am particularly fond of the mid to late 1960s era psychedelic rock from Los Angeles. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Quiet Before the Storm” has a super interesting, definitely psychedelic introduction. It reminds me of something from The Beatles’ Magical Mystery Tour (1967), with the reverse rhythm sections and experimental sounds. As the intro slowly progresses, there’s a bit of raga influence in the guitar. Oh wow, when the song drops into place it’s so soft and inviting. The vocals wander around the soundscape in a very deliberate manner, and the rest of the instrumentation gradually picks up in ferocity as well. I really dig the organs in the background. Oh wow, the vocals get super interesting, and all of a sudden the electric guitar gets super fuzzed out and continues on with a bit of that raga influenced psychedelic rock. I think I can hear a bit of that Los Angeles regional dialect of psychedelic rock in this one. Wow, those rolling cymbals and the strangeness in the organ really set the tone for what could be coming in the next tracks. I’m quite exciting for the next tracks.
Holy smokes, “Rainbow” has that in-your-face feeling of acid rock with the strong fuzzed out guitar, along side the rapid, garage rock/almost proto-punk rock tempo of the drums and bass. Holy smokes, the guitar work in this one is awesome. The bass line fills the track up so well from the background while chaos ensues around it. When the main line of the song drops back into place, I’m really reminded a lot of Iron Butterfly. Wow, this song is awesome. Holy smokes, the energy on this track is insane. The ending of it sounds like a train rolling down the tracks and across the soundscape. Awesome track.
“Bullfrog” drops into a super groovy psychedelic blues rock song. Wow, I’m really digging this song and album. The song takes a very tasty yet unexpected turn when things pick up, and as they calm back down everything falls back into that bluesy lick again so well. Wow, the ever-changing energy in this one is infectious. The drums and bass make it feel like the tune is chugging along, reminiscent of the train at the end of the last track, while the electric guitar absolutely melts things away. Holy smokes, the tone on the electric guitar went totally clean for a moment when the rhythm guitar came on – absolutely insane. I’m so hooked on this track now that it’s hard not to get lost in the music. This honestly reminds me a whole lot of Grateful Dead circa 1967 (see their version of “Viola Lee Blues”). Everything on this track is grooving on all cylinders. Wow, the bass walking up and down in the background just adds even more movement to this awesome track. Holy smokes, everything falls right back into place. Wow, the guitar work and the rest of the instrumentation is absolutely insane. Wow, the track fades into the background while the band continues to jam out – like they’re still playing to this day.
“Love In Your Face” starts out with the sound of glass breaking, and really gets a bit darker and deeper in tone, becoming more of an acid rock tune. Wow, the distortion from one of the instruments has a an awesome roughness to it, like it’s sanding down the jam in a really awesome way. This jam is absolutely awesome that the band is playing right now. Twentieth Century Zoo has so much energy in this one. They honestly remind me so much of Grateful Dead in a lot of ways right now – though there’s definitely a difference. Great tune.
“You Don’t Remember” drops right into things with this super tasty psychedelic rock groove. The organ swishes the song around in different ways while playing extremely well off the bass. Wow, this song is awesome. The use of the vocals around the soundscape is absolutely awesome. The bass didn’t show any signs of slowing down. This song has an extremely strange ending that caught me off guard, but only adds to the psychedelia of the tune and album as a whole.
“It’s All In My Head” has a really groovy bass line that starts things out, which is soon accompanied by a couple different electric guitars with varying degrees of distortion – both of which are absolutely delicious in tone. The lead (?) guitar on the left side of the soundscape isn’t quite as crunchy in tone, and has some super awesome playing that has varying degrees of involvement in the jam. Oh wow, this song takes a super interesting turn with this psychedelic march feel with the vocals and the drums. Wow, some of these tones hit by the guitars are absolutely awesome. I can’t believe the album is nearly on the final track of this play-through. The lead guitar has such a light touch to what’s being played, and really keeps things a-rollin’ along as it goes in on the jam. I want to stress that the other instruments are absolutely groovy too, but as a guitar player, I’m finding myself really digging the guitar-work on this one.
“Blues With a Feeling” starts with an almost folksy orchestral intro with some different instruments, and then everything falls together in this super psychedelic bluesy groove. I can definitely recognize this bluesy sound, but they’ve draped it in a heavy layer of psychedelia. This track is almost 10 minutes in duration and I think I’ll be enjoying every second. There’s definitely a whole lot of feeling in this one. The crunchy guitar tone is absolutely delicious when combined with those bluesy licks. The vocals really get guttural at times. Holy smokes, the organ in this one is absolutely delicious. Oh wow, the harmonica takes things over out of nowhere and is absolutely awesome. The lead guitar goes back and forth with the harmonica at first and then with the electric organ, each time adding an awesome layer of psychedelia to the playing. Wow, the guitar takes over the lead and releases a ton of tension that I didn’t even notice had built up. The piano really has adds some classic bluesy rock and roll flavor to the composition. Oh wow, the piano takes over and absolutely jams out with some super bluesy piano lines that are laced with a good dose of psychedelia. Oh wow, the jam continues to evolve and progress even more as the song continues. The vocals really are belting out by the end of the song, really increasing the feeling to a whole different level. That outro was pretty awesome. Great way to end an absolutely awesome album.
Wow, this album is great. If you dig psychedelic rock, some bluesy rock and roll, acid rock, or dig any late 60s bands like the Grateful Dead, there’s a good to fair chance you might enjoy this one. I’m looking into getting this one on vinyl immediately after I finish this post. For real, this one has a lot of great flavor to it. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A