I added this album after seeing it in my suggestions after listening to The Litter last night, and am pretty excited to check it out. I know nothing at all about Syndicate of Sound without looking them up, but after doing so, I can see that they were a garage rock and psychedelic rock band, which started in 1964 and continued until 1970, at which point they took somewhat of a break, coming back together in 1990. They were influenced by the earlier works of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. The band won a battle of the bands competition in the San Francisco Bay area, though their debut album didn’t quite receive much attention. The band continued writing, and created this particular album, which did put the band on the map in terms of recognition after getting one of the singles from the album up to number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. With that said, I’m pretty interested to see what’s in store, so I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Big Boss Man” is a really flavorful cover of the blues standard, which starts out with a relatively slow start until things fall into place with the first verse, at which point the song quickens and tightens up with some groovy psychedelic garage rock playing from all the instruments. I really dig the organs as they remind me quite a bit of early Grateful Dead. Holy smokes, this saxophone part is awesome and completely unexpected from my general exposure to garage rock. Great start to this album.
“Almost Grown” is super interesting, and even has a bit of a doo-wop classic rock and roll feel to this one. Holy smokes, those piano notes are absolutely delicious. This tune is super groovy, and really making me listen even more as the twangy, raw guitar plays some super tasty licks in this classic early rock and roll style tune keeps things a-rollin’ along.
“So Alone” takes a completely different approach from the previous song. Oh wow, there’s like a nice jazz club feel to the rhythm section, while the electric guitar takes on a 60s-California-esque tremelo effect. Meanwhile, there’s a lovely harmonica that blends everything together, and wonderful chimes to tie it up. Really groovy tune.
“Dream Baby” takes on a bit of that garage rock feel with the raw sound from the instrumentation, though it’s got a sort of softer, rounded approach. I really dig the background chorus vocals, which sort of turn the song gently around on itself as it plays. Groovy tune.
“Rumors” has a super groovy feel to it, which takes on a classic early psychedelic rock groove feeling, with a California tinge. It honestly reminds me quite a bit of Grateful Dead with some flavoring from The Beach Boys. Oh wow, this tune is super short, but I’m really digging it.
“Little Girl” is the single from the album that reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100, and it’s a pretty sweet clap-along type of 60s pop rock tune. It kind of reminds me a bit of The Beau Brummels. I really like the nearly conversational feel from the vocals in this one, plus there’s a really nice little grit in the timbre of the vocals in this one.
“That Kind of Man” has a really sweet feel to this one, with some almost shimmering loose guitar work, while the bass, drums, and background vocals keep things tight. The lead vocals are super interesting in this mix, I’m not sure whether it’s the same thing played over itself, or if they recorded the same vocal line very similarly twice and that’s the harmonizing I’m hearing. Otherwise, pretty interesting little tune.
“I’m Alive” has a super interesting sound to it, with the vocals taking a whole different dimension in the mix with the background vocals and the lead vocals being indistinguishable. I’m really digging the little jams the band seems to have in between the choruses of this song and many others on the album. I really dig the ending shaking of the tambourine too.
“You” has a very familiar sounding melody to it, though I can’t quite place it – I feel like it might be from a song by The Doors. The electric guitar has a really interesting psychedelic tremelo effect that plays well with the pseudo shuffle being played by the drums and bass. Wow, I think that was a little flute solo I just heard, which was really awesome. This feels like a classic early mellow-sounding psychedelic rock song.
“Lookin’ for the Good Times (The Robot)” has some infectious garage rock energy, especially with the really simple twangy electric guitar in tandem with the claps. The drums really keep things grooving along, while the electric guitar sort of strings you along. The bass moves around a bit in the soundscape of this one, at times playing the same line as the electric guitar, and other times serving as a foundation for the guitar to play on. Wow, the solo was sweet. I love the rhythm guitar sort of swishing around while the bright lead guitar brings about the high energy.
“The Witch” has some super groovy sound in this one, and almost has a bit of a dark feeling, served in a proto-punk rock/garage rock setting. Holy smokes, the bass gets super fat and really stirs the cauldron up on this one, while the background vocals give an other-worldly feel to it. The drums have some really awesome energy on this one, and really make a great foundation for the rest of the instruments to perform on.
Oh wow, “Is You Is or Is You Ain’t My Baby” is extraordinarily flavorful, hitting a lot of notes that the band seems to have teased throughout the album creating a lot of feeling of resolution in this one. Wow, this one really is a great sounding classic rock and roll tune with a healthy influence of psychedelia. It honestly reminds me a bit of Leon Russell with the piano work. Great song to end this super sweet album.
Wow, this album was an awesome listen. I honestly can’t believe I’d never heard of Syndicate of Sound, because this album is filled with great music that sounds like served as the foundation for the future of rock and roll, and especially psychedelic rock. If you enjoy early rock and roll, I think this one is one you might want to consider checking out, especially if you like early psychedelic rock. 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