The other night I was going through some of Sundazed Records’ catalogue after listening to Music Emporium and decided to add this album and a few others. The Five Americans were a psychedelic garage rock band from Durant, Oklahoma, first forming in 1962 with the name The Mutineers, which changed to Five Americans in 1965, and lasted until 1969 when the band split apart. The band had a single get all the way to #5 on the U.S. Billboard hot 100. This particular album is their second album, which is the one before they charted up to #5 on the hot 100. With that said, I’m going to go ahead and jump on into the music.
“Stop Light” starts out with some really sweet church organ and a bit of a marching drum that gently introduces you to this increasingly psychedelic soundscape. I really dig the really bright acoustic guitar and/or harpsichord. The band takes a really nice, nearly soft rock approach to the vocals in this one. The organs have a massive presence throughout the song. Oh wow, things really change up quite nicely with a whirl of the electric guitar setting a different tone. Really pleasant introductory track to this album.
Oh wow, “Con Man” has some acoustic guitar with some absolutely delicious tone that sounds super full and nearly metallic with the way it seems to ripple throughout the soundscape. The rhythm guitar has a really groovy churning feeling in the playing. Holy smokes, the vocals are mixed really nicely and definitely in a super psychedelic manner. Oh wow, the tune really rolls along quite nicely off that rich acoustic guitar tone. It almost reminds me of the 80s dream pop/rock band The Church a bit. Really groovy tune.
“Black Is White – Day Is Night” starts out with some super tasty guitar, which is promptly joined by some really groovy organs. There’s a bit of a bluesy shuffling sensation in the drums. This tune feels like a really groovy psychedelic blues prog rock song with some hints of garage rock with the way it continually evolves with a certain rawness that seems to become more polished as the tune continues. The vocals hit some really tasty notes, getting pretty guttural at times. Really sweet song.
Oh wow, “(But Not) Today” has such a gentle, ballad-like approach from the band with the crooning vocals and the gentle guitar parts with the smooth, slow and airy swing from the drums. This one takes the album in the opposite direction from the previous song, nearly melting you into a dream-like soundscape. The organs have an almost holy, washing sensation from the background of the soundscape with this super sweet tune. Very pleasant listen.
“Come on Up” changes things back up to a high energy, fast-paced, super electric and distorted sound with some classic rock and roll guitar and some swirling organs and a high energy pulsing bass line and some some fast and steady drums that drive the tune forward really nicely. Holy smokes, it almost sounds like there’s an electric harmonica for a second, but that’s just the electric guitar really squealing from what I can tell. I’m really digging this tune, there’s a really contagious energy coming from it.
“Zip Code” starts out really interestingly with some super bright organs and really high chorus vocals. The band feels like they’re nearly channeling a different dimension with how high this song feels in the soundscape. The clapping really has a great pop rock feel that makes the tune that much catchier and more infectious. There’s definitely a really strong pop rock inflection to the melody in this one. Really pleasant tune.
Holy smokes, “Rain Maker” starts out with some absolutely delicious bluesy piano licks accompanied by an almost rag-like backing piano that really rollicks around super nicely. The bass line really keeps the song moving around on the left while a majority of the instrumentation comes from the right. Oh wow, you can even hear some studio chatter for a moment. This tune is really tasty and certainly groovy.
“Sweet Bird of Youth” starts out with some really southern sounding piano and overall song structure, which almost reminds me of a somewhat psychedelic Randy Newman song. The organ does some really subtle moving of the song from the background before coming to the front for a quick little pleasant lick. Really nice short tune.
“Evol-Not Love” comes on with some strong marching snares that get the tune moving in a really nice groove that the organs, bass, and vocals soon join in with. There’s a bit of guitar that really plays a little circular melody that gives this very forward moving song some extra dimensions. I really dig this mix, there’s a very pleasant psychedelic garage rock sort of sound to it.
“Somebody Help Me” comes on strong with some really crunchy distorted guitar. I really dig the optimistic bluesy energy from this one – it’s really infectious. I really dig the way the guitar parts really bop along with the beat – it reminds me a little bit of the earlier days of The Beatles. Really nice tune.
“Call on Me” has a super sweet, heartfelt feel to the warm, rich sounding piano alongside the bright, jangling acoustic guitar all accompanied by the personal sounding vocals. Oh wow, I really dig this one – there’s undoubtedly some psychedelic movements in the music. This one really feels like it ties up the album very nicely in a nearly playful fashion that still allows for the passion of the band to come through really well. Great tune.
This was a really pleasant listening experience, and I’m definitely going to be checking out more of The Five Americans’ other music soon. There’s somewhat of a pop inclination to this psychedelic garage rock album, but there’s a lot of range throughout that hits different styles of blues and heartfelt tunes across the album. If you enjoy psychedelic pop of the 60s or garage rock, you might want to consider checking this album out. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy the experience at least as much as I did.
-A