Pussy was a psychedelic rock and progressive rock band from the United Kingdom, formed in the mid 1960s. The band went through a couple of name changes, and gradually gathered more musicians to join the band. This album was their only album, and has become a collectible item for enthusiasts of the psychedelic prog rock genre, with the cheapest copy of their original album on vinyl going for over $3,700 on discogs at the moment. This seems like it ought to be an interesting listen, so with that said I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Come Back June” starts out with what sounds like some grating meows of a cat, before this tune drops into a super groovy and flavorful psychedelic prog rock jam. Holy smokes, I’m really digging this one right now – the deep, bassy piano lines combined with the swirling organs create some really great space in the soundscape. The guitars really add some great accentuations to the lines laid down by the piano and organs. Holy smokes, this song is super flavorful. The extended jams contained in the track all play off one another extremely well. Holy smokes, this jam is great. The drums keep the song propelling forward really nicely while the other instruments sort of take the tune out into their own space until they meet back up again. Great tune, and I’m excited for the rest of the album.
“All of My Life” starts out pretty mellow, especially compared to the last track. Oh wow, this song sounds like it starts to build from a sort of darker, more acid rock area, before breaking through to a really clean, pretty pleasant chorus. The drums and bass keep super deep, really demonstrating how far into the bowels of this soundscape you’ve already been taken, as well as how much further you can possibly go – really sweet. Oh wow, this track is pretty sweet, and has a bunch of great movements within the tune. I really dig this sort of mellow, dream-like outro. Great track.
“We Built the Sun” starts out really low and delicate, with some soft rumblings of a bass drum, and what sounds to be the crashing of cymbals from behind a wall, which is soon joined by some super clean, tasty guitar in the center of the soundscape, which really contrasts nicely with that ‘behind-the-wall’ sound from the cymbals from earlier. Oh wow, the vocals have such a bright chorus sound, which almost has an uplifting quality in the context of the soundscape. Oh wow, there’s a violin or something alongside some super tasty piano notes, which really come together to make the soundscape that much more dream-inducing – really sweet. Oh wow, the bass guitar keeps the tune sort of grooving along from the background alongside the gentle lines from the organs. Oh wow, I really dig the arrangement in this track. Really sweet tune.
“Comets” starts out with some rumbling instrumentation of the form of organs, cymbals, and some super groovy bass lines and distorted guitar. Oh wow, then there’s some sort of strange synth, sort of theramin sounding instrument, which really takes the tune into experimental territory with super fluid and far out movements in the melody it brings into the song. Holy smokes, this tune really stays rockin’ and groovin’ hard the whole time. I really dig the consistent bass lines and rhythm guitar work, which almost grounds you to some semblance of reality as the theramin and other strange instrumentation takes this super far out. Oh wow, the end of this tune ends with the sounds of a gentle piano as the backdrop to a prayer of sorts. Great tune.
“Tragedy In F Minor” starts out with some gentle piano and earthy, nearly shamanic folksy drums, which beckons other instruments to come in, such as the acoustic guitar and the other piano. Meanwhile, there’s the organs (I think?) from the background, driving this tune forward, while the main piano and flamenco-infused acoustic guitar trade lines in the track. Oh wow, the bass line comes forward for a moment, giving a really great feeling of a slowly building jam in this one. Holy smokes, I really dig the way the acoustic guitar and piano sort of trade back and forth. The acoustic guitar also adds to the percussiveness in the song with the sort of staccato’d strumming when it’s not playing a sort of melodic line – really sweet. Oh wow, some stringed instruments, or possibly woodwinds, or possibly both, come in at the very end of the tune to play a super sweet, yet still dark outro. Great track.
“The Open Ground” starts out with some super swishing guitar lines accompanied by some poetry/spoken word as the vocal line at first. The guitar gradually becomes cheesier and cheesier in sound, especially when it picks up some super tasty distortion for the chorus. Oh wow, the lead guitar sort of melts into the soundscape alongside the organs, creating a super interesting and tasty choral of instruments with a bunch of great, prog rock sort of flavor. I really dig the drums in this one too. Really sweet track.
“Everybody’s Song” starts out with some drums to get this track’s tone set, which is promptly joined by some bass and organs, which begin forming a sort of foundation for this tune to rock with. Oh wow, there’s a whole bunch of flavor in this sort of relaxed, psyched out prog jam. This tune makes me want to grab my guitar and play along. Oh wow, this track really picks up the tempo really well at different times, leading to some really great movements within the track. The vocals have a really nice sort of droning quality to them too, only adding even more flavor to this tune. Great song.
“G.E.A.B.” starts out with a fairly recognizable bass line, though I don’t know from where. Oh wow, I really dig the sound of the electric organ and rhythm guitar coming together while the lead guitar melts into the soundscape next to them – it really reminds me a lot of Iron Butterfly at the moment. Holy smokes, this track is awesome – the band sounds like they’re jamming out for a super tasty psychedelic prog rock outro to the album. To add, I believe this was the original final track of the album, so the conclusory nature of this track makes a lot of sense. Oh wow, there’s some vague chatter that almost sounds like it’s made through some sort of radio while the band jams out. The drums have a great syncopated gallop to them, and has some really tasty fills throughout the track thus far. Really great track.
“Come Back June (Fortes Mentum)” starts out with that super great bass line from the intro track. I think Fortes Mentum was the old band of a couple of the members in the band. Really great flavors in this version, which almost sound bass heavier in both the piano and bass line in this version, creating a slightly different soundscape from the first with the same great flavors. Oh wow, the syncopated jamming from the organs have a bit more impromptu feel, which I’m really digging. The drumming is infectious – I’m finding it difficult to resist tapping my desk along with this one. Oh wow, the vocals come in and sort of reign in the jamming to some degree while still bringing everything further out – absolutely groovy and super flavorful. Great track.
“We Built the Sun (Fortes Mentum)” starts out with the low rumbling I recognize from the first version of the track from earlier, which is also promptly joined by the super tasty clean guitar tone, sort of enveloping the listener’s ears as the tune gently progresses along. Oh wow, there’s a super flavorful snap of the snare that sort of cues in a whole different soundscape for this tune. This is super sweet, the band really takes the playing out there using different stringed instruments and the piano in a really interesting, sort of mellow manner – really awesome. Oh wow, I really dig the different movements in this tune – it’s nice to revisit this flavorful track. Holy smokes, when the main melody from the beginning of the song comes back on there’s a great feeling of resolution. Great track, and great way to end this really awesome album.
Holy smokes, this album is sweet. It had a lot more psychedelic rock aspects, I think, than it necessarily had of progressive rock aspects, though both remained very prominent throughout the listening experience. There were a whole bunch of different, progressive movements throughout each tune, while the whole time retaining a flavor of psychedelia. I might have to look into getting this one on a CD, or if there’s some sort of reissue on vinyl – I really dug this album the whole way through. If you’re a fan of psychedelic rock or early progressive rock, or some combination of those two, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this one a listen, I do sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A