Food is a 1960s psychedelic rock band that I can find very little information about online, save for some reviews of their only album, Forever Is A Dream (1969), on the band’s Discogs page. Original copies of this record seem to be a collectors item, on sale for upwards of $300 on Discogs. According to one reviewer on Discogs, all of the members of the band are presumed dead. At this point, I’m quite interested in listening to this album with a certain lack of lore surrounding it. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Forever Is a Dream” starts out with some really flavorful piano accompanied by a hum of sorts. Oh wow, a gentle acoustic guitar strum comes in just before a gentle marching beat on a snare, super flavorful stuff. I’m already really digging this sound, which is a super laid back, soft psych sound that has a bit of a bluesy grit underpinning the track. The horns and other orchestral instruments that come in give the tune a sort of eerie swelling sound that reminds me a bit of a downtempo C.A. Quintet style. Oh wow, this orchestral instrumental break has really caught my ears, and is hooking me further into the music. The one violin nearly has an Asiatic sound, which blends with the rest of the orchestral instruments that seem to create a quick springtime breeze in a meadow; super sweet. Oh wow, the main choral line comes back in, and seems to further enhance the sweetness of the track. Great tune, and I’m excited to hear more.
Holy smokes, “Naive Prayers” drops right into things with some super fuzzed-out guitar and a driving beat from the drums that seem to take an opposite, heavier and grittier approach coming off of the heels of the previous tune. The guitar has a sound that reminds me a bit of Iron Butterfly’s second album, In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968). There’s almost a bit of garage acid rock sort of sound in this one between the timbre of all of the instruments. Oh wow, the orchestral instruments fade in at the very end just as the other instruments fade away and brings a super sweet element to the soundscape. Super sweet track.
“No” starts out with some groovy horns that sort of have a far out late night sound to them, and evoke a sound that represents what I imagine Las Vegas would sound like in the late 1960s. Oh wow, this bass line is super groovy, and creates a lot of movement at the bottom of the soundscape that the tune seems to groove on. Oh wow, the acoustic guitar comes in for some super quick, flavorful accentuations for a moment. I really dig the shimmering organs in this track too, which seem to create a starry night sort of sound behind everything. Great tune.
“Lady Miss Ann” starts out with a discordant piano chord, which soon resolves to some sweet and pretty gentle electric guitar, and a simple and distant chugging sort of sound behind the guitar serving as the percussive. There’s also a pleasant twinkling of what sounds to be chimes and a light keyboard of sorts that also add another gentle layer to the track. I really dig the subtle movements of the instruments in this tune that keeps the gentle sound more dynamic. Super sweet track.
“Fountains of My Mind” starts out with a high pitch whistle of what sounds to be some organs, which are soon joined by a nearly ghostly vocal line that reverberates across the soundscape. There’s also a really pleasant melody on what sounds to be a distant mellotron, or something similar. I really dig the eeriness of the track, which kept me listening closer and closer as the song came to a close. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Coming Back” starts out with a super groovy psychedelic rock sort of funk shuffle. The drums in the tune for some reason remind me of a bit of a polished New Orleans sort of sound, and I’m really digging it. Meanwhile the bass guitar seems to be doing some relatively intricate work, while the electric guitar does some pleasant churning with some chords. There’s a really interesting and somewhat eerie line that comes from a few different instruments on the right side of the soundscape that I really dig, as the song fades out with the electric guitar only playing that strange line. Great track.
“What It Seems to Be” has a seemingly refreshing sound with the gentle strums of the acoustic guitar and the light and warm accentuations of the high notes from the piano. The gentle marching beat from the cymbals is super flavorful as well. Oh wow, the entire song is really grooving as the orchestral instruments come in as the beat picks up, creating a movement that has the sound of a fresh discovery of a previously undiscovered forest. Oh wow, after a verse that seems to build tension the tune comes back to that movement where all of the instruments seem to come together to create a bit of a psychedelic baroque sort of sound of the freshly discovered forest. Oh wow, the horns seem to cut in and out for a moment, as though they exceeded the limit of the mics they were recorded with back in the 1960s, creating a sound that is both a bit jarring and one that increases my interest and increasing the amount of flavor in the tune. Wow, great tune.
“Inside the Mirror” starts out with a groovy psychedelic pop acoustic guitar that sort of has a bit of a sound that reminds me of The Beatles around the time of Revolver (1966). Oh wow, there’s another acoustic guitar that adds some flavorful lines that seem to alternate between being the main melody and simple accentuations to the other guitar. There’s also a tambourine that adds some super flavorful jangliness to the track, which I’m totally digging. Oh wow, there’s a vocal part that sort of has a sound that reminds me a bit of John Lennon. Great track.
“Marbled Wings” starts out with some super groovy fuzzy guitar work that seems to introduce a tune that has a groovy acid rock sound as more fuzzy guitars enter the soundscape with some swirling organs coming in from the background. Oh wow, the two guitars seem to be trading licks back and forth for a moment, while the bass guitar seems to string together a cohesive melody between the two guitars and the flavorful drums. The sound kind of reminds me of Jeff Beck meets Cream to some degree, which I guess might sound like The Yardbirds, which is a band I’ve only listened to a bit of, which I ought to change soon. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Traveling Light” returns to a sound that reminds me a lot The Beatles at the start with the psychedelic pop sound of the acoustic guitar combined with a McCartney-esque bass tone and line. Oh wow, then the tune changes up to a super fuzzy psychedelic blues rock sound with the guitar work for a moment. I’m really digging this track at the moment. The orchestral instruments in the background add a super interesting flavor that seems to verge on a baroque sound, which when combined with the vocals reminds me a bit of a psychedelic Scott Walker. Great track.
Oh wow, “Leaves” drops right into place off of the heels of the previous track with some meandering electric guitar that sounds a bit reminiscent of Robby Krieger of The Doors. Oh wow, the piano adds some super flavorful accentuations, while the orchestral instrumentation again brings in more of that sort of baroque sound. I really dig the swing and sound of the drums in this one, as the cymbals seem to pick up a layer of distortion as they get a bit more intense. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Here We Go Again” starts off super smoothly coming off of the heels of the previous tune with a smooth bass line and some groovy organs shortly after. Oh wow, the fuzzy guitars that come in have an in-your-face sort of sound, which only seems to intensify as the tune continues and grooves along. Holy smokes, all of the elements of the groove seem to come together super flavorfully just as the tune comes to an end and the instruments seem to drop out one by one. Great track and a super sweet way to end the album.
Wow, this album is pretty groovy. The album hits a ton of different flavors on the psychedelic genre palette, ranging from soft psych to acid rock to psychedelic pop. While listening you can hear what might’ve been influences from other psychedelic bands of the time, such as The Doors circa Soft Parade (1969), The Beatles circa Revolver (1966), Iron Butterfly circa In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (1968), and possibly some elements from The Yardbirds as well. Also, sort of along the lines of The Doors’ album, Soft Parade (1969), there was a lot of this orchestral baroque sound in much of the album, which when combined with the range and timbre of the vocalist’s voice, reminded me quite a bit of Scott Walker circa Scott (1967). If you enjoy mixes psychedelic music ranging from pop-like to a fuzzier acid rock sound to even a psychedelic baroque sound, you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A