Fever Tree was a psychedelic rock band formed in Houston in 1966 under the name The Bostwick Vines. About a year later the band changed their name to Fever Tree and added a keyboard player, and began adjusting their folk rock origins to something more psychedelic in nature. This album, Fever Tree (1968), is the band’s debut album, and charted at #156, with a single from the album reaching #91 on the charts. The album was recorded in Los Angeles, which is one of my favorite music scenes from this era of music, with Houston being another one of my favorite scenes from the time period. I’m pretty stoked to give this album a listen, so with that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Imitation Simulation 1” starts out with a really interesting rumbling and clacking percussion, while a mixture of what sound to be baroque and Spanish-inflected guitar and electric organs set a sort of dark, psychedelic tone for the album. Oh wow, I’m really digging the overall sound at the moment, which has shifted towards something that feels both like a psychedelic cowboy on the border with some baroque flavors. Great track.
Holy smokes, “Where Do You Go?” picks things up immediately off of the heels of the previous track with a sort of heavy psychedelic garage rock sound that I’m really digging. Oh wow, the tune mellows a bit with the inviting flute and light on-the-border, psychedelic acoustic guitar flavors, while the fat tone of the bass continually churns the backdrop of the soundscape with the drums in a heavy and dark matter that reminds me a bit of the Los Angeles rock scene in this era. Great track.
Oh wow, “San Francisco Girls” definitely has a bit of lighter sound mixed with the psychedelia from the band that creates a sound that reminds me a ton of Jefferson Airplane. Oh wow, the tune sort of picks up a bit a quicker beat and some distorted guitar that has a tone reminiscent of Iron Butterfly. Oh wow, the track mellows back out to the beginning movement before marching back towards the more intense movement. Wow, great track.
Holy smokes, “Ninety Nine and One-Half” starts out with a sort of screaming vocal that is followed by a sort of dark, psychedelic funk feel that has a lot of the flavors I really dig from the Los Angeles psychedelic rock scene in this era. Holy smokes, some organs enter the soundscape for some short accentuations that amplify the psychedelia of the track a ton. I’m really digging this track, and at this point have been officially hooked into the album. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Man Who Paints the Pictures” starts out with a really groovy, low, and fat bass line that gets driven forward by the drums that feel as though they’re a locomotive engine. Oh wow, this track is really groovy. There’s almost a bit of a Texas blues rock feel mixed with the dark psychedelia of the Los Angeles scene from the era. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Filigree and Shadow” starts out with a sort of baroque string section and a soft psych vocal performance and gentle bass line, which makes the album feel even more dynamic than it already does. Holy smokes, a distorted electric guitar entered the soundscape and the tune seems to have shifted towards a bit of a psychedelic marching track that is infused with baroque strings. Oh wow, the tune changed up to a really dark movement for the outro infused with sound effects that remind me of the dark and strange qualities of Nine Inch Nails. Great tune.
Oh wow, “The Sun Also Rises” starts out with a baroque string section that is soon accompanied by some bright acoustic guitar, some cheery sounding piano, and some smooth vocals that combine to almost have a sunshine pop quality, but more so staying in a soft psych/psychedelic baroque/psychedelic pop sort of style. Super sweet tune.
Oh wow, “Daytripper / We Can Work It Out” starts out with a super low, droning note in the background, and is soon joined by a little bass line that has a tone similar to that of Paul McCartney, and a really groovy psychedelic keyboard piece that gently eases these tunes by The Beatles to the soundscape. Holy smokes, the “Daytripper” part sounds like a half tempo, slow grooving version of the song originally by The Beatles. Holy smokes, the “We Can Work It Out” part seems to gradually pick up the tempo and intensity, turning the track into a churning, building psychedelic rock flavor that I’m really digging. Great track.
“Nowadays Clancy Can’t Even Sing” has a flavor that reminds me of sort of jazz-inflected psychedelic blues swing, as though the group set out to record some of the grooviest elevator music of all time. Holy smokes, the ending of the track feels like there’s an incredible weight behind the music. Great tune.
Oh wow, “Unlock My Door” starts out with a super sweet acoustic guitar part, with gentle accentuations from a distant orchestral string movement. Oh wow, the vocals have a sort of bittersweet sound that complement the simple instrumentation in the track really nicely. Holy smokes, the track picks up a bit of Spanish flavor with the acoustic guitar that intensifies the soundscape in a really groovy way. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Come With Me (Rain Song)” feels somewhat reminiscent of The Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” with the mixture of keyboards and natural rain. Oh wow, the solemnity of the piano and vocals somehow makes the sound of the album even sweeter overall. This track is a really pleasant way to wind down the listening experience that is this album, and would be a really sweet song for anyone to wind down their night. Great track, and a great way to end the album.
Holy smokes, this album is pretty sweet. The listening experience had a ton of range in terms of genre, ranging from a bluesy psychedelic garage rock, a soft psych, and to psychedelic baroque and beyond. I really dig the combination of Los Angeles psychedelic flavors with the soft psych and baroque elements that appear throughout the album. If you’re a fan of a garage rock and baroque pop at all, you might want to consider giving this album a listen. If you do decide to give this album a listen, I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as did.
-A