The Music Machine was a garage rock and psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles that was formed in 1966. The Music Machine was a band that was initially formed as a folk rock group in 1965 known as the Raggamuffins, but renamed after adding another member and changing their style. The group is considered today as an early figure in the proto-punk sound, which immediately makes me think of another proto-punk psychedelic garage rock band from Los Angeles around the same time period, The Other Half. The group earned a top 20 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 charts in 1966, but the group started fizzling out in 1967 due to managerial and financial disputes, according to the group’s Wikipedia page. One of the members gathered some different musicians and released another album under a similar name, The Bonniwell Music Machine, but that group soon disbanded as well in 1969. This album, (Turn On) The Music Machine (1966), was The Music Machine’s first and final album under that particular name, and is comprised with a mixture of originals and cover songs. I really enjoy the Los Angeles garage rock sound from the mid-to-late 1960s, so I’m pretty excited to give this album a listen. With that said, I’m going to jump on into the music.
“Talk Talk” gets started with a mixture of a fuzzy, bass heavy guitar, a strong beat, and some organs for a moment as well. Oh wow, I’m really digging this track so far. I really dig the electric guitar that comes in for some quick, seemingly psychedelic licks on the other side of the soundscape from the bass and drums. I’m reminded a fair bit of the Count Five, another psychedelic garage band from the mid 1960s. Great track, and I’m excited to hear more.
Oh wow, “Trouble” gets grooving with some classic mid 1960s garage rock sound in the drums and the guitars. I really like the psychedelic organs in this track that almost provide a bit of a whimsical feel to the soundscape. The buzzy distortion on the guitar has a really interesting timbre that has me trying to listen closer and closer, and I’m really digging the sound. Oh wow, the sort of echo effect on the layered vocals really brings in more psychedelic flavor to the track. Great tune.
“Cherry Cherry” gets started with a really light, almost early 1960s pop rock sound with the lightness in the percussion and the flute. Oh wow, the vocal harmonies almost sound like some sort of psychedelicized version of a pop rock song from the early 1960s; the original version of this song was written and released by Neil Diamond. I really dig the psychedelic organs in this soundscape when they come in for the chorus, and almost have a sort of feel reminiscent of Ray Manzarek from The Doors, another psychedelic rock band from Los Angeles. Super sweet track.
Oh wow, “Taxman” immediately has me getting closer and closer to my speakers, as this version is a really interesting, crunchy, raw, garage rock version of the psychedelic bubblegum rock track originally written by George Harrison and recorded by The Beatles. Oh wow, I really dig the super fuzzed-out lead guitar in this track. The drums and bass have a really tight feel, and the organs seem to almost coax the tune to an increasing pace as the music continues. Great tune.
“Some Other Drum” gets started with a combination of super sweet tremolo guitar and what nearly sounds like strumming on an acoustic guitar. I’m really digging the piano in this track too. The overall sound has what sounds to something along the lines of the folk rock group that The Music Machine started out as, except presented with a really sweet psychedelic pop style. Wow, great track.
“Masculine Intuition” starts out with a rattling of cymbals similar to the studio version of the Grateful Dead’s take on “Morning Dew”. Oh wow, the track gets grooving into a movement that feels both dark and whimsical with a style that seems like the band is hinting at proto-punk while still sticking to a psychedelic garage rock sound. I’m reminded a fair deal of “1969” by The Stooges in this track with the overall feel of the vocals and the clapping in the percussion. Great track.
“The People In Me” starts out with a tight, quick groove in the drums and bass while a fuzzed-out electric guitar plays a sort of raga-inflected psychedelic garage rock solo. This track reminds me a fair deal of The Blues Magoos so far. Oh wow, I’m really digging the layering of the vocals in this track at the moment, which sound as though the lead singer recorded the vocals twice to create a really sweet harmonization that varies only slightly. I really dig the swirling psychedelic organs in this track as well. Oh wow, the electric guitar comes in with another sort of raga-inflected psychedelic garage rock solo just as the song comes to an end. Great track.
“See See Rider” starts out with a really interesting, slow buildup of what sounds to be some sort of distortion, and then the soundscape seems to fall into place with a tight, upbeat psychedelic garage rock take on the blues and jazz standard originally by Ma Rainey. Holy smokes, I really dig how the organs sound sort of mellow as they continue the main melody while the chaotic, fuzzed-out electric guitar plays a super groovy solo for a moment. Oh wow, I really dig the outro to this track too. Super sweet version of the track.
“Wrong” gets started with an interesting build up that gives way to an almost dark psychedelic garage rock movement reminds me a lot of the sort of darker psychedelic rock style of groups from Los Angeles in the mid-to-late 1960s. Oh wow, the track starts reminding me a bit of The Doors after a bit. Super sweet track.
“96 Tears” gets started with some classic, whimsical psychedelic organs that remind me a lot of the earlier days of the Grateful Dead. I’m really digging the sturdy, raw, nearly chugging garage rock drums in this track. Oh wow, the vocals have changed up into something that feels like a spoken word section reminiscent of Jim Morrison and The Doors for a moment. Great track.
Oh wow, “Come On In” has a sort of eerie, meandering start with some organs that seem to have a strange, dark, psychedelic circus sound that I’m really digging. Oh wow, I really dig the acoustic guitar lines that come in. The combination of the vocals and the organs that are backed by some tight electric guitar chords and a tight, nearly chugging beat and bass line all sound as though you’re being beckoned into some dark psychedelic house of mirrors. Great track.
“Hey Joe” has a really mellow start with a groovy bass line, which is soon joined by some distant organs and some tight cymbals and snares from the drums. Oh wow, the vocals have a really groovy reverb to them, which almost makes it sound like the singer is singing into a large, empty concert hall. I’ve heard the version of this song by The Jimi Hendrix Experience, but I didn’t know until tonight that the song was originally written in the early 1960s, though the authorship seems to be disputed between Billy Roberts and Dino Valenti. Super sweet version of this song, and a great way to end the album.
This album is pretty sweet. I’m a really big fan of the garage rock and psychedelic garage rock from the mid 1960s, and this album definitely had some classic sounds from those genres that I really dig. It seemed that the music was increasingly psychedelic and seemingly increasingly dark as the music continued, which reminded me a lot of other psychedelic rock/garage rock groups from Los Angeles around the same time period, such as The Other Half or even The Doors. There were also some proto-punk elements mixed in, which ended up reminding me a bit of The Stooges at some times, which was a group from the later 1960s that was greatly influenced by The Doors. The stayed pretty dynamic throughout the listening experience as well, nearly venturing into a sort of psychedelic garage pop and even folksy territory with different lighter flavors and instrumentation at times. If you’re into psychedelic garage rock from the mid-to-late 1960s, particularly groups from the Los Angeles area, then you might want to consider checking out this album. If you do decide to give this album a listen, then I sincerely do hope that you enjoy the listening experience at least as much as I did.
-A