Astonishing Sound Show Stories Volume One

And now for something completely different: ASSS Vol. 1- Yes, that's not a typo. This promo only CD was meant to be the start of a new series for Dig the Fuzz, concentrating on the modern (read 2000) British Psych Scene.Honestly, before hearing this, I always suspected there were still a few bands here and there working ye olde Psych genre, but a scene? Well, you learn something new everyday. As a matter of fact, this is quite a pleasing surprise music-wise. You do get very period-sounding bands but also some who do give the genre a new twist.
Dig the Fuzz instead of pursuing the completion of a new series, started publishing full albums by some of the bands showcased here. These LPs will eventually be found here in the near future, that is, if we manage to find copies.

Meanwhile enjoy your appetizer here.

FOTH 24 - Sizzling Sitar Special

Hi guys and gals, ladies and germs, just a quick one to tell you we've finally (!) completed all our notes on the FOTH 24 post.
Let's hope it gives you new leads for your record-hunting.
The Fuzzy Team.

PS: Another Dig The Fuzz rarity will be up shortly.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 14 - Candy Coloured Daydreams

As promised, fresh off the vinyl ripper, Volume 14 of the ISSS series. For once, instead of the usual acetates and promos, we have an interesting collection of overlooked songs, mostly from 45s, coming from all over the world. On this platter, you will find a track sung in Greek and for those of you with a tut on the end of your tongue cos it's not sung in the Queen's dear English, sorry it's not too late. Open up your mind (or learn Greek) and cor blimey! there's two of the blighters! So where are all those obscure American and British bands the "Real Psychedelic" stuff? Up your arse second shelf, mate… we start off this comp with a great unearthed gem of British Psych Pop by "Great Uncle Alfred". "Ex-Beauty Queen" carries on regardless of normality and sits neatly on the throne of insanity with a sitar flavored romp complete with the late sixties affection for rousing the Cossacks (Hey! Hey! Hey!) It only gets better with an early Giorgio Moroder song (yes, of Disco fame) and French, Belgian, Dutch and Australian gems. This will have you searching the dollar bins again for strange "foreign" 45s… Many a surprise is still waiting to be unearthed. (Adapted from the liner notes)

Meanwhile, get a taste of candy coloured dreams here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 13

This is just a tease… Volume 13 never appeared officially, but we might have some news on that shortly, as one of our international correspondants seems to have a promo-only copy. Meanwhile, we'll just move on to the next Volume, which should be online by tomorrow.
Stay tuned for my more psychedelic crazyness in the near future!

Journey to a Higher Key - The Best of Sitar Psychedelia: volume One

Work and life in general got the best of me again. Here's what I promised in my FOTH 24 post. This rare comp was an interesting way to discover 60's songs with sitar on them. If the name doesn't ring a bell, it's quite normal: Volume One was the only one ever published. This is in fact the precursor the well-known "Psychedelic Sitar Headswirlers" series. The cost of vinyl pressing proved to steep for Nava Rasa Records and the length of these songs also fitted better on CDs. Journey to a Higher Key was only ever issued as limited edition of 300 copies. As you can see, my musical director has a rather unusual plastic fetish. Despite the LP being MINT, there's a fair amount of surface noise, which proved too much trouble to remove as the most of the songs have a very gentle volume. Surface noise to music ratio was too low.

This comp gave me leads to Okko Becker "Sitar & Electronics" and the Rascals' "Once upon a Dream" LP… Time well spent.
First track is one of these "Wodunnit" songs or how to surprise your friends with musical trivia: This is Linda Ronstadt's first band… a long way from her hot pants and good ol' Rock'nRoll days!

Ananda Shankar led me down the path of period Indian and Bollywood sounds, with some very interesting finds.
I left Bobby Callender in Sitar-Exploitation heaven and Gabor Szabo got stuck in the fake Psych-Jazz category, not quite the type of songs I had in Mind for FOTH 24. I had to drop Hand Gjort (Hand Made in Swedish), because of the length of the song and I also couldn't locate a copy of the Album (one of the most sought after item in Folk-Psych)… If you have a rip off it, I'll be grateful if you could drop me a comment with your email or a Download link. All comments are moderated and I won't publish anything with your email addy. Thanks in advance.

Enjoy your sitar-laden psychedelia here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 12 - Fuzz Pounding Factory

I'll be back in a few days with more sitar insanity, but meanwhile, you shall discover Volume 12 of the Incredible Sound Show Stories, which mark a return to better choice of songs.
While some of these songs are better known nowadays, when this came out we were rather pleased…

So get your grubby mitts on another classic collection of classic, rare UK Psych songs.

Vibrasonic - Target 45 Single

I haven't yet finished the monster post below, but you at least get all the covers. While making the Sizzling Sitar Special, we found quite a lot of tracks that were brilliant but didn't fit in the timeframe of the comp. You probably have heard of The Vibrasonics (the RYP Twilight Zone blog had their albums up), but this single is a rarity, featuring TWO screaming sitarfull songs. As it was recorded in 1991, it was too recent for inclusion, but you must have a listen to it.

Get it here.

Fools on the hill 24 : Sizzling Sitar Special - 29 deliciously droning popsike & acid-folk gems from the late-60's to mid-70's

At last! The long-awaited Sitar Volume is finally online! We apologize for the time it took, but we were cursed from the very beginning. Deciding on what direction this comp would take took a while, finding all of the albums featured here took AGES… then the computer took a break and left with an entire year's worth of work. Once the old computer got reanimated, we discovered that all tracks were of a very low bitrate and quality… then we decided to redo everything. I, for one, wasn't quite satisfied with the way it flowed. So back to the drawing board, so to speak, and after many burning of the midnight oil, we can finally present you the Fools on the hill "Sizzling Sitar Special".
Brace yourselves for another monster post.
None of us would be listening to this comp (nor would there be record to hold) if David Crosby (of Crosby, Still, Nash etc) hadn't played a Ravi Shankar record for George Harrison way back in the early part of 1965. If nothing else the 60's were a giant whirlpool of synchronicity: that is millions of seemingly unrelated events all converging at once to create mutations and permutations unimagined. The widespread use of marijuan, hashish, mescaline, psilocibin and LSD was connected to a widespread interest in eastern mysticism, itself connected to various cultural trends, sucha as fashion (Nehru jacket, anybody?), film ("The Trip", Peter Seller's "The Party") and music.
Beatle George sitar debut of "Norwegian Wood" was responsible for countless bands and artists experimenting with this exotic instrument.
Through his relationship with Harrison, India's Master Sitarist Ravi Shankar found suddenly himself on stage at Monterey Pop, Woodstock and other large late-60's festivals where stoned but friendly audience would applaud wildly for both the songs AND the tuning.
The use of the drone note in Indian music is similar to the use of the drone in Scottish, British and related folk music (think of the bagpipe), which explains the sitar never sounds entirely out of place in Western folk music.

This also accounts for the large doses of acid-folk present in this comp. Strangely, we couldn't find enough punkers to appear, probably because the sitar's mood is not menacing enough. You will have your share of downer induced popsike nuggets, though. The droning and swooping sounds of the sitar lends itself nicely to be an extra instrument in orchestrated pop pieces of which you'll find the best examples herein. Similarly, it is difficult to ignore some psychexploitation tunes (see my post and reflections on the subject here), as they don't sound as silly as they used to. The pace of this comp is quite mellow, power chords being extremely difficult to play on this instrument and the moods range from happy dreamy to slightly deranged. As most of our FOTH comps, this really needs listening to uninterrupted. I am aware that it represents around an hour and a half of listening pleasure but, trust me, it's an interesting trip.

Get your deliciously droning deranged ditties here.

I will post a track-by-track listing with album covers and notes a bit later today or tomorrow. I still have to work for living, y'see.

1 - Defecting Grey - The Pretty Things from S.F. Sorrow LP (1968)
The Pretty Things are often remembered as a great R&B band… but when they went psychedelic, their way was way creepier than most. This seemingly inoffensive lullabye suddenly transforms itself into a sea of rage & fury. One of their best moment and a great opener.

2 - Real life permanent dream - Tomorrow from S/T LP (1968)
How Tomorrow didn't manage to score a top ten hit with this classic slab of psychedelia is still a mystery. Features all the right sounds and themes of 1967-68. A case of too much too late?

3 - Paper Sun - Traffic - Single (1967)
Issued around the time of their initial LP, but not on the original pressing.
All these three songs are from UK artists and have a distinctive British psych sound. Now let's cross the Atlantic…

4 -Morning Sunshine - The Fredric from Phases and Faces (1968)
From Grand Rapids, Michigan, the Fredric issued a rare, limited-run album in the late '60s, Phases and Faces, that's highly valued in some collector quarters. It would be ultimately inaccurate to call this garage psychedelia; it's too clean-cut and poppy, with conscientious harmonies, guitar-organ interplay, and light lovelorn lyrics. They were a very young group, and it shows in the callow songwriting, despite the well-executed arrangements. Still a sweet piece of dreamy sitar pop.

5 - Grain of Sand - Whizz Jones from Right Now LP (1972)
One of the most revered guitarists and songwriters on the British folk scene. The unreal, almost otherworldly acoustic guitar stylings in this Down-home, minor-key, sitar- blues arrangement of Pete Seeger's "One Grain of Sand" showcase Jones' particular genius, the sitar is just the icing on the cake.

6 -Music of the Ages - C.O.B. from Spirit of Love LP (1971)
C.O.B. stands for Clive’s Original Band and Spirit of Love was their first album released in 1971 on CBS (69010). Clive Palmer is a well known British folk musician that started out as one of the original Incredible String Band members. This song is a surprisingly engaging piece of rock- and psychedelic-tinged British folk music reminiscent of the Incredible String Band at their most melodic.

7 - Three Kingfishers - Donovan from the sunshine Superman LP (1966)
Amongst the very first Western players of the sitar. Rightly deserves to be featured here along his mentors and friends The Beatles. A very classy mix of folk and Indian music which inspired heavily the later Acid folk scene.

8 - Norwegian Wood (this Bird has flown) - The Beatles - from Rubber Soul (1965)
THE song that introduced the sitar to the Western world: a Milestone. George Harrison becomes the first rock guitarist to play a sitar on a rock record, thanks to coaching from Ravi Shankar. He would remain an impressive Sitar player until his death in 2001.

9 - Song for Brunhilde - Abacus from S/T LP (1971)
To stay in the acid folk mood, this sitar-ladden, laid-back gem from little known German crossover/prog band Abacus.


10- Renunciation - Ananda Shankar from Ananda Shankar and his Music LP (1975)
In order to avoid a 14 minute Raga by Ravi, his nephew's own brand of Eastern/Western crossover was selected instead. While most of his efforts can sound dangerously close to exploitation or Bollywood film music, this song is a cut above the rest, thanks to the more rocking guitarwork.

11 - La Rotta- Bröselmaschine - from a unknown LP (?)
Legendary German acid-Folk-Rock lets go on this fine mix of fuzz guitar and jangly sitar. Originally featured on "Psychedelic Sitar Headswirlers Vol. 1"… I never managed to find the original LP… If you have it , I will gladly accept a rip of it. An even rockier live version of this song exists on their live DVD from 2006 (Cover pictured).

12 - Dance of the Red Moon - Calendula (?)
A totally unknown band featured on Headswirlers volume 5. Any Info welcomed. The booming bass and drums leads nicely into the next…



13 - Tomorrow never knows - the Beatles - Revolver LP (1966)
This is our first compilation to feature the Beatles TWICE! After the seminal Norwegian Woods, they take the sitar to the extreme, to such a point where you wonder if it is there at all… Trust me, it's all over the track. One of their greatest moments.

14 - Wispy Paisley Sky - The Fraternity of Man - S/T LP (1968).
Proof that some of the 60's worst album can hide absolute gems! In the middle of a very belligerent, and only mildly interesting album, a diamond in the mud shines. One half of the album is pre Hurriah Heep R'nR/R'n'B… very disposable iMHO, but has the famous "Don't bogart that joint" song. The other half is quite crazy. Very well produced. Which side was this song on? I'll let you discover.

15 - It's Love - the Misty Wizards - 45 single (1967)
Ex- Spike Drivers and goatee fanatics release a classic flower psych 45 single with just about everything that made 60's music cool as fuck… Instant classic.

16 - The Way - July from S/T Album (1968)
Über-classic piece of psychedelia, their self-titled album features this wandering sitar song.




17 - Maker - The Hollies - from Butterfly (1967)
Butterfly is the last album with their original singer, Graham Nash, who went on to join Crosby Still etc. This is the closest the Hollies ever came to psychedelia. It was a shock for me to discover that LP. Beautiful lyrics, peaceful poppy mood.

18 - White Summer - The Yardbirds - from Little Games Sessions LP (1967)
Look ! A song with a sitar that is not a sitar! Only Jimmy Page could pull that one out. Very far from the usual Rave-up, this acoustic piece really showcases why, at one point, Jeff was at the same God level as Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton.

19 - Where will the grass grow? - Moonkyte from S/T LP (1971)
Slightly under-par, their lone album is an interesting acid-folk compilation. It tends to be a bit tiring, as the singing and oblique, sometimes goofy, lyrics never really change song after song. Still this avant-garde, eco-friendly song has great stretches of almost doomy sitar… it fits rightly on this comp.

20 - Solitude - The Flames - from the Soulfire! LP (1971)
Another strange find. All the way from South Africa, this hard soul band suddenly decided they should insert this pseudo Raga just before a cover of "You keep me hangin' on" I nearly didn't make it through the LP. This is a pure stroke of luck. Enjoy.

21 - Bells/sattva - The Rascals - From their Once Upon A Dream LP (1968)
After 3 solid pop albums, The Rascals were feeling that their own brand of blue-eyed soul was a bit dated. Inspired by Sergeant Pepper's and Pet Sounds, they released this ambitious, if not flawed, "concept" album. Full of mini classics, this songs nevertheless shines out from the pack. I can never tire of it.

22 - Black Widow Spider - Them - from Time In, Time Out for… (1968)
I could copy word to word my commentary about the Pretty Things here… or how a impressive hard- driving R&B band turns psychedelic. Again, it turns way creepier than most bands of the same time. I think the whole "Love" thing got lost with them.
Creepy crawly indeed.

23 - Black Butter - Present - The Strawberry Alarm Clock - from Strawberries Means Love (1968)
Seminal band sounds like they have abused the so-called "Black Butter", like I'm hearing backwards sitars, man. Funny how this stuff hits you. This sticks like a sore thumb in the middle of their usual sunshine pop songs.

24 - East Indian Traffic - Okko Bekker - from Sitar and Electronics LP (1971)
This is straying dangerously close to Psychexploitation. Just a look at the groovy cover should have warned us. Strangely the mix of tablas, fuzzed out guitars and sitar on this album falls nicely into place. One of the most interesting album (if you forget the goofy Bollywood Beatles covers) that I found while piecing this comp.

25 - Indian Beat - Chim Kotari - from Sound Of Sitar LP (1966)
One of the very first example of a sitar in action. 1966 playing was straight and it gives the whole album a very dated Bollywood sound. The rest of the album is quite forgettable, way too many covers and a general easy listening feel to it.
Still, this is to be considered as a milestone, believe it or not.

26 - She's Leaving Home - Big Jim Sullivan - from Sitar Beat LP (1968)
Session guitarist supremo (and one of the few real sitar player at the time) Big Jim Sullivan demonstrates how it's done "correctly". Sadly, most of the album, while of interest, is again straying way too close to the easy listening side. Maybe his sessions clients (Kinks, Cat Stevens and some more forgettable ones) got the best of him. The few personal compositions on the LP should have told him to stick with them instead of hashing out covers.

27 - A Child's Guide to Good & Evil - The West Coast Pop At Experimental Band - From their Third Album (Same as song Title) (1968)
One of the most overlooked band and album from the sixties. Period. The Polanski case will sadly adds to the creepy content of this LP, Markley being obviously very fond of under age girls. I'd rather not know how many of them fell victim to his "charms". Despite this ugly undercurrent, the songs always manage to let innocence and love prevail. If you don't know this album, find it straightaway.

28 - Time & Motion Study Man - The Twilights - from their 45 Single (1967)
This Australian band moved to England and released a string of acid-pop gems. While some of their albums have truly daft moments, this 45 is one of band's high-water mark, along with "Cathy Come Home". Their "Once Upon a Twilight" LP is another overlooked 60's forgotten small masterpiece.

29 - Spinning Wheel - Blonde on Blonde from their Contrasts LP (1969)
Despite their particularly naff name, this Welsh band nearly achieved star success. Most of this album is more prog psych than we can usually bear but this looping, sitar-laden number rounds off neatly the comp. It also a good way to loop the entire comp, try it: you'll thank us later.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 11 - Crimson Valley Creatures In Your Zoo

Up for your enjoyment is another volume of the fabulous Incredible Soundshow Stories. This one features psych bands from UK and Europe and, with the exception of Jacques Dutronc, are obscure at best. Sadly, in my humble opinion, this is one of the weaker ISSS volume. It may be because the general tone is more pop than psych. I specially resent the inclusion of "Hippie Hippie Hourrah" which is a very ironic & scathing song about hippies (you guessed it) disguised as psychedelic song. If you don't understand French, it can be enjoyable, if you do understand, it is a travesty and a bit of a joke. That said, there is quite a few popsyke gems on this LP, I just find this collection has been assembled in a rush… not quite the same quality and flow Dig The Fuzz used to offer. There should still be enough Belgian and Dutch Beatles/Floyd sound-alikes in there to make you happy.

Visit the zoo here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 10 - A Hidden Secret Garden Found

Another great compilation of acetates and little-known EPs. As usual with Dig The Fuzz, it's filled with very interesting discoveries… Ripped straight from the original limited edition LPee. Due to the varying quality of the originaly, this volume has a somewhat muddy sound. It's all part of the fun!
The next volume of Fools on the Hill is now ready and should be up shortly.

Meanwhile, discover the hidden secret garden here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 09 - Clap Hands Daddy Come Home

In the immortal words of Dig the Fuzz Records: "You have here a collection (gathered together by hideous phone bills, hedaches, loft insulated records and of course the sheer love of it all!!) of stupidly rare and obscure discs from foreign shores featuring lost and long forgotten British bands from the mid to late sixties.
In this latest instalment of the delicious and Incredible Sound Show series, we present 17 god almighty blasts of guitars, organs, drums, harmonicas, and while we're at it general MOD and R&B mayhem from 16 no-hit wonders now back in the land of the Union Jack. CLAP HANDS! DADDY COME HOME!…

My personal comment here: there are a lot of UK bands who felt competition was too hard in the UK and emigrated elsewhere (usually Europe)… easier living to be had. Either that or foreign-only issued 45. These songs literally come from all over the world… Singapore included!
A scorcher of a volume is what we have here… it nearly started a parallel ISSS series. Look for a new volume in the near future.

Meet Daddy here!

Incredible Sound Show Stories 08 - Professor Potts' Pornographic Projector

Sorry for the delay in reposting, I had the classic hard drive crash - everything I've done in the past year has gone. Thankfully I've got a copy of the next Fools On The Hill, the Sitar Sizzler, Phew!
This is an extract of the promo sheet coming with this volume ISSS, I couldn't put it better, so here it goes:
Dig The FuzzRecords present you with a feast of hallucajenic (sic) melodies to twist thru' your brain and finally rinse the shit out of your cells.
15 stoned out sinners head your way from the mid to late sixties (All US). So obscure, these bands left history behind!! Bands inc. Ark, Ballroom, 1st Century, 4th Way, Calliope, Hysterical Society, Group Axis, NGC 4594, Childe Harold & More, More, More.
Limited to 650 No'd copies vinyl only with pure Porno art sleeve + booklet detailing all the bands included + postcard for your own personal use. None of these trax have been compiled before!

Lo and behold, I have to revise my previous comment: this is one the best ISSS volumes. The good thing about blogging is listening again to music buried in my library. This one is in fact a long lost friend. Brilliant!

Enter Pr. potts private screening session here

Incredible Sound Show Stories 7 - Visions of Alice in Black

Even shorter post…It's summer after all! Another brilliant smorgasbord of rarely heard UK Psych, Freakbeat and Hard Psych. One of the best ISS comps, I have to say it goes slightly downhill after that one, untill the pure Freakbeat comps "Clap Hands, Daddy Comes Home" Still plenty of unknown gems here.

Visit the dark side of Alice's mirror here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 6 - Plastic & Rubber Lovers of Life

Very short Post today. Volume 6 of ISSS is up. One of their best UK Psych comps. Flows seemlessly between Toytown Psych and Medieval Madness. Lots of little known tracks, very well pieced together. A Must hear.

Don't go out without your rubber… get it here.

Sky Saxon RIP - Sky Saxon Blues Band - A Full Spoon Of Seedy Blues

LINK IS UP! Another one bites the dust. "If there’s ever a day you don’t want to die on, publicity-wise, it would be the day Michael Jackson dies. That kind of sucks up all the ink in the room, and if there’s a drop left, it goes to Farrah Fawcett." I couldn't have put it better… read the rest here. Hilarious account of gigging with Sky's New Seeds in the late 70's.
Back to this LPee: a lot of people really despise this album, but I think it showcases a very eerie quality Sky always had about him. Creepy might be the better word. Do not listen to this album late at night kids, it WILL unnerve you. Think Manson with talent and you'll be close. Thanks to YaHoWha, Sky always (?) stayed on the right side of the fence. So, it's time to pay our last goodbies to one of American Garage true icon. Godspeed, Sky.

On a lighter note, you have to wonder what Muddy Water took before writing these liner notes… I suspect a combination of hard liquor, young hippie vestals and a manager sleeping in the bath tub.
This is a rip off my original Crescendo LP, in all its glory. Enjoy and get your spoonful here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 5 - Yellow Street Boutique

Time for instalment 5 of the Incredible Sound Show Stories, this time centered on the UK R&B scene circa 1964-65. Many gems à la Them and Yarbirds are to be discovered thanks to Dig The Fuzz Records and their world known Rubber Biscuit Studios. As stated on the original Lp, there has been NO digital remastering… and it does sound very original, let's say. Of particular note on this volume is The Silence, an early incarnation of John's Children and probably one of the few bands to really capture the essence of an era.

Enter the Yellow Street Boutique here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 4 - A Trip on the Magic Flying Machine

Short post for today. This is one of the best psych volume in the Incredible Soundshow Stories series…so good I am still listening to it years after ripping it. There's just one heavy prog/psych in the track listing, all the rest is absolute classics. The word "Psychedelic" is mentioned so many times on this comp that I will spare you the track listing! There's also too many favourites in there to start commenting them… you'd end up with another monster post.

Just climb aboard the magic flying machine here.
We enjoy your comments… get typing!.

Fools On The Hill 23: Pre-Kraut Pleasures- 29 garage psych and post-beat late 60's forgotten gems from the German scene

It took some time but the wait is finally over: here is the new FOTH comp! This relies heavily on the famed Prae-Kraut Pandemonium series of comp which has now stopped being published in vinyl. I suppose most of you have heard about Kraut Music and the bands who invented it: Can, Amon Düül etc. You certainly also heard about the infamous Beat scene and the Star-Club in Hamburg. But what happened in-between? I think the Pre-Kraut sound is heavily influenced by the political situation of the time. While the US was directly influenced by the end of the Vietnam war, Germany was recreating painfully its identity. The youth were trying to invent a new way of living but in a very explosive political moment. Extremism was rife, left-wing terrorism was on the brink of plunging the country into years of fear. Peace and love were not quite understood the same way as in the US. Alternative lifestyles such as creating communes and squatting were starting to happen. This is the sound of an angry and loose generation, shaking the sins of their fathers off their back and creating their own world.

Where else could a band have sung in 1968: "If you see a policeman, strike him down as fast as you can"? Quite far from Flower Power isn't it? This comp spans a wide range of styles but all songs are infused with an umistakable sound and energy. From tongue-in-cheek themes like modern surgery to class struggle reflections, from furious post-beat instrumentals to wacky english-sung psych songs (not to mention deeelicious german accents), the quality and variety of the songs is simply amazing. Another defining trait of Pre-Kraut is the will to invent something new and trying to sound different from the current British or US sound: Experimentation leads songs into some wild directions, be it quasi Stoogey punkers or etheral rave-ups. This experimentation will become the foundation of Kraut music… another subject.

You can find more about Pre_kraut at Spurensicherung , the blog home ofthe makers of the original Prae-Kraut comps. This is where they publish their new finds. Many thanks to them for all their hardwork and dedication.

This is, simply put, one of our best FOTH volume, get it here.
Your comments are always very welcomed… do not hesitate.

Track Listing:
1- Hab Keine Lust Heut' Aufzusteh'n -The Blizzards
I don't want to get up today - the perfect song for Mondays.

2- The Old Hangman Is Dead - The Kentuckys
A beat rehash of a traditional german folk song, the Dubliners wouldn't have recorded it that way.

3- Why Can't It Be Me - Ian & The Zodiacs
4- Leave This Lesbian World - Improved Sound Ltd.
A perfect example of a bent Pre-Kraut theme for a song.

5- Hypodermic Needle - Novak's Kapelle
Quasi-punker drug song.

6- I'm An Unskilled Worker - The Dukes
Typical of a them never touched by the US bands. I think the only song that comes close is
"(Would I Still Be) Her Big Man" by the Brigands on the Original Nuggets.

7- The Dentist - The Dukes
Yes. It's a song about going to the dentist… or avoiding to.

8- Hullabaloo - The Guards
Big Noise indeeed…

9- Kamera Song - The Inner Space & Rosy Rosy
What starts as a nice and gentle lullaby suddenly veers off towards anguish… and back.

10- Stupid Generation - The Kentuckys
A comment still valid today.

11- What Do You Think - The Rainy Daze
I think this one popped up already on one FOTH volume,
it has the closest US sound of this selection, could be Texas or Louisiana folk punk.

12- Round The World - The Rebbels
An interesting ditty about rocketships with a few snotty musings thrown in.

13- Panic - The Slaves
Do you know what's the matter with me? It's a real panic!

14- All Right - The Wildcats
Teenage angst in the best tradition.

15- Indiano - Andy Nevison & his Rythm Masters
Peter Gunn influenced piece of beat fury.

16- I'm So Lonely - Les Copains
Start as a completely tart song and then suddenly grabs Iggy by the throat.

17- Wild Woman - Jo Hamann
Cool declamation that includes some strange Velvet like rumble.

18- Who Knows - John Deen & The Trakk
One of my fave: very loose but catchy.

19- Doing That Rhythm Thing - Novak's Kapelle
Again, nothing like what was done elsewhere in the world.
Trying the break the mould here.

20- Smile Please - Novak's Kapelle
Their signature song, MC5 here we come.

21- I'm Your Guy - The Blizzards
Another splendid beat/pop nugget.

22- Heart Transplantation - The Dragons
After the dentist, the heart surgeon gets the treatment.

23- Wieder Auf Der Gass - The German Of The Bored
You will never listen to the Canned Heat version the same way.
I'm on the gas (pedal) again.

24- Understand - The Loosers
Slow downer sung weez an eery German accent.

25- Tartarex - The Petards
This one veers towards prog, but the theme of the song alone is wirth the listen.

26- Can't You See - The Renegades
Another classic garage piece.

27- Give Your Love To Me - Les Copains
A desperate call for love from Les Copains.

28- The Things She Says - The Cherry Stones
This could have been Freakbeat if it were English.

29- Stop This War - The Seals
This one has its feet firmly in the period, both lirycally and musically.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 3 - 200 Feet Deep In A Purple Idea

More Freakbeat and Psych insanities from Dig The Fuzz label.
This volume, interestingly, features 2 french psych bands among the usual british Freakbeat fare. This is certainly only the tip of the iceberg and we are thinking of making a FOTH comp exploring the french psych/prog scene. Les Goths made only one but excellent 4-song EP, highly sought after, and Tacpoum Système made several psych 45, from which "Asmodai" is lifted. They sadly transformed into a prog band after this initial effort. All in all, this is yet another classic comp in the Bam Caruso mould.
There is a small mistake in the tagging of one song: "XK 1LX" is by the Nashville Teens, not by The Lemon Drops, I'll let you correct that.


The next FOTH volume "Pre-Kraut Pleazers" is ready and should be out and posted this week.


Hold your breath and dive 200 Feet Deep In A Purple Idea here.

Incredible Sound Show Stories 2 - When the Tangerine Strikes Twelve

Second Volume of the ISSS series now up for grabs. This one has a definite Freakbeat/early Brit psychedelic tint to it. Again compiled from (very) hard to find acetates and master tapes, and ripped from the original Vinyl LP. Featuring rare John's Children tracks along with a BBC Interview… They sound all a bit full of themselves or were they out of their brains? There's also a heavy serving of the later incarnation of the Downliners Sect, when they discovered R&B was out and psych was in. All recorded as demo in a Medium's House with a band that was on the brink of exploding.

When the tangerine strikes twelve…get your fresh fruits & veggies here!

1- Daddy Rolling Stone - John's Children
The band attacks the song from every direction and they at least manage to play a verse and a chorus fromthe original version before smashing it up in true punk style. A good opener.

2- Every Minute of the Day - The Primitives
Great band already featured on ISSS 1 respected for their Pye 45 punker "You said". The track selected here shows their move into '66 mod style.

3- Little Piece of Leather - The Hipster Image
Slice of mod-influenced from Sheffield, they managed to hop on Jimmy Saville charity flexi with this Sue standard. Backflip is an organ instrumental (not featured here).

4- Shame Shame Shame - Unknown Band
Great '65 sound with a menacing rythm guitar from a band who strikes a close resemblance with the Kinks (Kontaversy period).

5- Eiderdown Clown - The Scots of St James
From Scotland indeed! Had their start on the Go label (subsidy of CBS) at the end of '66. This is their follow-up in 67, a classic psycher on the Spot label. Without much success, they went on to become the Hop Scotch and then Forever More. Graham Maitland then also appeared in pop psycher The Five Day Rain

6- White Caterpillar - The Downliners Sect
Proof that a good band can switch to different sound without being ridicule.

7- Shalom - Hell Preachers Inc.
You already had a taste of them on our FOTH 22 comp here. Proof of our good taste.

8- Boring Song - Charge
Early Floyd influence all over that slab of Art College psych from Derby. Double sided privately pressed 45. Recorded quietly in the college Library, believe it or not.

9- Spider - Downliners Sect
See White Caterpillar for description. When you start being obsessed with insects, it's time to lay off the drugs.

10- Perfumed Garden of Gulliver Smith (& Interview with John Helwett)
According to them, they were trying to expand the genre… the interview has them sounding like arty poofs, but the track is much better.

11- Never Mind - Elli
This single was released on the same day as the Fab Fours "Strawberry Fields Forever" ensuring instant obscurity. Elli will pop up on a number of other ISSS volumes… One of the UK's unknown national treasures.

12- Second Glance - Timothy Grass
A great slice of Psych from a totally unknown band…

13 - The Wind Out of Nowhere - Whichwhat
Track from a surviving master tape and an excellent find from Nottingham's late 60's pop/rock scene. The band stayed together long enough to record an album and 6 singles before splitting. Their late 70's reunion produced this fine lazy pop psych track.

14 - All Lead Back to You - The First Impression
One of the many late 60's London acts who fitted into the jigsaw of the underground circuit of the time. Also featured on the Saga label " Swingin' London" LP– a pretty ridiculous attempt at grasping the era ensured them well deserved obscurity.

15- Strange Loves of Gwyneth - St Davids Road
Welsh psych obviously… From a promo copy.

16- Hot Rod Mama - John's Children
Shades of Bolan to come. Nuff said.

17- Lord of the Rings - John's Children
Keith Grant uses the leftovers of the original Sect to record this strange attempt at psychedelia. Well, it HAS a very clear psych feel but you can still feel the good ol' R&B influence while declaiming verses about Tolkien's epic saga… what were they taking?