Psychedelic Sundaze #3

When I put these TPF compilations together, I did not really attempt to balance them geographically. The first two volumes in the series were pretty evenly split between American and British acts. As I was jotting down the track listing for Vol. III, I noticed a decidedly American flavor-- as it turns out, only five of the twenty tracks are British.

Even more interesting, this compilation kicks off with five consecutive tracks from the L.A. Scene. California completely dominates this comp, with L.A. stealing the show with seven tracks, including the important compilation positions of opener, closer and cover star (that of course, is Love's Arthur Lee pictured above).

One of the non-California, American bands featured here, however, has a little more in common with the U.K. The Aerovons were hugely influenced by the Brits, and in particular their heroes the Beatles. If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, then the John, Paul, George and Ringo would blush right through the Aerovons sole long player, Ressurection, which did not see the light of day until 2003. I chose the title track here, because it is the most Beatle-like track on the album. Listening to it the first time back in '03 when RPM lovingly released it, I found it to be a sub par, Beatles' ripoff. But damn if it didn't get stuck in my head. As I learned more about the band, I soon had a change of heart. Tom Hartman, was only 17-years old when this track was recorded, and did I mention he produced it? And oh, by the way, he got to record it at Abbey Road Studios? Not too shabby for a kid from St. Louis.

Batting in the two-slot here, is a song that was featured here at Burn and Shine about a year ago when I posted AMC's The Walking Dead trailer. One of the biggest hits featured in this series, the Walker Brothers took this wonderful track all the way to #13 on the Billboard charts. For the life of me, I don't know why this song doesn't get more love when critics discuss the greatest songs of all time. I would put it right up there with "Be My Baby", "Waterloo Sunset" and "A Day in the Life".

Happy Listening!

Tiny Purple Fishes: A Trip Through the First Psychedelic Era, Vol. III

01. Buffalo Springfield, “Out of My Mind” [1966]. U.S./Canada (California)
02. The Walker Brothers, “The Sun Ain’t Gonna Shine Anymore” [1966]. U.S. (California)
03. She, “Braids of Hair” [ca. 1970]. U.S. (California)
04. Jan & Dean, “Yellow Balloon” [1966]. U.S. (California)
05. Love, “She Comes In Colors” [1967]. U.S. (California)
06. The Nazz, “Letters Don’t Count” [1969]. U.S. (Pennsylvania)
07. The Rascals, “Find Somebody” [1967]. U.S. (New York)
08. The Creation, “Life is Just Beginning [1967]. U.K. (England)
09. H.P. Lovecraft, “Moubius Trip” [1968]. U.S. (Illinois)
10. The Small Faces, “Long Agos and Worlds Apart” [1968]. U.K. (England)
11. Jefferson Airplane, “Today” [1967]. U.S. (California)
12. The Pretty Things, “Trust” [1968]. U.K. (England)
13. The Honey Combs, “It Ain’t Necessarily So” [1964]. U.K. (England)
14. The Aerovons, “Resurrection” [ca. 1969]. U.S. (Missouri)
15. Moby Grape, “Sitting by the Window” [1967]. U.S. (California)
16. The Rolling Stones, “She’s a Rainbow” [1967]. U.K. (England)
17. Gary Lewis, “Jill” [1967]. U.S. (California)
18. Country Joe & the Fish, “Porpoise Mouth” [1967]. U.S. (California)
19. The Fugs, “Ah, Sunflower Weary of Time” [1965]. U.S. (New York)
20. Tim Buckley, “Hallucinations” [1967]. U.S. (California)


Total time: 59:44

Download it here: Tiny Purple Fishes, Vol. III