Various Artists - Let’s Go Down And Blow Our Minds The British Psychedelic Sounds (1967 uk, impressive psych mod freak beat, 2016 three disc box set)

Top-notch psychedelic box set capturing the far out sound of 1967, focussing mainly on classic underground bands, such as The Pretty Things, Human Instinct, Tintern Abbey and Fleur De Lys, who blend with some who became household names later, such as David Bowie and Marc Bolan.

The psychedelic road has always taken many twists and turns, and this was just as true in 1967 as it is now. The art of a good psychedelic box set is balance and variety, and Cherry Red have definitely succeeded in both, as they did with their Love Poetry and Revolution box set, a couple of years ago. Every shade is included here.

Although Let’s Go Down deals mainly with the underground sounds of 1967, a few familiar-to-most names pop up, such as The Move (Vote For me), The Moody Blues (Life’s Not Life) and Dave Davies from The Kinks (Funny Face), all with lesser-known songs than the ones that made them superstars. And amongst the more underground acts, you can see how some of the featured selections echo their more famous counterparts. Take Turquoise, here under an alias, The Brood, with Village Green. It’s a different Village Green to the song by The Kinks, but it’s along the same lines. Bandwagon jumpers? Or did they record theirs first? Who cares: just enjoy the music!

And in a similar way, it’s interesting to see that during this time of high creativity and experimentation, certain records like say Rain by The Beatles or A Whiter Shade of Pale by Procul Harum set blueprints, forming their own sub-genres within the psychedelic spectrum. Check out The Mirage: Lazy Man and Rupert’s People: Reflections of Charlie Brown, respectively. And then there’s joyous freakbeat shenanigans from the likes of Human Instinct, with A Day In My Mind’s Mind –   from a totally different end of the psych spectrum

Balancing the rocking stuff with the more laidback, it’s great to see Jason Crest here under their previous name The Good Thing Brigade, with the lazy organ-fuelled My House Is Burning. You think you know Arthur Brown, he of The Crazy World and the God of Hell Fire? Think again! On Give Him a Flower, the wonderfully camp and distinctly English song of his on this box set, he sounds more like Kevin Ayers. And while we’re on the bonkers British tip, check out Granny Takes a Trip by Purple Gang

Marc Bolan pops up from his pre-fame days as a member of the Mod-psych warriors, John’s Children, with Desdemona. And speaking of pre-fame, David Bowie is here too as The Riot Squad, with Toy Soldier, a slightly dodgy ode to S&M, with lyrics that echo the Velvets’ Venus in Furs.

Far too many gems here to mention: hearing is believing. And as always with Cherry Red, it comes with great artwork & photos, plus all the information you need about the records, captured in a 44 page booklet. Some of the tracks are alternate versions and some are on CD for the first time. And it’s good news for those who already have an interest in the British psych/freakbeat movement, via compilations such as the Rubble series, because there is plenty of material here that won’t overlap, and no really obvious choices.

by Arash Torabi

Tracks
Disc 1
1. The Alan Bown - Toyland (Single Version) - 2:55
2. The Attack - Magic In The Air - 3:38
3. The Tickle - Subway (Smokey Pokey World) - 2:41
4. Episode Six - I Can See Through You - 3:24
5. Dantalian's Chariot - The Madman Running Through The Fields - 4:11
6. Geranium Pond - Dogs In Baskets - 2:05
7. The Scots Of St. James - Eiderdown Clown - 2:15
8. George Alexander - Dear Delilah - 2:53
9. The Sorrows - Pink Purple Yellow And Red - 2:49
10.The Mirage - Lazy Man (Alternative Version) - 3:00
11.The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Give Him A Flower - 3:01
12.Tintern Abbey - Tanya - 2:56
13.Fleur-De-Lys - Prodigal Son - 1:59
14.The Lomax Alliance - See The People - 2:14
15.The Mickey Finn - Time To Start Loving You - 2:40
16.The Fingers - I Hear The Sun - 2:01
17.Crocheted Doughnut Ring - Nice - 3:05
18.The Good Thing Brigade - My House Is Burning - 3:22
19.The Motives - Ice Woman - 2:49
20.Louise - Look At The Sun - 3:30
21.Neo Maya - I Won't Hurt You - 2:30
22.Cliff Ward - Path Through The Forest - 4:33
23.The Spencer Davis Group - Sanity Inspector (Single Version) - 3:01
24.The Summer Set - 'Cos It's Over - 2:45
25.Those Fadin' Colours - Try Me On For Size - 2:39
26.The Slender Plenty - Silver Tree Top School For Boys - 2:22
27.Guy Darrell - Evil Woman - 2:26

Disc 2
1. Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Flames - 3:13
2. One In A Million - Double Sight - 2:35
3. Paul & Barry Ryan - Keep It Out Of Sight - 2:48
4. The Pretty Things - Defecting Grey (Extended Version) - 5:12
5. John's Children - Desdemona - 2:24
6. The Doves  - Smokeytime Springtime - 3:03
7. John Williams - Flowers In Your Hair - 2:42
8. Sweet Feeling - All So Long Ago - 3:13
9. Rupert's People - Reflections Of Charles Brown - 4:19
10.The Riot Squad ,The Riot Squad Featuring David Bowie David Bowie - Toy Soldier - 3:10
11.The Rats - The Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone - 4:08
12.Circus - Something To Write About - 3:27
13.Dave Davies - Funny Face - 2:17
14.The Brood - Village Green - 2:23
15.Tony Rivers And  The Castaways - Mr. Sun - 2:17
16.The Peep Show - Your Servant Stephen - 3:01
17.The Uglys - And The Squire Blew His Horn - 3:36
18.The Move - Vote For Me - 2:49
19.The Human Instinct - A Day In My Mind's Mind - 2:14
20.Murray Head - She Was Perfection - 2:48
21.Peter And The Wolves - Little Girl Lost And Found - 2:29
22.The Bunch - Spare A Shilling - 2:32
23.Big Jim Sullivan - Flower Power - 3:26
24.Procol Harum - Kaleidoscope (Extended Stereo Mix) - 3:08
25.The Searchers - Crazy Dreams - 2:37
26.The Artwoods - In The Deep End - 3:07

Disc 3
1. Our Plastic Dream - Someone Turned The Light Out - 2:36
2. Hat And Tie - Finding It Rough - 2:49
3. The Fresh Windows - Fashion Conscious - 2:21
4. The Game - The Addicted Man - 2:23
5. Felius Andromeda - Meditations - 4:09
6. The Honeybus - Delighted To See You (Demo Version) - 2:33
7. Ice - So Many Times - 2:06
8. The Flower Pot Men - A Walk In The Sky - 3:53
9. Five's Company - Friends And Mirrors - 2:10
10.The Late - Family Tree - 3:04
11.The Secrets  - I Think I Need The Cash - 2:18
12.Skip Bifferty - Schizoid Revolution - 3:29
13.The Purple Gang - Granny Takes A Trip - 2:35
14.The Picadilly Line - Emily Small (The Huge World Thereof) - 2:31
15.The Outer Limits - Help Me Please - 2:28
16.Focal Point - 'Cept Me - 2:53
17.Jade Hexagram - Great Shadowy Strange - 4:04
18.The Truth - Busker Bill - 2:59
19.The Moody Blues - Life's Not Life - 2:35
20.Don Craine's New Downliners Sect - I Can't Get Away From You - 2:49
21.The Symbols - Again - 1:58
22.The Hi-Fi's - Odd Man Out - 2:21
23.The Marmalade - Laughing Man - 3:24
24.T. J. Assembly - Ginger - 2:31
25.The 23rd Turn Off - Michelangelo (Demo Version) - 2:16
26.The Q. P. R. Supporters - Supporters - Support Us - 2:47
27.Sands - Listen To The Sky - 3:36

For the most of the Acts listed here in this compilation, I have already added some of their albums, if you're interesting of any of them, just write the artist's name on "Search This Blog"  ticker box, if you won't find it just let me know. Thank you.

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