rep>>> 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

Artist - Tracks - Composer

Disc 1

1. The Alan Bown - Toyland (Jess Roden, Tony Catchpole) - 2:55

2. The Attack - Magic In The Air (John Du Cann) - 3:38

3. The Tickle - Subway (Smokey Pokey World) (David Stuart Williams, Mick Wayne) - 2:41

4. Episode Six - I Can See Through You (Roger Glover) - 3:24

5. Dantalian's Chariot - The Madman Running Through The Fields (Andy Summers, Zoot Money) - 4:11

6. Geranium Pond - Dogs In Baskets - 2:05

7. The Scots Of St. James - Eiderdown Clown (Alan Gorrie, Graham Maitland) - 2:15

8. George Alexander - Dear Delilah (George Alexander) - 2:53

9. The Sorrows - Pink Purple Yellow And Red (Guido Podesta, Gianfranco Reverberi) - 2:49

10.The Mirage - Lazy Man (David Hynes) - 3:00

11.The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown - Give Him A Flower (Arthur Brown, Vincent Crane) - 3:01

12.Tintern Abbey - Tanya (Dave McTavish) - 2:56

13.Fleur-De-Lys - Prodigal Son (Gordon Hionides, Bryn Haworth) - 1:59

14.The Lomax Alliance - See The People (John Cannon, Tom Peters) - 2:14

15.The Mickey Finn - Time To Start Loving You (Alan Mark, Bernard Jory, Mickey Waller) - 2:40

16.The Fingers - I Hear The Sun (John Bobin, Peter Eden, Richard Mills) - 2:01

17.Crocheted Doughnut Ring - Nice (Bert Pulham, Dave Skates, George Bird, John Chapel, Richard Mills, Gerald Chevin, Peter Eden) - 3:05

18.The Good Thing Brigade - My House Is Burning (Terry Clarke, Terry Dobson) - 3:22

19.The Motives - Ice Woman (Tom Winter Jnr.)  - 2:49

20.Louise - Look At The Sun (Robert Chudley) - 3:30

21.Neo Maya - I Won't Hurt You (Bob Markley, Michael Lloyd, Shaun Harris) - 2:30

22.Cliff Ward - Path Through The Forest (Cliff Ward) - 4:33

23.The Spencer Davis Group - Sanity Inspector (Eddie Hardin, Spencer Davis) - 3:01

24.The Summer Set - 'Cos It's Over (Dave Brien, Les Humphries) - 2:45

25.Those Fadin' Colours - Try Me On For Size (Annette Tucker, Jill Jones) - 2:39

26.The Slender Plenty - Silver Tree Top School For Boys (David Bowie) - 2:22

27.Guy Darrell - Evil Woman (Larry Weiss) - 2:26

Disc 2

1. Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Flames (Dave Terry) - 3:13

2. One In A Million - Double Sight (Alan Young, William Scenters) - 2:35

3. Paul And Barry Ryan - Keep It Out Of Sight (Cat Stevens) - 2:48

4. The Pretty Things - Defecting Grey (Phil May, Dick Taylor, Wally Waller) - 5:12

5. John's Children - Desdemona (Marc Bolan) - 2:24

6. The Doves - Smokeytime Springtime (Henry Turtle) - 3:03

7. John Williams - Flowers In Your Hair (John Williams) - 2:42

8. Sweet Feeling - All So Long Ago (Rod Brosse) - 3:13

9. Rupert's People - Reflections Of Charles Brown (Howard Conder, Rod Lynton)  - 4:19

10.The Riot Squad Featuring David Bowie - Toy Soldier (David Bowie) - 3:10

11.The Rats - The Rise And Fall Of Bernie Gripplestone (John Cambridge, Mick Ronson) - 4:08

12.Circus - Something To Write About (Phillip Goodhand-Tait) - 3:27

13.Dave Davies - Funny Face (Dave Davies) - 2:17

14.The Brood - Village Green (Ewan Stephens, Jeff Peters) - 2:23

15.Tony Rivers And  The Castaways - Mr. Sun (Tony Rivers) - 2:17

16.The Peep Show - Your Servant Stephen (Stephen Morris) - 3:01

17.The Uglys - And The Squire Blew His Horn (Jimmy O'Neill, Steve Gibbons) - 3:36

18.The Move - Vote For Me (Roy Wood) - 2:49

19.The Human Instinct - A Day In My Mind's Mind (Dave Hartstone) - 2:14

20.Murray Head - She Was Perfection (Murray Head) - 2:48

21.Peter And The Wolves - Little Girl Lost And Found (Johnny Walsh, Tandyn Almer) - 2:29

22.The Bunch - Spare A Shilling (John Pantry) - 2:32

23.Big Jim Sullivan - Flower Power (Big Jim Sullivan) - 3:26

24.Procol Harum - Kaleidoscope (Gary Brooker, Keith Reid) - 3:08

25.The Searchers - Crazy Dreams (John McNally, Mike Pender) - 2:37

26.The Artwoods - In The Deep End (Paul Gump) - 3:07

Disc 3

1. Our Plastic Dream - Someone Turned The Light Out (Pierre Tubbs) - 2:36

2. Hat And Tie - Finding It Rough (Chris Thomas, Patrick Campbell-Lyons) - 2:49

3. The Fresh Windows - Fashion Conscious (Brian Barrett) - 2:21

4. The Game - The Addicted Man (Alan Gowing, Lesley Blake, Terry Brown) - 2:23

5. Felius Andromeda - Meditations (Alan Morgan, Pamela Barry) - 4:09

6. The Honeybus - Delighted To See You (Brian Potter, Pete Dello) - 2:33

7. Ice - So Many Times (Chris Simpson, Steve Turner) - 2:06

8. The Flower Pot Men - A Walk In The Sky (John Carter, Ken Lewis, Russell Alquist) - 3:53

9. Five's Company - Friends And Mirrors (Bobby Russell) - 2:10

10.The Late - Family Tree (Pat Martin) - 3:04

11.The Secrets - I Think I Need The Cash (Clifford T. Ward) - 2:18

12.Skip Bifferty - Schizoid Revolution (Alan Hull) - 3:29

13.The Purple Gang - Granny Takes A Trip (Christopher Joe Beard, Geoff Bowyer) - 2:35

14.The Picadilly Line - Emily Small (The Huge World Thereof) (Rod Edwards, Roger Hand) - 2:31

15.The Outer Limits - Help Me Please (Jeff Christie) - 2:28

16.Focal Point - 'Cept Me (Dave Rhodes, Paul Tennant) - 2:53

17.Jade Hexagram - Great Shadowy Strange (Dale Callow, Dave Halliday, Greg Morris, Steve Leman) - 4:04

18.The Truth - Busker Bill (Steve Jameson) - 2:59

19.The Moody Blues - Life's Not Life (Denny Laine, Mike Pinder) - 2:35

20.Don Craine's New Downliners Sect - I Can't Get Away From You (Vern Miller) - 2:49

21.The Symbols - Again (John Milton, Mick Clarke) - 1:58

22.The Hi-Fi's - Odd Man Out (Gary Unwin) - 2:21

23.The Marmalade - Laughing Man (Junior Campbell) - 3:24

24.T. J. Assembly - Ginger (Dave Smith, Nigel Robinson, Roger Bourne, Trevor Marsden, Vince Parker) - 2:31

25.The 23rd Turn Off - Michelangelo (Jimmy Campbell) - 2:16

26.The Q. P. R. Supporters - Supporters - Support Us (Kerr, Taylor) - 2:47

27.Sands - Listen To The Sky (Bob Freeman, Ian McLintock, Paul Stewart, Peter Hammerton)  - 3:36

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