What does it sound like?:

The third in David Wells’ enjoyable series of themed boxsets on Grapefruit Records, this follows logically from 1967 (when pop was delightfully all over the place) and 1968 (when studios went crazy on phasing) to present the psychedelic pop sound of 1969. But what really was psychedelic pop in that year, and is this a good showcase? This is another well-presented and enjoyable volume that is aimed at the genre-obsessive listener, but the problems of amassing record-collecting obscurities with some bigger names to present a snapshot of the era are starting to show. Thus, Procol Harum (“A Salty Dog”) The Move, The Pretty Things and Status Quo stand out form the other 70-or-so group of local heroes, the unlucky, the also-rans, and never-stood-a-chance groups. Highlights include bootleg favorites like the glorious title track by The Factory (think the Who meets a Pink Floyd B side) Fresh Air’s proto-Glam “Running Wild”), the fuzzed-up Orange Machine, Lemmy singing with Sam Gopal, and the Scottish legends The Writing on the Wall. But the problem here is the emphasis on ‘pop’. For the decision to sidestep the prog, blues or heaviness of 1969 records means you are left » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

This is very pleasant surprise: counter-cultural, laidback rock and singer songwriters from the radical years of Japan when Haruki Murakami was still at high school. Basically the first legit western release ( from the Light in the Attic label) of some well-known national artists, this comp adds to previous cult genres of J-rock, such as Group Sounds beat pop, 60s girl pop, Julian Cope approved hard rock, and more extreme improv. It’s rather like a Bob Stanley compilation of 70s pastoral rock, but from the “angura” (underground) scenes of Tokyo and Osaka: young, disaffected Japanese channeling Dylan, Donovan, Joni Mitchell and Neil Young with their own take on the national mood. But it’s certainly not dealt up as kitsch or pastiche: there is some real talent and tense performances here, which the compilers have put into helpful context with translated lyrics. So Kenji Endo’s whispery ‘Curry Rice’ is actually about watching the author Yukio Mishima killing himself on TV, while Akai Torai’s pristine-sounding folk song was genuinely controversial. Other highlights out of a well-chosen 19 tracks are the women Sachiko Kanenobu and Maki Asakawa, the melancholy Tetsuo Saito, and the rousing mix of Hachimatsu » Continue Reading.

What does it sound like?:

The latest in David Wells’ Cherry Red anthologies of U.K. psychedelia, and a follow up to the more evocative sounding 1967 collection from last year, this is a very enjoyable 3 disc set of the commercial pop 45 aspects of the genre, with nary a track outstaying three minutes. In truth, if you were going to put together an ultimate list of later psychedelia you would need some bigger or proggier groups than here, but that would miss the train spotting obscurity fun of this sort of exercise. Many of these tracks, however elusive, have been catalogued before in one bootleg form or another ( e.g. The Graded Grains, The Focal Points ‘Sycamore Syd,’ The Factory’s peerless trip soundtrack ‘Path Through The Forest’ ) but there is a care to the sound quality and presentation here that is appreciable. I do wonder though about the licensing that goes on behind the scenes for a project like this: many of the tracks seem to come from the Pye/ MGM/ President records stable, which has always been readily available for recent reissues, whereas some obvious 1968 candidates from other labels ( e.g. Nirvana, July, or EMI » Continue Reading.