The Outsiders - C.Q. (1968)

The Outsiders were a Dutch band from Amsterdam that were a part of the "Nederbeat" scene and sang entirely in English. The band's lineup consisted of Wally Tax on vocals, Ronnie Splinter on guitar, Appie Rammers on bass, Tom Krabbendam on guitar and Leendert "Buzz" Busch on drums. Frank Beek would later replace Rammers on bass guitar from 1968-1969. This is their third and final record, which sold poorly upon release but has since become regarded as a conrnerstone of psychedelic garage rock. C.Q. touches on a number of different styles of rock music. There is a combination of fast paced R&B with a punk edge similar to early Pretty Things, eerie experimental material (check out the title track "C.Q."), space rock that recalls Syd Barret-era Pink Floyd, and folk rock. What makes this all the more interesting is that these styles are frequently explored within a single song. In my opinion, this album foreshadows the directions post-punk bands would soon be exploring, particularly Chairs Missing-era Wire. The unpredictability of C.Q. has made it one of my favorite recent discoveries and I have the feeling it's something I'll be coming back to frequently. I'm also pretty into the Lichtenstein-esque cover.

Fun Fact: Apparently Kurt Cobain was a fan of the Outsiders and unsuccessfully tried to meet Wally Tax.

Stand-Out Tracks:
"Misfit"
"Daddy Died On Saturday"
"It Seems Like Nothings Gonna Come My Way Today"
"Doctor"
"The Man on the Dune"
"Prison Song"

Download C.Q.

Baby Grandmothers (1968)

Baby Grandmothers were a Swedish band that played extended, improvised heavy psychedelic rock that's largely instrumental. Originally an R&B group called T-Boones, they were renamed the Baby Grandmothers by the co-founder of the short lived Stockholm psychedelic club Filips, which hosted such acts as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and the Mothers of Invention. The band originally consisted of Pelle Ekman on drums, Göran Malmberg on bass and Kenny Håkansson on guitar and vocals, but Malmberg would be replaced by Bengt “Bella” Linnarsson. After adding Mecki Bodemark from the disbanded Mecki Mark Men, they would eventually transform into the second version of Mecki Mark Men. In 1970, this line-up became the first Swedish group to tour America. In 1971, Mecki Mark Men would break up and the Baby Grandmothers line-up would form a band called Kebnekajse. This album consists of live recordings from Filips. As far as I'm concerned, this is some of the greatest psychedelic music ever recorded, especially since it's live. Kenny Håkansson's guitar playing is absolutely amazing and the drums and bass compliment it perfectly.

Go here for more information on the Baby Grandmothers

Download Baby Grandmothers

The Always Blue Society Compilation Vol. 2

Here's my second compilation. The tracklist goes something like this:

1. Got A Feelin - Comets On Fire
2. Rimbaud Blues - Comets On Fire
3. Drowned My Life In Fear - Leaf Hound
4. All These Years - Lazy Smoke
5. Try a Little Sunshine - The Factory
6. Mr. Grey - Stone Circus
7. In My Dream - The Action
8. Deboraarobed - Tyrannosaurus Rex
9. Stamping Machine - July
10. Bike Ride To The Moon - The Dukes of Stratosphear
11. The Good Mr. Square - The Pretty Things
12. She Was Tall, She Was High - The Pretty Things
13. Uncle Jack - Spirit
14. Cinema Olympia - Gal Costa
15. Questions (Did You Know - Will We Be Alive) - Ithaca
16. A Mind Blown Is A Mind Shown - Hapshash & The Coloured Coat

Download The Always Blue Society Compilation Vol. 2

Tyrannosaurus Rex - Prophets Seers & Sages: The Angels Of The Ages (1968)

This is the second album from the British folk duo consisting of Marc Bolan and Steve Peregrin Took that would later transform into the famous glam rock group T. Rex. Although Bolan's vocal style is similarly flamboyant in both Tyrannosaurus Rex and T. Rex, the overall sound is entirely different. Prophets Seers & Sages: The Angels Of The Ages combines Bolan's acoustic guitar and vocals with Took's impressive, fast-paced bongo playing. The songs are all excellent as is Bolan's voice. The lyrical content is apparently packed with references to Lord of the Rings, but none of this really registers with me since I'm vehemently opposed to all of that mystical bullshit...just kidding, sort of. The only outwardly psychedelic moment in the album is in the first track, "Deboraarobed." The first half of the song segues into the same song played backwards, which was pretty unheard of at the time. Backwards recording had certainly been used at this point, but not nearly as blatantly. By the way, I don't know what the deal is with the song, "Our Wonderful Brownskin Man."

Stand-Out Tracks:
"Deboraarobed"
"Stacey Grove"
"Wind Quartets"
"Consuela"
"Salamanda Palaganda"

"Deboraarobed"


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Pitchfork reviews the reissue of the Blossom Toe's We Are Ever So Clean

Weird. Pitchfork did another review of an album I have on here and gave another 8.6 rating. I found this quote from the article very interesting: "In the new reissue's liner notes, the Toes claim their songs were all written by the time somebody played them an acetate of Sgt. Pepper's in the studio." I mainly find this interesting because it backs up a point I made in my post about We Are Ever So Clean.

Read the Pitchfork review here
Read my entry on We Are Ever So Clean

Pitchfork reviews the reissue of White Noise's An Electric Storm

Overall, it's a favorable review, but I think this one deserves at least a 9/10.
Read the Pitchfork review here
Read my entry on An Electric Storm