The Electric Prunes - Underground (1967)

This is the second album by the Los Angeles based psychedelic/garage rock/pop group the Electric Prunes. Although it never did as well as their debut record, which included their hit song "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)," it has since become regarded as a classic album of the 60s psychedelic era. While the Prunes did play the majority of the music on their first two records, most of their material was not penned by the band. Producer Dave Hassinger was too busy to contribute much to the recording of Underground due to his success from the previous singles and debut, which allowed the band to write five of the twelve songs on the album. Underground consists of a range of styles that come together to create a strangely cohesive album. The sporadic psych-pop of "The Great Banana Hoax" and "Wind-Up Toys" somehow manages to lead into the tongue-in-cheek country of "It's Not Fair" and the downright strange "Dr. Do-Good." There are a number of solid pop songs like "Children of Rain," "I Just Happen To Love You" and "Antique Doll" that help tie everything together. Psychedelic sounds and textures are abundant throughout Underground, which take otherwise good songs to new levels. It's this attention to detail that has secured Underground and the Prunes' legacy in psychedelic history. Who knows what they could have tapped into had they stuck together and gained full creative control.

Download Underground