THE EIGHTH DAY - ON THE EIGHTH DAY, 1968

I've been listening to a few of the Fading Yellow comps pretty consistently all year and doing so have been opened up to a wealth of incredible records.  Vol. 7 of the series kicks off with a highlight, 'Building With A Steeple' by the Eighth Day who recorded a sole album in '67-'68.  I was lucky enough to find a crispy copy in a local shop today on the last record outing of the year.  The rest of the album follows in similar fashion to 'Building With A Steeple' (albeit some tracks are 'fluffier' than others) and is packed with sunshine harmonies from start to finish.    

An in depth look into the history of The Eighth Day can be found here.

THE LOVE EXCHANGE, 1968 (Sundazed reissue)

It seems that Sundazed is stepping their game up with each new reissue, one of them being this Love Exchange album originally released on Tower Records in April 1968.  Super cool replica labels and excellent sound on this disc.  This record is probably laughable to some (including the original band members), but it's a whole lot of fun on my end.  The sloppy organ sound combined with girl vocals, tambourine and jangly guitars make this a winner for me.  Apparently the entire outing was recorded in one day, which if you ask me only adds to it's greatness.  Bask in the glory of those sleeve notes and that photo!

Head on over to my favorite blog, Flower Bomb Songs to read an interview with original lead guitarist Fred Barnette.

THE GOLDEN DAWN - POWER PLANT, 1968

THE HOBBITS - DOWN TO MIDDLE EARTH, OCTOBER 1967

UPDATED 6/13/14

The Hobbits was the studio project of songwriter/musician/producer Jimmy Curtiss who struck psych pop gold in late 1967 with the album Down To Middle Earth.  The album received a pop spotlight in Billboard magazine along with a full page ad in October 1967, but it went mostly unnoticed and has been seemingly labeled by some as imitation or fluff.  Perhaps Curtiss was merely trying to cash in on the pop culture at the time, but cast all the irrelevant bullshit aside and you have an extremely pleasing ten song set of pop psych delights.  I can sing the whole damn album in my head and I haven't even known it for very long.  Below I will provide a personal track by track breakdown.

Opening number 'Down To Middle Earth' is the only track to reference the groups Tolkien namesake, and its touches of flute and echoed vocals provide an excellent introduction to the album.  This along with the rest the album features some top notch orchestration co arranged by Curtiss, Jerry Vance and Terry Philips.

'I'm Just A Young Man' is an electric sitar laced number and the first track containing lyrics dealing with some 'girl problems'.  Things get rather trippy during the chorus which is always appreciated.

'Daffodil Days' which was released as the albums single is a bit of a hard nut to crack, but after the initial 'novelty sound' wears off one will find a brilliant song.  The falsetto vocals, dissonant organ, and W.C. Fields imitation all combine for something special and unique.  It's a rather arcane tune and fits in respectably within my assorted favored sounds.  This somehow perfectly transitions into the acoustic led 'Break Away' which features more falsetto vocals over a strong rhythmic bassline.  The girl has gotten mixed up with the wrong dude this time, and Jimmy is trying to convince her otherwise.

Side one closes out with 'Treats' which I will refer to as 'bubblegum rock'.  The songs hard backbeat is a nice contrast to the soft and breezy chorus.

Side two kicks off with 'Hands And Knees' which abrupt opening notes feature a swirling organ sound that sticks around for the duration of the song.  The lyrics deal with some more girl problems, this time Jimmy is desperate.

Perhaps my favorite track on the album is 'Let Me Run My Fingers Through Your Mind' which has a great build leading into an absolutely incredible chorus with some excellent reverbed out harmonies.  Although not nearly as grand it brings to mind an all time favorite 'My World Fell Down' at certain moments.  It doesn't get much better than this.

'Out Of My Mind' is another delightful pop number, similar in theme to 'Hands And Knees', but lighter in its approach.  'Clap Hands Til Daddy Comes Home' is the most bubblegum moment on the album, and the only track to feature some harmonica action.

Closing track 'Sunny Day Girl' is an acoustic based pop song of the highest order.  It's an instant sing along with with a perfect melody accompanied by a lovely flute and bouncing bass line.

The whole thing clocks in at under 30 minutes which is perfect for an album of this style.  Not so surprisingly it has never seen any kind of reissue treatment, but original vinyl copies are still affordable and out there to find.

From Billboard Magazine October 28, 1967

LYNN CASTLE (with Last Friday's Fire) - ROSE COLORED CORNER / THE LADY BARBER, FEBRUARY 1967

Lynn Castle was reportedly a hairstylist or 'barber' for a number of happening Hollywood celebrities on the Sunset Strip.  Presumably one of them was Lee Hazlewood who produced this record on his newly formed LHI label.  Backed by Last Friday's Fire (a band that featured Mike Condello of Condello fame) these two tracks were cut in late '66 and released in February 1967.  

'Rose Colored Corner' is a much adored tune with some great lyrics concerning escapism.  Castle is not a great vocalist in the traditional sense, but that is (at least) partially what makes this record so endearing.  She sounds about as hip as you can get for '66, or any other year for that matter.  This track has been compiled a few times, most recently on a Lee Hazlewood boxed set where it seems to be getting some right recognition.

'The Lady Barber' (also written by Lynn Castle herself) is another cool folk-psych charmer with a bit of fuzz action.  Once again she sounds about as cool and confident as anyone could.

Check out Lynn Castle appearing on the gameshow What's My Line? here.  On the show they mention a song she wrote for the Monkees which went unreleased.

*UPDATED 08/4/14

SAGITTARIUS - MY WORLD FELL DOWN, MAY 1967

'WISH I DIDN'T FEEL LIKE WINTER'

THE PEPPERMINT TROLLEY COMPANY, 1968

THE FREEBORNE - PEAK IMPRESSIONS, 1968

Greatness of Youth.  I can quote myself saying that this album “is one of the greatest pieces of psychedelic bullshit ever put down” which is true on the surface, but it is so much more than that.  This LP exists as a time capsule of the creativity and human expression that occurred when you put a talented group of teenagers (on LSD) in a studio and let them go nuts.  I don’t want this blog to be a review site so I won’t go too far into it, but I can’t help but gawk a little about one of my favorite records of all time.

Take 'Hurtin’ Kind of Woman' for example.  I love that song!  On the surface it can come off as a generic ‘bluesy Doors rip off’ but in reality it’s got just as much soul as 'Soul Kitchen'.  It’s got the perfect build and the perfect bass riff.  In between the killer 'Yellow Skies' and 'Inside People' on side two it makes for one hell of a sandwich.  After that you get the mystical dessert 'A New Song For Orestes'.  I'll admit I have a soft spot for spoken word passages.  My copy here is a reissued replica which can be found pretty cheaply.  It's got a nice laminated sleeve and sounds great.  A nice alternative to the original which is seldom seen and can go for a few hundred dollars.   FOREVER DRIFTING...

Read a nice interview with original band members Bob Margolin and Dave Codd HERE

From Billboard Magazine May 11, 1968

CINAMMON EMPIRE - IT'S GOOD, IT'S GOOD / GOLDEN KITE, 1969

Here's one I picked up recently based on the name alone.  How could I pass up something by the name of Cinammon Empire?  Information regarding this record appears to be pretty limited.  All I can come up with is that they were from Indianapolis and got some local radio play in early 1969.  What I can tell you from listening is that they were obviously going for the harmony pop sound The Association was making in the late 60's, and they do a pretty good job of replicating that sound.  In fact the lead vocalist sounds uncannily like Jim Yester.

I'm imagining hearing the warming sound of 'It's Good, It's Good' on the radio as the frozen car starts up in the midst of a miserable Midwestern winter...

THE TURTLES - IT AIN'T ME BABE / ALMOST THERE, JULY 1965

PLAY THIS ONE LOUD AND PROUD!  The Turtles debut 45 is a truly excellent pair of heavy hitters featuring that timeless garage/folk rock sound of 1965.  This may come a bit surprising if you are only familiar with their sunshine pop smash 'Happy Together' which would knock 'Penny Lane' out of the top spot for a few weeks in early 1967.  I'll get to that soon enough...

THE MASTERS APPRENTICES - UNDECIDED / WARS OR HANDS OF TIME, 1966 (UGLY POP reissue)

Man, what a fucking record this is, was and always shall be.  The blistering 'Wars Or Hands Of Time' is one of my all-time favorites and can nearly put me to tears with its heartfelt lyrics about going off to war.  This reissue from Ugly Pop records sounds phenomenal. 

"wars or hands of time will not destroy our dreams of days that are to come, 
our tears were shared with understanding don't be sad,  
I'll catch the wind on home to you."

THE BYRDS - YOUNGER THAN YESTERDAY, FEBRUARY 1967

I recently rescued this copy of the critical BYRDS album Younger Than Yesterday from one of the local scrap bins, reason being it's the MONO version which I had never heard in its entirety.  With a little cleaning up it sounds pretty remarkable considering the vinyl looks like it was stored in between two pieces of fine grit sandpaper.  Currently it finds itself glued to my turntable.

THE PAUPERS - MAGIC PEOPLE, 1967

"THE MOST IMPORTANT FACT ABOUT THEM IS THAT THEY ARE HERE."

THE BEE GEES - 1ST, JULY 1967

It's damn near impossible to pick a favorite track on this album, SO I WON'T.  Every single one of them is excellent.  All fourteen of them.