Various
-
A Slight Disturbance In My Mind
published: 17 /
3 /
2020
Label:
Cherry Red Records
Format: CD Box
Cherry Red’s new compilation of the UK experimental pop of 1966 that blossomed into psychedelia shows how diverse the style really was
Review
'A Slight Disturbance in My Mind: The British Proto-Psychedelic Sounds of 1966' is an extensive, dense three CD set with 84 tracks spanning 1966, gathering the “nascent psychedelia, introspective pop and what’s been retrospectively called freakbeat” that led to the colourful, legendary music of the following year.
There is some previously unreleased material as well as a few go-to songs that have been included on many a previous garage band compilation, such as 'My Friend Jack' by the Smoke and 'Making Time' by the Action. There’s a remarkable balance of material from well-known artists (the Bee Gees, the Hollies, the Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, the Kinks), with room for surprises (Beverley’s 'Happy New Year', young Bowie and Bolan), and wonderful obscure ones. Poking fun at middle-class pretensions and ambition is well represented, as is astrology, expansion of consciousness, mental instability, and musical experimentation.
The most striking element of these songs is the diversity of psychedelia’s influences. There’s quite a lot of R&B (example) and raunchy blues (Rod Stewart’s 'I Got Some') and not as much exoticism as one would expect. The sitars are pretty thin on the ground, except for the Kinks’ 'Fancy'. There are more multi-harmony pop songs and hard rock with fuzzy guitars than sing-song pastiches and dreamy pastoral settings. It’s obvious that 'Tomorrow Never Knows' was a major influence on the developing sound of that year, but there are still far too many questionable Beatles covers here.
A slightly unexpected theme is anxiety about war and nuclear annihilation ('Answers Please' by the Luvin’ Kind, 'A Quiet Explosion' by the Ugly’s), although the Renegades’ 'Thirteen Women' turns a post-apocalyptic setting into a sexy-sexy dream. While it’s true that the Vietnam War and the Cold War were escalating at the time, these weren’t prevalent topics when full-blown psychedelia presented listeners with glittering escapism. This collection definitely provides a taste of what would later be called dark psych.
Track Listing:-
1
MAKING TIME
2
SHAPES OF THINGS
3
ILL KEEP HOLDING ON
4
MUD IN YOUR EYE
5
SWEET MUSIC
6
ORIENTAL SADNESS
7
PLAY DOWN
8
AM I THE RED ONE
9
I UNSEEN
10
SECURITY
11
I DIG EVERYTHING
12
SHES A GIRL
13
A HOUSE IN THE COUNTRY
14
DADDY LONG LEGS
15
MAN WITH MONEY
16
THE QUIET EXPLOSION
17
THIRTEEN WOMEN
18
I TAKE IT THAT WERE THROUGH
19
MAJOR CATASTROPHE
20
HIPPY GUMBO
21
I WILL HAVE YOU
22
TOMORROW NIGHT
23
BLOW
24
SIMPLIFIED
25
BACK SEAT DRIVER
26
BABY, YOUVE GOT IT
27
I JUST GOT SOME
28
ANSWERS PLEASE
29
MY FRIEND JACK
30
PLEASE PLEASE ME
31
PAINTER MAN
32
WHY DONT YOU SMILE NOW
33
YOUVE GOTTA HAVE LOVE BABE
34
OUTCAST
35
WERE BROKEN
36
IVE LAID SOME DOWN IN MY TIME
37
WELLALL RIGHT
38
SHAPES IN MY MIND
39
MY TIME
40
FANCY
41
YOURE MY GIRL
42
WHAT A STATE IM IN
43
TURN INTO EARTH
44
THE MORNING AFTER
45
WALKIN WALKIN WALKIN
46
HAVE YOU EVER LOVED SOMEBODY
47
HUNGRY
48
MOLLY ANDERSONS COOKERY BOOK
49
TAX MAN
50
THE RUIN
Label Links:-
http://www.cherryred.co.uk/
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https://twitter.com/cherryredgroup
https://www.youtube.com/CherryRedRecor