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Various Artists: A Phase We’re Going Through
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Fruits de Mer Records (Volume 11)
 A Phase We’re Going Though is the first full-length vinyl release by British Fruits de Mer Records (read my interview here) and it includes eleven tracks of 60’s psych treasures by the following bands and artists: Del Shannon, The Who, Pink Floyd, Clouds, Jefferson Airplane, The Bee-Gees, Billy Nicholls, Caleb, July, The Monkees and Jimi Hendrix. Like before on the 7” releases, these songs are covered by contemporary groups, this time from USA, UK and Finland(!). There is some orchestrated pop, freakbeat, pure psychedelia, acid rock and so on. Some kind of basic idea was to include tracks that were already originally drenched in phaser effects or at least are so now. Well, it seems that not all of the tracks are seriously phased, but this album still sounds thoroughly very psychedelic…
I want make clear right away that there are no fillers included, although I don’t enjoy all the songs just as much. I will swiftly go though my personal favourites among these 11 tracks and there are quite a few of those. At least the promotional CD-R that I have to settle for now begins with the excellent “Silver Birch” performed by The Chemistry Set and originally released by Del Shannon on his album The Further Adventures of Charles Westover in 1967. This is a really touching, magnificently beautiful and hazy psych pop piece and The Chemistry Set’s very psychedelic version does justice to it. Another very well working version is Helsinki-based Permanent Clear Light’s cover of The Who song “In the City” and they didn’t forget to use the phaser. Pink Floyd’s “Point me at the Sky” has gotten some nice psychedelic effects in Geese’s good treatment and naturally makes it to my favourite list. Next, I was especially impressed with Zombies of the Stratosphere’s version of the Billy Nicholls song “London Social Degree”. I must add that I hadn’t previously heard about the Zombies or Billy either, so there’s some investigation to be done. My next big favourite is The Swims’ version of the magnificent up-beat psych pop July classic ”My Clown”. This one includes excellent vocals and truly psychedelic atmosphere that is created with mind-altering effects and mystical ending with percussion. Great! The only band that I was a bit more familiar with before is the USA based Luck of Eden Hall, whose album When the Clock Starts to Wake Up We Go to Sleep was absolutely one of the best 60’s inspired psych albums last year, if you ask me. I really like a lot also their version of The Monkees track “Love Is Only Sleeping”. The album is finished in a fine way by Cranium Pie doing a nicely floating version of the beautiful Hendrix song “Little Wing”. The other bands included on the album are Rob Clarke And The Wooltones, The Marshmallow Staircase, Sidewalk Society and The Campbell Stokes Sunshine Recorder and please let me make it clear again that they all do a nice job, as well.
A Phase We’re Going Through that will be released within a couple of weeks and of course on colour vinyl is an amazing compilation album that offers at least for me (and surely for many others) a great opportunity to get to know some new psychedelic bands and also to discover superb, old, previously unheard-of songs from the 60’s. First of all, this album is a very tasty and enjoyable whole and I’m sure it will be spinning on the players frequently and for a long time. Fruits de Mer is already taking in pre-orders, so you should be fast!
www.fruitsdemerrecords.com |
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