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Why are so many of the US psych lps so patchy?

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 3:59 am
by Mississippi Blind Child Assburn
'67-'69

The Brit lps (of mock psych) of the same period are much more interesting/consistent.

Just listening to Queens Nectarine Machine - same (US). Just one stand-out track.
The other day played Circus Maximus -same (US) . Guess what? Same story - only one good track ('The Wind")

Especially the eastcoast psych band lps were patchy. Often there would be this one (obligatory?) real crap ,almost fucking 1920's-sounding vocoder/barbershop quartet-sound fuck-track.

US invented psych.
So then why is so much US psych of the period ...simply mediocre?

Re: Why are so many of the US psych lps so patchy?

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 6:52 pm
by Mississippi Blind Child Assburn
I think the main reason is that these bands were not brought up from a psychedelics background; they were merely out to milk the latest fad.They were fish out of water.
Hence they did not possess the requisite credentials to make full-blown psych. They were still hanging on to the coat tails of current success-musics, the vocal harmony-centered things like Mamas & Papas. (And, if psych is NOT about anything, then it is not about harmonies.)

In this light, these fledgling bands were like those session men in exploito music - they could attempt to wig-out and go there but their hearts weren't really into it; a sham.

The American psych is like Disneyland - all costume and show but , behind the facade, you have just cardboard supports. Also, like Disneyland-America, everything is a commodity and can be bought or profitted from.

The UK "psych" was not the real thing, for sure...but neither was the US psych.

Sure, it started in US (Texas) but it did not evolve all that much.
Afterall it had an (ephermal) two years only to evolve.


Before Prog came along and trounced it.

Re: Why are so many of the US psych lps so patchy?

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:07 pm
by Fretless
Jefferson Airplane ? Spirit ?

Re: Why are so many of the US psych lps so patchy?

Posted: Sat Jun 09, 2018 7:32 pm
by Mississippi Blind Child Assburn
Spirit "Sardonicus wotsit" lp is a good'un fer shure!

Re: Why are so many of the US psych lps so patchy?

Posted: Wed Jun 13, 2018 6:05 pm
by Karnevil9
Not much Merican clobber worth bothering with.. Harmonies are usually associated with 60's Sunshine pop.