Customer Reviews

Had Too Much to Dream

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Originally released in 1967,this is the band's outstanding debut lp on superb reissue CD,with two bonus cuts tagged on."Ain't It Hard" and "Little Oliver",I believe I've seen before on some import compilation.Either way,they give the listener another reason to hunt down a copy of this psych classic.As for the actual album,'I Had Too...' sure conjures up some priceless memories.At least,for me.The band's only two hits are on here,the title cut,"I Had Too Much To Dream" and "Get Me To The World On Time".Just about every other track rules,like the psychedelic blow-out "Sold To The Highest Bidder","Luvin'",and the suggestive(for back then anyway)"Try Me On For Size".Most highly recommended.

I bought this because of the great reviews and because I too remember the band's two hit songs. Now, having received and listened to the CD, I wonder how any reasonable person could rate this as a five star effort.
The Electric Prunes suffer from the same disease which claimed so many of their contemporaries ...mediocrity.
Does anyone else remember how many albums were sold from 64 - 66 that had only one or two good songs? I don't remember either, but I do remember there were far too many ... add this one to the pile.

Yet again this is an album of which I have an original vinyl copy (it's getting pretty boring, eh?). If you haven't heard this but are a fan of psych/punk (a la Chocolate Watchband) you've gotta get it. It's not as good as Underground, solely due to the tracks About A Quarter To Nine, King Is In The Counting House and Toonerville Trolley which are utter ........ However, the bonus tracks (on available now on compilation CDs) more than make up for this. You won't regret buying it.

Well I'd better get back to work....

I of course became interested in the Electric Prunes upon hearing their melodically psychedelic classic "I Had Too Much to Drin... I mean, DREAM (Last Night)". Hehe, it's very easy to get "drink" and "dream" confused for those of you non-internet explorers (which would be nobody reading this review, of course).

"Train for Tomorrow" and "Bangles" are other psychedelic songs with strong vocal melodies that resemble "I Had Too Much to Drink (Last Night)" and probably influenced the legendary Iron Butterfly. In fact if these guys *didn't* play a part in being an influence for Iron Butterfly that would be an even bigger surprise considering how much the Electric Prunes sound exactly like them.

"Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoy It Less)" is another minor highlight.

"Onie" is perhaps the only forgettable song here. This is where the band abandons their classic sound in favor of a weak attempt at a severely dated love song.

Overall, pick up this album to hear a pretty solid psychedelic late 60's album.

I remember this album like it was yesterday. I still have the vinyl album, and I always loved "I had too much to dream last night."
Haight Ashbury, hippies, San Fransisco. alll that & more.

Once again I am facinated by these old psychedelic experiments. Third song is a nice slow singing to the girl by the beach song. Some others are just perfect pieces if you're into this stuff. A couple are really bizarre but not in a drug influenced way. One is very british singing about a king and queen (!?) and another is something about a man on a trolley chewing on a licorice twist -- very 1930's soundin.

Just goes to show you where my head was at forty years ago. I bought the single (45 rpm) instead of the album. I could have been enjoying this absolutely cutting edge rock band of the era for more than forty years.The Electric Prunes: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) I did manage to purchase their hauntingly delicious album entitled "Mass In F-Minor" which I also recomend. The Tracks "Get Me To The World On Time" and "Sold To The Highest Bidder". The track "Are You Lovin' Me More(But Enjoy It Less)" a monnicker of the times (the 60's) this was artistically borrowed from a cigarette commerical on T.V. Are you smoking more but, enjoying it less! Seems like 100 years ago!

Released in 1967, the Prunes' debut album features the only two of the group's songs that anybody in their right mind would remember: The title track is a masterpiece of psyhedelic pop, a mindwarped concoction of warbling guitars, spacey rhythms, and wistful vocals. "Get Me To The World On Time," meanwhile, marries the former song's psych-pop craftsmanship with a thumping Bo Diddley beat and some warbling guitars. So there you have it: Two really good singles on one album. They're not the only good tracks here, either: "Are You Loving Me More (But Enjoying It Less)" and ""Try Me On For Size" are mean-as-heck garage rockers, the latter featuring a really crunchy, cool sounding guitar. "Luvin'" is a fun(if completelly inconsequential) blues-rocker, and "Onie" is a marvelously pretty ballad. The first half of "Train For Tomorrow" is a spooky, smokey psychedelic onfection with a genuinly atmospheric feel. The second half, unfortunatley, is an ultra-pretentious bit of faux jazz(?)-rock. "Bangles" is another surprisingly good tune, with its gentle sarcasm and effects-laden guitars.

Here's the problem: there are three tracks on this album that are, to put it bluntly, excruciating. "Sold To The Highest Bidder" attempts to combine the group's sound with Eastern European melodies and intrumentation. The reult is one of the worst examples of experimentation in the history of psychedelic music. Not only do the instruments sound totally out of place, but the whole production, from rhythms to lyrics, is incredibly pretentious. It's also dull and annoying. Meanwhile, "The King Is In The Counting House" and "Toonerville Trolly" are simply inexplicable. They're basically children's music- complete with simplistic melodies, cartoonish vocals, and pre-school lyrics. Like "Sold To The Highest Bidder," they're intolerably annoying. And, despte sounding like children's music, they somehow manage to be pretentious as well (that's the third time I've used the word "pretentious" in this review. Someone get me a thesaurus!), with their bizarre attempts at social commentary. My goodness, what a mess.

Still, there's good music here. Plus, it's an indispensible period piece. Collectors of 60s rock should enjoy this. Otherwise, steer clear.

THIS ALBUM IS A CLASSIC.I HAD TO MUCH TO DREAM LAST NIGHT
IS GREAT AND GET ME O THE WORLD ON TIME IS TO.IF YOU LIKE
PSYCHEDELIC MUSIC I WOULD GET IT

Aunque I had too much too dream (last night) es lejos lo más conocido y lo mejor de este disco, hay otros temas que destacan como Bangles, Are you lovin' me more (que suena como Floyd en Piper), la endemoniada Sold to the highest bidder y sus aires rusos y Get me to the world on time, todas excelentes ejemplos de un sonido a medio camino entre la sicodelia y el garaje. No es un trabajo parejo, se podría dividir en tres, un tercio excelente, uno bueno y otro bastante mediocre. Si bien los Electric Prunes apenas componen, el trabajo instrumental es sólido, en especial la guitarra y hay bastantes ideas dando vueltas y que desarrollarán en sus próximos intentos.