Customer Reviews

Kaleidesopic Compendium: The Best of the Blues Magoos

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

With two CDs, we could have the first Blues Magoos, Psychedelic Lollipop, Electric Comic Book & Basic Blues Magoos plus some B sides. But we'll settle. They weren't all that 'delic (neither were Strawberry Alarm Clock for that matter), but they sure were an ace garage band. All the "Hits" are here, although a different compiler (me, for instance) would have included "Dante's Inferno," "Scarecrow's Love Affair" & "The President's Council on Psychedelic Fitness" among others. Indispensable in their way - a life without "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet," "Gotta Get Away" & the Magoos' awesome cover of "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" is a sorry one indeed.

Bob Rixon, WFMU

Back in the late 60s I just about wore out my copy of "Psychadelic Lollypop" playing it over and over, and playing along with it. I drove my parents crazy playing both drums *and* guitar along with great tunes like "We Ain't Got Nothin' Yet", "Love Seems Doomed" and thier version of "Tobacco Road"- in fact, I learned "Tobacco Road" from that album.

This album contains all those songs from that album and more- and at the price it's a steal. The Blues Magoos were a wonderfully raw and powerful group who could craft some great, catchy tunes- yet still played with a tremendous amount of raw punk energy. And any group that can brag (as they did on the liner notes of "Lollypop") that they were thrown out of their gig at the Whiskey for "playing too loud"- well, that just cements their proto-punk credentials in my book. If you haven't heard them and you're a fan of grungy 60s pop, get this album.

Let's not talk about the CD - you can read about that from all 6 of the other reviews below this one. Let's talk about the group and why anything by them is worth owning. I saw them play live 2 nights ago at the Cavestomp 2000 show in NYC. This was their first performance together in 32 years and they ROCKED. I grew up in the 60's and they are so much a part of my frame of reference. They sounded awesome, looked great and had an endearing sense of humor. I hope someone reads this and books them for more shows. I would love to see them again. And again.

True pioneers in garage rock.I just love their version of "Tobacco Road" and one called "Sometimes I Think About".The liner notes tell their whole story and the photos are outrageous-you must see their electric suits! The first two albums stand on their own but this is another top notch Rhino compilation.Check them out!

My favorite bands back in the day were Jefferson Airplane, Blues Magoos, Electric Prunes. I lost my vinyl stuff almost 30 years ago. This CD went far above my expectations. The magoos were a very talented bunch. I especially like Tobacco Road. I like 21 of the 23 tracks on this CD. I think they should have put Gloria on instead of Yellow Rose and Chicken Wire Lady. I always thought Yellow Rose sounded like the singer was trying to puke and it only sounds slightly better to me now. The CD loses a little momentum after track 14 but there are still highlights after that with There She Goes and I Can Move a Mountain. The latter song is one of my favorites and the gong like sound effect toward the end seems less clear than it did on vinyl. All in all this CD proved the Blues Magoos could really rock in a psychedelic way with the best of them. Theres a Chance We Can Make It is a big hit with those I play the CD to. I find myself playing this CD often. Their sound holds up well over the years. Now can we please get a collection of all their other recordings after these first two albums! How about some new stuff and a tour!

These guys were one of the first Psych bands from the 60's to hit the mainstream. Excellent band. I am a Psych fan from the 60's and this is an excellent collection by one of the finest at their craft. Check this one out and crank it up.

While I'm satisfied with the Kaleidosopic Compendium collection, there has to be a re-issue of their Masterpiece "Basic Blues Magoos." It was truly a work of genius. It has to be heard back to front. Get to work somebody!

I thought that the only way to enjoy the incredible sounds of the Blues Magoos was to dig up some old four track tape cartridges or an LP which provided services as varied as wall decorations to ash trays and beer coasters.
As for the four star rating, too many songs were left out. To compile the best of the Blues Magoos, you start with the first selection of Electric Comic Book and end with the last selection of Basic Blues Magoos. Never Going Back to Georgia deserves recognition, but it didn't capture the fun of the original line-up. As for Kaleidescope Compendium: the Best of the Blues Magoos,
my review is based on the vivid memories that I have of playing the original LP's, which I recorded on to a home-made 8-track cartidge tape, so that the original LP's wouldn't get trashed from wear and tear. When I order the CD, I trust that a copy of the "Electric Comic Book" will be enclosed.

Hey guys...did you notice how the main guitar riff on "We aint got nothing yet" sounds very close to Deep Purple's "Black Night" riff? Looks like Blackmore was messing around with this albuns...

This *could* be a great psychedelic cd but the sound quality reminds me of one channel mono. Time to bring out a nice new remastered STEREO version of this cool cd!!!