Customer Reviews

Overdose of Heavy Psych

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

 

 

Arf! Arf! Records are a small but high-quality company. Their reissue compilations of obscure '60s psych/garage material are always well-researched and of the highest possible sound quality (nearly all the songs are transferred from the impossible-to-find vinyl singles). An Overdose Of Heavy Psych is one of the best collections they've put together. Have you ever purchased a set of "unknown psychedelic music" only to find that the majority of the tracks are more flower-pop and/or generic garage rock than psych? That isn't the case here. When Arf! Arf! says "HEAVY PSYCH," they mean it. You won't find any sitars and tablas or "la-la-la-I'm-high-and-everything's-beautiful" lyrics on this disc (the companion volume, A Heavy Dose Of Lite Psych--also outstanding, but a different kind of psych--is closer to that sort of thing). Yes, this is garage rock, but it is anything but a wanna-be-Nuggets set. This collection, in my opinion, shows American psychedelia in its purest sense: dark, moody songs drenched in electric organ, guitars fuzzed to the extreme, ghostly sound effects, and the vocalist sounding as if he is singing from the bottom of a well. Garage/psych aficionado Erik Lindgren also does a fine job of providing informative liner notes for each individual song. There are only 5 or 6 problems with this CD, those being the last six tracks, which are more in the acid rock/Hendrix-influenced vein and do not fit in well with the rest of the content. However, songs like Orange Wedge's frantic "From The Womb To The Tomb," Powered By Love's deranged theme song, Kiriae Crucible's creepy "Salem Witch Trial," and, of course, Glass Sun's incomparable, hard-rocking "Silence Of The Morning" more than make up for the final twenty-odd minutes.
Many thanks to Erik Lindgren and the rest at Arf! Arf!, without whom most of us would never get a chance to hear any of these fantastic lost gems. If it's pure psychedelia you're looking for, your search is over. Wrap your head around this, and then seek out the other three discs in the "Dose" series, as well as 30 Seconds Before The Calico Wall, also from Arf! Arf!

Another compilation from this series,features psych from the mid 60s to early 70s.As you would expect from a compilation like this strange group names and awsome music most of the songs featured have an organ in them as well as the fuzz guitar sound.Also comes with brief history of each of the groups featured.Remastering is quite well done even though most of the tracks on here have come from the original 7 inch singles,but don't let this put you off I have found some really good songs on this compilation.Overall a worthwhile buy.

Twenty-five more 'unearthed' tracks {from 19 different bands} by those sub-underground psychedelic ensembles that most of us have never even remotely heard of. Bands here I couldn't get enough of were Quiet Jungle, the British-sounding Powered By Love, Shadows Of Time (good harmony vocals), Boston Tea Party, the heavy-duty Glass Sun and then to cap it off, there are six actual songs by the Firebirds - they appear to have a couple of EP's out and available. Makes for great listening. Essential.

i agree with the other reviewers that the last couple trax are relatively lame (doom metal fans might like them alright). track 19 - "silence of the morning" - more than makes up for it. if you like this type of stuff, buy it - if you dont, but you have money to burn, buy it if for no other reason than track 19. freekin incredible.

Fairly solid compilation . Mostly unknown artists with the exception of Boston Tea Partie's hit track. Could do without the last 5 tracks being the appalling Firebirds. Worth a buy for collectors.

I agee with the previous reviewer. Great tracks can be found here, but the last six by the Firebirds are just awful.

If you like the Silence of the morning tune on this album, check out myspace.com/theglasssun. A new cd for the group will be released shortly as of August 1st 2006, yup its freakin incredable!