Customer Reviews

Pebbles 3

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

 

 

They sure have topped themselves if thats possible. One word of advice though don't trip while listening to this GOD knows what corner of your mind you won't be able to get out of. Awesome bands trying to emulate the Doors, the hippie Beatles and Syd Barret to hilarious effect. Higher Elevation is some DJ spouting some stuff thats psychedelic poetry over art noise in " The Diamond Mine", then you got some band called Crystal Chandlier whose lead singer sounds almost exactly like Jim Morrison in the song "Suicidal Flowers", and then you got Psych garage punk insanity complete with gritty vocals in the band "Driving Stupid" and their two awesome songs. Buy this now don't even hesitate.

Prepare yourself for a brain frazzeling trip through obscure American psych! Other volumes in the Pebbles series are spoiled by beat and frat rock rip-offs, but this one is top notch acid fuelled insanity all the way. The Callico Wall`s nightmarish "Flight Reaction" and The Monocles "Spider and the Fly"- a three minute horror film on record - are among the many highlights. Also included are a couple of great psych novelties such as The Jefferson Handkerchief`s "I`m Allergic to Flowers" which tells the story of a hay fever sufferer`s unfortunate attempts to woo a flower child, not to mention the disturbed genius of Adjeeef the Poet and Oshun.
This, and the equally demented "Beyond the Callico Wall" are in my humble opinion the best two Yank Psych Comps available...Come on kiddies, summer`s here and it`s time to take a trip into the bubbling fudge Sundae of your mind, just watch out for those voices green and purple...............

The third entry in AIP Records' Pebbles series, which focuses on obscure mid 60s psychedelic rockers, is one of the most wonderfully "out there" albums ever. Don't worry- this isn't psychedelia of the whimsical "exploding purple butterfly" variety. This is full blown, mind-pulverizing, acid-drenched rock 'n' roll dimentia. Each song sounds like some pimple-popping teenager's bad trip, a heady concoction of hallucinogenic imagery and the kind of manic energy that can only be delivered by 60s garage band. Fuzz guitars and pounding rhythms are mixed with bizarre lyrics, trippy production, instrumrntal freak-outs, and the occasional burst of random noise. The result is a collection of songs that combine the raw joy of standard 60s garage rock with the weirdness of Frank Zappa or the Velvet Underground.

The best songs really are offbeat masterpieces: The Bees' "Voices Green and Purple" is an incredibly effective slice of nightmare-psych, with its ghostly three-note guitar riff, pulsating rhythms, and bloodcurdling screams. The same goes for The Monocles "Spider & The Fly," (NOT a cover of the Rolling Stones tune!) which features a deranged lyrical narration booming over an otherworldly production. There's also Lea Riders Group's "Dom Kellar os Mods," an obscure Swedish classic which builds from a taut, high-stung blues rocker into a full on freak out. The Calico Wall's "Flight Reaction" is a tense, weirdly funny journey into the mind of an acid-head with a terrible fear of flying. The song marries a ringing guitar line with an increasingly chaotic lead vocal and a catchy chorus. The Hogs' "Loose Lips Sync Ship" is gloriously inexplicaple, as are the Driving Stupid's astoudingly unhinged "Reality of Air-Fried Borsk" and "Horror Asparagus Stories." The Third Bardo's "I'm Five Years Ahead of My Time" is a tough, defiant psychedelic teenage anthem that really struts. William Penn Fyve's "Swami" is a hilarious sendup of hippie culture, with a great fuzz guitar-led melody thrown in for good measure. Teddy & The Patches' "Suzy Creamcheese" seriously rocks, with its pounding "Louie Louie" attitude and Zappa-inspired lyrics. And then there's the Race Marbles' indescribable Bob Dylan parody "Like a Dribbling Fram," which alone is worth the price of the CD. Higher Elevation's "The Diamond Mine" works purely becasue of kitsch value- it features some clueless D.J. reciting some "poetry," in which he stumbles helplessly from one psyhedelic cliche to the next, while a cheesy organ-driven noise-fest cranks along on the background.

Basically, it's insane. It's weird. It's one of the best volumes of the Pebbles series. Pick it up right now!

So, this CD collection is titled 'The Acid Gallery'? Tell me about it. Another must-have various artists compilation of mostly obscure garage bands from the 1965-1969 era. Cuts that, I myself personally couldn't get enough of were those by the Doors-like Crystal Chander, Jefferson Handkerchief, only group on this disc that I've even heard of - the Third Bardo, the acid freak-out experiment(al) Godfrey, from Florida (notably had their day in their hometown) Painted Faces and a couple of songs each from - I'm guessing it's BOTH sides of the band's 45 single - the high-energy novelty garage rocker Driving Stupid and Adjeef The Poet. A couple of these bands have a compilation CD out there and available - while most of them simply made one 7" single. Recommended.

By all means pick up as many of the Pebbles Volumes as you can if you crave wild 60's garage rock. However #3 (here with some bonus tracks not on my vinyl version)is not one of the better ones that I own.It's less rock and roll, and more psychedelic arty noise. It does have a few real gems especially The Jefferson Hankerchiefs' "I'm Allergic To Flowers" and William Penn IV's "Swami".