Customer Reviews

Trip Down the Sunset Strip

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Actually, the bandname is spelled wrong; in fact it's "The Leather-Coated Minds" and this happens to be the mythical first album produced and recorded by J.J.Cale in 1967. It was done in the middle of the whole "Flower-Power" Thing and it certainly sounds like it. It's a concept album with noises that seem to be taken off the streets of L.A., it contains covers from the Byrds,
Donovan and the first four J.J.Cale compositions that were ever recorded (four instrumentals, actually). It was after hearing this album (and the obscure single "After Midnight", which is not on the album), that Eric Clapton decided to make his version of it. It became an international hit and finally allowed J.J.Cale to get a real record contract under his own name at Shelter Records, where he released "Naturally" in 1972. Although this here is not a GREAT album, it is certainly one that has it's historical importance for American Music and it was one of the most unfindable records that I have ever been looking for.
Thank you to Captain Trip for finally rereleasing it.

28 minutes in length approximately. The sound is very good-taken from the pristine Viva Records mono master tapes. The booklet succinctly tells the story of THE LEATHERCOATED MINDS,and how the album came to be released.

As far as I know,this is the only album released because of a photograph. Viva Records had a great photo of Sunset Boulevard (on the cover) and didn't know how to exploit it. So they put together a studio group and recorded covers of then popular songs,along with some instrumentals,and sound effects (supposedly recorded on Sunset Blvd.),and released the album-to practically zero sales.

The group was made up primarily of musicians from the Oklahoma area,like Leon Russell,the folk duo GYPSY TRIPS (also on the cover),and J.J. Cale. The group also included musicians who went on to join Taj Mahal's early band,and others. With Cale producing,arranging,and playing guitar-this album has a curious appeal. The instrumentals were guitar-oriented,with Cale playing some BYRDS-like guitar ("Arriba","Pot Luck",etc.),on the self-penned tunes. The covers ("Eight Miles High",Psychotic Reaction","Over Under Sideways Down",etc.) all have slightly odd yet enjoyable,commercial arrangements. The use of horns give several tracks ("Kicks",Sunshine Superman") added interest and depth to the album's appeal. With the addition of sound effects (used sparingly) the album screamed exploitation,but today has a time machine-like appeal.

This album is for collectors/fans of late 60's Los Angeles pop-rock,J.J. Cale,or just slightly odd-ball period releases. But (to my surprise) this album seems to get played more often than something like this would seemingly warrant. There's nothing "heavy",no message-just covers of some good songs (with some ear-catching arrangements),along with some good (and surprising) J.J. Cale guitar. And in the end that's all you need for a curious,enjoyable trip back to a time when small,independent record labels released anything and everything to hopefully make a buck. And this is certainly worth more than that.

For more music from the Viva label,check out "Ain't It Hard",which includes three tracks from this album,along with a number of other locally known groups like GYPSY TRIPS,THE SOUND SANDWICH,and SUNDAY SERVANTS,among others. This album,too,has a curiously enjoyable sixties time-period appeal.

The following statement is on the back of the CD `A Trip Down Sunset Strip' by the Leathercoated Minds.

"In the annals of sixties West Coast exploitation album-making, A Trip Down the Sunset Strip by the Leathercoated Minds is in a class all by itself. Serving up radically rearranged, cool covers of the era, red hot guitar intros (courtesy of producer J.J. Cale), and authentic sound effects from the Strip, it succeeds as the perfect time capsule of Los Angeles' teen scene, circa 1966."

The liner notes repeat the first sentence and then go on to try and market this mess through name-checking the credentials of its producers (the aforementioned Cale, Snuff Garrett and Leon Russell); and its performers (Roger Tillison and Terrye Newkirk - who are also on the cover - plus Bill Boatman, Gary Gilmore, Chuck Blackwell and Junior Markham) as a means to justify the music presented. By the way, both Russell and Blackwell were probably still members of The Shindogs, the house band on TV's Shindig - when this was recorded on December 5, 1966.

So, one has to think the material - produced and recorded by some many talented people - would be pretty good, huh?

Well...no. Instead, the music is ghastly. Eight very good songs - well, maybe six; I'm not a big fan of `Along Comes Mary' or `Puff (the magic dragon)' - are performed with all the style and panache one would expect to hear in while in the international departure lounge at LAX in the 60s. While some might say it's owning the song or making it your own, there is also a need to stay true to the original. While 'Eight Miles High' does adhere to this concept, more-or-less. the other renderings are so different as to come close to bring unrecognizable.

Four instrumentals are also included that are - to my mind - the best material on the CD. Listening to them, I felt I just might be hearing some of the earliest incarnations of Laurel Canyon/country rock. Then as a piece de resistance, these songs are linked together by traffic noise, principally motorcycles, done, I presume, to provide the groovy feel of the Sunset Strip on a Saturday night.

Maybe listening to this on drugs would have been a good idea because listening when sober and straight is beyond awful.