Customer Reviews

The Very Best of Ultimate Spinach

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

 

 

... if you're younger than... say, 49, don't purchase this CD and don't read this review. The review won't make sense to you. (heh heh) I still have the first two original Ultimate Spinach albums, "Ultimate Spinach," and "Behold and See." I have to admit that this group was not my mainstay in musical taste at the time, but both these albums did get a lot of play time with me in my high school days. I'm getting quite a few laughs from reading the reviews of the people who don't like Ultimate Spinach that I had to pull out the first album to listen to while I write this review. What can I say? It was 1968... you had to be "there" to appreciate this group and style of funk/psychedelic music for the time. It isn't supposed to be Bach, Chopin, Lennon and McCartney, and certainly not Burt (Bachrach) <smile> It was a group of people's attempts to express themselves for a part of the "counter culture revolution" of the time. Don't take these three albums for anything else other than that. Put these songs and this group in the historical perspective they should be in and maybe you can appreciate the music a little more.

Wow, I've never seen a band elicit quite the variety of critical responses Ultimate Spinach has. If you look at the reviews of their 3 individual albums here on Amazon, they all merit four stars. But if you look at this collection or the box set, they rank about 1 1/2 stars each. What gives?

Maybe the point here is you have to appreciate wierd, dated psychedelia to get into a band like this. Most of my friends who dig Hendrix, Sgt. Pepper etc. would not like this record. The male vocalist Brice-Davies can barely sing on key, which is a big turn off to many folks. When he shuts his mouth, however, I find myself appreciating the music on some strange level. The first six tracks or so (the ones from the first record) are especially good in my mind. They conjure up an aural acid trip that is as good or better than most of the of the second-rate psych bands U.S. are generally lumped in with. The female singer is good, and the group has a knack for pop song structures. Plus, they aren't afraid to get gentle at times... a fine quality when it comes to music such as this.

Yes, the lyrics aren't exactly poetry, but the plethora of wierd and unique sounds and pretty melodies here more than make up for it. I would recommend this CD to fans of the genre, no question.

The band "Ultimate Spinach" was a band whom had used a unique blend of psychedelia, anti-war/establishment music, and baroque pop styles. To elaborate, let's examine some of the songs.

The first song "Ego Trip" has a nice trippy motif to it. The band leader and primary songwriter, Ian Bruce Douglas,uses lyrics like:"Your head is filled with drugs and dreams and orange colored sounds"(notice the weird reference to LSD)and "You think of flying high but you are coming down"(a matter of interpretation). Instrumentally, the use of a d r e a r y organ and a cool instrument called a theremin is incorporated here. The theremin is the instrument that creates the soaring, space-like sound that you hear.Of course, it is no secret that references to drugs was commonplace in the music of the 1960s, and Ultimate Spinach was no exception.

The next track has some of the most bizarre song structures and tempos that could be made into a song. Notice the various styles (psychedelic, Celtic-folk like, folk, baroque pop).

The next song, "Ballad of the Hip Death Goddess," in my opinion, is the best song on this album- as far as warpy, trippy psychedelia is concerned. Here, singer/guitarist Barbara Hudson, sings a few lines in a harsh and cold-yet beautiful voice. during the instrumental section, you are treated to a psychedelic motherlode. With a steady drumbeat and subtle bass, you hear a zooming theremin and frequent guitar feedback. At certain parts of the song, you hear slide guitar-reverberating style, weaving in and out. Just think of THC-cubed.

Unlike the latter, the song "Your Head is Reeling" is an anti-establishment song. IBD uses lurics like: "Plastic masses don't know what to say,They just want to make the flowers go away" and "Flower children dressed in shrowd, look out big brother is looking at you," You can sense the paranoia and rebellion that this song may relect.

This album also has some more unique songs with some tinges of psychedelia and orchestration-some good, some bad.A true example of the latter is "Visions of Your Reality." Here, IBD goes from one verse to the next-each verse is not related to one other(HORRIBLE SONGWRITING and HORRIBLE SINGING). Very dissapointing. Also, the song "Pamela," though has ok piano and organ work, contains lyrics that don't make sense.

The song "Mind Flowers," is a slowed-down composition with involves phased vocals, some fuzz guitar chords and echo-like sound effects. Good psychedelic piece, but bad use of poetics by IBD.
The next track, has a somber approach. Part 1 involves a pleasant blend of beautiful voices and gospel-like piano. Parts 2 and 3, involves a more deeper and trippy motif- just think of the Doors' song "Riders on the Storm." Though IBD sang bad, at least he maintained a theme. Part 4 sounds almost identical to Part 1- picks up where Part 1 left off. Nice.

The song "Fragmentary March of Green" has a common theme: a man tries to tries desperately to be the perfect husband and father, but in reality cannot deal with the real world(He ends up becoming insane-literally).

The last 3 cuts on this album come from the band's 3rd and last album- Ian Bruce Douglas is not involved here, since he left the band after their second album was released.The song "Just Like Romeo And Juliet" has a peppy, upbeat motif to it- with cool organ.

Of course, there are other tracks in this album that were not mentioned. You must consider that the music from this album is from the late 60s.Like some reviewers mentioned- you have to take into perspective the era which this music was created. Now, I agree that Ian Bruce Douglas was no Pavoratti by any means. However, if the listener would just put history and the music styles that existed in the 60s into perspective, then he or she could decipher what kind of music that is on this CD. Personally, this CD is a great source of psychedelia and also reflects the musical genres that existed at the time. After all, it is just a matter of perception.

this is a good overview of the band, one could argue about the selection of a track or two but it is really pretty much on the mark as far as being a best of goes. ultimate spinach were a pretty derivative ensemble, and , in truth, quite pretentious-but quite talented nonetheless, and this should please those who have heard of the band and want a selection of the better material from the three spinach albums.

The overabundance of negative reviews for this cd (and not for any others) makes me suspect that someone is 'ballot-stuffing' and making up different names so they can repeatedly vote on this cd (note none of them identify themselves, they are all 'music fans', and all of them say similar things, such as personally attacking the main singer/songwriter).

Ultimate Spinach are an Acid/Psychedelic/Progressive rock band that was part of the 60's Bosstown Sound movement. Anyone picking this up to hear 90's 'blues rock' standards is asking for trouble. I also ask, if this new 90's Ultimate Spinach is so good, and the old band was so laughably bad, why did they rip off the name from them? Why not just call themselves something different. It makes no sense. Bruce-Douglas played most of the instruments and wrote all the songs for the first 2 albums, so if someone else is playing them they are just a cover band.

Just listen to the song clips above, and judge for yourself how great the keyboards, guitars, AND the vocals go together intensely.

Geoffrey (not real name) and I grew up as best friends on Cape Cod in Hyannis. We both got guitars on Christmas 1960. Geoff"s father was a old country and western guitar player and singer, who then worked for the electric company. He taught the both of us to play or he would teach Geoff and then he would come to my house and teach me. The first song we performed in public was ElPaso. I didn't have a brother. Jeff filled that roll. The things we did would fill a book. Anyway we used to hang aroud at the Sea St.Coffee House and they would let us perform. Our biggy was Summertime. WE started a band. Geoff played lead guitar and sang. I played bass on a regular guitar and was lead singer, Johnny Mike Burns was on drums and sang, and Ray Smith palyed rhythm and sang. we called ourselves The Spidells. We would hire a hall and put on our own dances. we got pretty popular. I joined another band, Marcu Trabunus and the Romin Fingers and Geoff went to Boston Keith and Richard were freinds from Hyannis . I never met Ian or Barbara. Last time I sa Geoff was in 1970 in Hyannis. BUT I just found him again. That is so,so cool!

A five-star example of a bunch of young college kids creating the Boston Sound back in '68. Ah, the good old days of the Psychedelic Supermarket on Comm Ave., where the Spinach played while we BU students watched slides of blood and other slimy matter pulsating along with strobe lights. It was the place where Cream played the week before and we all wondered how on earth Ginger Baker and Jack Bruce managed to find their way onto the stage. And, by the way, I assume you all know that Jeff (Skunk) Baxter was in the Spinach while a journalism student (Class of '71 but he didn't finish) at BU's School of Public Communication, now College of Communication. We, his friends and classmates, were big Ultimate Spinach fans. Sounds dreadful to listen to it now, but ah, the innocence.

First off -Don't trust anyone under 30!! I bought the greenleaf of Ultimate Spinach when it was new on the shelf at my local record shop. It was a tossed salad between it and Pink Floyd. The only worse mistake I ever made was marrying my first wife. That of course allowed me to get a divorce and leave Ultimate Spinach with her. I still laugh at the irony of it all. Even taken in context of the error.. oops..era the only way this album could work is if you were higher than the Dali Lama before exhile. Buy a Jefferson Airplane album, listen to White Rabbit, and suck down another Corona and lime.

There must be people who actually enjoy this kind of music. Well, more power to them. Someone has to, it's the law of averages. But I find nothing strange that most people don't. I cannot take this awful singer, the moronic lyrics and the generic K Tel assembly line musicians. Other than all of that, there's nothing else for this band to offer. I don't know anything about a new Ultimate Spinach, but I agree, what a ridiculous idea. Why steal the name of a justifiably forgotten band? Like calling your group Ultimate Spinach will put bums in the seats?? Right. If the original Ultimate Spinach reunited live and in concert in my backyard tonight I wouldn't bother to raise the windowshade. But I see it this way: the current band could not possibly be any worse.

This is really the worst cd I have ever bought. I could call this junk funny, but it's so annoying and terrible that it's completely not funny that I paid money for this. The singing is mostly awful, and the songs! They are completely ridiculous. If you like bad music, a la William Shatner, you'll love this. Otherwise, stay away.