Another day, another Nuggets group, what were the chances! The Seeds were undoubtedly one of the most influential garage bands of all time, inspiring fellow west-coast groups such as The Doors and mid-western/east coast proto-punk acts like the Velvet Undergorund and Stooges with their unique brand of dark psychedelia. Members included wacko shamanistic front-man/bass player Sky Saxon, baroque influenced keyboardist Daryl Hooper and drummer Rick Andridge. After releasing a stunning (if a little one note) debut LP in early '66 containing the eternal 'Pushin too Hard', the group put out 'A Web of Sound', my personal favorite Seeds album.
Kicking off with 'Mr. Farmer', we're welcomed with a pulsating bass line, spidery farfisa and semi-concealed lyrics concerning the eponymous farmer and his mysterious 'crops' (hmmmm, cabbages perhaps? I think not...). Within this first number we are submerged into the world of the Seeds; L.A of film noire and psychedelic excess, pop groups like The Turtles brushing shoulders with folk-rock ravers Love, clubs like Ciros' and Bido Litos providing entertainment on Sunset Strip, retreating to Laurel Canyon after a hard night of partying.... proto-hippie perfection. Moving on from that brief bit of gushing, we have 'Pictures and Designs', Tobacco Road/I'm a Man riffing evolving into Doors-like psych outbursts, Sky screaming that she's 'gone, gone, gone gone gone wooahhhh!!!', feckin cool stuff. 'Tripmaker' next, Highway 61 police whistle and heavy, almost metal riffs coliding with latin-esque electro keyboard from Mr. Hooper, Sky now exploding with a blend of admiration and fear for a wizard like dealer who stalks the streets 'searching for your darling, night and day' (Sky loved that phrase didn't he?). 'I tell Myself' slides in with psyched-up Buddy Holly and merseybeat harmonica, a strange shift but an exhilarating one, showing the groups teeny-bopper side. And then.... 'A Faded Picture', childhood memories of 'colored tears' and 'castles in the sky', beautiful, ethereal music quite unlike what we've heard so far. Hooper's solo at the songs midpoint gets me every time with its haunting, steely tone, just brilliant. Closing out Side One we have 'Rollin' Machine', probably the most lightweight piece on the album but cool nonetheless, Sky now ravin bout' his joint rollin' appliance/hippie bus mashup dependent on your interpretation. 'Get on, get on, ride with me!' indeed...
By this point you're probably expecting another six tunes in much the same vein, as with the groups' first album, but you'd be sorely mistaken. Side two is only two songs long for a start! (Admittedly one is 15 mins long...) Number one of two is 'Just Let Go', an invitation to once again enter the Seeds' hippie fantasy world. Funky, psychy and generally GROOVY, this tune is a classic, a classic that precedes a rather controversial final track in 'Up in Her Room'. Much like their contemporaries' Long Playing efforts of the time, The Seeds delve headlong on this side into the extended jam, drawing comparisons to Love's 17 min long 'Revelations' (from 'Da Capo') and The Stones' 'Goin Home' ('Aftermath') amongst others. A slow build to a rushing climax - interlaced with reedy organ and dirty fuzz guitar - this tune is eerily similar to the Velvet's 'Sister Ray' that would emerge two years later in '68. To cap off this garage-psych novella of an album, Sky chants the title and variations of it for the song's duration, describing how he 'feels so good' and how his girl 'loves him so good', not the most complex expression of lust but does it need to be? Groove along to the rhythm section, let yourself go and have a blast, this is peak Seeds and therefore peak garage, simple as. A fantastic album by a fantastic group, a must buy for anyone remotely interested in where the Doors/Velvets/Stooges came from and the heights they were reaching for.
No comments:
Post a Comment