The Gale – Gotta Run Away / Make Up My Mind. 1972 USA ~ Birmingham, Alabama

A very interesting two sider here. The a) side starts with an excellent bass and drums groove. The song itself is a laid back organ rocker with excellent harmony vocals. The guitar and organ solos are clearly from the jazz school. The b) maintains the excellent groove though moves over to the soul funk genre, especially considering the addition of female vocals and wah wah rhythm guitar. At first I thought this was the weaker track, but here the guitar solo is based more in the psychedelic tradition. Obscure as they get.

4.0

1/5/26 (new entry)

Hercules & The Black Majic - War (Parts 1 and 2). 1970 USA ~ Des Moines, Iowa

The a) side is a fairly straightforward cover of the Edwin Starr classic. A little more rough and ready. More psych'd out I'd submit. Not really enough to call out on its own though. It's the b) side that captures the attention. While still the same song, it's a completely rearranged, improvised psychedelic funk instrumental with loads of killer fuzz. Good one here.

3.5 / 4.5

1/5/26 (new entry)

Pappys Hauted House - One More Time / Dude. 1972 USA ~ Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

One of those classic misspellings that that no doubt haunted (had to do it) the band for years to come. The a) side is mostly soul / jazz with the song belonging to the former and the organ to the latter. Nice wah wah rhythms and horns. It's the b) side that ignites the flame here. They add in wicked fuzz, and primarily go psychedelic with some hints of funk. 

The leader of the band was John Papi, who is the organ player, and led a jazz trio at one point. He's quite an interesting character. Much more info about him can be found here: https://oldmonmusic.blogspot.com/2010/01/john-papi.html

1/5/26 (new entry)

The Unwritten Law – This Whole World Is Blind / Actions Speak Louder. 1967 USA ~ California

From Napa Valley. The opener struck me as rather typical garage. I mean 'That Thing You Do' seemed to capture every garage band of the 60s perfectly. But then this crazy fuzz shows up. Not in the typical acid psych sense. Rather a heavily distorted garage sound. The b) side is a killer. Comes with a super organ groove, and that same fuzz they introduced late on the a) side. Love the jazzy Doors like rhythm. And then an organ solo - more Doors references. And it's an excellent song too. Something memorable and hummable. 2:20 is too short - I want four more minutes!

If looking to obtain a copy, a recent auction snagged $2,100. I'll stick to YouTube. Both these tracks are on various comps out there as well.

12/30/25 (new entry)

Long Richard – Force Myself / Lovin Cup. 1968 USA ~ Sacramento, California

The a) side is a drifty psych blues number with piano, electric guitar, and impassioned vocals. Has a jazzy styled rhythm. Vocals are strong and of the late 60s West Coast style. b) is a Butterfield Blues Band number. Again, bluesy in nature, but the psychedelic guitar playing takes it to the next level. Even some Steppenwolf styled riffing. Good two sider.

3.5

12/30/25 (new entry) 

Starchild - Long Way Home / Ocean. 1978 USA ~ Dallas, Texas

Really nice two sider. The a) side is more commercial in nature, but still based in space rock principles, especially considering the phasing. The vocals are female and bear a strong resemblance to my Proto Prog with Female Vocals list. This is especially apparent on the b) side which is more progressive rock in nature. The overall sound is late 70s or early 80s. Excellent guitar work throughout.

Not finding anything much about it. A comment on YouTube says it was made for a Sci-Fi Movie and Book. It also says Dallas. 

More research ties the Dallas reference together with this book. In the description they talk about an unfinished novel from a 40 year old movie treatment. And this was published in 2018. 40 years before? 1978. That sounds exactly right. I'm going forward with these dates and places.

3.5 / 4.0

12/30/25 (new entry)

J.B. Green & Born Again - Rock Me Baby / Time. 1976 USA

A very interesting 45, as the music presented is not really single material. It's mostly a type of instrumental psychedelic jazz, very mellow, with fuzzy lead guitar, though not overly amplified. The a) side has vocals and is based in the blues, but once again it sounds more psych jazz than anything. 

I've read they're from Texas without corroboration. Discogs says the label is from Dallas but that's based on the record being pressed by A&R. I know the record plant from my days in DFW, but that doesn't mean the label or artist is from there. I didn't realize Josey Records owns it now. 

3.5 / 4.0

12/10/25 (new entry)

La Familia Inc. - La Tuna / This Time. 1972 USA ~ San Francisco, California

Now this one really caught me off guard. The beginning of 'La Tuna' has a nice tight horn section, with rhythm electric piano, playing Latin salsa music similar to early Santana in their native roots mode. Then comes the most screaming fuzz guitar I've heard in ages! We're talking Carlos Santana x2 here. Very unexpected but we get our total money's worth in this extended solo. This is followed by a trumpet lead which leads to a psychotic "La Tuna" rant, and then back to the horns. Whew - what a killer track! The b) side flips over to the Chicago Transit Authority, and reminds me of the more poppy tracks from their first three albums. Unfortunately there are no Terry Kath like breaks, but it's still a pleasant song.

Both of these tracks are on their second album from 1972 called Para La Gente. No idea what kind of consistency the album holds. But 'La Tuna' needs to be comp'd on some psychedelic anthology. 

Own.

9/16/25 (new entry)

Wes Henderson - In Bed / Rea Lity. 1969 Canada ~ Vancouver, British Columbia

Vancouver based musician Wes Henderson has this one release under his own name and it's a goodie. The a) side is a familiar type of 60s soul rock with a passionate chorus and some fine electric guitar. It's the b) side (known as 'Rea Lity' on my copy) that seems to have gone unnoticed so far. Excellent driving psychedelic funk, not too far from the label's namesake Rare Earth. More focused than that with some stinging guitar work. Great drum fills as well. To be discovered.

Own.

7/21/25 (new entry)

Sound Company - Truman's Daughter / I Am Your Hour. 1971 USA ~ Missouri

From Neosho, Missouri which is in the far SW part of the state near Joplin. The A) side is a nice driving hard rock with more than a hint of Southern rock which you might expect of a band near the Ozarks. It's the B) side that is the head turner. Sound Company introduces Hammond organ and the bass player lays down a mean groove while the drummer gets out the amphetamine kit. In comes the wah wah rhythm guitar. Think Rare Earth when they're on their A-game. A couple of chorus' later comes the payoff - an absolute wicked and blazing fuzz solo. This is followed by the vocalist going psychotic. I could have gone for 20 minutes of this! 

Own. With picture sleeve. Paid a buck at a thrift shop and it's in minty condition. Hell yea!

5/6/25 (new entry)

The Revised Edition - Thoughts / Illusions Of You ~ USA ~ North Carolina

From Asheboro, south of Greensboro. A) side is high energy garage driven by organ and excellent drumming. The B) side turns up the amps while slowing things down. Bit of doom even. Has a nice fuzz solo in the middle.

3.0 / 3.5

4/26/25

The Fabulous Raindrops - People Need A Beat / El Putty. USA ~ Denver, Colorado

Now this is something special. I bought a milk crate full of 45s for $5 last weekend from an old Hispanic lady. I took them home and sorted through them. Most in bad condition and about 98% of them were donated to a thrift shop and a few found their way to my $2 show bin. There were two gems in there: The Mod Squad and... by far and away the big one: The Fabulous Raindrops. This was the heavy hitter. And hyper rare. That's how 45 buys go. 200 nickel records and one $500+ treasure.

The labels aren't very telling. One side says "Soul" the other "Ranchera". Do you know what Ranchera is? Think Mexican country music. The label, from the Denver industrial suburb of Commerce City, specialized in Latin music. Hence the style typed on each side. That's just what Latin labels do. If one was to just hear the Ranchera side first, you'd already be in for a surprise. It's instrumental and barely Mexican in construct. 

It's the A) side that is a... banger. And a half (I'm such a hipster now). It's as if someone made it recently as the perfect example of late 60s (or early 70s - who knows?) heavy psychedelic funk. So much phased acid guitar and heavy beats. Separated perfectly for those who love to sample. And what a groove the organ sets. It's not Soul as you would typically associate the term with. And I don't think the label had any idea what they were putting out. With names like Spike and Ricky Martinez, it's interesting that the music sounds more like a private Detroit or Philly ghetto release.

Seeing some dates of 1966 thrown around. No chance. Way too psychedelic for that. I'd go '67 but probably later than that.

Brilliant I tell ya. It's on YouTube so check it out. You can also hear this track on Gear Fab's Psychedelic States: Colorado in the 60s. 

Own.

4/4/25 (new entry)

The Pop Workshop - Fairyland / When My Little Girl Is Happy. 1968 England

A) side is fairly typical harpsichord driven popsike. B) side is better with jangly guitars and a more thoughtful melody sequence.

Own.

3/28/25

The Fun Band - Welcome To The Circle / It's Good. 1968 USA ~ Connecticut

One of those under the radar singles you'd think would be more well known and sought after. First side is high energy fuzzy funk, and you long for the guitarist to rip a solo. The b) side is even better, focusing primarily on Hammond with some horns and fuzz in the background. This one let's loose on the organ, and even features a couple of proggy breaks. Who were these guys anyway? And why isn't anyone into them? It's got the right sound. You can pick this 45 up dirt cheap online.

Own. My copy is the other promo but there's not a good photo of it on Discogs.

2/24/25 (review)

Leong Lau - Late Night Flyer / One Dimensional Man. 1977 Australia

If you're already familiar with the album Dragon Man, then you know what to expect here. Psychedelic funk of the highest order, though in compact single form.

I almost let this get away. They are bonus tracks on the Strawberry Rain CD reissue, but are hidden (I was going to keep the LP reissue instead). Discogs didn't mention them (I just corrected the entry), only RYM did but without a track history. But I couldn't figure out why it said bonus tracks. Further investigation turns out it was my entry (I stopped contributing releases to RYM years ago, so this may have been one of my last ones). So I saved myself. lol.

Own as noted above.

3/1/14 (first listen); 1/18/25 (review / new entry)

Spontaneous Generation - Purple, Purple / I'll Hold Out My Hand. 1971 USA-North Carolina

The A) side is somewhat famous for being seriously expensive as well as a killer cut. Spontaneous Generation's sound is from a couple of years earlier with fuzz guitar, organ, and punky Van Morrison styled vocals. I thought I had this track on one of the compilations I own, but nope it really hasn't been as anthologized as much as you might think.

The B) side is the hedge. There's a reason why no one has taken the time to record this for all to hear. Essentially a folk rock tune with trumpet (lol, anathema to underground psych collectors) and harmony pop vocals. If you want more than one side, it ain't here.

I do really enjoy 'Purple, Purple', but it's not a 5 star monster in my book. 4 stars on the nose. The other is 2 at best.

11/12/20 (first listen); 1/2/25 (review / new entry)

The Mousetrap – Spinning Wheel / Rhymetyme. USA-Miami

Label is from Miami, so just a guess that's where these guys are from. A) side is a cover of the famous track by Blood Sweat and Tears, done funky psych. It's not overtly psych though, just a bit electrified. B) is more original and features some nice organ and guitar soloing, though again closer to the jazz school than rock. Soulful vocals.

I was going through some old notes, and this was the second time for me to hear this. Not sure of the date but probably 2020 - 2021.

3 / 3.5

1/2/25

Bill Stein - Where To Go, What To Do? / Come To Me. USA

Eclectic 45, but has elements of hard rock, psych, AOR, and prog. And how about that label name?

Own. 

I found two copies and we sold one of them. I suspect it may have been released in Colorado. 

9/12/19 (first listen); 3/27/20 (review); 1/1/25 (new entry)

The Pawnbrokers - Realize / Smell of Incense. 1968 USA-North Dakota

From Fargo, North Dakota, The Pawnbrokers certainly were turned onto the most psychedelic aspects of the movement. I have the A) on a comp and it's a fuzz blaster, perfect for that sort of thing. B) is new to me, and is a trippy psych number leading into some progressive Eastern ideas. This one hasn't been comped that I know of. What a great two sider.

9/10/24

Acoma - My Store / My Long Lost Friend. 1971 USA

The A) side is very interesting. Psychedelic soul with a really mellow groove. Sort of like a laid back Gil Scott-Heron. The B side is not to my taste, perhaps a bit of country even. The label is from Nashville but no idea where Acoma might be from. Interesting that it alleges the music comes from the album This Land is Our Land, but it does not appear this album exists. 

Own. From a thrift shop in Bozeman, Montana (cleaner than the Discogs copy).

8/15/24

3.5/2.0