The Movement – Combination of the Two / Riding on a Sunday. 1969 USA-Buffalo

Custom pressing from Buffalo, New York.  Psych collector's dream opening with wild fuzz soloing. Roughhewn vocals follow, while the rhythm guitar rips away. Nice heavy solo towards the end. Hyperactive drumming too. B) gets right to business with a Steppenwolf styled hard rocker. Both sides exist on compilations.

7/15/20 (first listen); 2/13/24 (review / new entry)

Accents - Friendly Stranger / People are Funny. 1969 USA-Rhode Island

From Providence, Rhode Island. A) side kicks out the jams with some fine rhythm guitar and muted fuzz. B) side has more of a pop psych slant, but isn't unpleasant. Accents also featured a Hammond, which is a nice change of pace. 

2/13/24

The Chylds - No More Tears / Grey Days. 1968 USA-Ohio

From Canton, Ohio. Above average soulful hard rocking psych. What separates this from the normal 60s psych 45 is the use of Hammond organ. Much more common to hear a Vox or Lowery or any other cheaper variety. B) side offers a slight tilt eastward adding a bit of exoticism. A very good two sider and surprisingly not comped.

12/24/20 (first listen); 2/13/24 (review / new entry)

Sangre Mexicana - Good Cause / Need a Mama. 1970 USA-Texas

Interesting one here. From Laredo, Texas, Mexican Blood released seven singles and three LPs throughout the 70s. Their primary stock in trade was Tejano, ranchera, cumbia, balada, that kind of thing. This appears to be their debut recording and is nothing of the sort. Hard psych fuzz blaster, completely the opposite of how they made a living apparently. Both tracks are great (4.0). A side was comped by Germany's World in Sound many years ago. I wonder what the story behind this 45 was.

2/13/24

Idlewilde South - Feel It / Pedro's Bar & Grill. 1980 USA-South Carolina

From the hinterlands of South Carolina. A) side is FM friendly bar n' roll. B) side features an opening cool hard rock riff that reminds me of Blackfoot when they catch a groove. Actually the whole song reminds me of Blackfoot.

1/23/24

Doug Mays & The Sticky Kids - Raining in My Heart / Part Time Lover. 1981 USA-Mississippi

From Biloxi. About as bad as you would expect. A) side is straight up early 80s dummy hard rock. B) side is worse with a bluesy angle that makes you want to forget the decade altogether. 

2.5 / 2.0

1/23/24

Wilderness II - Strange Kind of Woman / In Medley. 1972 USA-Oklahoma

From Tulsa. Both tracks are badly produced Deep Purple covers. B) side is 'Lazy' with some extending jamming. 

2.5 / 2.5

1/23/24

The Innkeepers II - Brother Love's Traveling Salvation Show / Cryin's Not My Style. USA-Pennsyvlania

Complete unknown here. If I owned this it would go straight into my Unknown Vinyl Records blog. Label is from northeast Pennsylvania. A) side is a cover of Neil Diamond. Though advertised as psych, this is gather 'round the campfire singalong-and-clap music. Other side isn't that much better, but has a better chord progression and no handclaps. 

I didn't get the label image and it isn't showing anywhere at the moment, including popsike.

2 / 2

1/23/24

The Cardboard Box - Come on Baby / Carol. 1969 USA-Pennsylvania

From Pottstown. A side starts off with a bit of distortion and moves into uptempo garage territory, with an almost funky beat. Good fuzz solo near the two minute mark. 'Carol' is a sleepy ballad. A side has been comped, so it's become sought after. 

1/23/24

August - All the Time in the World / Old Lady. USA-Boston

Pop / Bubblegum psych with light hard rock touches. Has some decent distorted soloing. Mostly unknown. Label is from Boston, so likely a New England based group. 

1/23/24

Soul Patrol - Don't Knock the Cop / Peter Pan. 1971 USA-Fort Worth

Soul Patrol's sole 45 is a four figure expensive rarity. Musically it's right in the JB's / James Brown strike zone. Tight horns, rhythm guitar, sax, funky bass/drums, lots of "huh's" and "owws". 'Peter Pan' is instrumental and is in a similar musical vein.

1/2/24

Yellow Hair – Somewhere / Talent For Lovin'. 1969 USA-Missouri

A) side is like a psychedelic America (the band). Has their folk rock style but the harmony is more Beach Boys oriented. I'm a sucker for "la la la la's". They were from St. Joseph. Not a sound I'd associate with the region. On the B side their Midwest upbringing comes out. More aggressive with fuzz, fast drumming, and a rural rock underpinning.

1/2/24

Unsettled Society – 17 Diamond Studded Cadillacs / Passion Seeds. 1969 USA-New York

A side is a heavy wah wah psych classic that's been comped quite a bit. Neither track made any of the ones I own, so this is my first exposure. In hearing the drum patterns and guitar effects, one has to presume Iron Butterfly's poster was up in their collective bedrooms. Proto Krautrock really. B side goes for the witchy mystic midnight hour sound. They can't sing, but that's part of the allure honestly. Looks like they were from Syracuse.

1/2/24

Inner Lite – Hold On To Him / Tabula Rasa. 1969 USA-Iowa

Here's an oddball release from Des Moines, Iowa of all places. The label name certainly would have been considered risqué in its era. A) side is a pleasant organ driven pop psych, not that far from what Bacharach was writing, minus the talented musicians of course. B side ups the rock ante from the off, with a fine guitar solo early on and he never gives back the song from there. 

1/2/24

Something Different – Zulu Man / Chemical Reaction. 1970 USA

Starts off with harpsichord and goes into a folk rock direction from there. Also I hear what sounds like a bouzouki, perhaps the reason why they named the group as they did. B side starts off with a more aggressive beat before the harpsichord joins in. We also get some organ jamming and a percussion solo. For 1970 it really is something different. No idea where these guys might be from. 

3 / 3

1/2/24

The Outcasts - While I'm Here / Spell. 1968 USA-Virginia

Lots of groups named The Outcasts back in those days. This one was from Virginia. I have the B side on the Aliens Psychos & Wild Things Volume Fore comp. Good driving hard psych track with some really cool jams on one of those old cranky organs. So how is the A side? There's that organ blaring again - this time in 1960s soap opera fashion. Here we get a soul styled ballad. Yep - like I said in the Paraphernalia review: "Usually when only one side is featured on the comps, the other is to be avoided."

12/13/19 (first listen); 12/31/23 (review / new entry)

Paraphernalia - Watch Out / Never. 1970 USA-Boston

I have the A) side on the Overdose of Heavy Psych comp. Good riffing hard rock with organ maybe like Sir Lord Baltimore, so it's slightly ahead of its time. Listening to the flip for the first time. Usually when only one side is featured on the comps, the other is to be avoided. But that's not the case here. This sounds more like its era, and is a wonderful dreamy psych piece. There's a slight Latin Soul Rock vibe I'm getting (think early Malo), which is entirely coincidental I'm sure (especially since they were from Medford, Massachusetts). Great two sider.

2/2/19 (first listen); 12/31/23 (review / new entry)

Summit - The Darkness / Thank You Mister Jones. 1969 USA-Missouri

Looks like Dr. Boom brought this one over to the house back in 2019. He probably also provided the song to the Brown Acid guys (he knows them). My review from then stated: "'The Darkness' is a killer slice of heavy psych / early heavy metal... To settle the origin of the band, Brown Acid states they are from Clinton, Missouri, which is about 90 minutes SE of Kansas City." We didn't listen to the B-side, but no loss, as it's a fairly straightforward folk rocker.

12/24/19 (first listen / review); 12/31/23 (update / new entry)

The Sun Lightning Incorporated - Quasar 45 / There Must Be Light. 1969 USA-Indiana

The A side starts off like a proto Krautrock tripaganza. Once it settles in, Quasar 45 is a cool little guitar driven instrumental. I like it. The B side is a fairly typical rock song for the era with guitar, piano, organ, and vocals. It sounds like a cover song made from various singles. Very interesting SP coming from a small town in northern Indiana.

12/31/23

Brother Love - Rock n' Roll Band / Bluebird. 1972 USA-Ohio

The A) side rips the main theme from the Stones but has a cool fuzz tone. As you might imagine, much of it is bar n' roll music. With an added mandolin solo(?). The B) side is 70s soft pop, good for the Andy Williams Show. Brother Love managed to get out six singles and one LP in their lifetime. All obscure.

12/31/23