Psychedelic Psoul - The Freak Scene - `67 Columbia Records

i thought i heard someone say bring the freak back !? - ha , well - this one is pretty far out kids. this is a reissue not an original - sounds great ! some heavy bass on this one - headphones if ya got em ! - enjoy [ 134 downloads & NO COMMENTS ! whats wrong with u peeps ?! ]


This is quintessential extreme example of early experimental psy. Very obscure, so information is sparse but I’d guess it came out quite early in 67. The bass playing is original and unusual and dominates the mix in an album dominated by lyrics and bass. The vocals and vocal production (thin, nasal and processed) is the albums main weakness. Despite its faults and lack of good songs, its still somehow works and remains a fascinating and unusual micro-selling psy gem. [ mykepsych ]


Having enjoyed some success with their 1966 studio project The Deep, the following year the song writing/performing team of Mark Barkan and Rusty Evans decided to take another stab at making some money off of the public's growing interest in psychedelia and political activism. Signed by Columbia, the duo pulled together most of the studio pros who'd worked with them on the earlier project (reportedly including guitarist David Bromberg), resulting in the release "Psychedelic Psoul".
A lot of critics have labeled this as nothing more than a sophomore The Deep release. There are clearly similarities between the two albums, but I'll tell you that (contrary to popular opinion) I think The Freak Scene project is the stronger of the two. Material such as 'The Subway Ride Thru Inner Space', 'Butterfly Dream' and 'My Rainbow Life' offered up a great mixture of over-the-top psych lyrics, stoned vocals and wild studio production effects. The biggest difference with the earlier album was that tracks such as '... When In the Course of Human Events (Draft Beer, Not Students)' and 'Behind the Mind' added a bit of social and political commentary to the acid-drenched mix. It may be an exploito offering, but it's first rate exploito and is actually better than 75% of the non-exploito competition. [ RDTEN1 ]


at first listen i thought this one was a sham. it sounds slapped together in a drug-fueled weekend, using sound effects and flower power poetry/messages to make it stand up as psychedelic.
one day i was in such a mood that this was the only album i felt like listening to, and so i did over and over, and that is where it happened. i realized that i really enjoy this one, despite it's usually half-assed songwriting and slapdash feel/recording.
one thing about the sparse instrumentation is that the excellent bass playing practically carries the whole band. guitars usually stay in the background, and everything else, sans vocals & feedback/sound effects, take a back seat to the always prominent bass playing.
i can't give this more than 3 and a half because for every great tune ["a million grains of sand", "behind the mind", "butterfly dream"] there are one or two throwaway tunes ["subway ride thru inner space", "mind bender"] though the whole thing whizzes by quickly, 12 songs in a half an hour, so i'm more intrigued by the record as a whole, rather than being disappointed by a track i don't like. i love these kind of albums.
for those who like the pop in their sike, ideas, rather than some poorly recorded garage band content to just thrash away at "hey joe", this one may be of interest to you. [ a owens ]


Psychedelic Psoul - The Freak Scene - `67 - Columbia Records
all trax from wax - akashaman - 2010
MP3 @ 320 kbps - includes high rez cover scan


1 A Million Grains of Sand
2 "When In Course Of Human Events" (Draft Beer, Not Students) / Interpolation: We Shall Overcome
3 Rose of Smiling Faces
4 Behind the Mind
5 The Subway Ride Thru Inner Space
6 Butterfly Dream
7 My Rainbow Life
8 The Center of My Soul
9 Watered Down Soul
10 Red Roses Will Weep
11 Mind Bender
12 Grok!


DOWNLOAD -- HERE --