Customer Reviews
Top Notch Psychedelia - By: C. J. Cunningham, 07 Jan 2008 
I got this CD for Christmas on the basis that my wife must have seen itin my 'Items Recently Viewed' section on Amazon (good old Amazon!) & bought it for me as a stocking filler. Psychedelia is such a broad term - if I could define it then maybe I could write about music for a living - how exciting that would be! However all of the elements of quality 'psyche' are here for all - trippy lyrics, ethereal effects, fuzzy guitars, eastern elements - & here too we have the superb vocal skills of Dorothy Moskowitz. There is a lot of experimentation on this album (some great & very informative sleeve notes give a good background) but fortunately with the experiments come good tunes too. There is variationin styles & mood - dreamy, haunting ballads, faster more urgent songs (reminscent of Jefferson Airplane at times), & some great 'goofing around' on the opening & closing tracks. There are portents for the future too - I wonder whether Portishead had heard this album before their great albums releasedin the 1990s?(particularly the opening number 'The American Metaphysical Circus' which would be perfect for Beth Gibbons) as well as a few influences worn on the sleeves of the kaftan - Airplane as I mentioned earlier, & Revolver era Beatles on 'Stranded In Time' This really is a superb album & a joyous discovery. It is generously crammed with bonus tracks too - some are worksin progress for tracks on the album proper but there are some great non album songs to be enjoyed here too particularly the sweet 'Perry Pier'. What golden times the late 1960's must have been - but time waits for no man, & here is as good a time capsule as you are likely to find from that golden era - if you enjoy the heady pot pourri that constitutes psychedelia then you arein for a treat with this album - highly recommended.
Psychedelic, ethereal... - By: Dr. H. Beentje, 24 Dec 2007 
I agree with Jim Leven, above; & would add that while some tracks are not particularly good, others are still outstanding after all these years. 'Love song for the dead Che' is ethereal & haunting; 'coming down' a brilliant take on the mood after a trip; & the stunning 'Garden of earhtly delights' with its pumping rhythm & Jeroen-Bosch like lyrics is one of the best numbers of 1968, full stop. 'Hard coming love' & 'the American metaphysical circus' are probably classified as a class B drug, while 'the Cloud song' is a cross between Winnie the Pooh (from which the text comes, obviously) & lying on your backin a timeless summery garden, looking upin the sky & falling up. Great stuff.
Mysterious one-off masterpiece with ESSENTIAL bonus tracks - By: Jm Leven, 04 Jun 2007 First off - this is the version to buy. Unlike most bonus tracks, the previously unavailable ones here are essential. Some are better than some of the original tracks, & that's saying something with this album. This was the first album to feature the moog synthesiser, the first heavily electronic album so you would expect it to be little more than a curiosity. Amazingly & stunningly not! Who were they - a group of people centered around Berkeley University, California who came together to make this album & then seemed to disappear. The album is obviously influenced by Sergeant Pepperin its adventurous arrangements & production, but the songs are much better. Gorgeous singing,especially from Dorothy Moskowitz, haunting melodies, & intelligent, imaginative lyrics. This is every bit as good as the Velvet Underground & Nico album, & I certainly play it more often. So strange that this should just appear out of the blue & then end there. Give it a try.
