Brown Acid
The 11th Trip
Riding Easy Records
The 1960’s psychedelic sound continues to reverberate. The collectors and curators at Riding Easy give us another collection of 10 musical blotters of Kesey-quality tracks that will take you back to the Woodstock and Altamont festivals you missed back in the day. I admit I’ve never heard of any of these bands or tracks, but that’s my loss, not yours. We open with a soul sounding cut from Grump titled “I’ll Give You Love” sung by a man with tight vocal cords. This leads into a 5-minute workout called “Turtle Wax Blues” by Bagshot Row. These guys are funky bluesmen with a grinding bass line and defiant lyrics about a love gone bad. Imaging that… Next were off to party with Renaissance Faire; they get some interesting key board work into this occasionally dissonant track. This band aims for a “Bad Trip” ambience and succeed.
While the psychedelic movement generally aimed for a positive drug experience, some darkness creeps into the track with “Mom’s Apple Pie Boy” from Zendick. It’s a loud and chaotic arrangement with a proto–punk aura and dark words about the American Dream turned nightmare. Now we turn over to West Minster’s “I Want You.” This semi-love song erupts from the guy’s point of view when he’s in a “Wham, Bam, Thank You Ma’am” mood. Its driving with some clever guitar licks flying high over the solid bass and drum. As we approach the mundane 21st century, artist Debb Johnson brings us a sizzling brass line in “Dancing in the Ruin.” It’s the most complex tune here, drawing on a funky bass and brass that recalls Blood, Sweat and Tears earliest works. This wraps up the nostalgia with another smoking tune and another funky girlfriend. Like all of the Brown Acid trips, this is a marvelous journey into the music that built the era but never got famous. You may have missed them in the ’60s, but its not to late for you to re-live my youth.
