psych Archive
18 Jan 2013
Concert Review: The Machine, 10 Jan 2013 Asheville NC
My firsthand experience with tribute bands is quite limited; in general, the concept doesn’t do a lot for me. While there are quite a few acts touring (quite successfully, I should note) the works of more famous bands, many of them base their stage act on the visual style and cues of the band being
10 Jan 2013
Capsule Reviews: January 2013, Part One
Here’s another installment in my occasional series of capsule reviews, this time covering new reissues and compilations. My self-imposed limit for this particular exercise is 150 words on each album. Nektar – Man in the Moon / Evolution Nektar is one of those mildly progressive yet accessible 70s bands that never broke through big time
10 Dec 2012
Album Review: The Moving Sidewalks – The Complete Collection
When The Moving Sidewalks are mentioned at all, it’s general in the context of them being a forerunner of ZZ Top (guitarist Billy Gibbons fronted The Moving Sidewalks). But the Texas quartet deserves more than a footnote in some ZZ Top essay; the group’s music is of a piece with other sixties Texas bands of
29 Oct 2012
DVD Review: The Move – The Lost Broadcasts
The Move are one of those sixties groups that got lost in the transatlantic shuffle. They arguably had it all: great songwriting, strong vocalists, an a ready-made visual image. A near-perfect mix of super-catchy pop melodicism, heavier-than-heavy riffage, ambitious art-pop leanings and a penchant for controversy, The Move should have been huge in the USA.
24 May 2009
Album Review: The United States of America – s/t
It’s easy to forget that in 1968, getting weird and unearthly sounds on your album (assuming you wanted them; plenty did) was no easy task. There were no presets, no samples; if you wanted the whooping effect of a ring modulator, you had to find one, and then figure out how to operate the damn
05 May 2009
Album Review: Brian Jonestown Massacre – Their Satanic Majesties’ Second Request
Perhaps most people know of Anton Newcombe from Ondi Timoner’s 2003 questionable documentary Dig! than through his career itself; as leader of the neo-psychedelic Brian Jonestown Massacre, Newcombe and his cohorts have turned out a dozen discs showcasing his unique musical vision. In any event, there’s growing evidence that Newcombe’s got his act more together
19 Jan 2008
Robyn Hitchcock: Vinyl is Forever
The droll (even by English standards) singer-songwriter Robyn Hitchcock came on the scene in the late 1970s with The Soft Boys, a Cambridge psych-rock group that — depending on one’s viewpoint — appeared too late or too soon. After a string of spotty-or-brilliant (you decide; I’d argue the latter) albums, the band folded, and Hitchcock
16 Jan 2008
Flaming Lips: The Sound of Success
With the charismatic Wayne Coyne fronting the Flaming Lips, it’s easy to overlook the articulate creative expression of Steven Drozd. Steven joined in 1992, ostensibly as their drummer — but quickly assumed the role as a prime mover of all things musical. The relentless contributions of this multi-instrumentalist are a major influence within the ever-expanding
13 Jan 2008
The Strange Odyssey of Roky Erickson
The history of rock ‘n’ roll is replete with all manner of tragic stories. In a few rare cases, the stories turn around into something more positive. Roky Erickson’s is one of those stories. Erickson was the founder of the first psychedelic rock group, the Thirteenth Floor Elevators. The group was renowned for its 1966
02 Dec 2007
Todd Rundgren / Utopia / Nazz: A Critical Essay
DISCOGRAPHY Todd Rundgren Runt (Bearsville) 1970 The Ballad of Todd Rundgren (Bearsville) 1971 Something / Anything? (Bearsville) 1972 A Wizard / A True Star (Bearsville) 1973 Todd (Bearsville) 1974 Initiation (Bearsville) 1975 Faithful (Bearsville) 1976 Hermit of Mink Hollow (Bearsville) 1977 Back To The Bars (Bearsville) 1978 Healing (Bearsville) 1981 The Ever Popular Tortured Artist