Various Artists - Try A Little Sunshine ; The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1969 (@320)

 

Try a Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 Review by Tim Sendra.

 

The year 1969 was a confusing time for bands and music fans alike in the U.K. The psychedelic wave of the previous few years had crested but was still strong, bubblegum had snuck in through the cracks, prog was in its early phase, and groups were cranking up the amps and getting harder. The whole year felt like the White Album had exploded, changed the game for existing bands, and spawned many new bands in its wake. Not that everything can always be credited to or blamed on the Beatles, but they cast a long shadow. With an excellent series of compilations covering the U.K. music scene year by year, the Grapefruit label had their work cut out for them, and they come through like champs on Try a Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969. The three discs are packed with examples of all the various strains of psychedelic rock that were streaming wildly out of clubs and radios -- by well-known artists like the Pretty Things, Dave Davies, Procol Harum, and Status Quo, but mostly the collection is peopled by almost-weres and total nobodies who were lost to time. It's an eye-opening assortment of songs and sounds that rewards intense listening with a raft of gems like Tapestry's fuzzy lollipop of a bubblegum jam "Who Wants Happiness" and Tuesday's Children's warped baroque pop nugget "Doubtful Nellie." Or Jason Crest's bonkers dark psych freakout "Black Mass." Or Consortium's sunshine pop stunner "The Day the Train Never Came." One could pick a track at random and come up with a winner, or at least something quite interesting. Even the duff tracks are worth hearing just to get the proper context for the era. Sure, it misses a lot of the big names of the time, but Try a Little Sunshine doesn't need them to be a definitive musical lesson that's also tons of fun, and just the thing to throw on when one needs to be transported to another era.

 

Tracklist:

 

CD1:

 

  01. Try a Little Sunshine - the Factory

  02. Reputation - Shy Limbs

  03. Little Boy - Beatstalkers

  04. Letters from Edith - the Spencer Davis Group

  05. Roundabout - the Montanas

  06. Sister - Cliff Wade

  07. Brother Thrush -Barclay James Harvest

  08. (Vision in a) Plaster Sky -Wild Silk

  09. The Day the Train Never Came - Consortium

  10. Lifetime - the Bliss

  11. This Is to a Girl - Strawberry Jam

  12. River Boat Queen - Audience

  13. Captain Reale - Gentle Influence

  14. A Salty Dog - Procol Harum

  15. Green Mello Hill - Angel Pavement

  16. The Walrus and the Carpenter - Peter Howell & John Ferdinando

  17. This Time Tomorrow - the Move

  18. Shine a Little Light Into My Room - Jason Paul

  19. Stay Indoors - the New Formula

  20. Running Wild - Fresh Air

  21. Dogs and Cats - the Sorrows

  22. We Built the Sun - Pussy

  23. Baby and Me - the Hammers

  24. Being Human Being (Alternative Version) - Paper Bubble

 

CD2:

 

  01. Child on a Crossing - Writing on the Wall

  02. Dr Crippen's Waiting Room - the Orange Machine

  03. Liar - Fleur de Lys

  04. Seen Through a Light - the Mooche

  05. It's Only Love - Sam Gopal

  06. Deep Water - Grapefruit

  07. Stop - Pan Pipers

  08. Marrakesh - Fortes Mentum

  09. Flaxen Hair - Marc Brierley

  10. Changes in Our Time - Colin Giffin

  11. Creeping Jean - Dave Davies

  12. Who Wants Happiness - Tapestry

  13. She Said, She Said - Grand Union

  14. Only George - Scrugg

  15. Summer Come Along - Ralph McTell

  16. It Happened Two Sundays Ago - Nirvana

  17. Doubtful Nellie - Tuesday's Children

  18. Mindless Child of Motherhood - Ewan Stephens

  19. Biography - Woody Kern

  20. Alcock and Brown - Balloon Busters

  21. Magic Car - Edwards Hand

  22. How Does It Feel - the Good Ship Lollipop

  23. No Reason - Shere Khan

  24. Morning Way - Trader Horne

 

CD3:

 

  01. Black Mass - Jason Crest

  02. Last Cloud Home - the Orange Bicycle

  03. (Who Planted Thorns in) Miss Alice's Garden - the Explosive

  04. Just What I Was Looking for Today - the Spectrum

  05. The Price of Love - Status Quo

  06. This Little Boy - 1984

  07. Death of a Dream Machine - the Deviants

  08. Day of the Change - Andromeda

  09. Mr Rainbow - Homer's Knods

  10. You Might Even Say - Pretty Things

  11. Cry Baby Cry - Freedom

  12. Saturday Roundabout Sunday - the Humblebums

  13. We Want You to Stay (Demo Version) - Bill Fay

  14. What a Groovy Day - Harmony Grass

  15. Mr Beverly's Heavy Days - the Freshmen

  16. Little Bird - Eyes of Blue

  17. Tamaris Khan - the Onyx

  18. The School Boy - Five's Company

  19. Looking Towards the Sky - Davey Payne & the Medium Wave Band

  20. Fairground - Pure Gold

  21. Petrol Pump Assistant - Fat Mattress

  22. Good Old '59 (We Are Slowly Gettin' Older) - Second Hand

  23. Counting Time My Way - Taxi

  24. Burning the Weed - Bobak, Jons, Malone

  25. Armageddon - Cape Kennedy Construction Company

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