Penny Arkade – Not The Freeze 1968 (@320)

 

Penny Arkade – Not The Freeze 1968

 

I'll admit that I have a few obsessions--one of them is Michael Nesmith and the other is obscure 1960s pop. Sot it kinda goes without saying that this issue of the never-released, Nesmith-produced album by L.A.'s band-that-never-was, Penny Arkade, was meant for me. Perhaps only for me, but I know there are at least a few folks out there who share some of these same sensibilities. According to Nesmith, "the Penny Arkade was quintessentially the L.A. sound&of the time." Compare Arkade tracks such as the head swimming "Thesis" or the remarkably hooky "Country Girl" to Sweetheart-era Byrds or Buffalo Springfield (or the late, Canyon-tripping revivalists of recent years, Beechwood Sparks) and one can't help but wonder how our sense of the late '60s L.A. sound might have been affected had this album seen an official release in its own time. Recorded in 1967 during Nesmith's breaks between Monkees' obligations, a few tracks (such as "Swim," the psych-pop title cut epic "Not the Freeze," or the aptly titled "Year of the Monkey") certainly display inspiration--direct or otherwise--from the collection's producer. In fact, one of Penny Arkade's primary songwriters, the now A?ber-reclusive (and as of the album's pressing, unfindable) Craig Smith, penned "Salesman," the opening cut sung by Nesmith for the Monkees' 1967 release, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. A garage-rock groover like "Give Our Love (To All the People)," though a tad repetitive, is full of energy and could easily be a staple of oldies radio today, as could "Sick and Tired." This is not to say that this "album," assembled from various sessions doesn't have a few weak tracks or suffer from a lack of cohesiveness (musical, thematic, or what have you), but nevertheless it is a wonderful treat for fans of overlooked 1960s pop music. -EDWARD BURCH

 

Tracklist:

 

1. Lights of Dawn

2. Country Girl

3. Color Fantasy

4. Thesis

5. Swim

6. Voodoo Spell

7. Not the Freeze

8. Love Rain

9. Century of Distance

10. Sparkle & Shine

11. Face in the Crowd

12. Woodstock Fireplace

13. Year of the Monkey

14. Give Our Love (to All the People)

15. Split Decision

16. Sick And Tired

17. No Rhyme or Reason

18. You Couldn’t Conquer Me

19. Swim (early version)

20. Lights of Dawn (early version)

21. The Freeze (early version)

22. Voodoo Spell (early version)

23. Century of Distance (early version)

****