THE GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP, VOL. 1

Since the early 1980s the See For Miles Records has specialized in releasing long lost artifacts from the past by compiling flotsam and jetsam of both unknown and more familiar bands as well as nurturing new fledgling talented artists. In the mid-80s the label released one of its most critically acclaimed and most popular series THE GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP which came out as four vinyl records or three CDs. Comparable to the US Nuggets series, this one focuses on the British 60s scene with the first two editions focusing on the more obscure artists who didn't exactly burn up the singles charts during their day but nevertheless captured the spirt and zeitgeist of era in ways that equalled or surpassed the most famous bands still known today.

THE GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP, VOL 1 1966-1969 begins the series with artists who existed concurrently with the more famous bands like The Who, The Pretty Things orThe Small Faces but never found any success in terms of exposure or sales for that matter. In fact most of these artists never even had the opportunity to release a single album with only a few singles that dotted their short-lived output. Despite the obscure nature of the artists on this compilation, none of which i was familiar with before encountering this psychedelic pop gem, these artists showcase exactly how many talented acts there were in the day crafting excellently constructed psychedelic baroque pop that stood up to the best of the era.

Also falling in line with the 60s marketing trends of confusing the public, there are actually two versions of this compilation released simultaneously with slightly different titles. The vinyl LP edition only featured 20 tracks and sported a different album cover as THE BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP (1966-1969) while the CD edition featured 26 tracks and was released as THE GREAT BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP, VOL 1. This was the result of the limitations of vinyl which split the series into four editions whereas the longer CD format fit everything snugly into three. While most of these tracks will be completely unfamiliar, a couple of them may jump out at you including The Flies' version of "I'm Not Your Stepping Stone" best known as a Monkees single as well as The Californians' version of Warren Zevon's "Follow Me."

What this compilation succeeds in is revealing a completely unknown underground of the richness of the British music scene of the 1960s and although these tracks are psychedelic pop, like experimental artists like The Beatles, many were pushing boundaries while engaging in their trippy fuzz guitar sounds and Beach Boys style harmonies. While all the artists here could ostensibly be considered pop artists, the degree to which they aimed for the singles charts varied with clear missed hits with the sunshine pop "The Muffin Man" from World Of Oz to the more etheral, less commercial sounding track "Renaissance Fair" from Human Instinct. Others such as The Californians actually sound a lot like The Monkees. Overall this is an excellent collection of lost gems that will exhilarate those who can't get enough of 60s British psychedelic pop in the vein of The Pretty Things, The Beatles or The Move. Not every track is equally compelling but none are throwaways either. The two editions of each release are different enough they should be categorized as separate releases. Only 14 tracks appear on both formats. The rest are different. Track listing of each format:

THE BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP, VOL 1 (CD) 1 Turquoise - Tales of Flossie Fillet 2 Timebox - Baked Jam Roll in Your Eye 3 The Poets - In Your Tower 4 The 23rd Turnoff - Leave Me Here 5 World of Oz - The Muffin Man 6 Ice - So Many Times 7 The End - Shades of Orange 8 Ice - Ice Man 9 Cryin' Shames - Come on Back 10 Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner 11 The Virgin Sleep - Love 12 Turquoise - Saynia 13 Toby Twirl - Romeo and Juliet 14 Amazing Friendly Apple - Magician 15 Tintern Abbey - Beeside 16 The Flies - I'm Not Your Stepping Stonelyrics 17 The Accent - Red Sky at Night 18 Human Instinct - Renaissance Fair 19 The Cuppa T - Miss Pinkerton 20 Toby Twirl - Toffee Apple Sunday 21 Cherry Smash - Green Plant 22 The Californians - Follow Me 23 The Outer Limits - Just One More Chance 24 Les Sauterelles - Heavenly Club 25 Keith Shields - Deep Inside Your Mind 26 Al Stewart - The Elf

THE BRITISH PSYCHEDELIC TRIP (1966-1969) (Vinyl) A1 Turquoise - Tales of Flossie Fillett A2 The Attack - Created by Clive A3 Timebox - Baked Jam Roll in Your Eyes A4 The Poets - In Your Tower A5 The 23rd Turnoff - Leave Me Here A6 World of Oz - The Muffin Man A7 Ice - Anniversary (Of Love) A8 The End - Shades of Orange A9 Ice - Ice Man A10 The Fairytale - Run and Hide B1 Paul & Ritchie & The Cryin' Shames - Come on Back B2 Tintern Abbey - Vacuum Cleaner B3 The Virgin Sleep - Love B4 Turquoise - Saynia B5 Toby Twirl - Romeo and Juliet B6 Amazing Friendly Apple - Magician B7 Tintern Abbey Beeside B8 Fire - Father's Name Is Dad B9 The Flies - I'm Not Your Stepping Stone B10 The Accent - Red Sky at Night