Now Sounds have raided the vaults of Hollywood’s Capitol Records to bring us 24 slices of psychedelic pop pie from the late 60s with many of the tunes being on CD for the first time, all sourced from the original master tapes and compiled and produced by Steve Stanley.

Needless to say I was a babe in arms when these tracks first made their way onto the Dansettes and radios of the US but that’s not to say they’re not worth a listen. Indeed the collection here harks back to a much more innocent time, but it’s good fun and shows us why Capitol were the undisputed kings of pop in this era.

With song titles like Catch the Love Parade and Groovy Day and band names such as The Laughing Wind and The Pink Cloud this is clearly not hardcore acid-head- freakster fare. No, this is a collection of fun, happy jingle-jangle tunes aimed at a mass market audience that perhaps caught a whiff of patchouli from a passing hipster – more Mom’s apple pie than Kool Aid Acid Test and certainly more pop than psychedelia.

Like I say, it’s good fun and nicely put together collection of tunes that comes complete with an informative booklet with detailed notes on the bands and the music.

Stuart Smith

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