Electric Prunes

Can def hear the Beatles. Early surf rock with the discovery of a synth.

альбом, став «класикою» #garagerock - у, напевно до того, як, це поняття почало широко використовуватись. Адже саме він став джерелом натхнення для таких відомих панк гуртів 70-х на кшталт MC5 або The Stooges. Також він сильно надихався тогочасною хіппі музикою, від якої і успадкував «психоделічні» елементи. Загалом, альбом зустріли дуже тепло і, на початку, він продавався не гірше ніж інші «психоделічні майстри» того часу - Jefferson Airplane. Проте феноменального успіху, альбом все ж не мав. І це насправді не дивно, бо як на мене, він хоч і гаурно звучить, та має багато прикольних моментів - все ж виглядає «недоробленим». І тому насолодитися їм в повній мірі, мені все ж не вдалось. Він постійно, «кудись тікає» та якось сам «виштовхує» тебе із атмосфери, яку ж сам і намагається створити. Таке враження, що музиканти на ньому ще до кінця не визначилися із тим, що вони хочуть нам продемонструвати. А от вже їх другий альбом Underground, що вийшов в тому ж році (ото раніше була продуктивність), це вже зовсім інша справа. Він куди більш експериментальний, сміливий, та навіть більш «психоделічний» ніж попередник. І через це його значно цікавіше слухати…але це вже зовсім інша історія.

i had too much to dream- 5. bangles- 4 onie- 7 or 8 actually this is lovely. it reminds me of candy says. are you lovin me more- 4 train for tomorrow- 5 or 6. i like the drums sold to the highest bidder- hm? get me to the world on time- 4 to be honest the rest of this is pretty boring i forgot music was playing try me on for size- 3 boooo toonerville trolley- 4 had one good song

Not bad! Strange mix of songs, but enjoyed most of it.

Some good songs but terrible production (no fault of theirs)

weird, dreamlike 60's experimental rock. It somehow seems kind of generic if only because I dont see anything that stands out, good or bad, a goos number of the songs are pretty different from one another. Sold to the Highest Bidder, About a Quarter to Nine, two songs I wouldve never guessed are on the same album.

When you need music for your groovy movie set in the 60s but you don’t want to pay for “Incense and Peppermints” just play any track off this album and that’ll do the trick

Many people lament the drop in quality on the B side, but I can't help but enjoy the closing track "Toonerville Trolley" - it's just too much fun. That said, the title track is clearly the strongest. But overall it was a fun (if not a bit middling) collection of 60s psychedelia.

I gotta have more harpsichord!! Classic psychedelia. 3

A decent garage rock album.

Day 0022/1001 of One Album a Day / Listened to whilst: going home from University Favourite tracks: train for tommorow Worst tracks: sold to the highest bidder

I think in 1967 this would have been pretty tight - err groovy. I'm not so sure I have a place for this in my life today, but it's certainly far from offensive. There - I stayed away from any and all prune-related humor.

I actually kinda liked this. It was an easy listen, and had some fun moments. A couple duds. I wasn’t bored though.

Decent album, very middle of the road and nothing all that special either way

ahead of its time for sure, but also firmly in the 60s. I need a different mood for this.

Why notson? Hittar inga större fel.

Weer een '60s album. Klinkt lekker. Ik kan me voorstellen dat hier heel wat hippies van hebben genoten! De hit "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" klinkt als filmmuziek. ***

Not a big fan of the 60s sound, but there are some good tracks on the album that highlight the sound we have today for many different genres.

Not bad..actually complimented my reading of Hellboy pretty well.

I enjoyed it. It's a cool view into the late 60s psychedelic rock movement that I had not heard of before.

3/5

Chill classic rock vibes. 3.5/5

Pretty stock standard late 60s album. Didn't really do it for me. Some fun strings and stuff though.

I didn't like the jaunty ones. Some of them were fine. Just totally unbothered I guess. But also inoffensive

I guess it was fine. Sounded like a lot of stuff from this time and not particularly special. Not bad but not amazing.

A couple of very silly songs. Otherwise, quite enjoyable psychedelic garage rock kinda sounds.

Quite a varied album; trippy, psychadelic, fairytale at times. Enjoyable for sure.

it's alright. i think there are interesting parts on it but i wouldn't really think of this as mindblowing or standout music from the early rock period

I remember 'I Had Too Much to Dream...' from an old Nuggets record. Its a good track, and even though this record is patchy overall, there are a few other good ones.

Standard late sixties psychedelic rock.

You sorta know exactly what this will sound like as soon as you see the cover

Totally fine and serviceable. Vanilla.

Look I like the opening song, it shaped a lot of my high school sleepless nights, but the whole album is sadly not as good as I was hoping it to be. 3/5

El mayor 50/50 que e escuchado la mitad buena la mitad maomeno

Sounds as you'd imagine

Some of it was ok, some of it was weird, all of it was a little dated

The two best songs that the band ever had are listed in the cover. The rest sound like awkward attempts at the same songs or even more awkward attempts to merge garage rock with psychedelia. Nothing horrible but nothing memorable either.

The Electric Prunes’ self-titled debut is a fascinating artefact of 1960s garage rock and psychedelia, blending fuzz guitars, tremolo effects, and reverb-drenched vocals into what was then an experimental sound. Tracks like "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" showcase groundbreaking backward guitar effects, capturing the disorienting magic of psychedelia, while "Get Me to the World on Time" delivers raw energy with its pulsing rhythm and playful edge. "Are You Lovin’ Me More (But Enjoying It Less)" bursts with rebellious garage rock spirit, and "Try Me On for Size" leans into distortion-heavy grooves that epitomize the band’s adventurous approach. The album’s tracks mostly fall somewhere between good and very good, and you wouldn’t flinch if you heard any of these numbers on oldies radio. As innovative as the recording was, tensions behind the scenes loom large over its legacy. Producer David Hassinger, the driving creative force, relied heavily on outside songwriters, leaving the band feeling more like performers than creators. These frustrations fractured the group, with the original lineup disbanding by the late 1960s. Hassinger retained rights to the band’s name and continued releasing music under The Electric Prunes with entirely new musicians, further complicating their legacy. Despite these controversies, the debut remains a fascinating time capsule of psychedelic rock’s formative years. It’s telling, however, that the album’s—and arguably the band’s—best song is its very first track. Did/Do I own this release? No. Does this release belong on the list? As a snapshot of an era, this is a worthy addition, though musically there are stronger picks. Would this release make my personal list? No. Will I be listening to it again? If it comes up on oldies radio, I’d enjoy it—but I’m unlikely to seek it out deliberately.

Eh, I dig the oldies, but this wasn’t my favorite era. The psychedelic stuff just isn’t my bag, man. This seems to be from before it got real trippy, but is on the verge of that vibe. Ok, but not great.

Not fantastic. Slightly repetitive bullshit. Not bad for background music.

Brilliant corners are ok, liked them. A lot of energy. Perfect to create the chillenviorment. 4/5 Electric prunes not my style, but i liked the quality. 3/5

this has some wonderful, shimmering, edgy pop-psychedelia - the singles are standouts - some of the rest is filler

cute and nice and sarcastic? liked the beginning because it had a soul like vibe. end not so much my taste

Quite typical 60s psychedelic rock album, not too memorable but not bad either

I'm learning that I really enjoy (relatively) obscure '60s psychedelic rock bands. These guys probably listened to god knows what growing up in the '40s and '50s, and once they finally realized they could pick up a guitar and do whatever the hell they wanted, my god they did just that. Like many albums of this ilk, it's often not particularly good, often ridiculous. But when it hits it really hits. This one is generally fine, but it also has two of the better songs that I've heard recently. "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" is an absolute banger as an opener. It's weird, has some random drone noises, and it absolutely slaps. Also what a name, I love it, 10/10 song. Then song #2 is completely mediocre, but song #3 manages to follow it up with this beautiful little sub-3-minute heartfelt masterpiece. It legitimately sounds like a Velvet Underground song, it's like "Candy Says" or "Sunday Morning" or something, just a gorgeous sound and striking lyrics "Onie, don't lose what you've got / By being something you're not". Two awesome songs that sound nothing like one another at all. That's what I like about these bands, when they hit they hit. The rest of the album was generally fine, but nothing major stood out to me that much. Apparently the producer made them include more songs than they wanted and they felt that there was some filler on here, I'd be curious to know what songs they felt that way about, because I generally agree that it feels like there's some filler. If you want an example of a ridiculous song from this genre (but kind of fun at least) here is one: "Sold to the Highest Bidder". And some more ridiculous songs that didn't quite hit for me: "The King is in the Counting House", "The Toonerville Trolley" (like what were they thinking here, and as the closing song, very questionable). I appreciate the innovation that was happening in the '60s at least, you need to take some shots in order to score. Favorite song: Onie Other: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), Train for Tomorrow, Sold to the Highest Bidder, About a Quarter to Nine, Luvin', Try Me on for Size 10/16/24

Didn’t know they made music like this back then High school friends band kinda vibe

This band's history is kind of fascinating to me. Did you know that their third album was a collection of religious mass songs sung in Greek and Latin? Which, for the record, wasn't even the band's idea--Reprise Records thought a classically trained musician should arrange their third album, and then the only reason they went through with this idea was because the band's producer (who owned the rights to their name) agreed with Reprise. The recording and release of that album, by the way, went so badly that the band dissolved afterwards, and wouldn't reform until the early 2000's. Of course, that didn't stop the band's producer from releasing two more albums under their name before the 60's ended. From all the reading I did about the band's albums (and albums credited to the band), the impression I had is that they never really got control of their own sound. And that extends to this one, by the way. They'd been composing material for an album, but their producer decided to bring in two outside songwriters to compose a majority of the album: seven out of twelve. In the end, the band's two main songwriters ended up being solely responsible for only one track, "Luvin'". Before the 2000's, it seems the only time the band really got to dictate their own sound was their second album, UNDERGROUND--and even then... Hell, before the 2000's, the only Electric Prunes album written entirely by band members was JUST GOOD OLD ROCK AND ROLL, and by that point the band was just a random group of musicians their producers slapped the name on. So, that's a lot of preamble and context for this band I'd never heard of before yesterday. Again, it's all just so fascinating to me, the ups and (mostly) downs their group had. It's honestly a lot more interesting than the actual music on this album, 'cuz, like, at the end of the day, it's just 60's garage psych. It's not bad stuff, or unenjoyable, but even the band members will tell you that some of the stuff on here is filler and didn't belong. Sure, I liked the two big singles ("I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me To The World On Time") and the two songs that the band's actual damn songwriters had a hand in ("Train For Tomorrow" and "Lovin'"). The rest, however... It's either nondescript stuff I imagine my group is gonna hear a dozen or so more times before this list's over, or "The Toonerville Trolley". And I really do hafta feel bad for any band who has to record something like that. It's like when Elvis was forced to sing "Old MacDonald". And that's really the feeling I come out of this album in general with: I just feel bad for the band. Like, not horrible, and I'm not sure how much this album would've been if they'd been allowed to use more or all of their own material (AllMusic, for instance, rated all the albums that came out later that did slightly worse than this one), but... Y'know, still, it sucks that they got jerked around so much by their producer. At the very least, I can tell you if the band had more creative control they wouldn't've had some random classical musician make them record gawddamn church music. The music on this album is fine at best, not particularly inspiring in the middle, and "The Toonerville Trolley" at worst. I wouldn't have ever seeked it out on my own, but, hey, at least I ended up having more to talk about and comment on than just their name. "The Electric Prunes"--seriously. Only in the late-ish 60's could a band get away with calling themselves something like that.

Just a plain 3. I got nothing. It’s not that good. It’s not that bad. It’s competent. A few baffling production choices, and a rather strange track order (why the fuck did Toonerville Trolley close out the album?), but ultimately it sure felt like a 1967 album trying to capitalize on Beatlemania. I don’t think it’s so bad as to be a 1, and I think it shows enough effort and care to be higher than a 2. No chance in hell it’s higher than a 3 though. Just for comparison’s sake, by the way, a few other albums we’ve gotten from 1967: Younger Than Yesterday (by The Byrds), Surrealistic Pillow (by Jefferson Airplane), I Never Loved a Man the Way I Love You (by Aretha Franklin), and The Velvet Underground & Nico (by… you know). We’ve had 10 albums from 1967 before this, so it’s a good year for music, I guess; so far, before this one, I’d given four albums a 3, five albums a 4, and one album a 5 from this year. Add this to the pile of 3s then. It’s totally, utterly fine. A few good ones, a few mediocre ones, but nothing outright bad. Just not the most captivating or the most special. I don’t know if it needed to be on the list.

I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night es un clásico, garaje, psicodelia y distorsión, y también buenas canciones. Presenta además trucos en la producción (tremolo, fuzz, efectos , etc.) que tuvieron buena acogida e influencia posterior. La apertura y titular es una de sus más conocidas y mejores canciones. Bangles (nada que ver con la banda del mismo nombre) es otro temazo, Onie es, en su opinión, un tema menor o de relleno pero para mi es na delicada pieza tiene bastante buen nivel. La cosa se activa con Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less). Train for Tomorrow es la más larga del disco, con mayor desarrollo instrumental (y psicodélico, podría estar en cualquier álbum de Love) Cierra la cara A la folkie Sold to the Highest Bidder. La B abre con otro sencillo potente como fue su segundo single Get Me to the World on Time, y continua con la versión del clásico About a Quarter to Nine. Sigue esa estela The King Is In The Counting House. Luvin es un gran tema, buen ritmo y buena ejecución. Sencillo pero le sienta bien al álbum. Try Me on for Size resuena a Ticket to ride pero con ese estilo garajero de los Prunes. Cierran con la más popera The Toonerville Trolley, y aroma a The Monkees. Media hora deliciosa. Otros excelentes debuts de ese mismo año fueron los de Jimi hendrix , The Doors, Experience, Scott Walker, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground, y también aunque menores los de Van Morrison, Janis Joplin, Bowie o First Edition. Otras obras enormes editadas ese mismo año 1967: Sgt. Peppers y Magical Mistery Tour, Forever Changes y Da Capo, Are you exeprienced y Axis: bold as love, The Velvet Underground, Surrealistic Pillow,The Piper at the Gates of Dawn, The Who Sell Out, Days of Future Passed, Disraelí Gears, Bee Gees´ First, Younger Than Yesterday, Evolution y Butterfly, I never loved a man the way i love you y Arrives, Something Else, Scott, Bee Gees´ First (en realidad el segundo), Wild Honey o Happy Together...

Garage rock 🤘 it tails off at the end for me, but I did appreciate them demonstrating their musical range

Ok.

Some fun songs with a 60s feel but also felt very novelty towards the end, 2.5 for me

Not so interesting

I think I've reached the point where I'm ready to say that there is too much psychedelic rock on this list. I've really enjoyed most of it up to this point, but this feels very similar to other things that I've heard. It's not particularly early, having been made in 1967. None if it is bad, it's a fun listen overall, but it really doesn't feel terribly significant 3/5

C’était festif, ludique, avec un esprit presque britannique

This is a wild one. Went in expecting generic 60's white boy blues type shit, which there was some of that but also a lot of other interesting influences, i heard some jazzy guitar maybe some middle eastern sounds plus many others. I also felt like there was quite a bit of punk rock before it was cool. Hats off to the prunes, who probably eat their fair share of prunes these days to help keep them regular in their old age.

Albumi #54, 20.09.2024 The Electronic Prunes on täysin uusi tuttavuus. Psykedeelisin vivahtein garage-rockia soittavan The Electronic Prunesin debyyttialbumi vuodelta 1967.

This is stereotypical late-60s psychedelic rock. Nothing more, nothing less. Every song basically sounds the same. I can see the influences they had with later bands of the 70s. I didn't hate it, but I was mostly underwhelmed.

It opens really strong with "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)," and if it had managed to stay on that course for its full half-hour runtime - sharp, quasi-spooky psychedelic rock - I think this could've been really good. But, no, it's a Frankenstein's monster stitched from 2 or 3 identities. And "The Toonerville Trolley" is the abnormal brain? For a brief moment when I first saw this, the funny name and cover image made me think this might be some kind of fake band or parody album.

Not great. Not terrible.

Starts good but ends very mediocre. Still a pretty boring album at that.

#344. Unsurprisingly the two songs listed on the album cover were the best ones. I quite like Get Me to the World on Time. The rest of it was alright, if a bit out there, but Toonerville Trolley I could have done without, if we're being honest 3/5: fine?

5.5/10

Neat

Fairly generic late 60's psychedelic rock. Similar to the Zombies, the Animals, the Turtles, etc. Not a bad listen.

This album cannot settle on if it wants to be zany psych journey or a coy whimsical balladry a la the Kinks.

It was really good, but I had Os Mutantes yesterday and they did it better, sadly. Unfortunate scheduling snafu there.

3.5 stars. A lot of it isn't memorable, but the early psychedelic rock dabbling in "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World On Time" are great.

Good start bad end

It sounds British but it’s not - a good psychedelic album with a dark bite - but st the same time doesn’t feel like it holds up as a peer to many of the records here.

This one starts off strong, but kinda peters out as it goes on. It is a rather short listen though, so it doesn't have time to get boring, but it does end up as less interesting than it could have been.

Extra star for the name, but pretty beige

Hodge-podge of songs with undercurrent of psychedelia: singalong psychedelia, sexy psychedelia, angry psychedelia. Favorite track: Try Me on for Size.

Not bad kid

Solid 3 pistettä mutta viimeisen biisin sekoilu laskee arvisanan nelosesta. Vähän kuin Beatles mutta ilkeämpi. 3/5

Not bad, not great

Interesting sound. Pretty bland psychedelic

A very decent album and well worth a listen. Really good '60s psychedelic rock. At the same time, you could quite happily live without having heard it and it is just another technicolour, swirly mosaic in the music of the time, albeit a pretty mosaic.

For a moment I thought this was going to be a bit of an undiscovered gem, a bedfellow of Forever Changes by Love (which is one of my favourite albums) But then it gets out of that bed and into one that is twee and more than a little frustrating. Some good tracks but plenty that you only need to hear once (if that)

-this album is pretty decent -it has some good songs, but some were there for filler -this sounds so 60s -didn't really age well -production is average -favorite songs: I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), Onie (<3), The King Is In The Counting House, Luvin' -least favorite song: The Toonerville Trolley

It’s fine, but pretty unremarkable. They would have been a good opening band for the Doors.

Short and sweet. Sold to the Highest Bidder stood out most to me.

This album is a little uneven, with some tracks feeling like fairly standard ‘60s recordings, but the sonic innovations and plethora of great ideas make this very enjoyable from front to back.

Preetty cool 3/5

Never heard of these guys. Not bad.

Not bad 3.3

Somehow this both sounds very much like late 60's, but also like it could have been from the 90's, and I don't know if that's a unique thing or if I've just never known that the 90's and 60's shared a lot of sound. I've never really been big on psychedelic-rock so this album which I believe is supposed to be important for the genre suffers subjectively in that. Anyway in regard to content of the album I was mostly just a bit bored a lot of the time. Standouts I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) The King Is in the Counting House Sold to the Highest Bidder 3/5

Kinda weird but not the worst.

nothing special but it was a fine listen. quick and easy

Very basic 60s music.

Day 25 - June 26, 2024 What the fuck? Very front heavy album. 3/5

I'm not feeling this, but I'm sure people felt electrified back in the 60s listening to this.

like a parody of 60s music, or something from austin powers. not actively terrible, just slightly dull and basically a pastiche of everything else going on at the same time, while still retaining clear influences of 50s big band stuff. Not for me.

This was an interesting album. It started off like a standard late 60s rock album, but turned into more of an upbeat carnival vibe by the end. I really enjoyed the first half, but was a bit confused by the second.

Brilliant in a few places

This was cool. Solid work

Alright

couple good tracks pretty unmemorable outside of that 6/10

60s album that doesn't sound as much like the Beatles as the other 60s albums, which was nice. Other than that it was fine.

Eh it was alright, didn’t really push the envelope 6/10

6/10 - It was alright to start but sold to the highest bidder caught me off guard. It kind of went hard tho. The king is in the counting house was so old sounding but also did not really have any melody. It was sort of talk-singing. There is a great amount of variety on this album. Although Luvin just sounds like a beatles album. All over the place and because of that there were a lot of up and downs.

mid

First half was better than the second half. Overall I enjoyed it

Never heard of this group but enjoyed the quick listen. I love the idea of a few kids who wrote a few good songs. I bet they talked about it for the rest of their lives.

Good 60s sounds

Kinda similar to earlier Pink Floyd, with a spark of vaudeville. Favourite track: Luvin'

Mildly interesting but I think there are much better albums of the era and genre.

Yeah. It’s decent and I can see why it’s here, but meh. Needs more oomph.

Never heard of 'The Electric Prunes', pleasantly surprised- Animals meet psychedelic rock vibes. Favourite: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night).

Kind of feels like a garage band version of Pink Floyd.

Seems pretty run of the mill psychedelic garage rock. Nothing really stood out for me.

Very experimental and way ahead of their time. Not my cup of tea, but it was a delight to unfold what's inside the album. Some of it is VERY 60s and recognizable, but some of it is indicative of future trends. A neat piece of history.

This record was weird as fuck, sometimes enjoyably and sometimes very much not. Balances out at a 3.

The music Spotify played after I finished this was so much better than this album

Interesting as a historical document, and fun to listen to.

Nothing stood out too much from this but it was a pretty fun psych rock record

A new listen for me. Middle of the road. I especially enjoyed some of the instrumentals but the vocals were a bit dated. A short album though and there are certainly worse albums on the list. 5.5/10 (2.75/5)

Not bad. A little bit of 60s kitsch, some psychedelia, and a little punky.

Recognized the first song

I Had Two Much to Dream Last Night is great but the songs overall are hit or miss. Cool 60's vibe, I enjoyed this overall.

I really liked this album, never heard of them

Goofy ass lyrics. This is exactly how I thought they would sound with a name like "Electric Prunes"

A snappy psych album. Don’t think they did it better than their contemporaries, but still a fun listen

Not bad, very psychedelic

Sjov! har aldrig hørt om dem, men har hørt riiigtig mange bands med den samme lyd. Ikke dårlig, heller ikke vildt memorable. Nogle af sangene lyder som jokes?

12 songs, 30 minutes. Its a beautiful thing. 3

ну я ничего не запомнила (да и послушала всего раза два)

60's era vibes for sure. A bit of a groovy synth feel. Perfectly fine.

Honestly, this seems like a weird inclusion, seeing as the band themselves weren’t allowed much input on the album. Sure it had success but the band felt a lot of this was filler, and I'd have to agree. It's not terrible, I still enjoyed most of it, but it's still an album mostly dictated by a label rather than the actual musicians.

Not bad

Never heard of them, not bad but doubt I will revisit

If you told me there was a band called The Electric Prunes I would expect them to play the first track but not the rest of them.

I wasn’t expecting that goofy goober ass song at the end of the album. Felt like I was instantly transported to a silly old cartoon. That shit really threw me off and if I was high listening to this, I don’t know how I’d react. But other than that this is a solid project, I had too much to dream last night is a fire way to start off an album too!

Hørte den men husker ikke så mye av den

I was onboard until the last song, why did they include "The Toonerville Trolley"?! Seriously, just listen to every song before that one and you'll be fine

Nice and short. Kind of funny. And relatable in some kind of distant way? Nice looking back in time like this.

You set your expectations low when you see the self titled electric prunes come up on your list. And when they can muster only 29 minutes of music which is inclusive of the farcical Toonerville Trolley you are left wondering on what planet this album should be considered as pre-morbid essential listening. Despite these hard truths, I didn’t hate it.

This was a pretty cool album. One of the first psychedelic rock bands, leading the charge for other bands like T-Set, Syd Barret and The Pink Floyd. Pretty awesome!

This is one of those album that feels like it should be better than it is. There is so much potential in this album, if it hadn't been prepared so hastily it might hold up a bit better. It's a good album, just not necessarily a great one.

Some good, some ok, some boring. Overall middle of the road album.

Decent album, some good songs but it feels dated. Very much a product of its time, and not exactly the most original one at that.

Two monster singles, a short and sharp sixties album from that golden period when beat was blending into psychedelic. 3.5 really but rounding down.

Nice reminder of the Psychedelic 60’s

Clear from the album cover I knew to expect something like the Monkees - turtleneck sweater, bowl haircut, earnest and endearing grand-dad rock. Yes, you get some psychedelic guitar pedals, a prominent tamborine, a tippy tap drum kit, an electric organ, and angsty anthems. Interesting, to me at least, is during "About a Quarter to Nine" I immediately identified the aloof anachronism from Love and Rockets "Seventh Dream..." with the same kind of knowing nod. Though the Prunes may have been prominent in the psych-rock era, they felt comfortable and confident in their own skin to pull off a style askew.

A fun little step back in time with a band I'd not heard of. I'm enjoying the rough edges and some unexpected harmonic and rhythmic shifts. The echo/delay makes me feel like the album is reaching my ears through a cosmic wormhole from the past. Enjoyable, will listen to their other albums sometime.

What a pleasant surprise. Keen to listen to these fine chaps some more. The bands name is bizarre, the music delighted me. Lyrics & sound is somewhat curious. Keen for more. I think 3 stars because I don't know much about them or their other work, but I'm going to explore more.

It's not that bad, it's just a bit disjointed.

This is a bit of an odd one that never really settles on a single mood or style. So it's a hodgepodge of psychedelic, baroque pop and garage rock, sometimes creative, sometimes silly, sometimes fairly forgettable, sometimes straight up annoying. Fave Songs: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), Get Me to the World on Time, Train for Tomorrow

Garage rock. Ni fu ni fa.

Decent 60s psych/garage record. Some songs hit pretty hard with the fuzz tones (Too Much To Dream) while others have a cleaner, dreamlike feel (Train For Tomorrow). Enjoyable record, but nothing mind shattering here - though perhaps it was seen that way more at the time. Some nice use of effects (fuzz, trem, reverb/echo) to create a psychedelic feeling without relying on the effects to make the song. Couple of weird choices that are duds and break up the feel of the album (Toonerville Trolley).

The start was good but then things dropped significantly.

very interesting. I hadn't heard them before.

I mean it's just meh

Just some dudes playing tunes.

The drummer certainly has a POV.

Sounds a little like the Beatles. Pretty solid. Don't have too many details to discuss on this one. Could probably reach a 4 on a re-listen, but I doubt I'll ever do that. Good band name.

Ooo some nice psychedelic opening sounds. Me likey. Was really hoping for more after that. Had some pretty nice moments. Whatever instrument was used in Sold to the Highest Bidder was pretty cool. The Toonerville Trolley is making me want to smash my computer to pieces though. Low 3

Reminded me of the The Animals, not bad

Some cool 60s vibes, feel like I've been on this electric roundabout before

Some decent songs but a little dated and forgettable, terrible closing number

Cool sound, wasn't particularly interesting to me. Still enjoyed it. I kept wanting to listen to Nick Drake instead.

Not bad, interesting sound, but not nearly as inspired as other records from this period.

some interesting stuff but very dated

A medieval canticle? Demonic children’s music? What were they on when they put this together? Can’t say I didn’t enjoy it though.

Similar to early Pink Floyd psychedelic, there's a blend of simple blues/jazz and early rock with an extensive use of flange and distortion. Some of the early tracks on the album don't know how to transition or morph or even end, but the more traditional song structures hold fairly strong. It has a wonderful chaotic garage energy mixed with its psychedelia. The album struggles from trying too hard at points and when settled is a pretty familiar and enjoyable listen.

3.5. i like some (bangles is the favorite) but some is just too 60s silly

Not super memorable, like when the Beatles came back post drugs and with a zither. somewhat exciting 60s tambourine, exotic strings and wind instrument fueled album.

Their big hit, I had too much to dream last night,.still holds up but it really sounds "juvenile" in terms of lyrics and music. Derivative of many 60s band. A nice album but not a classic iny mind.

good sixties

Not interested

Psychadelic rock is really hit or miss for me! The opening track is clearly the hit single and again pulls most of the weight, has a catchy hook. The orchestration and synths are fun. The rest of this album was pleasant if a bit sleepy and forgettable. The King in the Counting House was tough to listen to and take them very seriously...

Ok, but soft an unnecessary on this list. I feel like we’ve heard enough mediocre, vaguely British psychedelic rock.

Know the name; never heard the music. Pretty good mid/late 60's psychadelic rock. Not earthshattering as nothing about it really stands out to me. Probably won't listen again but I didn't dislike it.

Fine garage rock, but this was nothing special in my opinion. I understand why I’ve never heard of the even though I didn’t mind the music. “Onie” sounds like it was heavily influenced by The Beach Boys. The album is in need of a serious remaster however. Also the final song was insufferable.

This album is pretty experimental for the time and it started off quite strong with I Had Too Much to Dream, but after Onie I thought the album took a massive drop in quality in song writing and production. I know production in the 60s often put drums in the background, but I think so many of the songs would have sounded better with some better produced drums and what were they thinking with The Toonerville Trolley. That song was just stupid and a terrible way to end the album.

I honestly thought that a band called The Electric Prunes would be weird and wacky. There was a bit of that, but then there were a few actual decent songs. I listened with bemusement and was entertained.

It's very much what you expect it to be.

Nice little psych album :)

De va chill! Speciellt delarna med crazy gitarr, önskar de varit mer consistent

Interesting album, a bit eclectic but that's not a bad thing. Got into it more as it progressed and ended up listening to this album & other EP tracks for a good couple of hours.

Trippy and elegant. A full tour on psychedelic rock in 1967.

Wasn’t feeling it felt like b sides to a movie soundtrack.

It was not the 60s music I listened to back then.

01) I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) - 8,0 02) Bangles - 7,0 03) Onie - 7,5 04) Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less) - 7,5 05) Train for Tomorrow - 7,0 06) Sold to the Highest Bidder - 7,0 07) Get Me to the World on Time - 7,5 08) About a Quarter to Nine - 6,5 09) The King Is in the Counting House - 6,0 10) Luvin - 7,5 11) Try Me on for Size - 6,0 12) The Toonerville Trolley - 5,0 TOTAL: 6,88 (69/100) Oh Lord, I'm stuck between 1967 and 1973 for whole week. If it wasn't for Tom Waits, this would be the weakest one. Started good but ended... thank God it ended...

Interesting listen. 60's electric vibe, but some different sounds. King is in his Counting House comes to mind. Get me to the World on Time has great beat

A few tracks on here I liked. I had too much to Dream last night of course and try me on for size were both pretty tight. Other wise a somewhat unremarkable album to me. I feel like it definitely and album of the time and perhaps in the context of the time was more out there, but now not so much

It’s too bad, I think I’d really like this album but the sound quality is so bad. Needs to be remastered

Consider myself to be reasonably musically literate but had never even heard mention of this group before. Got a nice 60s groove thing going on there.

Are you loving me more

Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed the first track, and the following two were alright as well. The rest of the album, however, contains too much filler and generally only material typical of the decade without anything else going for it. 3/5

Genre de rock psychédélique. C'est bin dans le genre. 3.25

Thoughts before listening: Psychedelic rock from the 60s. I'm pretty sure I've heard "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night", and it's definitely an all time great psychedelic song title. That being said I don't really know what these guys sound like. I'm not necessarily expecting this to be jammy with guitar solos like the big San Francisco bands of the era, but rather more trippy hippie pop rock music...perhaps similar to the Nuggets style garage bands. Review: This is definitely psychedelic garage rock. Their sound is pretty close to what the Stones, Who, Pink Floyd, etc were doing in their early years before they grew up and became arena rock stars. Lots of reverb and echo on the guitars with some other psychedelic elements sprinkled in. There is also a proto-punk quality to this and I can definitely hear their influence on many of the bands that came along in the 70s and 80s. When it comes to the quality of the album, I'm reminded of a band like MGMT who came up with some absolutely classic songs of their era, but never quite released a cohesive album. Songs like "I Had Too Much to Dream", "Sold to the Highest Bidder", and "Get Me To the World On Time" are perfect examples of 60s psych rock that I'm glad to add to the playlist. However, they're surrounded by a lot of filler that keeps this from being a classic album. I'm giving this album a 3 while the hits are 4s.

Aber so etwas von 60ziger Jahre. Nett, wenn man mal etwas aus der Zeit benötigt.

Nothing really special. There where a couple of nice tunes but mostly it was average.

Highlights: Are You Lovin' Me More Train for Tomorrow* Sold to the Highest Bidder Luvin' The Toonerville Trolley This album is very much a product of its time. I enjoyed the various sounds that the songs have. Many are unique sounding and utilize different styles. Not sure how much I will come back to this album but I would not complain if someone put it on. The short song lengths also made the album easy to listen to without worry of being distracted.

6,3 I Had to Much to Dream - 8/10 Bangles - 7/10 Onie - 7/10 Are You Lovin Me More - 7/10 Train for Tomorrow - 6/10 Sold to the Highest Bidder - 5/10 Get Me to the World on Time - 8/10 About a Quarter to Nine - 7/10 The King is in the Counting House - 5/10 Luvin - 6/10 Try Me on for Size - 7/10 The Toonerville Trolley - 3/10

interesting but not for me

This was alright, definitely a bit different. I would not mind listening to this again, it might change my opinions.

Intriguing. Sounds like The Rolling Stones sometimes. Seems like a lot of riff from the 80s and 90s comes from this one. 3 stars

Honestly not bad

These guys fucking love their spinning amp box chorus pedal thing. Enjoyed most parts

Described as 1960s garage rock, I wasn't optimistic that I'd like this. However, it's much more varied and the production levels are much higher than one would imagine for the genre. Pretty good. Rating: 3.5/5 Playlist track: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) Date listened: 25/11/23

Nothing wrong with it.

Weird

Mostly meh, as far as '60s psychrock go. It has a few gems though. I also liked the echoey mixing and the interesting instrumentals, however there are other better pyschrock albums with those elements.

Super fun, if a bit amateurish

bland, not good not bad i could listen to it and not want to kill myself I like your cute little graph lole

Decent psychedelia. I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) is a standout track. Overall good not great.

Ok, I love the name Electric Prunes and I mostly enjoyed the album for its cool psychedelic rock vibe. But I was really baffled by “Toonerville Trolley.” I honestly thought Spotify had started into a new playlist and was shocked to learn it was the last song on the album. It didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the album and kind of ended things on a dorky vibe. But the rest, I enjoyed.

Some really great stuff on this mixed with some bad…averages out. Very creative and love the title “I had to much to dream last night” & “get me to the world on time”. So happy to find out a band called the Electric Prunes exists in the world.

nope

some good old fashioned psychedelia. quality stuff…

This is a melting pot of every band in the late 60s early 70s.

I get why it’s here. I guess.

Starts strong, but then can't decide if it's psychedelia or camp.

Another band Iv never heard of before today. I enjoyed this album for its catchy melodies, fuzzy guitars, organ solos, and vocal effects. It has a lot of charm and personality, and it captures the spirit of the 60s. However, I also found some of the songs to be too formulaic or silly. I think there are other psychedelic rock albums that are more innovative and memorable than this one. I would give this album a 3/5 rating. It is a worthwhile listen for fans of psychedelic rock, but it is not a masterpiece or a must-have. It is a fun and lively album, but it also has some flaws and limitations.

I had never heard of this band, and the first few tracks weren't really connecting with me, but as this record progressed, it endeared itself to me a bit more, it got a little more far out and distinct. This late 60s psych sound is so ubiquitous, and bands from that era can feel like a dime a dozen, but I get why this record stands out a bit. It feels like a time capsule capturing a very specific moment in time. Cool record.

Very standard 60s small market garage. I’ve heard most of these songs through various comps over the years, never even considered that they put out records. It’s not bad, but it’s not particularly inventive either. Good vibes, terrible band name.

Some really cool tracks, but this album is dated in a lot of ways

This is somewhere between the Beatles and Beach Boys, though I'm not too sure where.

Sounds like the Doors, Beach Boys, and the Beatles had a baby.

Since it was released only a few months after The Doors’ debut album, I’m not sure if it’s fair to mention any influences. It’s a nice record but definitely not as memorable as its contemporaneous.

It was alright! Nothing too interesting tbh, most of the songs sounded the same.

3/5. A solid collection of rock songs tinged with psychedelia and weird instrumentation. It flows nicely and each one has an aggression that works well with the moving riffs or a cool and slow ambience that feels like an interlude. Plus the lyrics are fun and imaginative.

The guitar pedals make this album very atmospheric. You still have plenty of unique music! Feels like a Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd album, maybe even a touch of early Rolling Stones. Though, when you get to the B-side, the songs get more creative with their genres.

Cheery and nice. 3.5

It was okay. Not necessarily something I would listen to everyday. Nice discovery!!!

Was actually really digging this album but the sodge lyrics brought it down a peg or two. Really cool blend of different styles and influences, particularly other regions, in some proto-punk rock. Three and a half. Fave track: Get Me to the World on Time

There were a few songs I liked a bit , others I didn’t care for

Feels like classic 60s psychedelia. worth a deeper dive

At this point I'm more impressed to learn that a psychedelic rock album from the late 60s DIDN'T make this list. It's not bad and "Onie" was beautiful, but come on now.

This was unexpectedly enjoyable. It definitely felt like the 70s, but also didn't feel repetitive.

7th September 2023 Listened while painting and scraping the front door in the blazing heat. Cheltenham then mum and dad’s. I liked this, reeks of 60s R&R with the dark, psychedelic edge.

30 minutos que geram uma surpresa bem agradável com a psicodelia sem maiores pretensões.

I was hopeful with the first three songs, but then I kinda lost interest. Still some good parts, but a lot of it is not stuff I will come back to. There's some cool elements in this album though. My favourite songs were Onie and Bangles.

It's one of those albums that plays in the background and you quickly forget about its existence. Except for one song - "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night"

It is very inconsistent album. I was changing my mind almost every second song. Some of them are great but I appreciate consistency too much to give it more than 3,4

Not the psych treasure some people claim it is, but a pleasant enough garage rock album that has enough energy to keep things interesting despite the sometimes average songwriting.

The Electric Prunes' first album is a nice psyched record that I enjoy a lot, but very far from the best of its genre, especially in 1967. The opener song is a killer, that's for sure.

Nice atmosphere and some catchiness, not much else

Ok album, sounds like most of the late 60s music.

I had never heard of the Electric Prunes. Not bad. The Toonerville Trolley was fun.

Super strong MGMT vibes from the very first track, despite being separated by 3 generations. I'm also getting some Jefferson Airplane similarities throughout the record. Pretty good old-school psych rock. I appreciate the experimentation and use of various sounds and unorthodox instruments. Surprised that I haven't stumbled upon this group before. Fave tracks: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), Get Me to the World on Time, Luvin'

Very interesting album. A couple pretty experimental psychedelic tracks on here, and then a lot that are more run of the mill 60s rock. I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) is a definite standout, the opening sounds like it could be well placed on an MGMT album. Fav Tracks: I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night), Are You Lovin' Me More (But Enjoying It Less), Get Me to the World on Time

Starts off promising, but fizzles a bit. An interesting band and story. Great name!

inconsistent album with some really great songs

30 minutes, ça se mange sans faim

Good album. Not every song is a winner but for the time its pretty solid.

Pretty decent

An extra star purely for weirdness

Someone gave the guys from The Association a six pack of beer and let them stay up past 7:00 PM

Somewhere between Beach Boys and the Doors, with a sprinkling of The Beatles. But, of course, not nearly as good as any of those groups. Come for the goofy band name, stay for the tight pants.

Pretty decent 60s rock. Not really sure what stands out about it other than it’s a little sloppier and less polished - which is cool I guess.

I like it, but it's dated 60's. Dreamy guitars and synth.

I've heard "I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night." Did not know it came from this band, originally. I will also give the band props because they ranged their musical styles from a lot of different pieces on the album. I was also surprised as to how short the album was, only 30 minutes. That last track on the album, "The Toonerville Trolley", though. Yikes. That was dreadful. Wikipedia says that much of the album's content was out of the band's control, as producer Dave Hassinger brought in the songwriting team of Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz. It probably explains why the album seemed a little bit all over the place. They wanted to see what fans would gravitate toward. Still, I dug the songs, but they did sound pretty dated.

Psychedelic rock is another genre that I think is overrepresented on the 1,001 list. It's all the same after awhile and I don't see what all the fuss is about. And I am a rock fan. So yeah, these guys do really well to capture that fuzzy guitar sound with some eerie keyboard or synth going on in the background. It sounds like an acid trip. Were these guys pioneers of the sound? I don't think so. They epitomized the sound at the height of the psychedelic craze? Probably. Do I care? I'm not sure how much I do. It's not that this is a bad album, I'm just not sure how much I'd need to squeeze it in on my death bed. Let's go out positively - songs that I really, really enjoyed (above 3 star) were I Had Too Much To Dream, Are You Lovin Me More, and Sold to the Highest Bidder.

another late 60s Beatles knockoff 3.5

Not bad old school garage punk album. Recoding leaves something to be desired (as you’d expect) but an enjoyable listen overall.

The Prunes' brevity tends to the cute over a set that ends in the uneasily cozy. The songs are from a polyworld with less of the single happy face typical of psychedelia. The music, however, is very much in that world, a light shake away from the mainline.

This is pretty cool, but to be honest I already have a lot of sixties psychedelic rock in my own list, and so I'm not sure The Electric Prunes can make it now. I've seen their name before, and it was nice exploring this quite adventurous album, even if the gap between its highlights and its far less interesting cuts was quite wide in this case. Among the highlights, there is obviously the opener "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)". Three observations about this one: First, that tune is also the opening track of the legendary *Nuggets* compilation, about that overall "seedy" US psychedelic scene (wink, wink). And I have a sneaking suspicion the person who selected this debut for Dimery's list partly did it because they couldn't select that "Nuggets" record, as it is a compilation and not a studio album made by a single act. Secondly, funny how the melody in the first seconds of that track, before all hell breaks loose, reminded me of the one of Lee Hazlewood and Nancy Sinatra's "Summer Wine", which was released at the exact same time. Something was in the air, I guess. Unless one of the two writing teams got "inspired" by the other here... Thirdly, I can't help feeling that the working title of this song was "I Had Too Much To *Drink* Last Night", and that impression is so strong that it is even the word I'm hearing sometimes. Seems like the couple of writers who wrote most of the songs for this band had quite strange ideas. See "Try Me On For Size", which has a nice melody, but also potentially eye-roll-inducing lyrics. The line between cute and awkward (or even unwittingly gross) is easily blurred here, I think. These two women could write great stuff (yep, they were women), such as "Get Me To The World On Time"... But it seems a little strange that the Electric Prunes guys were being deemed as inferior songwriters by their record label, to the point that they were hampered in their own songwriting efforts, and that the main task was given to outsiders. Some of the tunes the guys from the band penned for this one are far from being ridiculous, especially "Luvin'". To talk about the album overall now, it's all over the place, and if that sort of thing can work in the favor of certain records, this is not exactly the case here. See the novelty ditties at the start of side B, and, more especially, the obnoxious album closer "The Toonerville Trolley". The other problem is that when it comes to sixties deep cuts (either psychedelic or not), I have the feeling there's better elsewhere. There are for instance the two following albums, already in Dimery's list: The 13th Floor Elevators - The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966) Country Joe And the Fish - Electric Music For The Mind And Body (1967) But those are not really *deep cuts*, I'll grant you that. Yet there's also relatively more arcane stuff that's probably as good or even better than the Electric Prunes: The Seeds - The Seeds (1966) / A Web of Sounds (1966) / Future (1967) -- that latter record being the more obscure of the three, and yet quite an interesting one. The Music Machine - (Turn On) The Music Machine (1966) -- That pre-punk, heavy "Talk Talk" single that was taken out of it is extraordinary. Pink Fairies - Never Never Land (1971) -- Another heavy prepunk LP with obvious psychedelic overtones, this time hailing from Britain. Count Five - Psychotic Reaction (1966) -- this one sounds less "psychedelic" to me, maybe, yet there's something a little sly and unpredictable in it that makes it an interesting listen nonetheless. And of course, if you want to find more psychedelic stuff, you can explore many other avenues, from weird disturbing acts such as Red Krayola to famous rock stars giving a more streamlined version of it, such as The Byrds... Under that light, I'd rather err on the side of caution before including that Electric Prunes debut in my own list. 3/5 following that list's specific purposes of singling out "essential" albums (and 8/10 for more general purposes: 5 + 3). Next please... Number of albums left to review: 557 Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 216 Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: 104 (including this one) Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more essential to me): 127

I'll go 3.5, so standard 60s psychedelic jams

i appreciate the fact that they dabbled in so many genres but this doesn’t absolve from the fact that some of it just turned out sounding kinda goofy lmao

I liked, "I Had Too Much To Dream". A few others were pleasant enough.

Quite enjoyed this as background music but probably not enough to go back to it and ultimately pretty forgettable. Quite psychedelic sounding. Some was much better than others.

I love the sound of this album, lyrically and instrumentally. Interesting phrasing, cool guitar effects, and neat switch ups on the meter make this album really fun to listen to. The lead singles are great, I also really liked Bangles.

A wonderful psychedelic rock album. A true hidden treasure of the genre. Wasn’t too much substance here, but most of the tracks were enjoyable. Some tracks were annoying, but for the most part, fun. 3/5

Skipped (below a 3)

Pretty interesting blend of psych-rock & pop. It's short and sweet, which definitely did this album a favor. I can enjoy stuff like this in small doses.

I normally don't give anything from 1967 more than a 2 on principle, but this was pretty cool. It's still late 60s garbage, but I also dig its vibe. The two main singles are really good. Update: I was set to give this a 4 but towards the end there was too much whimsical bullshit, and they didn't write their own songs. 3/5.

It was ok, didnt move mountains but I enjoyed listening to it.

More psychedelic 60s

Paar richtig gute Songs aufm Album. Weitaus spannender als das Beatles Album davor.

About what I expected from a mid-to-late-'60s psychedelic rock album.

This is a fine psychedelic rock album, but it is plagued by filler tracks that are really useless and boring. The whole album doesn't make justice to the AMAZING opening track "I Had too Much to Dream Last Night". The first 5 tracks are pretty good, but the second half of the album is a huge let down. 6,7/10

A psychedelic band. A genre that is not discussed, but portions absorbed and have influenced other genres. Rate as a 3

i certainly didn't expect this type of music out of a band called "the electric prunes." i found a lot of similarities between the monkees--unfortunately in how the prunes didn't get much of an opportunity to play their own music and create their own lyrics. this album has the same feel as the early monkees albums, too. it's rather simplistic and straightforward. too many songs were lyrically not bad, but the opening lyric was the title of the song. overall pop-y and easy to listen to, but not super engaging.

Some of it interesting some of it filler

Mogoče bi mi bilo bolj všeč, če bi bila kvaliteta bolj prilagojena formatu, ki ga poslušamo danes. Sicer pa ok.

Not bad. I like it when it gets silly. That last song about the train or whatever boosts it from a 2 to a 3. I'll probably never listen to this album again.

It's a sound :) Love this whole 60's sound, and this is a band I'd never give across before. I'll probably stick to the Yardbirds mind you, but nice to make their acquaintance! Love a bit of wah wah though...

really weird but not altogether bad. 5/10

6/10. Pretty good, but I'm glad these 60's albums are always short.

Dunno what I just listened to but it wasn’t terrible. 5/10

Fun listen. I can imagine my dad tripping on LSD listening to this...

The opening track is amazing, career defining, responsible for launching a million garage bands. The rest of the album? Not so much

Never heard of this band or album before. Normally, I'm a fan of psychedelic music, but this wasn't really my jam. It was really weird, even for a psychedelic album. I didn't care for the vocals or lyrics, and the instrumentation wasn't exactly mind-blowing to me.

This is a totally fine ‘60s rock record. There’s nothing overtly memorable about any of the tracks here. Nothing standout so I think it helps the overall record. I did find myself jammin a few times

Generally a bop. I feel like alternative rock takes inspiration from this to this day, so it definitely seems influential. Personally, I'm not too much into alternative, but I certainly don't mind listening to this.

Garage rock. Ni fu ni fa.

This garage / psych rock band had some pretty good tunes. Unfortunately it was encumbered by some filler and novelty songs. 3 stars

Alright. Never heard of this band before. The first song was probably the best.

kinda silly

Passed by in the background - pretty standard 60's stuff.

I was a big fan of I Had Too Much to Dream a long time ago, but hadn't heard much else from the Prunes. The album is up and down, but all pretty dated (looking at you, last song). There are a few driving songs, but not enough consistency to push this higher.

Very quirky and more unique than the MANY late 60's albums on this list! "I Had To Much To Dream" is a great track I want to come back to.

I have this album on vinyl. I adore garage rock, and when I saw this in my local record shop, I bought it almost instinctively. I had known the band before, principally as the opening act on the epochal compilation Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965-1968 (an assemblage of mid-60s garage rock, proto-punk and spiky psychedelia that I assert is the greatest compilation of them all). The song they open Nuggets with, I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), is a fantastic rush of speedy trippiness and buzz guitar that had already been one of my most beloved songs for over 15 years when I bought the album I'm currently reviewing. I was even bedazzled when I unsheathed the record and saw that the vinyl was purple. And it broke my heart. I put on the album with all the goodwill musterable in the world. I wanted to love this album as much as I love masturbation, and the opening track, the aforementionedly godlike I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), promised so much. Unfortunately, it promised too much. No song on the album approaches that lightning-flash of an opener, and the rest just muddles around, showing little of the inspired eccentricity or sheer drive that characterises the best of garage rock. Some tracks, namely the faster ones about chicks, prove entertaining, but the pseudo-Britfolk with added nursery rhymes of The King is in the Counting House makes one wish they'd been drafted for Vietnam before they recorded such tosh (see also: The Toonerville Trolley). A album plagued by a detracting unevenness, I'll give it three stars, essentially for the magnificence of the opener. One great song can salvage a pretty dreary album. The thing is, the Electric Prunes weren't a bad band. Not quite a great band, but definitely capable of decent work. Their second album, Underground, is a better, more consistent plate, albeit one lacking a song as explosive as I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night). If one is looking for the figure responsible for the Electric Prunes' lack of sustained form, it's justifiable to indict David Hassinger, the band's producer. To the band's chagrin, Hassinger brought in a pair of outside songwriters, Nancy Muntz and Annette Tucker, to write most of the songs for the first album. Even though the pair wrote the best song on the album, much of the material they gave the band proved a distinctly ill-measured fit. With the second album, Hassinger had become too busy to control the sessions like before, so the Electric Prunes got a chance to write songs they were comfortable playing, and the improvement is palpable. Maybe you should just let bands be bands. However, Underground was not the smash Reprise Records wanted, So the third album, Mass in F Minor, not only returned to the Hassinger approach, it took it to the then-barely charted realms of monstrous rock folly. Mass in F Minor is a concept album based on providing a rock setting of the Catholic Mass, complete with Latin and Greek lyrics, written and arranged by David Axelrod. Now, you and I know that this had to have been an extremely bad idea. We are both right. The band were not proficient enough to play Axelrod's arrangements, so much of Mass in F Minor came from session musicians. Recognising their mistake of somehow re-enacting the Monkees in reverse, the original lineup quit. Hassinger owned the name to the Electric Prunes though, and continued doling out material under that banner. The fourth Electric Prunes album, Release of an Oath, was another Axelrod concept album with Christian and Jewish liturgies set to rock music, with one lonely original Electric Prune on the record (is the idea of setting liturgies to rock music better or worse than setting the Mass so? I can't decide). Hassinger produced one more, especially tawdry Electric Prunes release that just threw a few random longhairs into a studio solely so they could shovel out yet more slop. There endeth the saga of the Electric Prunes. To be honest, it's not the most diverting story from the wonderful world of rock. One wishes their tale were happier, but saying that, one wishes boybands weren't so conned. That doesn't mean you actually want to listen to New Kids on the Block.

Somehow sounds ahead of it’s time and of it’s time. Found this to be just ok.

Weird triply psychedelic rock. Ok, but not my jam

Mellow, very 60s sound which was quite nostalgic for me. Not something I’d listen to every day but good to pop up from time to time. 3*

Nothing special. Some psychy rythmic guitar, feels very of its age. A track from a later album (Holy are You) happens to be one of my favourites and seems like it could be from any period but not this. Very sixties, generally uninspiring. May have felt very different at the time.