An email announcement read: "We here at Jackpot Records are excited to announce the third and final part of our West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band series...". And I have to agree this is the place to stop.
I just picked up the Part One and Vol 2. Jackpot is apparently a Portland, OR record store with its own label. These are really well done, I hadn't heard Vol 2 before but the mono mix of Vol 1 is great and makes the stereo sound anemic. That said, I stand by my praise in another thread of the Scorpion reissue. But definitely go Jackpot if you're interested in these curios.
Any reports on the quality of the Jackpot "Child's Guide" mono? Just curious because I have the original stereo, and was wondering if the mix was any different, or just a fold-down?
It's a fold-down. A picture of the stereo master reel says "use stereo tape for mono" on it. Sounds really interesting, tho'.
Thanks for the heads up! I have an OG stereo and was wondering if I should take the plunge or not. I asked b/c, both Vol. 1 and Vol. 2 seem to have dedicated mixes.
Excellent! Sounds exactly like the Del Shannon "Charles Westover" mono LP I have. Probably a fold-down but amazing in it's own right.
Great band. My favorite is "Part One," but "Smells Of Incense" is one of my faves of theirs, I blared that not long ago when I got some new speakers.
Love em. Listening today once again. And yes...they cover "Help I'm A Rock"...can't think of another band that would attempt that!!
It's funny, I have three albums by these guys but I rarely break them out. I keep feeling like I should give them more of a chance, but I can always think of other stuff from the era that I'd rather listen to. I guess that I liked the second album the best, but it's hard to shake the feeling that they were just jumping on the latest trend train without having much original to add to the burgeoning psychedelic movement. This strikes me as unconvincing ersatz pysch. Am I missing out here?
I have an original copy of that on LP and I like it but a warning to ya. It is the original group playing and the music is great. However, Markley's creepazoid young girl hankerings are more pronounced on this album than before.
Markley was an opportunistic hack, in my opinion. But he had the money, so he called the shots. The other guys—the Harris brothers, Michael Lloyd and the often forgotten Ron Morgan—were genuinely talented musicians and writers. I don’t listen to them as much as I used to, mainly for the same reasons indicated by Rene in the post above mine. Markley’s shameless use of music as a means of promoting his pedophilic proclivities is just too hard to stomach. ‘Sweet Lady Eleven,’ ‘Elegant Ellen’ (“hardly eleven...”)...the ick factor is just too strong, I’m afraid.
I like WCPAEB very much. Obviously they are not at the level of the top California groups but on a second tier. Their music sounds sincere and innovative enough. They had several things going for them including Ron Morgan as guitarist - an underrated psychedelic character.
Their three Reprise label LPs are amongst the finest, most creative and captivating studio psychedelic albums of the 1960s. Completely essential, in my book.
No. These are top tier psychedelic albums. Their three Reprise label LPs are among the greatest psychedelic albums ever released.
These albums are available on Youtube if you want to try before buying! I listened a couple of weeks ago.
Absolutely. I play Part One probably more than any other single album from that era. It's not quite as psychedelic as the band name and cover might imply but it's such a brilliant pop record, with so much variety and depth to it, it never gets old.
