Favorite Electric Prunes Anything-- Thoughts?

Back in 2002 the family and me were down in Kent for the Canterbury Fayre festival, there was a great line-up that year, including the Electric Prunes playing their first UK date since 1967. When we checked into the Holiday Inn, just down the road from the festival site, we discovered that many of the bands were also staying there including the Prunes, who were staying the full weekend in order to catch their old mate Arthur Lee on the last day of the festival. I'd first heard I Had Too Much To Dream on Lenny Kaye's Nuggets compilation, which led me to tracking down everything I could find by them, but in a way the albums asked more questions than they answered. Why did they totally change direction after the second album and why did the line-up change completely after the third? Seeing Mark Tulin hanging around in reception I thought it was too good an opportunity to miss, so I introduced myself and over the next half hour he took me through a detailed history of the band and filled in all the blanks. Slowly all the rest of the band arrived and we got to know them really well, meeting each morning at breakfast and numerous time through the day at the festival. They were genuinely knocked out that people in the UK not only knew who they were but were big fans of the band, despite it being 35 years since they'd last been over.

Mark explained that on the first album Dave Hassinger and the record company forced them into recording a lot of songs that they really hated, but Hassinger was a big shot at the time having worked with some big names like the Stones, and they were pretty green so they had to go along with it. When it came to recording Underground they put their collective foot down and insisted on having more say in the choice of material but sadly the album flopped and they were again back to having Hassinger in charge. Reluctantly they went along with the Mass In F Minor project but they weren't really behind it and it was ceasing to be enjoyable, so one by one they all quit. Mark's feeling was that being in the band wasn't life or death for them - he contrasted it with a few of their UK contemporaries who used music as an escape route from fairly impoverished backgrounds - and when it stopped being fun then they stopped doing it, it wasn't that big a deal for them. But of course Hassinger owned the name and brought in other musicians to finish the album - only Mark, James Lowe and Quint are on all the tracks - and then put together a new Electric Prunes with no original members. That was that until 2001 when they got back together again, I was way too young to have seen them first time around but managed to catch them three times over the next couple of years. Mark died following a heart attack in February 2011, and that was it, more or less, although they did make an attempt to carry on without him for while. They haven't been active for a few years so I guess that might be the end of the road for them.

 

So far the Stockholm 1967 live show is the greatest thing I've heard from this band.

 

I like their 1st two albums, especially Underground. Every song on Underground is solid. I also have a soft spot for Just Good Old Rock and Roll.

Scott

 

I never knew about him being in that movie either until I joined this forum. Sure enough, I watched some of the movie a few years ago and was able to pick him out. Good movie BTW. He also plays bass guitar on the first album by Ananda Shankar.

 

"Anything... "

Rhino's 2007 collection w/Bill Inglot & Dan Hersch :
The Electric Prunes - Too Much To Dream Original Group Recordings: Reprise 1966-1967
just sayin'

 

The Edsel (Long Days Flight) is the best one CD compilation out there for this band for the material from their first two albums. Great track selection and it sounds great too.

 

Yes, there is a 2001, 2LP pressing from the UK on Heartbeat Records. This compilation is OOP on both CD and vinyl:

The Electric Prunes - Lost Dreams

 

Stereo, I believe. The first two tracks may be mono. I can't remember off hand.

 

Also, "Get Me To The World On Time" is mono on the Edsel CD comp. as well as all the other Electric Prunes CDs and comps. IIRC, the only Electric Prunes CD comp. that has this song in stereo is the 2007 2CD set 'Too Much To Dream: The Original Group Recordings Reprise 1966-1967" released by Rhino UK. Another track that has only been released on CD in stereo is "The King Is In The Counting House" which can be heard in mono on the 1995 Israel boot CD, "The Singles" on Gone Beat Records. Otherwise the only other way to get this mono version of that song is on the Sundazed Singles (1966-1969) 2LP set.

 

Lost Dreams CD is superb quality. Several of the tracks such as Hideaway are from session tape reduction mixes with studio chatter and sound incredible. The first lp is extremely weak, only 4 good songs which were all picked up on the Long Day's Flight comp. Almost all of their 2nd lp Underground is superb with only two duds: 'I' and 'Dr Do Good' but that lp is still worth getting. The mono mix of that lp is quite good as well but has never been reissued

So my Prunes core collection would include:
* Stockholm '67
* Long Days Flight
* Lost Dreams (repeats a lot of songs from LDF but has a bunch of unreleased and rare material and first time stereo mixes of 'Everybody Knows' and 'You Never Had It Better', so it's essential)
* Underground (stereo and mono)
* Mass In F Minor

I'll also optionally add 'Release Of An Oath' even though no original Prunes are on it and it's a Mass In F Minor copycat but is still quite good, especially Side 1. I realize I've pretty much recommended all of their output except their 1st and last lp's

 

Don't forget the Enfields. Great 7-track band but every song is great!

 

Lost Dreams is an excellent compilation. The sound is less bass shy and richer in sound most likely due to the remixing. Four of the tracks are the original full length restored versions before being edited down for the common LP/CD released versions. "Long Day's Flight" adds an additional 2 minutes of music with extra killer feedback and droning. "Dr. Do-Good" goes on for an extra 20 seconds. "The Great Banana Hoax" goes on for about 25 more seconds. "Hideaway" is extended by about 50 seconds as well. These extended versions are exclusive to this comp. and are available nowhere else AFAIK. The notes and commentary by James Lowe are of interest. Plus there are two previously unreleased cuts and a stray song from a 60s movie that was originally released only as a promo single. The two unreleased cuts are stereo on this compilation but I believe they are mono on the 'Too Much To Dream: The Original Group Recordings Reprise 1966-1967" 2CD set. Sundazed released a 45rpm for RSD a few years back for these two songs and they are mono on there as well. IMO, every Electric Prunes CD and/or compilation has something to offer depending upon what you want (mixes, stereo/mono etc.) and how much of a completest one is for this band.

 

I just snagged the Singles two-lp vinyl from sundazed for $17.49 all included. Very happy.

 

I'm seriously thinking about getting this despite it being a vinyl only release. Very good deal for a 2LP set.

 

For those who are unaware, The Prunes, after almost 50 years, have released two new albums...all new music.
Not 60's novelty junk either. This is heavy psych rockin' stuff -- the kind we love from their classic stuff. Fresh and new.
Both have much to love!

The Electric Prunes, "Artifact" 2002



The Electric Prunes, "WaS" 2014

 

The Electric Prunes...they're baaack, for heavy psych 50 years on!

Artifact! The Electric Prunes (2002)
LOST DREAM

 

The Electric Prunes, Artifact (2002)
and btw, Peter Lewis of Moby Grape joined the Prunes on guitar... on Artifact. Listen for his comments at the 2:30 mark of this track:

The Electric Prunes, Big Stick, with Peter

 

The Prunes, The Dream I Had Last Night...nice cover of Randy Newman's classic

 

Tokyo, The Electric Prunes WaS 2014

 

Do the the Original Album Series sound the same as the Collectors Choice/Rhino releases?

 

You all have me pulling out my two original vinyl LPs...the first and second. So fine.

 

"Lost Dreams" is a fine comp of their '60s stuff but nothing live.

"Underground" is a solid garage LP channeling The Stones in their
"Between the Buttons" period and often bettering them.

Then we get into the wilderness with those EP-in-name-only LPs.
I've heard bits from the first but not "Release of an Oath". Never
have heard stuff from The Mk2 band.

It was very strange to see, in the early days of Google®, that some
of the guys were back for more in '99 and followed it. Picked up
"Artifact" in 2000 and largely it delivers. "Lost Dream" is a fine
track that should've gotten airplay.

But the ensuing years saw original members fall away and as far
as I know the band has finally packed it in for good.

 

The Great Banana Hoax
Get Me To The World On Time

 

Yeah, the art for "Artifact" was great, too.

Found this last night, nice blend of a nightmare and camp:

 

I can't remember first hearing the Electric Prunes but it had to be "I Had Too Much To Dream" and I'm almost certain it was the radio, sometime 80s.

I bought an orig US Reprise stereo copy of the first album in the early 90s and recognized "Are You Loving Me More" (still in my top 100 sixties songs) from a version in the late 80s I liked by the Lime Spiders. I also really like "Bangles" (I put this on many a v/a mixtape in the 90s for friends) and "Train For Tomorrow" from the debut but other than the two hits- nothing else. Not even "Onie", which is in a style I usually enjoy and has really nice guitar sounds but a real dud in the songwriting dept imo.

I have the collectors choice CD of Underground and from that one I like "Hideaway" and "Big City" the most but also "Long Day's Flight" and the first four songs are quite fine. I've heard the 3rd album but have never seen a copy less than pricey. A friend made a needledrop of his Release Of An Oath lp a while back for me and I do like some of that though I've only listened a couple times not recently.

I love that "Antique Doll" made an appearance on the v/a WEA Vaults comp My Mind Goes High- love that cd, bought it on release. (Got that RSD 2 LP version on colored vinyl released a few years ago too)