Phil Dirt - Reverb Central - PO Box 1609, Felton, CA 95018-1609 USA Collection: Buzz Buzz Buzzzzzz Vol. 1 | This is volume one of a two volume series of garage psychedelia on the homemade side of the aisle. Some interesting tracks, but mostly riffs and patterns repeated without direction. |
Picks: Buzzzzzz, East Side Sound, The Big Red Tomato, Quasar, Zilch, Freak Out [Part 2], Well One, Piccadilly Circus, Mondo Hollywood Freakout, Om, All The Way, Balloons, Free and Easy, Please Take My Life, The Swamp, Sugar Cube, Electrified People, One More For The Good Guys, Girl I Need You [Instrumental], The Challengers Take A Ride On The Jefferson Airplane, Ode To Carrabasset Fats, Cords, Inc., Vibration, B.S.R.S., Don't Make Waves
Track by Track Review
Buzzzzzz Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Ultra biker fuzz tone, merged with riff duet organ in ultra lo-fi grodie sound. Kinda pop structured, but garage grodie. Relatively uninteresting fuzz pop.
East Side Sound Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
With an opening riff borrowed liberally from "I Can Only Give You Everything" (Them), this barely gets beyond the backtrack stage. Primal for sure, but sans melody and direction.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Gardening as rock and roll has always been a tenuous concept, with perhaps only the Seeds succeeding with "Mr. Farmer" and one or two others. So-so riff rock, some fuzz, and nothing particularly interesting happening, though the electric piano verse is enjoyable.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Well, isn't this interesting! Huge distortorama opening, tweaky thinking, psychedelic adventurism, and an actual melody however fragile. The intro is the best part, but this does have a period appeal, like something you might have heard at Seattle's San Francisco Sound Ballroom or from an opening act at Pepperland in San Rafael. It grows on you, like warts and unwanted hair, making it an essential part of the life we all pretend isn't there. Pretty cool track.
Zilch Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
I think the title says it all. "Zilch" is a slow lumbering nothing of a track, a jam for warming up. It's saving grace is the ultra fuzz guitar, and that's not enough to overcome the forgettable factor.
Island Surf (Instrumental)
This is a pretty interesting track, with a distant almost island surf feel, and a sad melody line. The moody distant sound adds to the lost in the tropics feel, and the murky sound seems to enhance that yet again. Slow and twangy, on the verge of shimmering, the guitar uses reverb and shallow vibrato.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
"Well One" sounds like a backtrack. No melody, just the progressions waiting for words, and the occasional transitional chorus line from the effected mouth of a degenerated soul. Backwards stuff and drug haze sounds barely redeem this from the lost heap.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Slightly fuzzed surf guitar playing the "Whittier Blvd." riff while an organ noodler drowns out anything that might have been cool. A thinly veiled psychedelicized interpretation of Thee Midnighters' hit, "Piccadilly Circus" bears listening if only because it demonstrates the power of the original, and it's impact.
Psychedelic (Instrumental)
The Mugwump Establishment make moderate psychedelic noise with "Mondo Hollywood Freakout." It's kind of garage, kind of tribal, and pretty psychedelic. In many ways, it personifies the way Hollywood saw the whole psychedelic sound. Near surf guitar noodles while the song meanders aimlessly through a ballroom haze while the band relentlessly pumps out a supporting structure. The drummer does some pretty interesting stuff here, perhaps being the saving grace of the track.
Psychedelic Surf (Instrumental)
This is a wandering psycho daze of tribal drums and fluffy scenes. Some tasty parts here and there, including a tasty double picked verse. The guitar tone is on the border between surf and fuzz, so it's surfable. Where's Snoopy when you need him?
All The Way Psychedelic Mall Blues (Instrumental)
"All The Way" is a pleasant, if not memorable, blues jam. They wanna be cool. They wanna be hip. They are neither. Blues for the mall.
Sub Surf Psychedelic Swirl (Instrumental)
Soft sub surf psycho swirl, with vibrato and reverb and ghostly tones, all in a lumbering meandering structure that is kinda floaty and fit for a film scene, but not really center stage.
Free and Easy Sub-Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
The vibrato fuzz guitar plays a nice little riff, and a thumping bass line and organ pump along with the tentative drums. In some ways, this sounds like the Mullberry Fruit Band, only better. Not exactly psych, but more than garage.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Heavily echoed intentionally weird drama like a bad trip... "Please Take My Life" lumbers and grumbles with shimmering almost surf tone lead guitar. Quite unusual.
The Swamp Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Not very swampy in the genre sense, and little more than a chord progression with a few interesting percussive rhythm moments. More jam than song.
Sugar Cube
Carnival (Instrumental)
Carnival organ and cheesy guitar warble. If not for the gimmick value, it would disappear up its own tail pipe.
Electrified People Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Heavy psych echoed fuzz over a very cool rhythm track. Not melodic, but infectious in its own little way. I think you have to be a little off center to really get into it.
One More For The Good Guys Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Garage progression fuzz, with a lumbering relentless rhythm and go-nowhere lead guitar. Images of sixties drive in B-movies come to mind.
Girl I Need You [Instrumental] Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Fast and furious, this fine instro is rugged and infectious. The downside is that it is the backtrack to the A-side, so the melody line carry by the vocal is missing (not replaced by the lead guitar). Still, it rocks and is pretty fun.
The Challengers Take A Ride On The Jefferson Airplane Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Non melodic psychedelic slush from the land of daydreams. fast and very Hollywood psych, it's likely not from the Surf Band in a latter form. Pretty catchy in a drone sorta way.
Ode To Carrabasset Fats Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
This is kinda chumpy jam rock with jazz wannabe riffin' and pre-funk chord chops. Free of the incumbrance of melody, it works only as a backdrop to a Hollywood pot party scene.
Cords, Inc. Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
Opening on the dramatic side, "Cords, Inc." quickly becomes just a riff dominated filler with howls.
Psychedelic (Instrumental)
Slow blues on guitar and harmonica, the walking bass line is about all that's interesting here, and that's not very interesting. But wait, it doubles the speed and romps into a catchy rhythm thing with a very nice lead melody played on a clean electric guitar. So, why it starts as it does is a mystery. The electric part is almost middle eastern. very cool.
Psychedelic Fuzz (Instrumental)
"B.S.R.S." is an eerie big fuzz head twister. On the thundering side, with jammin' fuzz and relentless drums. Not melodic, but trippy.
Don't Make Waves Psychedelic Water (Instrumental)
Reverbed damped water drop tweaking for a minute and thirty five seconds does not a song make.