The 1960s garage rock revolution was barely noticed at
the time, as it was happening on such a local grass roots level, yet
it was so vast and so widespread that there are still recordings waiting
to be discovered by collectors. Witness this new set of 29 tracks by
various Arkansas garage bands, all recorded 1965-1971, and much of it
never reissued before. Some in fact have never seen the light of day
in any form, as they are sourced from old acetates or master tapes.
The content, for the most part, is extremely strong, kicking off with
the Blue and the Gray’s rough-edged rendition of the Breakers’
“Don’t Send Me No Flowers” (also recorded by the Gentrys).
Later on in the set, the same group turns in a rockin’ “Wine
Wine Wine,” complete with the improvised couplet, “You get
your girl, I’ll get mine/We’ll go out and sixty nine.”
Plenty more great sounds are on tap, including the Yardleys’ frenetic
Farfisa-driven “The Light Won’t Shine,” the Problems
of Tyme’s plaintive minor key “Back of My Mind,” and
the Coachmen’s chunky, soulful “You’re My Girl.”
The group that gave this compilation its name, the Lost Souls, also
provide two of its most memorable numbers, “My Girl” and
“Lost Love” (read all about them this issue). Dead on Arrival
also serve up two exceptional, deeply moody tracks, “Mr. Crying”
and “Run Hide Get Away.” There’s also some excellent
psychedelic garage sounds from the likes of Sunset Society, LD Mitchell
& the Amalgamated Taxi Cab Service, and Sole Society, whose fuzzy
“Psychedelic Cycle” (a faux-groovy commercial for Honda
motorbikes ) may be familiar from its previous appearance on Sixties
Rebellion #11. The Sole Society (who are pictured on the CD cover in
all their satin Nehru glory) evolved into Blackfoot, and cut the solid
heavy rocker “Bummed Out,” which is also included here.
Lost Souls is not without a few poor tracks (the limp psychedelic funk
of Mystic Illusion, for example), and the sequencing could have been
better (there’s a run of weaker songs near the beginning and some
of the better songs are clustered later in the set), but overall this
one is highly recommended. Bring on Volume 2 More info at www.psychofthesouth.com.
Mike Stax Ugly Things #27 - Summer/Fall 2008
**** (4 stars)
Arkansas has never been known as a hotbed of wild and wooly garage-rock
or trippy psychedelia. Psych of the South, an Arkansas research project
fronted by record collector and musician Harold Ott, aims to change
that perception with this incredible, 29 track archeological dig.
Among the finds unearthed in a year and a half of research is the deeply
soulful “Hit It” by the Shades featuring Bob Fly. Not much
is known about this group, as is the case with many acts here, but the
smoky, falsetto vocals and languid organ are unexpectedly seductive
and haunting in a manner reminiscent of Nina Simone. Sitting alongside
rough-and-tumble screamers such as the Xciters’ “Upsetter,”
Barefacts’ R&B rumble “Tell Me” and the Yardleys’
dancing, Beatlesesque ray of sunlight “The Light Won’t Shine,”
“Hit It” is unlike anything else on Lost Souls Vol 1, and
it’s a black-velvet beauty that could be a museum-quality piece,
were it a more tactile work.
Curators might also want to hang the Byrds-like jangle of The Problems
of Tyme’s “Back of My Mind” and the murky undertones
of the Lost Souls’ “My Girl” and “Lost Love”
on the wall with the mind-altering psych-rock soundscapes of Purple
Canteen’s “Brains in My Feet” (taken from the original
master tape) and Suspension of Belief’s “LSD.” While
the sound and production values are hardly pristine, that shouldn’t
detract from the amazing diversity and homegrown quality of this Nuggets-era
set, complete with rare photos and revealing liner notes. www.psychofthesouth.com
-Peter Lindblad - Goldmine Magazine
Psych of the South introduces us to their first volume
of “garage and psychedelic rock and roll from Arkansas 1965-1971.”
The cd is jam packed with 29 songs taken from the masters or acetates,
so the sound quality is superb. The cd starts out with a 60’s
punk snarler by The Blue And The Gray called “Don’t Send
Me No Flowers,” lots of attitude and just a few chords, once again,
punk started in the 60’s folks…. The cd is just packed with
great garage rock, The Problems Of Tyme’s “Back Of My Mind”
is great, some nice jangly guitar and that raw garage sound with this
lovely little ballad. You may have heard Purple Canteen’s “Brains
In My Feet,” well here you get the rare, unreleased demo instrumental
version and it’s great Starts out sounding like Hawkwind’s
“You Shouldn’t Do That”… hey, maybe Hawkwind
got the riff from this song? Then the song goes into a wallop of brain
tingling fuzz guitar, then back into the melodic gliding tripping organ-infused
segment, it’s so good, you need to hear this, the disc is worth
it for this song alone “LSD” by Suspension of Belief is
a strange song with that haunting female vocal in the background and
the lyrics which I need to listen to again actually Harold Ott has done
quite an amazing job in tracking down these little nuggets that were
scattered across the landscape of Arkansas that may have been otherwise
lost in the dust forever. It’s a work of love for sure, it’s
worth checking it out and hearing the lost hidden treasures for yourself
that have been uncovered for your ears here in this little compact handy
disc… nice liner notes too by the way. Psych Trail
Mix magazine Issue 5
Now another rope ladder descent into the bottomless pit
that appears to be the U.S. sixties / seventies garage psych scene.
The Lost Souls (Vol. 1) CD compilation curated by musician and record
collector Harold Ott would immediately suggest that its release was
the culmination of countless hours of burning the midnight oil, when
eating and sleeping (and other essentials) fell by the wayside in deference
to making an absorbing trawl through the musical heritage of Arkansas.
These reactivated 45s, acetates and master tapes, 29 in all, are thoughtfully
sequenced in chronological order and detail the bratty ripostes, and,
in time, the more weirded out responses made to the then booming British
invasion. When it comes down to influences and innocent ghosting, a
good percentage seem to acknowledge Them in favour of Stonesy swagger
and Zombies-esque sensitivity, witness The Yardleys, Barefacts, the
excellent Xciters with Upsetter and the edgy delivery of Gene Burnett
on Hey Come On Now . However for me, the more interesting combos look
to their own. The Shades (featuring Bob Fly) offer a sublime moment
in Young Rascals-shaded white soul in Hit It . L.D. Mitchell and The
Amalgated Taxi Cab Service s plea for racial harmony ( Planet of Union
) is a Doorsy mid-pacer, less portentous and doomy than those other
Jimboclones Phantom s Divine Comedy. Amps are turned to eleven with
Blackfoot s Bummed Out , an embryonic hard rock / psych crossover where
Steppenwolf are put in a blender with the Damnation of Adam Blessing.
As for the weirdest thing , well it just has to be LSD by the Suspension
of Belief. A stream of consciousness infused folk rock exploitation
disc in which the producer, a man out of his time, dropped in recordings
of a female opera singer at timely moments. A low tech precursor to
sample culture? Maybe As a number of US /Euro comps I ve chanced upon
recently have a just make do policy no sleevenotes, smudgy band and
label pics ...Souls comes as a clunker-free breath of fresh air and
clearly goes that extra garage mile in the research department. -- Terrascope
Online
Brilliantly researched batch of small town sounds. There
are plenty of surprises lurking in this inspirational debut comp from
the Arkansas-based and unashamedly Arkansas-centric Psych Of The South
label. Covering 1965-71, the spread of grooves includes the inevitable
garage and Brit Invasion, psych and prog soundalikes, but because researcher/curator
Harold Ott's focus is so obsessively narrow, he s also turned up some
wildly eccentric local variations on 45, acetate and original master
tape. Witness the strangely funky garage-country sound of Trouble Bros
Your Love Is Gone, Supension Of Disbelief s LSD, complete with their
svengali s random postproduction opera samples, and future preacher
LD Mitchell s insistent message of brotherly love in Planet Of Union.
The sleeve picture of would-be weirdoes The Sole Society playing a Saturday
afternoon gig outside the K-Mart is priceless; likewise the love and
intimacy poured into Ott s booklet notes, including highs such as the
garage-a-billy Roustabouts, house band at the now defunct Lil Abner
theme park in Little Rock . Like Harold says, This puppy moves. Psych
Of The South | 4501
Reviewed by Derek Hammond --Record Collector Magazine
Just when you thought every single thread of music from
the past has been resurrected in digital form, a package such as this
surfaces. And that's a good thing because folks like us can never get
enough of the stuff. While there's no shortage of compilation albums
centering on particular regions of the world, Arkansas is one state
that hasn't been examined much at all, so Lost Souls is indeed a welcome
release. A fair share of these bands are captured straddling the transition
between frat rock and British Invasion sounds, resulting in a string
of crude yet awfully charming tunes. Strands of soul and funk music
also tend to crop up in the sessions, but for the most part, the record
as its subtitle proclaims, salutes the gritty garage punk racket and
trippy psychedelic sensations we all know and love. Among the joys heard
on Lost Souls are Upsetter by The Xciters, The Problem of Tyme's Back
Of My Mind, The Blue and Gray's rendition of Don't Bring Me No Flowers,
which was initially laid to vinyl by The Gentrys, Even Though It's Wrong
from Michael Troy and The Pharaohs, and The Light Won't Shine by The
Yardleys. Shuffling grooves, choppy guitars, snotty vocals, trashy drumming
and squeaky organ passages rule the turf. Seated in the freaky corner
of the room, there's Blackfoot's Bummed Out, Purple Canteen's Brains
In My Feet and Mystic Illusion's Colour Of My Daye. As the sixties stomped
on, the music encountered many dramatic changes, which are firmly illustrated
on Lost Souls, where the energy is contagious and the possibilities
are boundless.
BEVERLY PATERSON (May 2008) --Twist And Shake Magazine
You might think that all good ‘60s garage and psych
has been compiled and reissued more than once. You’d be wrong.
This 79 minute, 29 track comp is choc full of great records you’ve
never heard with a sprinkling of those you may well have. Given these
are recordings by local groups on bespoke labels, you might expect a
lo-fi experience. Discernable to an extent on some, the sheer quality
and performance of the majority of the songs is quite amazing. Along
with local 45s, there’s a smattering of acetates and master tape
dubs such as the excellent LD Mitchell & The Amalgamated Taxi Cab
Service’s “Planet of Union” wihc serves to make this
a rich and satisfying experience. Styles range from garage rock and
pop through more soulful expressions to psych.
My only grips is the minuscule sized liner notes crammed into the CD
insert. Even the sharpest-eyed readers will be left blinking. Elmer
Fudd-like to regain focus after the strain of absorbing them. Otherwise,
this is a great package and compiler Harold Ott, is to be congratulated.
He is clearly a man with a mission and I look forward to Volume 2 with
relish.
Paul Martin Shindig Magazine Vol 2 Issue 4 May-June 2008
Here is a brilliant compilation with 60s garage and psychedelic
bands from the un-natural state of Arkansas. Everything starts when
Harold Ott as he was reviewing the cd booklet of the Arf Arf’s
“No No No” compilation, noticed a garage band The Lost Souls
from his hometown of Jacksonville, Arkansas. After a few phone calls
he managed to come in contact with the band members. From that moment
his vision was to find as many artists as he could, (from the 60's Arkansas
garage music unknowns) to document their story and music. And the result
is this fab compilation with 29 great songs as the fab garage punk gem
“Don’t Send Me No Flowers” by a mystery group called
The Blue and the Gray (originally recorded by the Breakers of Memphis),
the organ driven mid tempo garage stomp “The Light Won’t
Shine” an amazing song (my fave in this comp) by the Yardleys,
the folk punk “Back of My Mind” by the Problems of Tyme,
the deep groove r’n’b “Leaf on a Tree” by Barefacts,
the cryptic moody soul “Hit It” by the Shades, the nice
folk puynk tune “Can’t You Tell” by the Vycounts,
the garage punk classic “You’re My Girl” by the Coachmen,
the Lost Souls with two amazing songs from their 7 in 1965, the garage
“My Girl” and the moody “Lost Love,” the fuzzed
out gem “It’s Called Love” by Blues Foundation. More
psych garage tunes with the Trouble Bros and their amazing “Your
Love is Gone” (great moody vocals), the Marc IV with their killer
7 “Hi Ho Silver” and “Now I’m Free,” the
mind blowing garage psych “Land of Make Believe” by the
Sunset Society, and instro version of another mindblowing acid track
“Brains in My Feet” by Purple Canteen, the astounding organ
driven psychedelic beat “Planet of Union” by LD Mitchell
and the Amalgamated Taxi Cab Service, the classic “Psychedelic
Cycle” by Sole Society etc. I can’t find a reason to not
grab this compilation...Lost Souls is one of the best 60s compilations
for one simple reason...all the songs are simply great Grab it immediately
It comes with a three page booklet with info about the bands. As I know
at this tyme Harold is preparing Vol 2 Stay tuned www.psychofthesouth.com
- Lost in Tyme issue 4