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Lost Souls Vol 1 CD at Get Hip Records

1960s Garage and Psychedelic Music from the Un-Natural State: Arkansas. A CD full of cryptic killers and psychedelic cycles from custom labels and obscurities of Arkansas, many of which never landed outside of the town where they originated. They all share a unique sound that comes from being isolated in rural communites yet brimming with teen abandon. Liners with detailed exclusive info on the bands will aim to please the curious listener. This CD is simply some of the best garage out there, with most of it appearing here for the first time.

1. The Blue and the Gray - Don't Send Me No Flowers
2. The Yardleys - The Light Won't Shine
3. The Problems of Tyme - Back of My Mind
4. Barefacts - Tell Me
5. Xciters - Upsetter
6. The Marion Deaton Group - Apple of My Eye
7. Gene Barnett - Hey Come On Now
8. Barefacts - Leaf on a Tree
9. The Shades featuring Bob Fly - Hit It
10. The Roustabouts - Just You and Me
11. Michael-Troy and the Pharoahs - Even Though It's Wrong
12. The Vycounts - Can't You Tell
13. The Blue and the Gray - Wine, Wine, Wine
14. The Coachmen - You're My Girl
15. The Lost Souls - My Girl
16. The Lost Souls - Lost Love
17. Blues Foundation - It's Called Love
18. Dead on Arrival - Mr. Crying
19. Trouble Bros. - Your Love is Gone
20. The Marc IV - Hi Ho Silver
21. The Marc IV - Now I'm Free
22. Sunset Society - Land of Make Believe
23. The Purple Canteen - Brains in My Feet
24. Suspension of Belief - LSD
25. LD Mitchell & the Amalgamated Taxi Cab Service - Planet of Union
26. Dead on Arrival - Run Hide Get Away
27. The Sole Society - Psychedelic Cycle
28. Mystic Illusion - Colour of My Daye
29. Blackfoot - Bummed Out

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Reviews:

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