ROCK
VA - This Can't Be Today, American Psychedelia & The Paisley Underground 1977-1988 (3 x CDs)
This Can't Be Today, American Psychedelia & The Paisley Underground 1977-1988 pulls together a period that often gets split into scenes and labels, but here it’s allowed to sit as a continuous thread. Covering the late seventies into the late eighties, the set doesn’t treat psychedelia as revival or nostalgia. It comes through as something being reworked in real time, shaped by new bands who were absorbing older forms without trying to replicate them outright.
The early stretch leans into that in-between space. There’s a sense of rediscovery, where jangle, reverb, and melodic drift start to reappear, but with a tighter, more grounded feel than the original wave. The sequencing keeps things close enough that connections form naturally, guitars ring across tracks, voices stay slightly detached, and rhythm sections hold things steady underneath. As it moves forward, the Paisley Underground side becomes more defined, not as a separate chapter but as a gradual sharpening of ideas. Songs feel more structured, arrangements more deliberate, and the interplay between light and shade becomes more pronounced. Nothing breaks sharply, it all accumulates.
The set works through feel rather than argument. Tracks build on each other, small details start to echo, and a wider picture comes into focus. What stays with it is how these bands carried a language forward, not by preserving it, but by letting it shift just enough to remain alive within a different time. (B)
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Track lists
CD1
01 Last - She Don't Know Why I'm Here 3:31
02 Plasticland - Office Skills 1:46
03 Bangs - Getting Out of Hand 2:16
04 Chris Bell - I Am The Cosmos 3:43
05 Fans - True 3:20
06 dB's - Nothing is Wrong (Demo) 4:07
07 Green on Red - Death and Angels 2:17
08 Unclaimed - Deposition Central (The Acid Song) 4:10
09 Vertebrats - Left in the Dark 3:25
10 Dream Syndicate - Sure Thing (Live at KPFK) 4:49
11 R.E.M. - Gardening at Night 3:31
12 Action Now - Try 2:52
13 Tommy Keene - Mr. Roland 5:43
14 Translator - Nothing is Saving Me 5:17
15 R. Stevie Moore - I Go Into Your Mind 2:12
16 Al Bloch - Hangin' Around 3:41
17 Long Ryders - And She Rides 4:32
18 Wednesday Week - Sad Little Dog 2:31
19 Rain Parade - What She's Done to Your Mind 2:57
20 True West - Steps to The Door 3:17
21 Point - Magic Circle 1:54
22 Wire Train - Everything’s Turning Up Down Again 3:34
23 Darius and The Magnets - Saturday at 3:00 P.M. 3:31
CD2
01 Rain Parade - This Can't Be Today 4:38
02 Plan 9 - White Women 3:01
03 Redd Kross - Citadel 3:00
04 Droogs - For These Remaining Days 2:25
05 Plasticland - Euphoric Trapdoor Shoes 2:35
06 Dream Syndicate - Mr Soul (Live at KPFK) 3:30
07 Bangles - The Real World 2:36
08 Long Ryders - Too Close to The Light 4:13
09 Three O'Clock - Her Head's Revolving 3:13
10 Pandoras - It's About Time 2:24
11 Reverbs - Picture an Eye 4:31
12 Twisted - Sheez Wycked 2:06
13 Naked Prey - The Story Never Ends 4:13
14 Meat Puppets - Plateau 2:23
15 Eyes of Mind - With You Again 3:55
16 Tell - Tale Hearts - Come and Gone 3:05
17 Dreams So Real - Everywhere Girl 3:55
18 Impossible Years - Flower Girl 4:09
19 Thee Fourgiven - Anything 4:32
20 Prime Movers - True to Me 3:53
21 Suburban Nightmare - Every Night 3:23
22 Yard Trauma - Must've Been Something I Took Last Night 3:27
23 Romans - Vicki Seventy 2:37
CD3
01 United States of Existence - Welcome Tomorrow 3:20
02 28th Day - 25 Pills 3:24
03 Dumptruck - Back Where I Belong (2024 Mix) 4:02
04 Husker Du - Hardly Getting Over It 6:09
05 Flaming Lips - With You 3:40
06 Game Theory - Regenisraen 3:31
07 Thin White Rope - The Three Song 3:36
08 Camper Van Beethoven - Circles 2:52
09 Drivin' N Cryin' - Count The Flowers 2:58
10 Things - You Can't Deliver 3:57
11 Flying Color - Dear Friend (Single Version) 3:19
12 Winter Hours - Hyacinth Girl 4:39
13 Steppes - Sky is Falling 5:09
14 Green Pajamas - Kim The Waitress 6:07
15 Mod Fun - Hope It's Today 3:39
16 Inn - What's it Like 3:46
17 Absolute Grey - For Some Reason 3:06
18 Dead Moon - Graveyard 2:32
19 Cynics - Took Her Hand 2:45
20 Sneetches - Home Again 2:40
21 Ultra Vivid Scene - Mercy Seat 4:07
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Music weaves itself into the fabric of our emotions, dances through the corridors of memory, and whispers to the soul of who we are. Sharing these stories deepens the connection, turning the experience into something timeless and profound.
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This per usual excellent Cherry Red box set finally got to my house YESTERDAY. It’s so good.
ReplyDeleteHi gregandbrenda,
DeleteAlways a good day when a Cherry Red box finally lands on the doorstep. They really know how to put these sets together. Glad yours arrived safe and sound, and even better that it lives up to the wait. This one’s packed with detail, depth, and all those little archival touches they do so well.
Enjoy diving in.
Cheers
Thanks for this! I actually placed an order for it and the recent Mountain 'Don't Look Around' cd box, from Amazon, and my order was cancelled with no explanation and my money refunded to my Paypal account...
ReplyDeleteHi Montax,
DeleteThat’s frustrating. Nothing worse than lining up a couple of great box sets, only to have the order vanish without a word. Amazon can be oddly trigger‑happy with cancellations when stock levels wobble or a supplier feed looks uncertain, and they rarely bother explaining it.
Both the This Can’t Be Today set, and the Mountain Don’t Look Around box are worth the chase, though, so I hope you manage to snag them elsewhere without too much hassle.
Cheers.
I will be getting on with tracking them down.
DeleteSuperb! It's great to have all these amazing tunes in one place - thanks Butterboy
ReplyDeleteHi Rushbo,
DeleteIt really is a treat having all those Paisley‑tinted gems gathered in one place instead of scattered across a dozen hard‑to-find releases. Makes the whole scene feel even more vibrant when you can hear it as a single, flowing story.
Enjoy!
Cheers
Thanks for sharing this fantastic compilation of Paisley Underground artists. This really is an excellent compilation of artists from a magical time. Many thanks!!
ReplyDeleteHi DK,
DeleteThat era really was a little pocket of magic, and hearing all those bands side by side reminds you how much colour and invention was happening just under the surface. The compilation does a great job capturing that mix of psychedelia, jangle, edge, and imagination that defined the scene.
Thanks for the kind words.
Cheers.
Thanks much! Much of this I have and love from when this stuff came out,, but lots I don't...thanks a million!!
ReplyDeleteHi Jim H.
DeleteGreat to hear this one hit the spot for you. That mix of familiar favourites and long‑lost corners is exactly what makes a set like this fun. You get the comfort of what you already loved, plus those “where has this been hiding?” moments along the way. Enjoy filling in the gaps.
Cheers.
The Nuggets of the Paisley Underground. Fantastic. Thank you very much.
ReplyDeleteHi Josevaty,
DeleteLove that comparison, it really does feel like a Nuggets‑style dive into the Paisley Underground’s brightest corners.
Hope you continue to enjoy it.
Cheers.
Can’t wait to dive into this one. Thanks BB!
ReplyDeleteHi Jimbo,
DeleteHope you enjoy the dive. This set really opens up once you get into the flow of it. Lots of colour, lots of crossover, and plenty of those “oh yeah, that track” moments along the way. Enjoy!
Cheers.
Yowza! Thank you!!
ReplyDeleteHi cc,
DeleteMy pleasure. Enjoy this wonderful set.
Cheers.
Thanks again for such an interesting compilation.
ReplyDeleteHi LOFC,
DeleteGlad you found this one interesting. That mix of colour, jangle, and psychedelia really does make for a rewarding listen. It’s a scene that still feels fresh when you gather it all together like this.
Cheers.
This one's very cool! The whole Paisley revival had some killer releases as this showcases. I remember getting the first Plastic Underground LP and discovering it was pepto bismal pink! Such a fun surprise (and a great album, too - the other tracks not here might even be the better tracks). So much cool stuff. Are there other volumes of this?
ReplyDeletehttps://butterboycompilations.blogspot.com/search?q=paisley
Hi Pol,
DeleteIt really is a cool one, the whole Paisley revival had such a distinctive spark, and this set shows just how many great releases came out of that moment. So much good music in that orbit.
No, I don't believe there are more volumes from Cherry Red exploring this scene.
I have a Paisley and psych set I have been pulling together for a future post.
Cheers.