VA - Try a Little Sunshine; The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 [2018] (3 x CD's)

TRY A LITTLE SUNSHINE

VA - Try a Little Sunshine; The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969 [2018] (3 x CD's)

This is basically the third volume by Grapefruit Records in this great seriesUK three CD set. 1967 was undoubtedly the high-water mark of the era, but the psychedelic genre's influence lingered for some while afterwards. Nevertheless, there were significant changes during that period, and by the end of the decade the British music scene had largely polarized into two distinct camps: the influence of the counterculture saw the burgeoning college/university circuit grow as "serious" pop evolved into rock, while the more exploitative, commercial element of the industry reacted to the success of manufactured bands like The Monkees to instigate a sub-genre dismissively dubbed bubblegum. That dichotomy saw the British pop and rock scene exhibit a strong element of musical schizophrenia, as can be heard on Try A Little Sunshine: The British Psychedelic Sounds of 1969, the latest instalment in Grapefruit's acclaimed late Sixties series. A significant number of great, heavily lysergic records were still appearing (if psychedelia was dead, clearly nobody had told the likes of The Factory, Fleur de Lys or Jason Crest), but the musical template did mutate. The Attack's chunky mod-pop vignettes gave way to Andromeda's power trio riffing, Status Quo moved from day-glo popsike to a looser, bluesier approach, The Pretty Things reluctantly left behind their neglected masterpiece S. F. Sorrow to explore more introverted territory, Grapefruit traded their gossamer-light harmony pop template for a relatively stripped-down sound, and Colin Giffin eschewed The End's psychedelic dreamscapes to dabble in post-'Eleanor Rigby' baroque pop. For other, more commercially successful bands like The Spencer Davis Group, Procol Harum and The Move, it was a case of attempting to maintain their high-profile status while also showing signs of progression. Try A Little Sunshine covers every aspect of the 1969 British pop sound to provide not just four hours of vital late Sixties music, but a fascinating look at how the mode of the music changed as a tumultuous decade drew to a close. (Amazon)

Like other box sets from the Grapefruit label, this is another pretty cool trawl through many lesser known bands/music, this time from 1969. This set proves that after the big years for psychedelia ('67-'68), 1969 still saw the lingering effects of various strains of psychedelic music, recorded by both well known bands and other groups lesser known. Some bands made serious attempts at some form of tripped out music, while others were more commercial sounding. But the overall feel collected here gives some idea of British psychedelic music in it's many forms. Excellent.

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Track lists

CD1

  01. Try a Little Sunshine - the Factory
  02. Reputation - Shy Limbs
  03. Little Boy - Beatstalkers
  04. Letters from Edith - the Spencer Davis Group
  05. Roundabout - the Montanas
  06. Sister - Cliff Wade
  07. Brother Thrush -Barclay James Harvest
  08. (Vision in a) Plaster Sky -Wild Silk
  09. The Day the Train Never Came - Consortium
  10. Lifetime - the Bliss
  11. This Is to a Girl - Strawberry Jam
  12. River Boat Queen - Audience
  13. Captain Reale - Gentle Influence
  14. A Salty Dog - Procol Harum
  15. Green Mello Hill - Angel Pavement
  16. The Walrus and the Carpenter - Peter Howell & John Ferdinando
  17. This Time Tomorrow - the Move
  18. Shine a Little Light Into My Room - Jason Paul
  19. Stay Indoors - the New Formula
  20. Running Wild - Fresh Air
  21. Dogs and Cats - the Sorrows
  22. We Built the Sun - Pussy
  23. Baby and Me - the Hammers
  24. Being Human Being (Alternative Version) - Paper Bubble

CD2

  01. Child on a Crossing - Writing on the Wall
  02. Dr Crippen's Waiting Room - the Orange Machine
  03. Liar - Fleur de Lys
  04. Seen Through a Light - the Mooche
  05. It's Only Love - Sam Gopal
  06. Deep Water - Grapefruit
  07. Stop - Pan Pipers
  08. Marrakesh - Fortes Mentum
  09. Flaxen Hair - Marc Brierley
  10. Changes in Our Time - Colin Giffin
  11. Creeping Jean - Dave Davies
  12. Who Wants Happiness - Tapestry
  13. She Said, She Said - Grand Union
  14. Only George - Scrugg
  15. Summer Come Along - Ralph McTell
  16. It Happened Two Sundays Ago - Nirvana
  17. Doubtful Nellie - Tuesday's Children
  18. Mindless Child of Motherhood - Ewan Stephens
  19. Biography - Woody Kern
  20. Alcock and Brown - Balloon Busters
  21. Magic Car - Edwards Hand
  22. How Does It Feel - the Good Ship Lollipop
  23. No Reason - Shere Khan
  24. Morning Way - Trader Horne

CD3

  01. Black Mass - Jason Crest
  02. Last Cloud Home - the Orange Bicycle
  03. (Who Planted Thorns in) Miss Alice's Garden - the Explosive
  04. Just What I Was Looking for Today - the Spectrum
  05. The Price of Love - Status Quo
  06. This Little Boy - 1984
  07. Death of a Dream Machine - the Deviants
  08. Day of the Change - Andromeda
  09. Mr Rainbow - Homer's Knods
  10. You Might Even Say - Pretty Things
  11. Cry Baby Cry - Freedom
  12. Saturday Roundabout Sunday - the Humblebums
  13. We Want You to Stay (Demo Version) - Bill Fay
  14. What a Groovy Day - Harmony Grass
  15. Mr Beverly's Heavy Days - the Freshmen
  16. Little Bird - Eyes of Blue
  17. Tamaris Khan - the Onyx
  18. The School Boy - Five's Company
  19. Looking Towards the Sky - Davey Payne & the Medium Wave Band
  20. Fairground - Pure Gold
  21. Petrol Pump Assistant - Fat Mattress
  22. Good Old '59 (We Are Slowly Gettin' Older) - Second Hand
  23. Counting Time My Way - Taxi
  24. Burning the Weed - Bobak, Jons, Malone
  25. Armageddon - Cape Kennedy Construction Company
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