Exposé Online banner

Various Artists — Psychedelic Gems 6
(Garden of Delights PGCD-06, 1977/2004, CD)

by Jon Davis, Published 2005-03-01

Psychedelic Gems 6 Cover artVarious artist compilations are always difficult to review, especially so when they contain as much good material as this one does. In the Garden of Delights quest to reissue material from psych and prog bands of Europe, they find some worthy items that do not amount to full albums, so they collect them in this series – basically obscure singles on small labels or self-released by the bands. On this one, we get two tracks each from: The JP’s (good garage-psych from 1969, with some dated spoken anti-war lyrics); Blackmann Lane (1970 psych with sitar and flute and two later members of Jane); Blackbirds 2000 (a heavy psych rocker and a rocked-up Bach organ workout from 1970); Caleidoscope Inc. (1970 blues-based rock featuring flute very much along the lines of early Jethro Tull); Nyrvana Pancake (an A-side of driving psych from 1973, and a B-side of phased acoustic picking reminiscent of the quiet sections of Uriah Heep’s “The Wizard”); Al Capone (1975, charmingly amateurish at times, surprisingly sophisticated at others, with a comically thick German accent on the vocals); and Metamorphosis (rock and blues from 1977 with only minor psych influence). With the possible exception of the last two bands, all the music is quite worthy of begin remembered, and Blackbirds 2000 and Nyrvana Pancake (who later shortened their name and recorded as Pancake) in particular shine as real gems. As always, copious liner notes fill in the background and connections of the artists.

Filed under: Archives, Issue 31, 2004 releases, 1977 recordings

Related artist(s): Blackbirds 2000, Pancake

Latest news

2021-04-01
New Aristocrats Live Album on the Way – No foolin'! These supreme musicians toured Europe early in 2020, just before touring ceased to be a thing musicians could do, and there were some hot performances captured. On May 7, some of these will be releases as Freeze! Live in Europe 2020. » Read more

2021-03-25
Return of Jerry Lucky's Progressive Rock Files – After much consideration and surprisingly, positive feedback, Jerry Lucky is announcing the launch of the progressive Rock Files podcast, featuring the latest progressive rock music from around the world. » Read more

2021-03-14
Jewlia Eisenberg RIP – The sad news has come out that Jewlia Eisenberg has died. As a founding member of Charming Hostess, Eisenberg changed the face of music, bringing together Balkan klezmer, American folk, and experimental rock in a distinctive blend that garnered much praise. » Read more

2021-03-11
RIP Roger Trigaux – The sad news has come to our attention that Roger Trigaux, the guiding force of Present and former member of Univers Zero, passed away on the evening of March 10, 2021 after a long ilness. » Read more

2021-02-14
SoundQuest Fest 2021 – SoundQuest Fest, first experienced as a live festival in Tucson Arizona in 2010 was created by ambient music pioneer Steve Roach. This 2021 event will unite a worldwide gathering of artists and audience members together for a 3-day online event unique in the realm of ambient music. From March 26-28th a continuous flow of streamed performances, audio-video wonder worlds and deep immersion zones will burn bright on Roach’s YouTube channel. » Read more

More news

Previously in Exposé...

Klaus Schulze - Kontinuum – With great anticipation I waited for the release of Klaus Schulze’s 45th solo album Kontinuum and I was not disappointed. Klaus has been reissuing lots of music lately, but it is two years since his...  (2008) » Read more

Random review

Listen & discover

This Dog May Be Ceramic, but It Bites!

More recommendations
Paul Sears - Angels & Demons That Play book

Print issues