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(The Peanut Butter Conspiracy - naming your band after a food product had certain disadvantages)

Despite the name and despite the hype, The Peanut Butter Conspiracy were actually a good band with a lot of talent. I saw them several times during the period 1967-1969 and they held their own with some pretty stiff competition. But they were straddled with that name, and as history has proven, bands with food-group names (Peanut Butter Conspiracy, Ultimate Spinach, Vanilla Fudge, etc.) generally fell out of favor rather quickly or were pegged as "novelty bands" and not taken seriously - which was too bad.

They did however, have tons of promise when they first came out, and the gimmick worked (bumper stickers and posters plastered all over Hollywood proclaiming "the Peanut Butter Conspiracy Is Spreading" created an impression) and their first album sold quite well, with their initial single "It's A Happening Thing" in the top 40. It was their second single, the one I'm featuring today, Why Did I Get So High that got them in trouble. I remember hearing it once over KBLA (a sort of renegade top 40 station in Burbank) with the disclaimer "let's put the boss on a bummer with a record only the Burner dare play!" (the Burner being DJ Dave Diamond). And yep, it was banned right after that.

(You know you're in trouble when your Publicist has to send around notes assuring people you're not dangerous)

They couldn't seem to shake the dope-soaked characterization and the Food Group Name and their subsequent singles got very little airplay. After switching to another label and failing to score there, by 1970 the band had broken up.

Despite all that, they have gone on to achieve cult status and a reevaluation of their merits as a legitimate band. Luckily, fans are forgiving.

Moral of the story: Be careful what you name your band - it may be stuck with you for the rest of your life.

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(The Creation - When they said their music was red with purple flashes, they weren't kidding)

Back to the 60s tonight with the dawn of psychedelia and Freakbeat. Creation were one of the cornerstones of the wild aggressive turn pop music had taken. Along with The Who, The Creation were a totally visual and sonic experience, taking the music to a new level. Fronted by singer Kenny Pickett, with guitarist Eddie Phillips whose technique of bowing his guitar predates Jimmy Page's use of it with Led Zeppelin by a few years, the band also included such luminaries as Kim Gardner and Ronnie Wood (Rolling Stones). Gardner and Wood joined later, as did other members, but Phillips and Pickett were founding members. Their first incarnation from 1966-1967 yielded tracks like the one tonight "How Does It Feel To Feel", which was released in two different versions; one for the US and the other for the UK. The insane guitar solo is from the US version, which doesn't appear on the UK version. The band went through a quick dissolve, but resurfaced in early 1968 with new members and continued until the end of 1968. From that point on, the band has achieved legend status and has been cited by countless musicians as a pivotal influence. Their songs have been reissued several times and even their rare TV appearances have made it over to YouTube in recent months.

Definitely a band worth checking out if you've never heard them before. They came along at a time when being outrageous was a completely new concept. And they wore it incredibly well.

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(H.P. Lovecraft - for once, there was a certain amount of truth in advertising)

No self-respecting stoners record collection would have been complete in the late 60s without at least one H.P. Lovecraft lp, usually the self-titled first one. And invariably this track, The White Ship, was the one usually the most worn on the album.

And with good reason - it's a classic. H.P. Lovecraft were together for a comparatively short period of time. Personnel and direction kept changing, but their first album, released in late 1967 is probably the most memorable owing to it's completely unique sound and eerie vocals, particularly the high tenor of Dave Michaels who turns The White Ship into the haunting masterpiece it is.

1967 was indeed an interesting year.

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(Howard Tate - Janis copied it note for note)

In case you were looking for a mellow alternative to the Alice Cooper concert, I thought I would toss in a bit of Howard Tate from 1967.

To many people, Howard Tate doesn't ring any bells, but playing his classic Get It While You Can a lot of people instantly think of Janis Joplin.

Tate was the original, written by the team of Jerry Ragavoy and Mort Shuman and released as a single in March 1967. The song established Howard Tate as a major figure in Soul/R&B. It was Janis Joplin who later recorded it and made it a hit with her version, maybe eclipsing Tate in some ways, but never replacing his version as the acknowledged first of what became one of the most memorable songs of the soul idiom.

In case you haven't heard it, or haven't heard it in a while . . . .

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(Poster for The Alan Price Set gig, 1967 - can't picture a lot of dancing going on)

Staying with 1967 tonight. This one from The Alan Price Set and a single that didn't go anywhere in the States, Shame (literally and figurativly). Alan Price was a former member of The Animals, who set off to blaze new trails as a solo artist in 1965. He's still around and still gigging.

Lucky for us.

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(Sopwith Camel - their solitary hit pigeonholed them forever as lightweight)

Sopwith Camel were a San Francisco band that had a lot more going for it than being a lightweight pop outfit. Nevertheless, they became pigeonholed through their only hit "Hello Hello" and couldn't seem to shake it.

They lasted until the end of 1967 before calling it a day. Reforming in 1971 and issuing one album on Warners before putting it to bed for good in 1974. A second album was in the can, but only released in 2001 when interest in their work resurfaced.

They probably got further than many of their contemporaries at the time, but the end result was the same. Lack of interest, bad timing, lack of support, lack of airplay - the same old story.

At least there's Postcard From Jamaica to consider, their second released single from their first and only album for Kama-Sutra in 1967.

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(Arthur Lee and Love - It just wouldn't be L.A. without them)

Anybody who grew up in L.A. and was old enough (or look old enough) to get into any of the clubs lining the Sunset Strip in the 1960s remembers Arthur Lee and Love. They were such a fixture to the L.A. scene that it was hard to separate the two. They were just synonymous with everything L.A. was all about during those days,

And if you were in a band, you knew "7&7is" by heart and played it every time you got together. It became the anthem of every garage band from Santa Monica to Palm Springs.

But Love were so much more than a garage band's garage band. They were smart, innovative and above all, constantly evolving.

One of their classic albums was Forever Changes from 1967. In a year of pivotal albums from the rock world in general, Forever Changes stands out as one of the great ones. It has never faded, it has never become a curio of a bygone day and it has never lost its beauty.

This track, The Red Telephone has always been a favorite of mine.

If you haven't heard it lately, check it out for a few.

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(Blue Cheer - Dickie Peterson, right - R.I.P.)

A few months ago I did a post on Blue Cheer, playing their 1967 demo version of Summertime Blues. It only seems fitting tonight, after hearing the sad news that Blue Cheer bassist and lead singer Dickie Peterson lost his battle with cancer and passed away at his home in Germany yesterday (Monday).

Anyone who grew up in the 60s and hit the concerts has their own Blue Cheer story to tell - most all of them ending with the fact that their ears rang for days after.

As I said in my earlier post, there really wasn't anyone like them at the time. In many ways they were the prototype for Heavy Metal in the 1970s. They were relentless raw energy that completely emersed you in their wall of sound. At a time when P.A. systems were crude and only beginning to become what they are today, Blue Cheer did stand out as the epitome of loud.

As a tribute to Dickie Peterson and a thank you for the indelible impression he and his band mates made on so many audiences over so many nights, I'm playing the second cut from the 1967 demo session, this one, the demo for Doctor Please.

Just seems fitting.

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(photo: Dezo Hoffmann)
(Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett - Extraordinary madness loomed)

I have never been able to figure out why this track hasn't been officially issued on any of the compilations featuring early Pink Floyd. Vegetable Man has evolved into Holy Grail status over the past forty or so years. First rumored to have been destroyed during one of Syd's meltdowns, then destroyed by EMI, with the only evidence surviving a 45 acetate of what was to be the b-side of their fourth single. Countless bootlegs surfaced over the years featuring this and the A side "Scream Thy Last Scream", all in various stages of lousy sound. Just recently this version surfaced, presumably the closest to a surviving master so far. It's in stereo but the opening notes have some tape drop-out (as do almost all the other versions I've heard). Still, it's the best sounding of what's available of a legendary unreleased song.

Perhaps this is the only known surviving version of what has been a much fabled withdrawn track by Pink Floyd during the last months of Syd Barrett's involvement. Who knows? Perhaps someone at EMI will make a great discovery.

Perhaps. Or perhaps not.

Check out the Syd Barrett Archive. It's a good one.

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(Blossom Toes - They were ever so clean)

Back to 1967 tonight - the unsung heroes of the Psychedelic era, Blossom Toes. A great band whose members went off and joined other groups after their split up in 1970. Resurrecting somewhat slightly as B.B. Blunder in the early 70s for one album and then splintering off into other bands again and solo careers.

It's a wonder Blossom Toes weren't more popular or even issued in the States. But it's one of the many mysteries and perplexities of the music business that turns obscure clumps of vinyl into solid gold and mythical legends out of a bunch of guys who were good at what they did and had a lot of talent.

This track, You is off their first lp "We Are Ever So Clean", recorded for Giorgio Gomelski's Marmalade Records in 1967.

1967 continues to be an interesting year.

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(The Motions - Dutch Psychedelia you probably never heard of)

The Motions were a big deal in Holland from 1963-1971. During their Beat phase they were produced by none other than Scott Walker (of the Walker Brothers) for several singles. And their label, Philips had issued their last album in the States to very little notice. They are all but unknown in the States and really only known by collectors even in Europe.

This track "Wonderful Impressions" comes from their psychedelic period from 1967. It was short lived, but it did yield some interesting tracks, even though their label decided it would be a good idea to mix a fake audience in (think: John's Childrens infamous Orgasm album with overdubbed audience). It doesn't seem to serve a purpose, but luckily it doesn't detract from what is a very nice track.

More unearthed gems.

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(Tim Buckley in 1967 - Eternal Brilliance)

As the result of my never-ending Digitization process, I am constantly finding things I thought were lost, erased, never recorded or stolen.

This is one such tape. I was a huge fan of the original Firesign Theatre Sunday night radio series on KRLA called "Radio Free Oz" which ran from 1967 to 1968. Before that it was on the Pacifica station KPFK a little over a year. RFO incorporated later Firesign Theatre bits, as well as interviews, music and audience participation (since it was a live broadcast from various clubs around L.A.). The show was about 3 hours long and it usually took up two reels of tape to record it.

During the big earthquake of 1971, I had the gross misfortune of having an entire wall of 5,000 tapes tip over and fall on me while I was stumbling to get out of bed. Reels flew everywhere. Boxes and reels separated and it took me the better part of the next 20 years to get them all back together. Some got mislabeled and misplaced, but I was never able to find Part One of this show, which aired on November 19, 1967 and included this very rare interview with Tim Buckley.

Luckily, it was found a few months ago and it's been amazing to hear again, the first time in a little over 40 years. This interview took place just as "Goodbye and Hello" was released and it features a couple of cuts from that album. Rather than replace those tracks with newly remastered versions, I just let the original play as it was.

A nice piece of history.

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(Pink Floyd in 1967 - The world was never ready for Syd)

Pink Floyd is one of those bands that have spanned the decades, picking up new fans along the way. I think each generation that has sprung up since 1967 can lay claim to having at least one Pink Floyd song or album embedded in their psyche, defining them to a specific place and time.

For me, it will always be Pink Floyd during the Syd Barrett period. No question Syd was the driving force behind the experimenting that became who they are today. I often wonder just what kind of band Pink Floyd would have been had there not been a Syd Barrett - maybe it wouldn't have happened at all and maybe it would have been someone else.

No matter - for the brief period of time Syd was with the band they made some amazing music and it set them up for the events that were to come later.

Apples and Oranges comes from their third single, released in 1967. After achieving somewhat notorious notoriety with their first two singles (Arnold Layne being a song about a cross-dresser and See Emily Play about masturbation), Apples and Oranges seemed pretty tame by comparison. But it was loaded with Syd's skewed and engaging view of the world.

A view that many shared and openly felt at home with. Syd just freed everything up.

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(Brenda Payton - promo shot for Dry Your Eyes - sez it all)

Back to deep-soul (or Northern Soul if you're in the UK). Brenda & The Tabulations from 1967. Dry Your Eyes did rather well on the charts in 1967, going up to #20 on the pop charts and #8 on the Soul charts.

I don't usually make a habit out of putting charted records on the Roundtable, but this one is so good and it's been such a favorite of mine for years that it seems timeless and totally cool for a Saturday night - especially if you're going solo.

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(The Smoke - Banned at the starting gate)

I doubt The Smoke are a band anyone on this side of the Atlantic has ever heard of, unless you are a die hard collector of psychedelia or knew someone who actually was familiar with this band at the time.

The Smoke was a short-lived outfit famous (or infamous) for their very first hit single "My Friend Jack" - an innocent sounding title, but the rest of the line goes " . . eats sugar lumps". Sugar lumps being something of a code word for the thing LSD was laced with. Right off the bat, it was banned from any airplay in England. So naturally, when anything is banned it races up the charts just on sheer rumor alone. There have been several bands with the name The Smoke, including one that did get released in the States on Tower, but they have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

Sadly though, The Smoke were a one hit wonder. And after several tries, of which this particular single "Have Some More Tea" was one, they gave up and went their separate ways. But not before recording an albums worth of material and making an indelible impression on any record collector who came their way. In later years, "My Friend Jack" has become something of an underground classic, being covered by Boney M (which has a connection to The Smoke) and Wondermints. I actually never heard this band the first time around, but discovered them on the recommendation of a guy named Yves who ran Vinyl Solution in London in 1979.

It's all his fault - thank God.