V.A. - LOST SOULS VOLUME 6 (CD)

V.A. – LOST SOULS VOL 6: Garage & Psychedelic Rock from Arkansas (Psych of the South) CD

Final installment of this excellent series of rare and previously unreleased garage and psychedelic rock from Arkansas.28 tracks (plus two radio airchecks) recorded in Arkansas between 1965 and 1971, several of them new discoveries from bands who were featured on previous volumes. There’s a wide assortment of sounds on here, so let’s begin with some of my personal top picks.
Nothing is known about the Echos, but their song “Gemini” is an instant attention-grabber with its unusual lyric, finely blended harmonies and inventive arrangement touches such as the syncopated climbs that punctuate the choruses. Dead on Arrival’s “Run Hide Away” is a stirring slab of garage-psych with a jangling 12-string solo and a torrid, Yardbirds-inspired fuzz guitar break. The 45 version of the song (titled “Run Hide Get Away”) appeared on Lost Souls Volume 1. The superior alternate version included here, sourced from an acetate, includes an extra guitar solo.
An acetate by Adam & the Evils yields two fabulous songs, the hard-driving psych rocker “In My Tree” and the harmony-enhanced Merseybeater “Don’t Wait for Me.” The band was actually based in Pennsylvania but singer Adam Brazas attended Arkansas College at the time so they get in on a technicality.
The Culls, from Little Rock, released a terrific version of the Pretty Things’ “Midnight to Six Man,” which was a regional hit in 1967. A KAAY aircheck included here confirms that it was #1 on that station. The CD also includes a low fidelity live recording of the group performing the song live for a KAAY radio event hosted by DJ Tommy Riggs. As Ott explains in his liner notes, “A poignant moment arrives when the teens are dancing a little too suggestively for the adults in the room at the time…” Riggs stops the band mid-song to caution that “There’ll be no boogaloo on the floor,” adding, “but what you do in your own mind…” A moment in time for sure.
The late Gerry Standridge had one track, “Lamp Shade,” on Volume 5. Since then, an acetate LP was discovered featuring seven more tracks recorded at Jaggars Recording Studio in Little Rock around late 1971. It’s a garage/hard rock trio sound with deft guitar playing throughout and lyrics that dwell upon war, death and drugs. Standridge apes Sky Saxon’s nasal snarl on the tense rocker “Battle,” which could easily fit onto a volume of the Brown Acid series, as could the fuzz-riddled throbber “Dirty Weed.” But the standouts for me are the brooding minor-key jangler “Death,” the chiming instrumental “Beautiful Day,” the proto-punk cruncher “Car Wreck,” and the moody and melodic “Hard Fall.”
Alumni of Volumes 1, 2 and 4, the Coachmen, reappear with five previously unreleased tracks including a rocking version of “Be Bop A Lula,” the fine original “Two Girls” and a superior demo version of their haunting ballad “Tears of Blue,” which was released a single on MY, the same label as the aforementioned Culls 45. The Barons return with a couple of smooth but appealing ballads, “One Escape,” which sounds a little like Classic IV, and “That’s What I Need You Love For.”
The Sole Society live up to their name on a spirited live recording of an Otis Redding-inspired workout, “After You’re Gone,” and the Vipers close things out with a sentimental ballad, “One of the Millions,” about being one of the countless bands striving for success. An appropriate and poignant way to lower the curtain on the final act of this esteemed series. (Limited edition of 300 copies)
(Mike Stax, UT#73)