Graham Reid | | 2 min read
Gypsy Plays His Drums
To paraphrase Matthew in the good book, “Where two or three are gathered in the name of garageband rock'n'roll, the name of The Seeds is in the midst of them”.
The Seeds out of Los Angeles in the Sixties -- lead by the extraordinary, charismatic and increasingly eccentric Sky Saxon – had more than one great moment.
But their defining two and a half minutes was the desperate, pummeling, rebellious and anti-social Pushing' Too Hard.
It was a top 40 single in the US and given global credibility when it appeared on Lenny Kaye's 1972 Nuggets collection.
Their 1968 Raw and Alive album captured them at their most unleashed, although some measure of that comes from the screams of the crowd. Unfortunately the album wasn't live at all but the screams were added after the studio sessions were over.
We're going to say “no matter” because at times the Seeds could be like a more ambitious and depraved version of the early Pretty Things or Downliners Sect (Up In Her Room) but, because they had Darryl Hooper on organ, also like a psychedelic r'n'b meltdown of ? and the Mysterians (96 Tears).
However check the “live” version of Gypsy Plays His Drums and you'll hear Johnny Rotten gatecrashing a party given by the Doors. (We've posted the studio version without the audience noise so you can enjoy it with more clarity.)
It sounds like PiL two decades before Lydon imagined it.
Musically the Seeds seem a bit scattershot (Can't Seem to Make You Mine is almost a pop song) but they certainly brought a sense of menace into their hit'n'run rock (Night Time Girl).
Up in Her Room is a breathless 10 minute wig-out, 900 Million People Daily All Making Love betrays the influence of The Doors' gloom-poetry and Satisfy You is sneering punkish r'n'b with fuzz guitar.
We've previously introduced a collection of their singles (with b-sides) and Raw And Alive has been reissued a few times in different versions, but as bottled lightning it is essential in any collection of garageband rock'n'roll-gone-psychedelic.
Now comes a double album version on vinyl which includes the released album and also the version which was scrapped, the band live in the studio in front of members of their fan club and playing the same set.
Yes of course you can hear this noise through digital outlets, but there's something very authentic about having the Seeds on vinyl . . . especially when this limited edition comes with a booklet of photos and an essay by the compiler Alec Palao.
Check the sample track here . . . and don't say you weren't warned.
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This album is released on August 25 but we bring it to attention now so you can order from your local dealer. Record store we mean.
It is distributed by Border in New Zealand. You order or buy from JB Hi-Fi stores here
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