FREAK SCENE - Psychedelic Psoul (1967 psych!) LION CD
LionFresh from his studio experiences with The Deep and the Third Bardo, Rusty Evans decided to create a psychedelic “happening” which would also function as a recording group. He gathered together a few New York musicians, including three members of the Deep (David Bromberg among them), dubbed them the Freak Scene, and began work on the “Psychedelic Psoul” album, which was released in 1967. The intention was to pursue the Indian-Eastern influence in rock—and this raga rock idea is used to great effect on songs like ‘Grok’ and ‘Rose of Smiling Faces’ (sounds like it could have been the sole inspiration for Damon’s “Song of a Gypsy” album).
As the only true psychedelic band on Columbia at the time, the Freak Scene got decent exposure. No doubt this number would have been much greater had the band been a touring ensemble, instead of a one-time psychedelic event. The album is gritty, tense, subversive, brittle, and yes, psychedelic.
Perfect in its own way. Included as bonus tracks are nine demos from the summer of 1966, some of which would end up in quite a different musical context on The Deep “Psychedelic Moods” and Freak Scene albums. These songs, with their P. F. Sloan/Dylan (or even Sixto Rodriguez) vibe deepen the legacy of edgy, insightful songs from Rusty Evans/Marcus Uzilevsky. Comes with a 16-page booklet which includes a biographical portrait of Marcus, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy.
Track List: 1. A Million Grains of Sand (2:41); 2. "...when in the course of human events" (Draft Beer, Not Students) Interpolation: We Shall Overcome (3:36); 3. Rose of Smiling Faces (4:18); 4. Behind the Mind (2:18); 5. The Subway Ride thru Inner Space (2:44); 6. Butterfly Dream(1:40); 7. My Rainbow Life (2:52); 8. The Center of My Soul (2:26); 9. Watered Down Soul (2:36); 10. Red Rose Will Weep (2:18); 11. Mind Bender (2:28); 12. Grok! (1:38)
Bonus Tracks (1966 demos): 13. I Dig Your Mind (1:46); 14. Scufflin' Around (2:31); 15. A Million Grains of Sand (2:18); 16. Here We Are (2:12); 17. I Watched The World Go By (2:00); 18. It's Too Late Babe (2:06); 19. Dr. Seven (2:16); 20. My Other World (2:17); 21. The Life I Used To Live (2:27)