It’s Pop-O-Rama 10!!!

Sundazed, but not confused, because the iconic label never fails to impress with its offerings.

And the following five reissues epitomize heretofore underappreciated late ‘60s soft pop and psychedelic rock as only this intrepid New York label can do.

 

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Artist: The Gordian Knot 

Album: The Gordian Knot

Label: Sundazed Music

★★★★★ (5/5 stars) 

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Mississippi would probably not be the first state that would come to mind when one thinks of soft pop, but The Gordian Knot burst from that scene into Los Angeles, hooked up with producer Clark Burroughs (who also arranged a few Association albums), and created this gem. Naturally, the closest comparison would be to The Association, with the Knot’s multi-part harmonies and various lead vocalists; exemplars include the gorgeous “We Must Be Doing Somethin’ Right”, “Carraway Stream” and “The Year of The Sun”, all sung by Leland “The Radical” Russell. The band retains their southern roots with “Strong Wind Blowin” and “I Can’t Be Hurt Anymore”, both written and sung by Jim Weatherly, who would go on to pen the classic “Midnight Train To Georgia.” The album ends with its most psychedelic track, “Broken Down Ole Merry-Go-Round,” a languorous coda indeed. The LP is pressed on beautiful white vinyl!

 

 

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Artist: Sandy Salisbury 

Album: Mellow As Sunshine 

Label: Sundazed Music

★★★★ (4/5 stars) 

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Speaking of soft pop, there were no artists in that genre who have been worshipped more than Sagittarius and its more psychedelic counterpart, The Millennium, both of which were masterminded by the legendary Curt Boettcher, who had a lot of help from his friends, and perhaps his closest friend spiritually was Sandy Salisbury. Mellow As Sunshine contains demos Salisbury recorded between 1966 and 1968, and while they’re spare in their production, most are quite pretty, featuring his sweet lead and harmony vocals. Fans of Simon and Garfunkel will especially appreciate tracks like “Tomorrow”, while others like “Six O’ Clock” call to mind Harry Nilsson. For the past several years Salisbury has written children’s books under the name Graham Salisbury, and when you hear “Once I Knew A Little Dog”, you can certainly see that coming. A lovely set of tunes (Note: The LP contains 13 tracks, while the CD adds six as a bonus!)

 

VIDEO: Sandy Salisbury “Butter Me Up”

 

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Artist: Ellie Pop

Album: Ellie Pop

Label: Sundazed Music

★★★1/2 (3.5/5 stars) 

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The Mainstream label, out of New York City, was best known for the heavier psychedelic rock of bands like The Tangerine Zoo, The Growing Concern, and The Amboy Dukes, the latter featuring the guitar playing and songwriting of one Ted Nugent, so this album by these Michiganders is a bit of an outlier. Fans of The Left Banke’s second album will particularly dig tracks like “Seven North Frederick” and “Can’t Be Love”, with their off kilter melodies and chord changes; “Remembering (Sunnybrook)” could have fit nicely on the first Nazz album; and the multipart harmonies of “Caught In The Rain” and “Sometime Ago” will call to mind The Merry Go Round. All songs were penned by brothers S. and R. Dunn, who weren’t part of the band. Ellie Pop clocks in at a mere 25 minutes, but is definitely solid stuff.  Pressed on clear vinyl with red splatter!

 

 

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Artist: The Superfine Dandelion 

Album: The Superfine Dandelion 

Label: Sundazed Music

★★★1/2 (3.5/5 stars) 

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The Superfine Dandelion is a deft combination of folk-pop and country rock, by a San Francisco band (by way of Phoenix) who wholly embraced the pleasures of the city’s music scene. Tracks like “People In The Streets” and “The Other Sidewalk” recall early Jefferson Airplane; “Crazy Town” is a pretty slice of hippie rock; and “My Place” and “Shameful Lady” are not unlike some of the more jug band oriented tunes of The Lovin’ Spoonful. The band features bassist Rick Anderson, who went on to be one of the founding members of that outrageous outfit, The Tubes (!). Pressed, in limited quantities, on blue vinyl with yellow splatter!

 

 

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Artist: Jokers Wild

Album: Step Outside Your Mind 

Label: Sundazed Music

★★★★ (4/5 stars) 

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Collectors may recognize the name of this Minneapolis band by their appearance on the excellent Best of Metrobeat compilation of 1990; all of the tunes therein, and a whole lot more, appear on this two-LP set, which includes 15 previously unreleased tracks! The singles, “All I See Is You,” “Because I’m Free” et al are wonderful slices of minor key laden garage pop. Like a lot of other bands of the time, after they recorded those tunes they moved into a heavier direction, with tracks like “Hard Road,” “American Dream” and “River” featuring much grittier lead vocals and lead guitar, but among those recordings were some pretty cool covers of The Easybeats “Good Time” and The Hollies’ “Have You Ever Loved Somebody!”

 

VIDEO: Jokers Wild “All I See Is You”