VVAA - Shapes and Shadows - Psychedelic Pop and Other rare flavours from the chapter one vaults 1968-1972 [UK psychedelic 68-72] Grapefruit Records

The psychedelic era, short-lived as it was, produced some of the most memorable tunes of the late Sixties and early Seventies. It also spewed forth a lot of crap. Basically, if you had a flange or wah-wah pedal on your cheap electric guitar, and some decent harmonies from the bassist and keyboard player, you could churn out a great psychedelic song in about half an hour. The lyrics didn’t have to make sense. As long as you were blowing someone’s mind, or singing about blowing someone’s mind, you were set.

Quality psychedelic music, as seen backwards through the beer goggles of time, is hard to find. Some of the good stuff, largely unheard in the States, can be find on the Cherry Red/Grapefruit compilation album, Shapes & Shadows: Psychedelic Pop and Other Rare Flavours from the Chapter One Vaults 1968 – 1972.

The Chapter One label, started by songwriter Les Reed in 1968, was the home for many psychedelic bands, and a lot of the tracks on this album have been highly-sought by collectors of music from that era. To be sure, there are some standout tracks available here.

Shapes & Shadows