The Deep: Psychedelic Moods (US, 1966)

Documentation is sketchy on this Philadelphia group, but apparently they were masterminded by one Rusty Evans and included David Bromberg in an unspecified role. According to the skimpy liner notes, their album was the result of wee-hours freakout sessions at Cameo-Parkway studios. They took a middle ground between the Seeds, the 13th Floor Elevators, and Kim Fowley with a thinly produced, goofy psychedelia on which tomfoolery abounded. Though basically a silly exercise, the group had their interesting moments, and certainly had a greater sense of melody than either Kim Fowley or the Seeds.

It's hard to tell whether these sessions -- replete with fuzzy guitars, hallucinatory (and often silly) free-association lyrics, and ominous melodies -- were intended seriously or not. Occasional folk-rock-ish tunes (some with male-female vocal duets) offer respite from the general chaos of some not untalented musicians doing their best to be psychedelically wild and crazy. Collectors should be aware that the version of the best song, "Trip #76," included here is for some reason much thinner and worse than the one issued on the psychedelic reissue compilation Echoes of Time.

PSYCHEDELIC MOODS
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