LP - Various Artists - Brown Acid: The Twentieth Trip - Heavy Rock From The Underground Comedown (COLORED VINYL)
{PRE-ORDER} SHIPS ON APRIL 20, 2025.
COLORED VINYL.
Curated, as always, by Permanent Record's founder, Lance Barresi.
BROWN ACID - THE TWENTIETH TRIP
Here you are about to take the Twentieth Trip! The ten vintage early local hard rock
eruptions here will swarm around you like fear and loathing bats, zapping you from unexpected
angles, beyond-a-reasonable-doubt proof that the inevitable collapse of the American
Psychedelic ‘60s Utopian Dream into hard guitar low ball self absorbed human nature endures.
These killer tracks may be a half century in the rear-view mirror now BUT... since We Can’t
Work It Out… we gotta mess it up! A vibe that resonates timelessly, real life ripped out of the
haze by real people, fresh and unfiltered right out of the gate. Getting it while they can. These
are no mere historic sound recordings, they are life itself! If you’re looking for trouble, you just
found it!
SIDE TWO:
AFTERFLASH open this 20th dose of Brown Acid with a fantastic cover version of “Cookbook”,
the stunning Damnation Of Adam Blessing song about feeding your mind with psychedelic
adventures. Stripped down to it’s essentials with two verses and an acid soaked fuzz guitar
solo on the fade, 500 copies were issued in 1971 out of Iowa on Hawkeye Records. The band
were formed by the merger of two garage bands, Orphans Of Love and The Thirteenth Hour
and they capture that transition from garage to psychedelic to hard rock reaching a perfect
sweet spot where they come back full circle to the garage after walking a mile into a mirror and
traveling sideways into time.
POLVO ask “Have You Ever Been There?” and ‘there’ is a dark downer place fortunately
exorcised by no compromise heavy riffing, alienated vocal attitude until half way through when
gnarly guitar leads drive it home. Out of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico in 1971 this scorcher was
unleashed by the Mancilla brothers Eric on guitar, Ricardo on bass, Marco on vocals with
Roberto Martinez on drums. Issued on major label Orfeon but not watered down one bit by the
producer.
HOT CANDY out of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania in 1978 rip it up sideways with blatant Led Zep
action in “Darkened Passage”, moves that will put a big juicy WTF smile on your face. Tuff
vocal and familiar heavy riffage lead to a haywire guitar break aping Jimmy Page complete with
a brief dark dreamy jangle bit culminating in a breakdown based on the way Zep come out of
the trippy section of “Whole Lotta Love”… you will crack up when you hear it! Rare private
pressing with the mysterious minimal info look on the labels that seekers of the ultra obscure
get off on buried treasure style.
BANANA BROS “Suck You In” does just that in a style much different from the other tracks on
this ride. Southern rock funky moves support an unhinged soul strutter vocal filled with grunts
and ‘git it!’ yelps including the amazing lyrics “my nerves are tighter than a watch spring, watch
me spring baby all over you” and “tell me baby what’s wrong with you”… with dual blazing
guitar licks spitting nonstop all thru, hard panned left and right in the stereo mix. Cool looking
pic label, too, from Los Angeles 1975.
THE JORDAN BROTHERS from Frackville, Pennsylvania started gigging in the late ‘50s
delivering the sounds of the times throughout their career, had a minor hit with a cover of
“Gimme Some Lovin’” in 1968, they’re still at it locally today. “Thank You For The Ride” from
1980 is atypically hard rocking for them in an AM top 40 hit radio early ‘70s style. Tuff fuzz
guitar, churning organ, bonehead to the point lyrics, the song could have been titled “Thank
You For The Sex”, that’s the ride they’re thanking out on!
SIDE TWO:
OSAGE LUTE “Watch Em Shine” is the most ambitious track on this trip, nearly six minutes of
epic progressive tinged action moving through multiple scenarios with tempo and key changes,
never losing it’s tuff ballsy edge by getting too fancy. You can easily hear Ozzy singing the first
two verses in your head with the way the vocals are phrased. Extended southern dual guitar
section is followed by a terrific high energy Led Zep influenced arrangement before the vocal
comes back with some powerhouse Jack Bruce moves. Out of Union, Missouri in 1974, this
band later evolved into the great Back Jack.
SANDY TORANO & THE NIMO SPLIFF is a vitriolic rant from a dude who got totally bent by a
girl he thinks was a nothing until he made her into a something but then she got smart and
ditched him. Terrific tuff groove with use of a fab exhaling air vocal effect like on “Purple Haze”
and “Time Of The Season”, terrific left field hard rock pop moves like spooky descending vocal
harmony accents, clever arrangement, gnarly guitar injected into just the right spots. Miami
1970, Sandy went disco in 1977 with the better known band Niteflyte.
LAZY DAY keep the negative vibes coming in a mid ‘70s bar band southern rock style, usually
these type bands get all sweaty on stage with exhortations to dance to their music, these guys
warn you “Don’t Dance In My Song”. Ha! Actually they’re just saying’ don’t get in my face don’t
spoil my groove… from their 1974 private press LP ‘Straight Atcha’ out of Iowa. The guitar
break is quite tasty but the gushy organ action is what makes it move.
FLAVOR get down with a “Hot And Tot Woman” and she’s like playing with matches, danger,
got to put the flame out before it gets too hot in Elburn, Illinois 1977. Close to metal riffage
gives way to trashier bar band moves with a low-fi lean towards AOR FM radio appeal,
fortunately too raw here to get anywhere near there. Gnarly leads, crude vocals, bleak
resignation that this hot and tot chick has a brief shelf life like all the others and figuring it out is
pointless.
FROZEN SUN works it just right as a closer for this trip, an instrumental titled “Jamm Part 1”
out of Arizona in 1969. It has an eerie epilogue feel following the previous nine tracks. Opens
with a lost-in-time tighten up garage funk rhythm guitar groove that sets the mood, bass and
drums are just On It all the way, edgy but uneasily relaxed psychedelic fuzz guitar leads veer
into raga patterns but remain in the dive bar twilight zone, enhanced by a hauntingly generic
familiarity. Off you go into the forbidden underbelly of the night… Frozen Sun means no light,
theme music for for those who can’t get it right but have a real good time getting it wrong!
