The Jukebox Rebel

Big in California but ignored everywhere else, the Seeds debut LP was completely brilliant nonetheless. At the time of the release in April ’66 the Los Angeles group were: Sky Saxon (vocals), Jan Savage (guitar), Daryl Hooper (keyboards) and Rick Andridge (drums). The album kicks off with the group’s first ever recording, “Can't Seem to Make You Mine”, which had been issued as a single back in March ’65. The vocal is especially affecting, as critic Michael Hicks noted: “he superimposes an Eddie Cochran-like buzz on classic Buddy Holly-style baby talk and adds a Jagger-like pseudo-dialect, but a seemingly arbitrary one, in which vowels are colored and recolored with no particular consistency.” The voice as an extended instrument is a key feature which is prominent throughout the LP, with all sorts of tremors, yelps and wails emanating from the imaginative front man. Second track in, “No Escape”, bubbles with excitement and is incessant with a driving bass-led rhythm which accompanies the claustrophobic nature of the lyrics. “Lose Your Mind” follows with Diddley’s rhythm, Dylan’s moothie and Jagger’s vox; it’s all good stuff. The relentless “Evil Hoodoo” challenges music fans of the day with a provocative and punky trance-inducing 5-minute assault on the senses. You get the feeling that it could be a deal-breaker for many. Those enjoying the ride would be flipping out though, and the high continues at the close of Side 1 with the inclusion of the group’s second single, “Pushin’ Too Hard”, an inimitable classic of the heady garage rock era. In many ways it sums up the sound of the Seeds debut LP, serving as it does as a conduit between the Rock n Roll and Punk eras, whilst revelling in the now of the burgeoning psychedelic scene.

The Jukebox Rebel
26–Dec–2007

A1	[03:05] The Seeds - Can’t Seem To Make You Mine (Richard Marsh) Psychedelia
A2	[02:16] The Seeds - No Escape (Richard Marsh, Dan Savage, James Rolleston) Psychedelia
A3	[02:11] The Seeds - Lose Your Mind (Richard Marsh) Blues Rock / Soul Rock
A4	[05:19] The Seeds - Evil Hoodoo (Richard Marsh, Daryl Hooper) Trance Rock
A5	[02:26] The Seeds - Girl I Want You (Richard Marsh) Proto-Punk
A6	[02:38] The Seeds - Pushin’ Too Hard (Richard Marsh) Psychedelia
B1	[02:53] The Seeds - Try To Understand (Richard Marsh) Cerebral Pop
B2	[03:54] The Seeds - Nobody Spoil My Fun (Richard Marsh) Psychedelia
B3	[02:40] The Seeds - It’s A Hard Life (Richard Marsh) Proto-Punk
B4	[02:12] The Seeds - You Can’t Be Trusted (Richard Marsh) Psychedelia
B5	[02:21] The Seeds - Excuse, Excuse (Richard Marsh) Cerebral Pop
B6	[02:49] The Seeds - Fallin’ In Love (Richard Marsh) Blues Rock / Soul Rock

ratings by TJR