VA - With The Sun In My Eyes (1966-1972) {Psychic Circle 2009}
VA - With The Sun In My Eyes (1966-72)
Tracklist:
01 - Plastic Penny - Give Me Money
02 - Peter Sarstedt - Mary Jane
03 - The Mindbenders - Yellow Brick Road
04 - Ola & The Janglers - No One Knows What Happens Around The Corner
05 - Omega Group - Ten Thousand Paces
06 - Zion De Gallier - Me
07 - The Gnomes Of Zurich - Hang On Baby
08 - The Rattles - Lady Love
09 - Foggy - She's Far Away
10 - Majority One - Get Back Home
11 - Schadel - With The Sun In My Eyes
12 - Sound Network - Watching
13 - Youngblood - Don't Leave Me In The Dark
14 - Ramases - Balloon
15 - Grand Union - She Said
16 - Winston G - Bye Bye Baby
17 - Peter & The Wolves - Woman On My Mind
18 - Don Curtis & Scoopes - In The Corners
19 - Giorgio - Stop
20 - The Mooche - Seen Through A Light
In his liner notes, Nick Saloman, the man behind the Bevis Frond and proprietor of Psychic Circle Records, confesses that "tracking down twenty proper, uncomped psych tracks from the UK is now no easy task," and some might suggest he's cheated just a bit on With the Sun in My Eyes. There's a difference between psychedelia and pretentious pop, and Peter Sarstedt's engagingly silly "Mary Jane" clearly belongs in the latter category, while "Hang on Baby" by the Gnomes of Zurich plays more like prog-leaning beat music, Peter & the Wolves' "Woman on My Mind" is fine folk-rock but hardly psychedelic, and "Lady Love" from the Rattles sounds like heavy metal's primitive ancestor. But folks looking for trippier stuff will find some real gems on this set, such as genuinely freaky folk from Foggy, acid-flavored heavy rock from Plastic Penny (whose rhythm section would go on to join Elton John's road band), inspired minor-key droning from Ola & the Janglers, the spooky and gleefully paranoia-inducing Youngbloods (with Cozy Powell on drums), spacy keyboard-based explorations from Giorgio Moroder (yes, Mister "I Feel Love" himself) and the epic-scale orchestral grandeur of Schadel. Saloman does a heroic job of tracking down the known facts about the artists featured on this disc in his liner notes, and while the fidelity varies throughout this disc (these tunes appear to have been lifted from vinyl for the most part), most of the tracks sound surprisingly good given their obscurity. With the Sun in My Eyes is a real treat for fans of lesser-known psychedelic rock and pop, as well as devotees of rock's more curious tributaries. ~ Mark Deming, All Music Guide
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