3CD - Various - Middle Earth 1967-1969

3CD - import

Starting out briefly as The Electric Garden, Middle Earth opened its doors in 1967 and immediately became the most happening club in London. More than just a home for UK bands that were pushing the boundaries of rock music, Middle Earth also attracted some of America's finest exponents of psychedelic rock such as Captain Beefheart, The Byrds, The Fugs, Jefferson Airplane, and many more.

Fledgling UK acts that would go on to great things such as Soft Machine, Tomorrow (The In-Crowd), David Bowie (The Riot Squad), Yes, The Incredible String Band, Ten Years After, and Free were joined by more established acts like Traffic, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, The Pretty Things and The Yardbirds.

Cult favourites, who would never attain the commercial success of those just mentioned but are revered by those that know, include The Deviants, Dantalion's Chariot, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, Third Ear Band, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop, among others.

The club only last a few years but it's timeline coincided neatly with the rapid and ever- developing rise of psychedelic rock in the UK and as such this compilation serves as the perfect guide to how the genre evolved.

Jeff Dexter, the house DJ and main man at Middle Earth, has been interviewed exclusively for this release and deep image research has thrown up many unseen images to round out what is the definitive document on the UK's ultimate psychedelic rock club.

TRACK LISTING

DISC ONE

1  Family - A Good Friend Of Mine

2  Soft Machine - I Should Have Known

3  The In Crowd - Am I Glad To See You

4  Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - A Kind Of Love-in

5  Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Salisbury Plain

6  Fairport Convention - Time Will Show The Wiser

7  Paper Blitz Tissue - Grey Man

8  The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Devil's Grip

9  The Riot Squad ft David Bowie - I'm Waiting For My Man

10  The Flies - House Of Love

11  Keith Dangerfield & The Way Ahead - She's a Witch 12 Graham Bond - Strange Times, Sad Times

13  Tales of Justine - Monday Morning

14  Denny Laine - Too Much In Love

15  Picadilly Line - How Could You Say You're Leaving Me

16  Third Ear Band - Raga No. 1

17  Mabel Greer's Toyshop - Images of You and Me

18  The Action - Climbing Up The Wall (See Me)

19  Blossom Toes - Telegram Tuesday

20  Eyes of Blue - Prodigal Son

21  The Bonzo Doo Dah Dog Band - Canyons Of Your Mind

DISC TWO

1  The Incredible String Band - Way Back In The 1960s

2  Traffic - Feeling Alright?

3  Ten Years After - Portable People

4  The Knack - (The Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau

5  The Pretty Things - Balloon Burning

6  The Electric Prunes - Long Day's Flight

7  Dr. K's Blues Band - Pet Cream Man

8  Eclection - Mark Time

9  Dantalion's Chariot - Soma (Parts 1 & 2)

10  Blonde on Blonde - All Day, All Night

11  The Yardbirds - Drinking Muddy Water

12  The Deviants - Garbage

13  Captain Beefheart - Yellow Brick Road

14  Spooky Tooth - Sunshine Help Me

15  Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman

16  Tim Rose - Dim Light A Burning

17  Champion Jack Dupree - I Haven't Done No-One No Harm

18  Tim Buckley - Wings

19  Amalgam - Prayer For Peace

20  Chris McGregor Septet - Up to Earth

DISC THREE

1  The Byrds - Artificial Energy

2  The Mindbenders - Uncle Joe, The Ice Cream Man

3  Small Faces - Yesterday Today and Tomorrow

4  Free - I'm A Mover

5  Junior's Eyes - Black Snake

6  Edgar Broughton Band - Evil

7  Killing Floor - Forget It!

8  Jefferson Airplane - Crown Of Creation

9  Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments - The Week Looked Good On Paper

10  Canned Heat - On The Road Again

11  Chicken Shack - Worried About My Woman

12  The Fugs - Crystal Liaison

13  The Who - Magic Bus

14  Liverpool Scene - Baby

15  John James - Maybelle Rag

16  Yes - Sweetness

17  Sleepy - Love's Immortal Fire

18  The Gun - Sunshine

19  Arcadium - Woman Of A Thousand Years

20  Barclay James Harvest - Poor Wages

21  Love Sculpture - Wang Dang Doodle

22  Steamhammer - Lost You Too

23  Vamp - Floatin'