3CD - Try A Little Sunshine - The British Psychedelic Sounds Of 1969

3 Cd

 Housed in a clambox with a 44 page booklet that includes biographical information on every band as well as rare photos, "Try A Little Sunshine" covers every aspect of the 1969 British pop sound to provide not just four hours of vital late 60s music, but a fascinating look at how the mode of the music changed as a tumultuous decade drew to a close.

A significant number of great, heavily lysergic records were still appearing (if psychedelia was dead, clearly nobody had told the likes of The Factory, Fleur de Lys or Jason Crest), but the musical template did mutate. The Attack's chunky mod-pop vignettes gave way to Andromeda's power trio riffing, Status Quo moved from day-glo popsike to a looser, bluesier approach, The Pretty Things reluctantly left behind their neglected masterpiece "S.F. Sorrow" to explore more introverted territory, Grapefruit traded their gossamer-light harmony pop template for a relatively stripped-down sound, and Colin Giffin eschewed The End's psychedelic dreamscapes to dabble in post-"Eleanor Rigby" baroque pop. In addition to such cornerstone creations, this overview ranges from ultra-commercial (but still unsuccessful) bubblegum-flecked singles by the likes of Pure Gold, Balloon Busters and Strawberry Jam to the arrival of prog-rock underground groups such as Woody Kern, Pussy and the righteously-obscure Irish band Taxi.

Also featured are some of the more pop-oriented folkies/singer-songwriters, including Ralph McTell's attempt at a summer pop hit single and Marc Brierley's sitar-laden non-LP nugget "Flaxen Hair", while a number of harmony pop acts (Harmony Grass, Tapestry, Angel Pavement, The Orange Bicycle and others) were eager to move with the changing times. For other, more commercially successful bands like The Spencer Davis Group, Procol Harum and The Move, it was a case of attempting to maintain their high-profile status while also showing signs of progression.