Skipping Through The Night [CD]

Well i've had this cd for a wee while now and its a real grower,gets better with every listen,this cd is really good with excellent informative liners with unseen photos of this mind expanding group!!If you like your psychedelia trippy and at times punky(60s definition of the name)with a touch of jazzy vibes on a track like"Imagination Dead Machine"(great title)this could be for you.Who were NGC-4594?and where did the strange name come from?Well it tells you the full story in the booklet,im feeling lazy so i wont get into that at the mo!!
What about the music which is why youre probably thinking of buying this cd,well this 14 track cd features 12 unreleased tracks and a double sider single,the awesome(Skipping through the night/Going Home) from "67.Those unreleased tracks recordings had been laying collecting dust for 40 years until they were rediscovered,this cd has been a real labour of love for the compilers and is released on the Tune In label owned by Cherry Red(who also released the 2 Beacon Street Union cds).As for the sound quality on those old recordings,the sound quality is very good wih no clicks or pops,as is the story with Cherry Reds labels,most of the time their releases are well put together with excellent mastered sound,also the liners on this cd have been well researched by West Coast fanatic Gray Newell and retells the whole story.Trips and all!!!

The picks of the bunch for me are the first track"Colors"a melting pot of eastern jagged guitar with organ pumping away and some flute fighting for space,"Negative Zone"is a pretty groovy number with electric piano,flute and percussion(never heard such good tambourine shaking since Davy Jones of The Monkees) to the fore,with a real dirty fuzzy guitar popping its head up now and then."Take off Your Feet"is a rather jaunty and sunny track,pretty poppy for this bunch of lysergic jumpers!!"Imagination Dead Imagine"(great title) as i mentioned earlier has a strong laid back jazz vibe,"Bloomin"is fab farfisa organ led early psych number again with a slight jazz edge to it which reminds me of Ultimate Spinach,but hey NGC-4594 came way earlier!!"Forever Gone"is a groovy track that you can imagine gyrating go go dancers dancing to with its spikey guitar and groovy bass runs"Sea Ballad"has double tracked vocals seconds apart which gives a real lysergic effect,again a nice and pretty laid back number which at times brings The Doors to mind(dont let that put you off)its the whining organ which gives it that sound."Its Called Love"is certainly a highlight of this impressive cd,harmonica wailing in the background fighting for space with the organ, drums,bass and the vocals,fab track,gotta be heard."Nova Express"is a psych delight with that electric piano wabbling away with snatches of organ and flute and impressive drumming and finished off with some fuzzy guitar licks again the lyrics are very trippy in their content,"So Bright"ends the unreleased part of this cd,and its beauty to end up with. As for the single "Going Home"again reminds me of an Ultimate Spinach track(whos title i have forgotten)but this is well before the Spinach flexed their psychedelic muscles!!And the final track"Skipping through the Night"is awash with floating organ and flute aqd a real hazy lazy lysergic vibe!!
This is real good psych and it makes you wonder what other stuff is laying dormant as these recordings where,i wholeheartedly recommend this cd to anyone interested in the sounds and the influence west coast psychedelia had in other parts of the states.A labour of love from the Tune In gurus,it makes you wonder what delights are next,for our psyched out heads!!!!!!!

Skipping through the night is a wonderful masterpiece, of garage psych. With memorable keyboards, catchy rhythms, and first class lyrics. Superb.

I thought I'd throw in another 5 star review here, as this is an album that deserves to be heard by more. Like the other reviewers I think, I have most of the acknowledged classics from 1968, and I assumed that this would be another second-rate obscurity only worth listening to for those desperate for new music. So it was a pleasant surprise to find a great album comparable to the best albums of that year. If it had been released and promoted well it could very well have been a big seller. Nevermind, at least it's seen the light of day now, and although I'm sure the band members received very little financial compensation for their efforts, they can at least be satisfied that they made a great contribution to the music of that era. The lyrics are mystical, spiritual, and drug-related, very much of the era.