The College Crowd Digs Me

"Come And Have Some Tea With The Tea Company" - The Tea Company (1968) The Tea Company, from out of New York, left behind one album. The music was intentionally trippy and a bit freaky with an album cover that leaves little doubt as to the kind of "tea" they are thinking about.  Side one is the deeper psych for the head and side two has a more poppy psych vibe.  And I loved it.  The band dive in with both feet.  Nothing too heavy, but tasty studio trickery abounds and make for some pleasing psych moments. Some of the lyrics are a tad cheesy in places, but they are sung with a sincerity that begs forgiveness.  I dug it.  The album has become a sought-after essential for psych lovers and nice copies are starting to sting the wallet.  Still, as record hunters are want to say...good deals can be had.  My copy was a "right place, right time" find for low dollar from a local seller known as Garageman G.  "Come And Have Some Tea With The Tea Compa...

"The Time Has Come" - The Chambers Brothers (1967) It is the psychedelic "in-your-face" "Time Has Come Today" that punches everyone's ticket.  Written by Joseph and Willie Chambers , "Time..." is an eleven-plus minute psychedelic tour de force filled with revelry and pronouncement.  It has a wonderful middle freakout with dripping time all powered by some of the most definitive cowbell ever put to wax.  The song is a fun, but blistering warning to those who promote war and inequality.  It's a polaroid of the times.   It is why the song has been used a gazillion times in films and television and documentaries.  The rest of the album is mostly straight r&b in various shades of pretty good, but nothing comes close to touching this tour de force. "The Time Has Come" (back) Other favorites are the first three tracks on the album.  The fun and energetic opener  "All Strung Out Over You."   The oft-covered "People...

" Cellophane Symphony" -  Tommy James and the Shondells (1969) "Cellophane Symphony"  was  Tommy James and the Shondells' 7th album and is filled with trippy and catchy pop and soul psych goodness.  And as fun and enjoyable as this 1969 psych offering is, the album didn't even break the Top 100 on Billboard.  You can find it in the wild for single bills and it's a steal of a deal when you do. Favorites are the nearly 10-minute psych-driven instrumental title track and the floaty and equally exhilarating rush of "Changes.”   “I Know Who I Am” is especially groovy and funky and a bit of a worm.  And the top 10 hit  “Sweet Cherry Wine” is always nice to hear.  I'd never paid attention to the lyrics before, but the song was a protest against the war.  There is enough variety on this album to entertain without drifting too far away from the boat, which is cool.  There are two 'throw-away' songs that close out both sides of the album,...