It came from the garage! The Electric Prunes ushered in the psychedelic ‘60s with their collective feet heavy on the distortion pedal and in doing so the sound tracked the summer of love with their single ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’. Then Came The Dawn: The Complete Recordings 1966-1969 collects their four albums along with a live set from 1967 and a host of rare recordings and presents them in a lavish box (along with a 36 page booklet) for the most comprehensive early career compendium.
Disc One: The Electric Prunes (1967)
Perhaps their best-known song (so much so that it’s unfairly overshadowed much of their other work) ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ is a nugget for sure. Both psychedelic and catchy it propelled the Prunes into the national consciousness, and rightly so. Like much magic in rock n’ roll it’s backwards guitar was a happy accident, but it set the template which countless bands copied in the following decades. With no song on this album breaking the three-minute mark it foreshadows the poppy end of punk and you can hear where The Undertones found their delivery, and from where Fergal Sharkey got his petulant vocal style. But The Electric Prunes tries on many sets of clothes from the otherworldly ‘Onie’ to the jazz infused ‘Train For Tomorrow’ via the bawdy cabaret of closer ‘The Toonerville Trolley’. At just 29 minutes this album is fairly succinct, yet it certainly leaves the listener hungry for more and if your appetite has been whetted then this disc also includes the mono mix. Folded down, the mono version sounds strangely warmer and is more in tune with the original vinyl release. Nevertheless, mono or stereo, The Electric Prunes stands as an era defining album.
Disc Two: Underground (1967)
Following their debut album by a mere six months Underground found the band’s sound evolving rapidly. While it doesn’t contain the magic of a ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ it’s a more measured release. It found the band breaking out the shackles of the three-minute ditty and spreading their musical wings. Opening shot ‘The Great Banana Hoax’ strains like a dog on a leash yet the band keep a tight grip and punctuate the song with scything organ and snaking guitar and the effect is somewhat hypnotic. Underground finds The Prunes taking a much more hands on approach; from the sleeve to less reliance on outside songwriters (vocalist James Lowe and bassist Mark Tulin prove to be adept scribes) and their sophomore effort is truer to their garage roots. There’s a definite sun-kissed, West Coast vibe on ‘I Happen To Love You’ and it shimmers like light fractured on water but the band haven’t ditched their eclectic nature as the following ‘Dr. Do-Good’ veers into vaudeville. Added as bonus tracks is the whole of Underground in mono and again is faithful to the initial vinyl pressing.
Disc Three: Mass In F Minor (1968)
The rapidity with which bands released albums (and with no discernible drop in quality) never ceases to amaze me. Black Sabbath unleashed their first three LP’s in under 18 months, which is pretty mind blowing, but The Electric Prunes went one better when they released their third album, Mass in F Minor, in January 1968 (making three full lengths in one calendar year). It was quite a departure for the band and featured quasi-religious songs sung in Greek and Latin to a psychedelic soundtrack. Eagle-eared listeners will recognise opening song, ‘Kyrie Eleison’, from the Easy Rider soundtrack and it sets the tone for the rest of the album. Written and arranged by classical composer David Axelrod this album could quite easily have veered into The Gospel According To Spinal Tap territory but it is averted from that fate by the quality musicianship. More psychedelia and less classical would have improved this release but overall, it sounds slightly confused. The difficulty in performing these songs live didn’t help the cause and Mass In F Minor barely dented the charts. A mono mix is also included for your inspection.
Disc Four: Release Of An Oath (1968) / Just Good Old Rock And Roll (1969)
Although released under the name of The Electric Prunes Release Of An Oath had very little input from the band. Producer Dave Hassinger owned the rights to the band’s name and, buoyed by the relative “success” of Mass In F Minor, once again called upon composer David Axelrod. Assembling a whole new band (from Colorado group Climax) Release Of An Oath contains more semi-religious songs (based around the Jewish prayer of Kol Nidre) but without the psychedelic chops of the original Prunes it all sounds rather flat and one dimensional and does little to grab the listeners attention.
Yet another version of The Electric Prunes was put together in 1969 for the back-to-basics Just Good Old Rock And Roll, with only Dave Whetstone remaining from the line-up which recorded the previous album. With a distinctly funky vibe it bears little resemblance to anything that came before yet it still sounds rudderless as the band flail around in deep water. The greatness of ‘So Many People To Tell’ is negated by tracks such as ‘Silver Passion Mine’. There are flashes of brilliance as with the riff on ‘Thorjohn’ yet this magic is too sparse to make a cohesive whole. A violation of the Trades Description Act Just Good Old Rock And Roll sounds weak when compared to the original Prunes.
Disc Five: Shadows
Collecting a host of rare tracks, extended versions and mono single mixes Shadows returns us to the glory days of The Electric Prunes and it’s a mind-bending, psychedelic smorgasbord. The single version of ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’ presents the song in a whole new light and it’s a fuzzed up, feedback-filled frolic through garage inspired psychedelia. The guitar tone of ‘World Of Darkness’ is both ethereal and heavy and is hallucinogenic (without hallucinogens) while ‘Get Me To The World On Time’ arrives with a bad attitude, and is all the better for it. The Lowe/Tulin song writing partnership is prominent throughout and gives the disc a unified feel despite the years and recording locations that separate the tracks. ‘Hey Mr. President’ and ‘Flowing Smoothly’ point in the direction that The Electric Prunes should have gone.
Disc Six: Stockholm ‘67 (1997) / Jim And The Lords Demo Recordings (1965)
Released on the Heartbeat label in 1997 Stockholm ‘67 was, as the title suggests, recorded in the Swedish capitol against a backdrop of student riots and an escalating war in Vietnam and The Electric Prunes are suitably vexed. The band sound on top form, teasing the audience with an elongated intro that segues into ‘You’ve Never Had It Better’ which becomes a one-two punch with ‘I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)’. The Prunes put their own indelible stamp on two blues standards and electrify Preston Foster’s ‘I Got My Mojo Workin’’and get low down and dirty with Howlin’ Wolf’s ‘Smokestack Lightning’ and take it to whole new destinations. With a bass heavy rumble that’d please Geezer Butler ‘Get Me To The World On Time’ is extended to three times its original length and caps this live outing in a rowdy manner.
Bringing this luxuriant box set full circle are four tracks which comprise an early incarnation of The Electric Prunes namely Jim And The Lords and collects them as the imaginatively titled Jim And The Lords Demo Recordings. Featuring three cover versions (Beatles, Stones, Leaves) and an original James Lowe composition they contain that classic garage sound that would come to fruition in due course…and the rest is history.
- Reviewed By Peter Dennis.
- Then Came The Dawn Complete Recordings 1966 To 1969 is released via Cherry Red Records on 26th November 2021
- Official Website
Track listing:
Disc One: The Electric Prunes (1967)
- I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)
- Bangles
- Onie
- Are You Lovin’ Me More
- Train For Tomorrow
- Sold To The Highest Bidder
- Get Me To The World On Time
- About A Quarter To Nine
- The King Is In The Counting House
- Luvin’
- Try On Me For Size
- The Toonerville Trolley
Bonus Tracks:
Tracks 13-24 The Electric Prunes Mono LP Version
Disc Two: Underground (1967)
- The Great Banana Hoax
- Children Of Rain
- Wind Up Toys
- Antique Doll
- It’s Not Fair
- I Happen To Love You
- Dr Do-Good
- I
- Hideaway
- Big City
- Capt. Glory
- Long Day’s Flight
Bonus Tracks:
Tracks 13-24 Underground Mono LP Version
Disc Three: Mass in F Minor (1968)
- Kyrie Eleison
- Gloria
- Credo
- Sanctus
- Benedictus
- Angus Dei
Bonus Tracks:
Tracks 7-12 Mass In F Minor Mono LP Version
Disc Four: Release Of An Oath (1968) / Just Good Old Rock And Roll (1969)
Release Of An Oath:
- Kol Nidre
- Holy Are You
- General Confessional
- Individual Confessional
- Our Father, Our King
- The Adoration
- Closing Hymn
Just Good Old Rock And Roll:
- Sell
- 14 Year Old Funk
- Love Grows
- So Many People To Tell
- Finders Keepers Losers Weepers
- Giant Sunhorse
- Violent Rose
- Thorjohn
- Silver Passion Mine
- Tracks
- Sing To Me
Disc Five: Shadows
- Ain’t It Hard
- Little Olive
- I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night) (Mono Single Version)
- Luvin’ (Mono Single Version)
- I’ve Got A Way Of My Own
- World Of Darkness
- Get Me To The World On Time (Mono Single Mix)
- Are You Loving Me More (But Enjoying It Less (Mono Single Version)
- Dr. Do-Good (Mono Single Version)
- Hideaway
- The Great Banana Hoax (Extended Version)
- Wind Up Toys
- Everybody knows (You’re Not In Love)
- You’ve Never Had It Better
- Long Days Flight (‘Til Tomorrow) (Extended Version)
- Shadows
- Hey Mr. President
- Flowing Smoothly
- Vox Wah-Wah Foot Pedal Radio Commercial
Disc Six: Stockholm ‘67 (1997) / Jim And The Lords Demo Recordings (1965)
Stockholm ‘67:
- Introduction/You’ve Never Had It Better
- I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)
- Try Me On For Size
- I Happen To Love You
- I Got My Mojo Workin’
- Long Days Flight (‘Til Tomorrow)
- Smokestack Lightning
- Get Me To The World On Time
Jim And The Lords Demo Recordings:
- I’m Free
- Little (li’l) Olive
- Too Many People
- I’m Down
