Jake Garcia of The Black Angels explores the sounds and history of the golden era of 1960s psych and rock & roll in 13 FROM THE 13TH FLOOR!
The United States of America - The American Metaphysical Circus
Gonna open up with this incredible track from Los Angeles, CA circa 1967. This is an early example of the use of electronic devices in rock music. Sounds and feels like a soft landing in a spacecraft on another planet. I was lucky enough to find this record at a flea market in San Antonio, Texas when I was 18 and I’m still blown away every time I listen to it.
Brainticket - Watchin’ You
Cosmic space-rock group led by Joel Vandroogenbroeck circa 1971. Bellbottoms required? This song has my favorite guitar solo of all time, play it loud!
NEU! - Negativland
They are the epitome of Kraut Rock and their sound has inspired so many groups including mine. Even Brian Eno and David Bowie came knocking on their door to see what they were up to but NEU was always doing their own thing. Completely original and completely fantastic.
Billy Nicholls - Portobello Road
A desert island disc for me and it’s considered to be the Holy Grail of psychedelic records by so
many. I’ve seen this original record fetch $12000! He was only 16 when he recorded this and was heavily inspired by Pet Sounds. So Incredible.
Les Problèmes - Je Ne Vois Rien
Les Problemes from Paris, France circa 1965. I discovered this track while I was at Funtastic Dracula Festival in Benidorm, Spain some years back. Thanks to all of the amazing DJ’s all around the world for sharing the amazing gift of music.
Alessandro Alessandroni - Parata n2
Circa 1972 . Mondo Italian magic from Alessandroni satisfies! Again, Italians do it best!
Fleetwood Mac - Coming Your Way
From the album “Then Play On” circa 1969. This original version of Fleetwood Mac is supreme to me and unfortunately overlooked by the latter. “Then Play On” is a very special piece of art and Peter Green is known as one of the best guitarists of all time. BB King also once said “Peter Green has more talent in his little finger than I have in my entire body" and "He was the only one that gave me the cold sweats.”
The Ceyleib People - Changes
An Indian inspired studio project by Ry Cooder and friends circa 1968, Los Angeles. The Rolling Stones actually had Ry recording guitar on their records this same year and he was rumored to replace Brian Jones before Mick Taylor joined. Some would say Ry Cooder is in fact responsible for The Rolling Stones sound in the 70’s as he taught Kieth Richards some tuning tricks/techniques that would ultimately define them.
Gandalf - Hang On To A Dream
A spooky masterpiece from NYC circa 1969. They were signed to Capitol Records but the label spurned them and released the LP with the wrong record inside the sleeve. The copies were then recalled and this ultimately damaged the band's career beyond repair. We’ve heard this story before but we are lucky the music was salvaged to enjoy today.
Kim Fowley - Bubble Gum
From his wild record “Outrageous.” This is gritty acid-rock that probably inspired Iggy and The Stooges. I once had the pleasure of meeting Kim Fowley and when I asked him about this record he told me the backing band was 3 Dog Night! He also told me that he had introduced Jimmy Hendrix to Chas Chandler! Who Knows?! Kim Fowley was definitely outrageous though.
The Guess Who - Key
A good vibe/mood song from the album “Canned Wheat” circa 1969. The Canadian group had a fantastic career and became super successful with other hits like “American Woman” and “These Eyes.” This track is almost 12 minutes long and check the killer drum solo!
Blues Creation - Atomic Bombs Away
Bell bottoms all the way with this!
Circa 1971. The hand-drawn album art for this record has a demon eating the souls of the band members.
This sounds to me like a Japanese version of Black Sabbath but it’s definitely it’s own beast. The album is titled “Demon &11 children.”
Brigitte Fontaine - Le Goudron
My Austin friend Dominic Welhouse turned me on to this track awhile back. Brigitte Fontaine is a true gem of an artist and she’s really gifted in making these sort of avant collages. This track goes perfect with a J and coffee.
Thanks for listening and enjoy. Until next time, stay safe and much love.
- Jake
