Paul Lake and Dave McLean aka The Chemistry Set are back, with a new LP, it's called 'Pink Felt Trip'...
A few years ago, the late, great Ray Thomas of The Moody Blues had a listen to The Chemistry Set’s cover of his classic 'Legend of A Mind' and had this to say…… “Well done Chemistry Set. It's not an easy song to cover and you’ve made a cracking job of it. Very impressed with the flute work" (Paul and Dave didn’t have the heart to tell him it was a Mellotron)
Psychedelia's answer to Batman and Robin, Paul Lake and David Mclean, have been spreading Good Vibrations for 34 years (their discography stands at 61 releases) and now a new album 'Pink Felt Trip' is being released by Fruits de Mer Records.
The album includes a cover of Mark Fry’s 'The Witch', whose own LP 'Dreaming with Alice' (released in 1972) is a cult classic; The Chemistry Set have given the song a twist, with a Gregorian chant intro that is taken from The Bee Gee’s acid-drenched 1967 song 'Every Christian Lion-Hearted Soldier'; Mellotron flutes, Iranian Setar and Acoustic guitars abide, faithful to the original vibe but then heads into Freak-out territory as 'Interstellar Overdrive' meets The Red Krayola.
The new album also includes a 10-minute trilogy, entitled 'Self-Expression Trinity'; the first part is a bold Moody Blues-esque orchestral piece entitled 'Cesar Manrique', a tribute to the great Spanish surrealist artist. It features a cupboard full of Mellotrons, pianos, gongs, choirs and orchestral percussion; the second and third parts - 'Once Upon a Time' and 'Liberation' - deal with the subjects of freedom and self-expression, with classic psychedelic melodies and stunning guitars.
The title track 'Pink Felt Trip' is a demented aggregation of Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa and more Red Krayola.
The front cover of the album is in the style of the 1960s Filmore East concert poster designer Victor Moscoso and is by the Swedish designer, Robin Gnista, who has created designs for John Cale, The Pretty Things, Levitation Festival, Television and The Black Angels.
As if all that is not enough, the LP is pressed by Germany's top-class Pallas pressing plant on pink vinyl and comes with a bonus three-track CD and 4pp fold-out, 60cmx30cm, band discography.
This delicious pslyce of psychedelic rock has now been unleashed and we've already sold out here at FdM Towers, but you might be able to order a copy from Resident Music in Brighton, as they got their own supply and www.shinybeast.nl were still listing it the last time I looked
VISIT SHINY BEAST
We have a limited number of CDs of the album - in gatefold card sleeves; these are single CDs but include the 'Witch' remix tracks AND 'Legend Of A Mind', which we couldn't squeeze onto the LP - check out our SHOP page
At the 18th Dream of Dr. Sardonicus festival, we had just 40 rather special editions of the album on sale, including:
- CDs signed by Dave and Paul
- two fold-out posters
- plus one or two other things to make them that bit 'special'
- all housed in a 'DIY' pink felt cover
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