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The Group Image - A Mouth in The Clouds (1968)

Track listing:
  1. Hiya 6:30
  2. A way to Love You All The Time 2:52
  3. Moonlit Dip 5:43
  4. Voices Calling Me 3:18
  5. New Romancing 2:08
  6. Aunt Ida 5:00
  7. Banana Split 6:51
  8. My Man 1:56
  9. Grew Up Wrong 2:42
  10. The Treat 5:34

Notes

This eccentric New York hippie collective recorded only one album, which makes its CD debut here.

A superb collection of psychedelia, touching on folk, jazz and electronica, it has been compared to Jefferson Airplane, the Mamas & the Papas and Tim Buckley, but ultimately has a sound of its own that makes it a treat for all fans of genuine acid rock. There is some fine guitar work on Moonlight Dip, Aunt Ida and Banana Split, which is quite trippy in places. Definitely worth a listen.

Freaked out, fuzzed-up work from Group Image -- a group who definitely live up to the trippy title and cover of this album! The sound here isn't nearly as fantastical as you might guess from the image on the front, but it's still plenty great -- a post-folk sound that's heavy on guitars, which are played sometimes soft, sometimes sharply -- and often topped with earnestly harmonic vocals. The bass is earthy and dirty at the bottom of the tracks, giving the record a really nice edge -- but there's also a hippie-oriented sweetness to some of the singing that really warms things up -- especially on the numbers that feature vocals from Sheila Darla. Titles include "A Way To Love You All The Time", "Hiya", "Moonlit Dip", "Voices Calling Me", "My Man", "Aunt Ida", "Banana Split", and "Grew Up All Wrong".A hippie outfit from New Jersey. Hiya, a shorter version of an album track can be heard on Pebbles, Vol. 14 (LP). The high pitched, often manic vocals, make this song at least rather a novelty. At times it recalls Tim Buckley in his prime. Hiya is the outstanding track on an inconsistent album which has its moments. There is also some fine guitar work on Moonlight Dip and Aunt Ida and on Banana Split, which is quite trippy in places. Definitely worth a listen.

The album was produced by Vinny Testa, Shadow Morton (aka Shadow Mann) and John Linde and recorded in NY. All the tracks were penned by the group.