Notes

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Size: 67.1 MB
Bitrate: 256
mp3
Ripped by: ChrisGoesRock
Artwork Included
Source: Japan 24-Bit Remaster

This is a most excellent album. One that gets it all right, one that really does have the ability to transport you into some hazy, slightly surreal headspace. The experience can be likened to floating lazily along a slowly moving river. Each track contributes to the whole experience and never strays to far away from the pattern. A huge bonus. No jarring filler that takes away from the flow, no dabbles in different genres to show how clever he is, just a consistently great baroque psych album. While each of the tracks are excellent, "Fly" does stand a bit above the others.

Though the liners tell the story of a young Jay Kaye (16, I think) heading off to Canada to record this album, after hearing the finished product it is very hard to wrap my head around the fact that he was so young. This is an accomplished album. There is nothing here that would indicate an amateur teenager was in charge. In fact, it's the opposite. It sounds as if it was recorded by an experienced, professional band. Obviously, if the story is true, Kaye had bucketloads of talent that one would think would manifest itself throughout his life but apparently not. Another one and done and here it is perhaps a bigger shame that it happened to Kaye than some other great one and done releases. Perhaps he shot his load here and had nothing left? Whatever the reason, Suddenly One Summer stands as a great psychedelic album and should be heard by any 60's psych fan.

The album's tracks averaged out to 4.61, when taking out the two linking tracks, "Breaking Dawn" and "Speed".

Yup, this is a weird one and it's up to you whether you want to believe the popular story or not. Supposedly then-15 year old singer/guitarist Jay Kaye left his native Las Vegas, ending up in Vancouver, British Columbia where he recorded one of the era's more obviously LSD influenced slices of pop.

Produced by H.R. Spurgin (?), 1969's "Suddenly One Summer" teamed Kaye with a collection of Vancouver studio musicians (though nobody but Kaye was listed in the album credits). Featuring all original material, the album was apparently intended as a concept piece, the plotline perhaps meant to highlight the ramifications of drug abuse (check out 'Nobody'), or intended as a reflection on the mankind's never ending cycle of life and death. (Beats us as to which is the right interpretation - perhaps neither.) Full of backward tapes, heavy orchestration, segue ways between songs and odd studio effects, material such as 'Fly', 'Little Children' and 'Nobody' offered up a dark, dreamy and studied collection of LSD-influenced psychedelia. It's hard to adequately describe this one, but every time we hear the album we're left with this weird feeling we're about to be enveloped in a cloud of dark fog. Personal favorites, the all too brief instrumental 'Crystal Ball' and the closing number 'Dead'. An undiscovered classic that should be required listening for psych fans. (Always liked the Ray Leong cover collage.) [rateyourmusic.com]

01. Break of Dawn 0:32
02. Fly 4:41
03. Little Children 3:05
04. Christine 2:12
05. Speed 0:14
06. Crystal Ball 1:03
07. Nobody 4:00
08. O.D. 3:18
09. Land of Sensations & Delights 2:48
10. The Times 2:20
11. Magical Fingers of Minerva 2:52
12. Dead 4:22