The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." Their most successful material was by songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, though the group also penned their own songs. Incorporating psychedelia and elements of embryonic electronic rock, the band's sound was marked by innovative recording techniques with fuzz-toned guitars and oscillating sound effects. In addition, guitarist Ken Williams' and singer James Lowe's concept of "free-form garage music" provided the band with a richer sonic palette and exploratory lyrical structure than many of their contemporaries.
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era is a compilation album of American psychedelic and garage rock singles that were released during the mid-to-late 1960s. It was created by Lenny Kaye, who was a writer and clerk at the Village Oldies record shop in New York. He would later become the lead guitarist for the Patti Smith Group. Kaye produced Nuggets under the supervision of Elektra Records founder Jac Holzman. Kaye conceived the project as a series of roughly eight LP installments focusing on different US regions, but Elektra convinced him that one double album would be more commercially viable. It was released on LP by Elektra in 1972 with liner notes by Kaye that contained one of the first uses of the term "punk rock". It was reissued with a new cover design by Sire Records in 1976. In the 1980s, Rhino Records issued Nuggets in a series of fifteen installments, and in 1998 as a 4-cd box set.
The Electric Prunes, sometimes referred to as I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night), is the 1967 debut album by the American garage rock band, the Electric Prunes, released on Reprise Records. The first track, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", was a hit and became the band's signature tune. The album also contains another notable psychedelic rock composition, "Get Me to the World on Time". The album was listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.
The Zakary Thaks were an American garage rock band from Corpus Christi, Texas, United States, which formed in the mid-1960s.
The Green Fuz were an American garage rock band in the late 1960s, best known for their sole single, "Green Fuz", which became a classic of the genre and was covered by the Cramps.
Pebbles is an extensive series of compilation albums in both LP and CD formats that have been issued on several record labels, though mostly by AIP. Together with the companion Highs in the Mid-Sixties series, the Pebbles series made available over 800 obscure, mostly American "Original Punk Rock" songs recorded in the mid-1960s — primarily known today as the garage rock and psychedelic rock genres — that were previously known only to a handful of collectors. In 2007, the release of the Pebbles, Volume 11: Northern California CD marked the final album in the Pebbles series. The following year, Bomp! marked the 30th anniversary of the original Pebbles album with a spartan, limited-edition, clear-vinyl reissue complete with the original pink cover insert.
Pebbles is a compilation of US underground and garage single record releases from the mid- to late-1960s. It had a limited original release in 1978 and a more general release in 1979. It was followed by several subsequent Pebbles compilations and albums. This album is nowadays known as Pebbles, Volume 1 and was originally issued in 1978 as Pebbles, Volume One: Artyfacts from the First Punk Era, an obvious riff on Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, a similar, groundbreaking compilation from 1972.
Pebbles, Volume 4 is a compilation album in the Pebbles series that has been issued in both LP and CD formats. Unlike other volumes in the series – which compile obscure garage rock and psychedelic rock music – Volume 4 collects rare examples of surf rock. The LP is subtitled Summer Means Fun, while the CD is subtitled Surf N Tunes. Another Pebbles, Volume 4 was issued on CD a few years earlier by ESD Records and has completely different tracks.
Pebbles, Volume 6 is a compilation album among the LPs in the Pebbles series. Subtitled The Roots of Mod, Volume 6 is the only album in the Pebbles series that features primarily British music. The Pebbles, Volume 6 CD is not at all related to this LP; instead, the CD featuring the songs on this LP was released as English Freakbeat, Volume 6.
The Pebbles Box is a 5-LP box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. Several years later, a similar 5-CD box set was released that was called the Trash Box. The Pebbles Box purports to collect the first five volumes of the Pebbles series, although there are fewer songs than on the original LPs: 72 total tracks on the five discs, as compared with 86 on the original LPs. Also, as is generally true of the CD reissues of these five volumes, the tracks differ significantly on all five discs as compared to both the original Pebbles LPs and the later Pebbles CDs in the corresponding volumes; and the surf rock rarities on Pebbles, Volume 4 have been eschewed entirely.
Trash Box is a 5-CD box set of mid-1960s garage rock and psychedelic rock recordings, primarily by American bands. This box set is similar to the earlier Pebbles Box and includes almost all of the same recordings in that box set, along with numerous bonus tracks at the end of each disc. Supposedly, the Trash Box collects the first five volumes of the CDs in the Pebbles series. However, as is generally true of the CD reissues of these five volumes, the tracks differ significantly on all five discs as compared to both the original Pebbles LPs and the later Pebbles CDs in the corresponding volumes; and the surf rock rarities on Pebbles, Volume 4 have been eschewed entirely. Overall, there are 109 tracks in the box set as compared to 101 songs on the individual CDs and 72 tracks in the Pebbles Box.
Pebbles, Volume 8 is a compilation album among the CDs in the Pebbles series; it is subtitled Southern California 1. The next CD in the series, Pebbles, Volume 9 also feature bands from Southern California; while Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 1, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 2, and Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 3 showcase music from Los Angeles specifically.
Essential Pebbles, Volume 1 is the first compilation album in the Essential Pebbles series. Although subtitled Ultimate '66 garage classics!, not all of the recordings on the album were originally released in 1966.
Essential Pebbles, Volume 2 is a compilation album in the Essential Pebbles series. Although subtitled Still More Ultimate '66 garage classics!, not all of the recordings on the album were originally released in 1966.
Highs in the Mid-Sixties were a series of compilation albums released in the mid 1980s on AIP Records developed by Greg Shaw. The series was spun off of the similar Pebbles series. Each volume focuses on a specific geographical region.
Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 20 is a compilation album in the Highs in the Mid-Sixties series; it is subtitled L.A., Part 4 and features recordings that were released in Los Angeles. Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 1, Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 2, and Highs in the Mid-Sixties, Volume 3 also showcase music from Los Angeles; while two of the later CDs in the Pebbles series, Pebbles, Volume 8 and Pebbles, Volume 9 feature bands from throughout Southern California.
It's the End: The Definitive Collection is a compilation album by the American garage rock band the Zakary Thaks, and was released on Big Beat Records on January 26, 2015. The album is a collection of alternate takes, tracks that appeared on singles, and the first reissued sessions by bassist Rex Gregory and drummer Stan Moore in record producer Mike Taylor's side-project, Michael.
Green Crystal Ties is an extensive series of compilation albums focusing on obscure and relatively unknown psychedelic and garage rock musical artists that recorded during the 1960s and early 1970s. Released on Collectables Records, Green Crystal Ties features ten total albums, all of which were issued in 1998. For the most part, the albums expand on past series distributed by Collectables Records and its contemporary Cicadelic Records, and as with Nuggets employ original master source elements when possible and arrange the various installments along contextual and conceptual lines. The music tends to be more refined in the earlier volumes of the series, progressively venturing out into more obscure and unknown material later much in the same fashion as the Pebbles or Back from the Grave series. The various installments are not ordered chronologically, but instead place emphasis on certain regions or musical styles. Although most of the music was recorded by American groups, there are a few exceptions such the heavy metal band Black Sabbath and King Richard and the Knights. Green Crystal Ties pays homage to the band the Zakary Thaks and their song of the same name. All of the entries are housed highly colorful packaging designed by Nicole Ruhl Fichera and each features a photograph of one of the compiled bands on the front cover. The packaging for all entries includes well-researched liner notes written by Steve Kaplan and Matt Wendelken which provide helpful biographical information about the bands and their songs.
"Bad Girl" is a song by the American garage rock band the Zakary Thaks, written by the whole group—Chris Gerniottis, Pete Stinson, Stan Moore, Rex Gregory, and John Lopez—and was first released for the band's debut single on J-Beck Records in July 1966. The song was an immensely successful regional hit in Texas, precipitating "Bad Girl"'s national release on Mercury Records later in the year. Since its initial distribution, the tune has received further recognition for its appearance on several compilation albums.
Green Crystal Ties, Volume 1: Garage Band Rebels is the first installment in the Green Crystal Ties series of psychedelic and garage rock compilations issued by Collectables Records. It was released on April 7, 1998 and focuses on bands from Texas who were active in the 1960s and early 1970s such as the Zakary Thaks, The Bad Seeds, the Liberty Bell from Corpus Christi. Like all of the entries in the series, the highly colorful packaging is designed by Nicole Ruhl Fichera and on this occasion features a photograph of the Zakary Thaks on front. The inner sleeve includes through liner notes written by Steve Kaplan and Matt Wendelken which provide helpful biographical information about the bands and their songs.
