Coming in December, this is a double CD that is not to be missed from the legendary psychedelic rockers Vibravoid, 35 years old and as prolific as ever. As the title suggests this is actually a retrospective compilation remastered by Christian Koch who has dug into the vaults to unveil original recordings and a bonus CD with unreleased live recordings. On CD one Pink Floyd is represented by ‘Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun’, which encapsulates the spirit of the famous piece with sparse retro organ notes, rolling drums, different but no less trippy than the original; ‘A Saucerful of Secrets’, with organ chords and a freaky prolonged, synthesised introduction, and a nice, and compact, choice in ‘Let There Be More Light’, synthesised bullets of sound flying all over the place during the unmissable Floyd section. Somewhat incongruously these tracks herald an instrumental ‘Shotgun Wedding Theme’, but a mainstay of Vinravoid’s musical approach which, somehow, makes perfect sense. Can’s ‘Mother Sky’ appears twice (in a concise version 6-minute version and in a 15-minute plus live extravaganza appearing on CD 2), as do essential slices of psychedelia, ‘Colour Your Mind’, and Iron Butterfly’s ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’, which ranges between 10 minutes (studio) and nearly 13 minutes (live).
I was already partial to Vibravoid, their “Gravity Zero” album, on regular rotation on my turntable, and their music encapsulates not only psychedelic and west coast American influences but also Krautrock (the motoric beat evident on ‘Ruckzuck’ makes me think not just of Can, but also of Stereolab). Another prevailing vibe is the early music of Pink Floyd as the spirit and essence of the late sixties is distilled, and in fact, Vibravoid will have a go at anything: their version of The Monkee’s ‘Stepping Stone’ is a lot of fun and ‘Hole in my Shoe’ sounds as a silly as it ever did in a respectfully authentic reproduction. I was especially pleased about the inclusion of a particular favourite of mine, a sterling rendition of H.P. Lovecraft’s ‘The White Ship’ as Vibravoid’s eclectic journey to become, in Dr Koch’s words, “pioneers of a new Beat and Psychedelic movement” reached parts of the underground that few other bands did. This is a worthy introduction by Fruits de Mer to an important band in psychedelic rock history.
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