Brown Acid, Permanent Records’ and RidingEasy Records‘ collaboration on their ongoing series of proto-metal and pre-stoner rock compilations from the 60s and 70s have become a regularly occurring biannual feature throughout this site’s nine-plus year history. Each individual edition of the series is based around RidingEasy Records’ founder Daniel Hall’s and Permanent Records co-owner Lance Barresi’s extensive, painstaking research and curation — with Hall and Barresi spending a great deal of time tracking down songs’ creators, most often bands that haven’t written, played or recored together in 30 or 40 years, and then encouraging them to take part in the compilation process. As Permanent Records’ Barresi has explained in press notes for each of previous editions of the compilation, “All of (these songs) could’ve been hits given the right circumstances. But for one reason or another most of these songs fell flat and were forgotten. However, time has been kind in my opinion and I think these songs are as good now or better than they ever were.”
Having the original artists participate as much as possible in the compilation can give the artists and their songs, a real second chance at the attention and success that they missed so long ago. Plus, these songs can help fill in the gaps within the larger picture of what was going on in and around regional and national underground music scenes during the 60s and 70s. Continuing upon the critical and commercial success of its first eight editions of the Brown Acid compilation, RidingEasy Records and Permanent will be releasing Brown Acid: The Ninth Trip on Halloween. And much like the preceding eight editions, the ninth edition finds Barressi and Hall digging even deeper into the well of obscure material written, recorded and released during the 60s and 70s.
Now, as you may recall I’ve previously written about two of the ninth edition’s previously released singles: Fiberglass Vegetables’ funky blues-tinged, psych rock strut “Pain,” a track that nodded at Steppenwolf, The Animals, The 13th Floor Elevators and others — and Erik’s “Rebel Woman,” a trippy synthesis of 60s psych rock, 70s blues rock and metal that managed to sound both of its time and remarkably contemporary. The ninth edition’s third and latest single ICE’s swaggering “Running High” manages to subtly recall Iron Butterfly’s “In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida” with a Cream-era Eric Clapton guitar solo, explosive blasts of organ chords and an enormous, hook. And interestingly enough, it may arguably be the funkiest single off Brown Acid: The Ninth Trip.
