This completes the recent trio of releases drawn from the vaults of Norman Petty’s Clovis studio in New Mexico, and it finds him turning to the then-new psychedelic rock.
Petty’s productions were always noted for their clarity and finesse, which sat well on Buddy Holly recordings, but the feel here is of someone who is trying to keep up inappropriate standards, as his clean production values don’t sit so well on psych.
There are fuzz guitars aplenty, with soundalike riffing based on groups such as The Seeds or Electric Prunes, but there’s nothing here that really lifts off or stands out. It may, of course, be due to the sometimes embarrassing and dated lyrics. Having said that, the likes of The Fireballs, The Cords and The Frantics deliver cuts that will appeal enough to genre collectors.
