Search - Blossom Toes :: Love Bomb: Live 1967-69

Essential psychedelia, varied sound quality

Kevin D. Rathert | Carbondale, IL | 08/12/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Alright dear psychedelic music fan, welcome to the third and final chapter of the Blossom Toes recorded legacy. A wonderful band, one of Britain's best psychedelic groups, the Blossom Toes are presented here in several forms of live performance. The songs contained within are of top drawer quality, unfortunately some of the source tapes are lacking in sonic quality, despite the best efforts of Sunbeam Records and remastering ace Dave Blackman. Disc one is a concert recorded in Stockholm, Sweden in 1967, soon after the release of the band's debut lp, "We Are Ever So Clean." The performance and songwriting quality are outstanding, the sound quality, unfortunately, does not match up. The sound is muddy, and although absolutely necessary as a period piece and obviously the best live recording of a full Blossom Toes concert available, it still falls short in sonic quality. Thus, it is with heavy heart that I give one of my personal favorite bands of all time, 4 stars rather than 5, on this essential Sunbeam Records release. The track listing on disc one is captivating. The band plays many songs not contained on either of their two studio albums. The 53 minute concert contains 6 band originals, complimented by a Shawn Phillips cover "Woman Mind" and a great take on the Howlin' Wolf classic "Smokestack Lightning." If only the sound quality matched the band's performance and song selection. But darn it, it just doesn't. Still, it is an absolute must for psychedelic rock fans. Disc two, is a mixture of source tapes. The first two tracks were recorded for British radio broadcast and are of wonderful sonic quality. "Indian Summer" comes from a Belgian concert in August, 1969, and likewise the result of a wonderful source tape. The final five tracks come from a performance at a Belgian Festival, later (October) in 1969. The band is heard here at their highest level of performance, but the source tape is not as good as that of the first 3 tracks on the second disc. The guitars of Brian Godding and Jim Cregan soar as the band performs another Shawn Phillips cover, the interesting "Stargazer" and two originals, a full out atomic blast performance of "If Only For A Moment"'s opening track "Peace Loving Man," followed by the three part jam suite "Grooving." These performances are the band at their heaviest. The guitar roar, the rhythm section keeps the all out aural attack steady on its course. Its really a shame that better source tapes were not available, but this is an absolutely essential period piece. Buy it, just buy it. I know the sound quality is not what you, or the band for that matter, would wish, but it is an absolutely essential element of any British psychedelic rock fans collection. Search out the best price available and get this double cd set. The total run time is kinda short, 101 minutes total, but it is what was available, and is presented in the best sonic quality possible. So, buy this set, excuse the quality of the source tapes, and just thank the good people at Sunbeam Records for finally giving us a live recording legacy of the great band that were the Blossom Toes."