Search - Electric Prunes :: Feedback

Wow a new CD by this seminal '60s band.

Patrick M. Kadas | Portland OR USA | 02/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"ELECTRIC PRUNES 2006: Feedback (Pruetwang)-2006

I went out this morning to find something new, hopefully garage.

Never was I expecting to find something from the Electric Prunes that was new. I may be looking at this CD through rose colored glasses, but it's hard not to if you ever liked them.

The cover reminds more of my tube stereo days. Ah it was great.



What you get is 10 songs, 46.6 minutes of some new songs to add to your collection of this fine and accomplished band.

What you get is some fine guitar HOOKS, powerful DRUM work and some aged but still inspiring vocals. Half of the songs are above average, and none drop below average.

Two of the songs stand out IMHO:

(4) I'll Give You Feedback - The Electric Prunes - 2006 - "Ken WIlliams (g) and Dan Gerass (d) work together to give this song a HEAVY feeling."

(8) African Bees - The Electric Prunes - 2006 - "Frank Zappa-esque vocals, LYRICS. A GOOD first impression that left a smile on my face.""

Best new CD I've heard in years (no kidding)

Patrick T. Hand | Washington, DC United States | 05/11/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I saw the Electric Prunes at the Black Cat in Washington, DC on May 5, 2008 as the guest of a writer who was covering the show. Until then, I knew of the Prunes only by their 1966 psychedelic proto-punk hit, "I Had Too Much to Dream." After they played it less than halway through the show, I was prepared to sit on my hands for the remainder, particularly when front man James Lowe announced the band would play some material from their new album, "Feedback" (which actually has a 2006 publication date).

The new material was, to say the least, interesting, so much that I bought the CD at the merchandise table. My admiration for this diamond in the rough increases with every listening. I thought that with the rock genre having passed the half-century mark every conceivable hook had been devised. "Feedback" unearths at least four new ones (or at least four that I haven't heard before).

The first song, "Hello Out There" is reminiscent of latter-day Iggy Pop and is representative of "Feedback's orgy of raucous guitar and drum-heavy rock. While all of the album incorporates the Prunes 1960s psychedelic sound without sounding dated, "Circus Freak" is the most unabashedly derivative, with Mark Tulin's fast-paced bass lines complementing the organ and guitar tremolo. All of the songs are written by Lowe and Tulin, and the lyrics are clever and at times hilarious. "Get the hell out of my head, this relationship is dead" sings Lowe in Circus Freak, a line that would be funny even if its singer weren't well into his sixties.

"Flying Blind" is my favorite on the CD. Its opening riff is reminiscent of Dire Straits' "Heavy Fuel." However, just when you are settling into that groove, the Prunes take you in another, far more interesting direction, with Lowe canting Stan Ridgway-like about "captivating notions of a lawyer in the night."

The title track "I'll Give you Feedback" and "Innerlight Transcendence" are two of the lesser tracks but give the listener a breather before the Prunes pick up the intensity again with "Morphine Drip", which is reminiscent of the Beatles "Paperback Writer", and their ode to cunningulus, "Tulip Between the Eyes", which adopts but improves the basic riff of the Count Five's 1966 Top Ten hit "Psychotic Reaction."

"African Bees" and "Batch of Violins" are the least rocking but still very interesting and clever. They would not be out of place on a Talking Heads or B-52s album. The final cut, "Itzomad" is as lush as Led Zeppelin's "Kashmir", without the pomposity.

I can't imagine that any lover of rock and roll will not fall in love with this album like I have."

Prunes are juicy and good fer ya!

K. Browd | Brookyn, NY USA | 03/27/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"My fave on the disc in "Circus Freak". I echo other reviewer's comment re: the very funny lyrix. Also listen to the bass line and marvel. Gotta be one of the hook-iest songs ever committed to zeroes and ones. The keyboard is like some slightly drunk or stoned sideshow carnival organ. The Prunes will help keep you regular! These alta cockers (ask a Jewish friend) can still bring it! Lots of other gems on the disc, well worth yer scratch."