The Chemistry Set - Acid Tapes (1990)

For the final post from the brilliant neo-psyche band The Chemistry Set, we go right back to the beginning, with songs from their first two cassette tapes, both of which are still prized possessions. Following their appearance on the Freakbeat flexi-disc in 1987, the cassette-only label Acid Tapes released a collection of their demos, and it caused quite a stir when it originally did the rounds, and still contains some of their best material. Recorded on four track in a rush of inspiration, the songs are all classic pop psychedelia with great melodies, hooklines and soaring harmonies. Mixing the flavours of Syd Barrett, The Beatles, The Byrds, Buffalo Springfield and others in a collection of songs most bands would kill to have written, it was my first introduction to the band, and I've loved them ever since. A number of the songs were re-recorded for inclusion on the unreleased 1989 'Sounds Like Painting' album, but seven of these tracks have never appeared anywhere else. A couple of years later I saw another tape of brand new material from the band advertised for sale, and I snapped up their second eponymous release, which is now so rare that I can't even find mention of it online. It was re-issued on vinyl in 1990 under the title of 'Wake Up Sometimes!', but once again, most of the songs from the tape never appeared on any of their other releases. Even though the second tape was later made available to a wider audience with the vinyl issue, I'm adding the unreleased tracks from it to those from the first cassette for a collection of early work from the band, which promised so much, but which was ultimately all I was to own by them until their second incarnation when they regrouped in 2007. Incidentally, there is a rip of the Acid Tapes album online, but it's not that great quality, being a bit bassy and muffled, and running slightly fast, so for this post I've used a rip of my own 35 year old cassette tape. 

Track listing

01 The Rainbow Song
02 I Can See Now
03 These Are Like Castles
04 Love Will Always Disappear
05 The Postman Rides His Bike
06 As Jane Arrived (Who Brought Us Here)
07 You Make Me Feel Like I'm Sublime
08 A Dream Of Murder
09 Wiped Out And Nothing Comes Together
10 By This Act Of Judgement
11 I'm All Of The Times
12 Ensemble Du Bois
13 Wow! Stars Man
14 A House Is Not A Motel

Original 1988 cassette tape

                                                       Original 1990 cassette tape