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

The Chemistry Set - Don't Turn Away (2017)

As a follow-up to the recent post making The Chemistry Set's 1989 album 'Sounds Like Painting' available to a wider audience, here is a nice little collection of hard to find rarities, singles and b-sides from the band. It covers their whole career, from their first appearance on disc, with a free flexi-disc with Freakbeat Magazine in 1987, right through to their 2017 cover of the Moody Blues' classic 'Legend Of A Mind', which was spread over two sides of a 7" single, and released by the fantastic Fruits De Mer label. Along the way we get the Spanish top 20 hit single 'Don't Turn Way', along with the b-sides from the 12" version, their offering to the 1987 Syd Barrett compilation 'Beyond The Wildwood' (and see if you recognise the snippet of another song that they insert towards the end!), and the b-sides from the 12" and CD versions of their 'The Candle Burns' single. Following their break from the music biz, they returned in 2008 as a duo of Ashley Wood and Dave McLean, and began the most creative part of their career, releasing four albums and a number of singles, all of which included exclusive b-sides. They also went to their beloved Spain in 2011, where they co-wrote and recorded a song in Catalan with their Barcelona-based producer. 'La Logica Del Canvi' was released as the b-side to a Spanish single, and the record company sent a copy to the Catalan Ministry of Culture, receiving a reply from the minister congratulating them for being the first English band to sing in Catalan. The band love their covers as well, and most of the flips of recent singles have been their takes on classic psyche songs of the late 60's, so for the b-side of their 'Impossible Love' single they gave us a wigged-out version of the Rolling Stones 'We Love You', and on the flip of 2012's 'Time To Breathe' is a great take on Tomorrow's 'Hallucinations'. On their 'Elapsed Memories' EP we get an acid/folk take on the Hendrix classic 'Love Or Confusion', as well as a fine cover of Love's 'Live And Let Live', and we close with the afore-mentioned Moodies track. If you've been impressed by what you've heard here then do check out their albums, as they are all superb stuff.    

Track listing

01 Gibraltan Rock (from the free flexi-disc with Freakbeat magazine 1987)
02 Don't Turn Away (single 1991)
03 Pure Land (b-side of 'Don't Turn Away' 12" 1990)
04 I Don't Need You (b-side of 'Don't Turn Away' 12" 1990)
05 See Emily Play (from 'Beyond The Wildwood' tribute to Syd Barrett 1987)
06 Long Arm Of The Liar (b-side of 'The Candle Burns' 1991)
07 Improved Sensitivity (b-side of 'The Candle Burns' 1991)
08 La Lògica Del Canvi (b-side of 'She's Taking Me Down' 2009)
09 Impossible Love (single 2011)
10 We Luv You (Put That In Your Pipe And Smoke It Mix) (b-side of 'Impossible Love')
11 Hallucinations (b-side of 'Time To Breath' 2012)
12 Love Or Confusion (b-side of 'Elapsed Memories' 2014)
13 Live And Let Live (bonus track on 'Elapsed Memories' EP 2014)
14 Legend Of A Mind (single 2017)

The Chemistry Set - Sounds Like Painting (1989)

The Chemistry Set formed in 1987, with an original line up of Ashley Wood (rhythm guitar/ vocals), Paul Lake (lead guitar/vocals), Henry Taprell (bass) and Dave McLean (drums/vocals), with Neil Pond on harmonica and percussion joining them onstage and in the studio. Wood and Lake had met at secondary school in south east London and had previously played together in other bands, and they set about recording their songs for release on cassette on the Acid Tapes label in 1988. This was followed by several flexi-discs between 1988 and 1990, which received international attention, and the band were featured in fanzines in the UK, Spain, Italy, Holland, Greece, Germany, Sweden, Japan, USA, Australia and New Zealand, with some of their songs being included on various compilation albums around the world. The band gigged on the London circuit, playing venues such as The Camden Falcon and The Mean Fiddler, and built up their reputation until they were able to support Hawkwind at Brixton Academy, and tour with Robyn Hitchcock. In 1990 they released the '(Don't) Turn Away' 12" single on Imaginary Records, and followed that the next year with another 12" single 'The Candle Burns'. Around this time they recorded an album entitled 'Sounds Like Painting', but it was only ever issued as a limited edition in Spain, and so it soon became extremely hard to locate a copy outside of that country. Following the limited release of their only album, the band carried on playing and were signed to Polydor Records, but it was the worst experience of their musical careers, with the Head of A&R constantly rejecting their songs, and trying to mould them into a Brit-Pop band. With one argument with the label following another, the band had had enough after two months of fighting their corner and they called it a day, taking an extended hiatus in the mid 90's. Around 2006/2007 the band heard that their elusive 1989 album had been uploaded onto numerous blogs and downloaded over 5,000 times, and this led to the band reforming as a duo of McLean and Wood, and starting a second phase of their career. Since then they've released four albums, a number of CD/EPs, and four vinyl singles for Fruits de Mer Records, as well as seeing a remix of their version of 'See Emily Play' appear on a three-CD box-set tribute to Pink Floyd, 'The Many Faces Of Pink Floyd', in 2013. I've been a fan of this band since they started, and still have both their cassette albums from 1988, as well as the new record which came out last month, so now is the time to make that hard to find 1989 album more readily available for fans and newcomers alike, with a unique colour cover, and the addition of a 1989 recording of 'Wake Up Sometimes'.   

Track listing

01 Some People Never Learn
02 The Candleburns
03 The Look Inside
04 Acacia Gardens
05 Sittin' On Top Of The World
06 Orange Juice Sun
07 Living Alone
08 The Dreams That I Saw Yesterday
09 Minas Tirith
10 Under The Valley
11 Wake Up Sometimes