All hyperbole aside, the sole 49th Parallel album is one of the top Canadian rock records of the psychedelic era. The LP is strong throughout: a blithe and sugary opener ‘Now That I’m a Man’, with shades of Curt Boetcher at work in the summery orchestration; the blurry pulsating psych of ‘Lazerander Filchy’; the ultra-strange ‘(The) Magician’; the shimmering beauty of ‘Twilight Woman’ (the chart success of which garnered the 49th Parallel a few deserved rays of limelight); the quintessential slashing guitars and punk edginess of ‘(Come On Little Child &) Talk To Me’ — all excellent. Dan Lowe’s blazing fuzz guitar work stands out on the lysergic ‘Missouri’; it is well matched by organist Jack Velker’s work on ‘Eye To Eye’, ‘Talk To Me’ and ‘(The) People’.
The 49th Parallel were Calgary’s torch bearers in the great Canadian “Prairie punk” garage psych sweepstakes of the 1960’s. But due to a multitude of personnel changes from their inception in 1966 (as the Shades of Blond), the band were unable to capitalize on their modest radio airplay; not long after the release on MGM affiliate Maverick/Venture of this self-titled LP in 1969, they decided to split.
*Limited to 200x copies on coke clear vinyl — only 150x copies for sale outside of Canada
*One of the top Canadian rock albums of the psychedelic era
*Comes with insert with band history and photos
*From the master tapes.