MONOCLES, The & HIGHER ELEVATION, The
The spider, the fly and the boogie man
LP
GARAGE,BEAT,RnB60-70 / PSYCHEDELIC(60s-70s)
NORTH AMERICA
Most people were introduced to the bizarre psychedelic sound of The Monocles (later The Higher Elevation) thanks to the inclusion of the bizarre “The Spider & The fly” and “The Diamond Mine” on the legendary Pebbles Vol. 3 (the “acid-punk” volume). These youngsters from Colorado formed in 1964 and they were famous for driving to gigs in a custom Cadillac hearse. Between 1965 and 1968, they released a bunch of singles for different labels: Chicory, Denco, Liberty…
This retrospective collection includes the best of their 45 sides plus some previously unreleased on vinyl tracks.
You’ll find demented psychsploitation (“The spider and the fly”, “The Diamond Mine”) crude garage-psych (“Psychedelic (That’s Where It’s At)”, “Odyssey”), sunshine-pop / jangly folk-rock (“Summer Skies”, “Here Comes Sunshine”), teen garage / frat-rock (“Boogie Man”, “You don’t know”), pop-psych (“Crazy Bicycle”) and more.
Insert with detailed liner notes and rare photos.
“Hailing from Greeley, CO, the Monocles served as an unwitting example of the strange effect LSD had on America’s youth during the mid- to late 1960s. Early on, the Monocles started out as a fairly ordinary pop-rock outfit. Then in mid-1966 the Monocles began to change; they cut a tune called “Psychedelic (That’s Where It’s At)” that led to some truly bent sessions later on, most notably the twisted psychodramas of “The Spider and the Fly,” “The Boogie Man,” and “The Diamond Mine” (the theme song for Dave Diamond’s Los Angeles radio show).” – Mark Deming (allmusic.com)
Tracklist:
Side 1
Psychedelic (That’s Where It’s At) (The Monocles) 1966
Boogie Man (The Monocles) 1966
Crazy Bicycle (The Higher Elevation) 1967
Summer Skies (The Higher Elevation) 1968
You Don’t Know (The Monocles) 1965
Thoughts Of Lila (The Higher Elevation) 1967
Country Club Affair (The Higher Elevation) 1968
Odyssey (The Higher Elevation) 1968
The Spider & The Fly (The Monocles) 1967
Side 2
The Diamond Mine (The Higher Elevation) 1967
What Is It (The Monocles) 1965
Treat me Nice (The Monocles) 1965
Highway 101 (The Higher Elevation) 1968
Here Comes Sunshine (The Higher Elevation) 1967
Heartbreak Hill (The Monocles) 1965
Where Is My Life (The Monocles) 1965
Psychedelic (That’s Where It’s At) (Instrumental) (The Monocles) 1966
Boogie Man (Alternate Version) (The Monocles) 1966