West Coast Consortium
Mr. Umbrella Man
West Coast Consortium's late 1960s 45s were sophisticated, lavishly-orchestrated close harmony pop affairs. At heart, though, they were a garage psychedelic pop band, as can be heard on 'Mr. Umbrella Man', which assembles the pick of the four demo albums they made between 1967 and 1969. Now heard for the first time, this astonishing cache of recordings reveals that, left to their own devices, West Coast Consortium ditched the brass and strings arrangements of their singles in favour of Mellotrons, fuzz guitars, Vox Continental organs and wah-wah pedals, while hitherto unreleased nuggets like 'Santa Monica Bay', 'Aimie (Sing Your Song For Me)' and the woozy 'Mr. Umbrella Man' show a parallel debt to the lo-fi, DIY approach of the Beach Boys circa 'Smiley Smile' and 'Friends'. Highly regarded late '60s English psych-pop band who have featured on such compilations as 'Real Life Permanent Dreams', 'Ripples', 'Psychedelic Schlemiels', 'Paisley Pop', 'Psychedelic Pstones', 'We Can Fly', 'Tea & Symphony' and 'Justafixation' 21 of the 27 tracks, all recorded between 1967-69, are previously unreleased in ANY format. Comes with fully re-mastered sound, a lavishly illustrated booklet and extensive notes by band leader Geoff Simpson.