Jazzedelics: Jazzedelics

For those drifting in the counter culture currents of the 1960's, nothing is more definitive and enduring than the music. It has withstood the test of time and even gone mainstream to the point where it has gained respectability amongst cross genre musicians, who recognize the period as one of innovation and experimentation. So here is where the Jazzedelics come in. The have reimagined a dozen of the iconic songs of the psychedelic era with a generous dose of inventiveness they call "mash up."

The record opens with "Fire" by the perennial heavyweight, Jimi Hendrix, who continues to cast a lengthy shadow over guitarists, even a generation later. Jazzedelics guitarist Doug Perkins is no exception to this influence, and delivers an array of classic chords, leads, and harmonic recreations throughout the entire record. Hendrix is covered on two other tunes, "Up From The Skies," done in a spaced out crooner style by vocalist Tony Jones, and the fireball "Manic Depression," is a synth and guitar flare-up.

The problem with covering songs that are so familiar is that they will be likened to the original, so there has to be a novel approach to make it interesting and appealing. "Paint It Black," is renovated as a samba, with curious acoustic bass coloring by Adam Cohen. "Sunshine Superman," glides along a sensual cadence underscored by acid laced tinges and shades. "Sunshine Of Your Love," with its unmistakable riff, brings in vocalist Angela Carole Brown for a stimulating vocal interpretation. But by far the most original arrangement goes to "We Gotta Get Out Of This Place," which is slowed way down, and morphed into a melancholy blues.

The provocative music that came out of the tumultuous Sixties has maintained relevance through constant reissue, popular movie soundtracks, and in commercials marketing a materialistic lifestyle the hippies and free spirits found disagreeable all those years ago. The Jazzedelics remained true to the source and reached into the songs to extract that vivacity which gave them life. It was after all, a period of rebellion and raucousness unlike any that came before or since. In the final analysis, after the smoke cleared, and hair turned grey, only the music remains. To quote Donovan: "I know a beach where baby...it never ends."

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