SIMONES From The Electric Cornfield PRIVATE HOMEMADE ACID PSYCH LP 285 MADE HEAR

$

50

SIMONES "FROM THE ELECTRIC CORNFIELD" LP

ORIGINAL 2009 PRESSING ON THE US PURPLE PHROGG LABEL, STEREO

COVER IN MINT SHAPE

VINYL PLAYS NEAR MINT (played once or twice is all)

Like Bevis Frond, Al Simone’s fourth album From The Electric Cornfield, is a shining example of how you can make a great guitar psych album in your own home studio, all by yerself.  Unlike Bevis Frond, however, Simones’ albums are all ultra-limited vinyl-only pressings with a lotta love put into ‘em.  That’s not to say Bevis didn’t love his records, but Al prints these things on super heavy duty quadruple-ply cardboard, then shoves a lot of home-printed goodies inside, and makes sure no more than 285 (in the case of Cornfield) get pressed.  Which makes sure only the true psych fans get one.  The casually curious and the Maroon 5 fans will never see a Simones record at their local Best Buy, and therefore never get the chance to say, “Dude, what is this s***?  This sounds like my Dad’s music!” 

Good thing, too, because if you’re already reading this far into my rant, you’re probably gonna dig this album.  True, it’s a self-produced, home-made recording, but Al knows his psychedelic production tricks, so you can never call this lo-fi in the traditional Daniel Johnston way.  Vocals are suitably distorted, stretched and modulated to make it sound like they’re being transmitted from somewhere else in the universe, bits and pieces of sound sneaking in through the cosmic wormhole.  He sings of mushrooms and grass in the groovy “Kaleidoscope Girl” while his vocals and guitar get sucked through the galaxy forwards and backwards.  And I don’t even know what he’s singing on the mindf*** “Velvet Daydream.”  Whatever it is, it’s buried amid a swirling miasma of distorted guitars, electric “Echoes” seagulls, Hendrix cops and a simple, hypnotic Can-like bassline that’s designed with one thing in mind – to help you “slip into a dream” with or without the help of chemical enhancements.   

All of this would be just an exercise in Psychedelic Production 101 if Simones didn’t write the tunes to back up his acid-riddled doctoral thesis.  And he does – at the heart of “Kaleidoscope Girl” is a catchy melody that any pop band would kill for.  The same can be said for “October Cherries (Life Is What You Make It),” which even boasts backup vocals (from either a girl or a 12-year-old boy, I can’t tell).  Even the brain-frying initial cosmic voyage “Welcome To The Astral Plane,” obviously designed to be the album’s big 8-minute opening statement of psychedelic purpose, borrows its riff from a much more pop source – namely David Bowie’s “Station To Station.”  Even more so than the early Bevis Frond stuff – a comparison that often gets made but is fitting – Simones’ Electric Cornfield just has more tunes.  It’s easier to sing along to, that is, when you’re not simply admiring all the psychedelic touches.  “You’ve got to make your own good time,” he sings in “October Cherries.”  Well, looks like he did just that, and then shared it with 285 of his closest friends.

PHOTO COMING SOON.

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