This band originated in Portland, Oregon, but went to LA in an attempt to make it. There they released their first single, Colors, and the above-mentioned Strictly From Hunger album, which is now a rare collectors' item. Colors is recommended listening. Likewise is Workshop, another track from the album. These are its two strongest tracks, although The Mind Machine and The Truth on side two contain some good organ work. The sequence on side one is different to that on the record cover.
Overall, the album is overrated - not a bad effort, containing a couple of rather laboured instrumentals, it's not worth the money copies of the original pressing change hands for, but the reissues are worth picking up.
The Not So Fine/No Shame 45 was released as by The Touch and both tracks feature on the LP (Not So Fine retitled as Trying To Make The Best, having been slightly reworked. A modified line-up of the band also made a later album, which didn't go beyond the test pressing stage of manufacture. This was issued in a plain sleeve with no label or number and would certainly fall into the R6 category. Only one copy of the test pressing is known to exist, which consists of superior re-recorded and/or re-mixed versions of tracks from the Strictly From Hunger album. Overall, the album is transformed from a wheezy - organ garagey effort to a sinister heavy guitar monster!
Workshop was later covered by U.K. psych band Glass Keys (on Rubble 9).
(Vernon Joynson / Max Waller / Clark Faville)
