Masters Of Psychedelia

The 1984 LP Masters Of Psychedelia, credited officially to Sky Sunlight Saxon Universal Stars Peace Band, is in fact two sets of recordings by what are clearly two different sets of musicians — likely recorded about 6-8 years apart. Sky Saxon is the vocalist, and presumably lead instigator, for the whole album.

The two sides of Masters Of Psychedelia

The first side of Masters Of Psychedelia is recordings from the early 1980s, perhaps recorded especially for this album. The musical style is basically 80s metal — think of a stoned Iron Maiden cover band overly excited to be in the studio. There are some psychedelic effects and a generally stoned vibe. The guitars are forceful, and the capable drummer gets a bit too enthusiastic on occasion while Sky, for his part, finds his vocals mixed lower than usual; his impassioned sermons get buried under the sludgy guitar riff-o-rama onslaught.

The musicians on Side 1 do not gel perfectly all the time, but they do achieve some great moments; they are clearly talented and into the music but sound like they haven’t been playing together long. Or maybe they were just too amped up to stick together that closely. Overall, Side 1 of Masters Of Psychedelia has a brutal and dense feeling, like tumbling down the center of a fiery volcano. Sky Saxon’s wonderful voice and vibe, as usual, are what gives this music its wild appeal.

The second side of Masters Of Psychedelia is very different. These recordings are similar to Sky’s songs on the Golden Sunrise album by Fire, Water, Air; because of the similarity, it is most likely that the five songs here are “leftovers” from that era (1975-7 or so). The recording quality, arrangements, and musicianship are all very similar, and there is no closer correlation in Sky’s known output.

The fidelity of the recordings on Side 2 can be described as better-than-average bootleg quality — there is a bit too much echo and little dynamism here (unlike this LP’s Side 1, which has a compressed, thin sound that is a bit too far in the other direction.) The playing tends to focus on locking into grooves, also quite different than Side 1 but similar to Golden Sunrise.

About the songs

1. "Volcano"
   Sets the tone for Side 1 with its heavy metal thrust and echo-y psych.
2. "Quaset"
   The lyrics mention “quasar” and the title could well be a neologism arising from sloppy handwriting or a typo somewhere along the way. It’s one of the better songs on the album — a dense hard rock piece with unsettling psych effects swirling just beneath the surface.
3. "Music Is A Vanishing World"
   The band finds a nice, catchy structure propelled by a simple but blistering guitar. Sky mumbles over the top, often inaudibly. The drummer even cuts loose on the cowbell from time to time. Oh baby! Reissued in a different mix as "Music Is A Fantasy World" in 2008.
4. "Silver Leaves"
   Sky Saxon’s vocals on this one, like many of the others on Side 1, are double-tracked, an approach that had been a rarity in his career. For one thing, it requires him to have pre-written, structured lyrics, something he seemed to shy away from after The Seeds. "Silver Leaves" has a jittery guitar figure, and is the most NWOBHM-like moment on Side 1. The drums are as insane as ever.
5. "Firebreak"
   The best song on Side 1 of Masters Of Psychedelia. There are some neat guitar arrangements on this one, heavy and psychedelic. Sky’s voice is mixed higher this time, or at least the other musicians are restrained enough to allow him to be heard.
6. "Star Spangled Girl"
   A headlong rush of twisty guitars and Sky groaning about his star-spangled Hawaiian girl.
7. "Magic Woman"
   Side 2 starts off with a funky bass and wah-wah guitar, sounding almost like 1970s-era Arthur Lee. The band drifts along on this groove, Sky Saxon improvising lyrics in his abstract, faraway style. The last section of the song gets slower and more psychedelic, before fading out suddenly.
8. "On A Sailboat Ride"
   Features a slow, brooding, heavy psych-funk rhythm, Sky again wailing and slurring his way through. It gradually becomes stranger and more manic, but basically sticks to the one groove.
9. "White Magician"
   Sky summons some electrifying passion over his bluesy band and its pulsing rhythm. This song is also a rare instance on Masters Of Psychedelia of Sky mentioning Ya Ho Wha. Towards the end the murky bass gives way to a cowbell, just as on parts of Side 1.
10. "Paradise"
    Unsettling psychedelia, brooding and sliced from a lengthy performance. This one fades out suddenly although the band doesn’t seem done yet…
11. "Sons Of The Light"
    …but not to worry! "Sons Of The Light" resumes the same performance from "Paradise", beginning at a point a little later in the song. It’s not clear what happened between the two that needed to be edited out. ‘Tis all part of Sky’s rich pageant.

Availability of Masters Of Psychedelia

Unfortunately for CD and digital fans Masters Of Psychedelia has never been reissued on CD. Until it gets revisited by those in charge of these things, you will have to buy a copy of the 1984 vinyl LP which is still seen for sale at reasonable prices. Masters Of Psychedelia has arguably the best cover art of any Sky Saxon-related album, so vinyl is the way to go anyway if you’ve got a turntable and/or some lonely wall space.

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