“Gypsy Plays His Drums”
by The Seeds
1968 song
"Gypsy Plays His Drums", a hippie song title if there ever was one, is a song from The Seeds’ ersatz live album Raw & Alive (1968). It has the distinction of being one of only two songs chosen from the album’s original session, most of which was rejected.
In fact, the first time that The Seeds attempted to record this snarling, evil-sounding tune was on January 13, 1968. This fantastic version languished in the vaults for decades until take 6 was chosen, with overdubs from the same session, as a bonus track on the 2013 expanded Future double CD. One Bob Atkins plays bass on this version. Daryl Hooper’s famous genre-defining keyboards give the tune its droning queasiness and Jan Savage’s crunchy guitar remind the listener that this is definitely The Seeds. Sky, at the height of his 1960s audaciousness, turns in another always-reliable showing, drawling out the mesmerizing lyrics as “gypsih PLIES his DRAWWWWWW”.
But on February 20, 1968, The Seeds gathered some fans in the studio and played a “live” show for them, intending to pass it off as a live album. Only two of these recordings were ultimately chosen, a remake of "Pushin' Too Hard" and a new attempt at "Gypsy Plays His Drums". When The Seeds attempted to record the album again in April this song wasn’t even included. Apparently they knew they had it already. Live crowd noises were added and it was issued on Raw & Alive, becoming the one that fans knew for years.
The crowd-less "Gypsy Plays His Drums" was released on the 2014 Raw & Alive expanded 2-CD set. It also made it onto an obscure 7″ single on Norton Records that same year, with a cool picture sleeve.
