The Head Shop

One-shot, eponymous psychedelic rock album, released on Epic Records in 1969. The album was produced by Milan (aka The Leather Boy), and the associate producer is listed as Maxim, who are also the songwriters. Milan is known from four excellent recordings issued by Bomp Records in their Pebbles series of 1960's garage rock (specifically, Volume 11 among the LP's and Volume 10 among the CD's). Milan is in reality Rick Rodell, while Maxim's real name is Max Ellen – both music industry professionals – although some sources protest that these individuals remain anonymous. The original songs, including Listen with a Third Ear, Heaven Here We Come and I Feel Love Comin' On, feature fuzztone guitar, Hammond organ and general weirdness. The cover songs are also highly entertaining: Side 1 ends and Side 2 begins with two extremely familiar Beatles songs, Yesterday – reminiscent of the Vanilla Fudge cover of Help – plus a propulsive rendering of Revolution, along with a dark version of another hit song of the period, Sunny by Bobby Hebb. Like Yesterday, hundreds of other cover versions of Sunny are extant, but not like this. A reissue on Synton Records was released in 1998. The album is also available on a German label, World of Sound, which includes 7 bonus tracks, including both sides of two 45's that are not given on the original album; one is by another Milan outfit, Licorice Shtick.