''Ultimate Spinach III'' is the third and final album by the American

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

band

Ultimate Spinach Ultimate Spinach was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band from Boston, Massachusetts which was formed in 1967. In terms of style and national recognition, the band was one of the most prominent musical acts to emerge from the "Bosstown S ...

, and was released on

MGM Records MGM Records was a record label founded by the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film studio in 1946 for the purpose of releasing soundtrack recordings (later LP albums) of their musical films. It transitioned into a pop music label that continued into the ...

in 1969.

Background

A few days before the production for ''Ultimate Spinach III'' began late 1968, the group was disbanded for personal differences with their record producer

Alan Lorber Alan Lorber is an American music arranger, record producer, and composer. References Record producers from New York (state) Living people Year of birth missing (living people) Place of birth missing (living people) American music arra ...

. However, the third album needed to be produced due to contractual obligations with

. Female lead vocalist Barbara Hudson and drummer Russell Levine were the only surviving members, while guitarist Ted Myers agreed to return after a year out. The Ultimate Spinach sextet was completed with three new musicians from other

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

local rock bands. In consequence, this album lacks the creative genius of Ian Bruce-Douglas: the sound and structures are not very experimental and the content of the lyrics is more conventional instead of the frequently " lysergic", dark and introspective which is present in their two previous

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. Som ...

s. Ted Myers and Tony Scheuren, ex bandmates in

Chamaeleon Church Chamaeleon Church was a short-lived American psychedelic rock band formed in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1967. It was founded by singer-songwriter Ted Myers after the disbandment of the Lost. Chamaeleon Church recorded one self-titled album in 196 ...

, wrote most songs (some of them, even individually), while the rest of the band was reunited only for exhausting rehearsals and recording sessions, made in just nine days in Mayfair Studios, New York, in December 1968. The result was a very inconsistent album with a mix of psychedelic, hard rock and pop styles that sounded like the work of several different bands. After the critical and commercial failure with this record, Ultimate Spinach was definitely disbanded in mid-1969.

Track listing

All music composed by Ultimate Spinach. ; LP Side A ;LP Side B

Personnel

* Barbara Jean Hudson – vocals, acoustic guitar *Ted Myers – lead vocals, lead guitar *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense consu ...

– lead guitar, steel guitar, vibraphone, vocals * Tony Scheuren – organ, piano, acoustic guitar, vocals * Mike Levine – bass guitar * Russell Levine – drums, percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ultimate Spinach III 1969 albums Ultimate Spinach albums