''Underground'' is the second studio

album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

by the American

garage rock Garage rock (sometimes called garage punk or 60s punk) is a raw and energetic style of rock and roll that flourished in the mid-1960s, most notably in the United States and Canada, and has experienced a series of subsequent revivals. The sty ...

band,

The Electric Prunes The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." T ...

, and was released in 1967 on

Reprise Records Reprise Records is an American record label founded in 1960 by Frank Sinatra. It is owned by Warner Music Group, and operates through Warner Records, one of its flagship labels. Artists currently signed to Reprise Records include Enya, Michael ...

. It would be the final album of any materialized input by band members until the 1969 "New Improved" Electric Prunes were formed. The album was a moderate chart hit, but, without a hit-ready single, the band could not repeat their past success. In 2011, it was included in '' NME's'' "The 100 Greatest Albums You've Never Heard" list, chosen by Andrew VanWyngarden of MGMT.

Background

The album, ''Underground'', brought changes to the band once recording began. Limited lyrical input plagued the band's creative process on their debut. Only one track, composed by

Mark Tulin Mark may refer to: Currency * Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina * East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic * Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927 * Fi ...

and James Lowe, called "Lovin'" was included on their first album. This changed with this album because

Dave Hassinger Walter David "Dave" Hassinger (March 31, 1927 – August 15, 2007) was an American Grammy award-winning recording engineer and record producer. Biography Early years Born in Los Angeles, California, he joined the U.S. Navy aged 17, and was ...

, the group's producer, was not as active in the sessions resulting in nine of the 12 tracks becoming the band's own material. With so much more musical freedom, the band could mold their music into their own image. The final products were a more direct and cohesive set of songs that reflected the band's own design. The band continued in their utilization of distorted sound effects, fuzz-toned guitar instrumentals, and experimented with a Vox organ. Regarding the playing of the organ Lowe said, "they brought a prototype in, and took it back after they heard what we did with it." Near the end of recording, however, two band members left.

Preston Ritter Preston James Ritter (April 24, 1949 – March 30, 2015) was an American drummer, drum teacher and author of drum methods. He joined The Electric Prunes in 1966, and played on their debut studio album, ''The Electric Prunes'', and two hit singl ...

's departure stemmed from musical differences, and James Spagnola left due to medical issues. Their replacements were original drummer Michael Fortune and new member Mike Gannon. As a result of being brought in late, Fortune appeared on five tracks and only two included Gannon. Gannon also is featured on the non-album single "Everybody Knows You're Not in Love". ''Underground'' was released in August 1967 and became a moderate success, charting at number 172 nationally. Without a hit single, the album could not reach more popularity. This lineup consisting of Tulin, Lowe, Williams, Fortune, and Gannon would tour to promote the album. They played across the United States in prestigious venues like ''The Crystal Ballroom'' in Portland, and were the only lineup, until the reformation 30 years later, to tour Europe. A live album called ''Stockholm '67'' was recorded material from a concert on this tour that was released 30 years later.

Track listing

;Side one # "The Great Banana Hoax" ( James Lowe,

) – 4:09 # "Children of Rain" (Goodie Williams, Ken Williams) – 2:37 # "Wind-Up Toys" (Lowe, Tulin) – 2:26 # "Antique Doll" (Nancy Mantz,

Annette Tucker Annette May Tucker is an American songwriter, who found success in the 1960s as co-writer of songs for The Electric Prunes ("I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)", "Get Me to the World on Time"), The Brogues (" I Ain't No Miracle Worker"), The K ...

) – 3:13 # "It's Not Fair" (Lowe, Tulin) – 2:04 # "I Happen to Love You" ( Gerry Goffin, Carole King) – 3:15 ;Side two # "Dr. Do-Good" (Mantz, Tucker) – 2:26 # "I" (Mantz, Tucker) – 5:14 # "Hideaway" (Lowe, Tulin) – 2:42 # "Big City" (Johnny Walsh, Dan Walsh) – 2:46 # "Captain Glory" (Lowe) – 2:14 # "Long Day's Flight" (Michael "Quint" Weakley, Don Yorty) – 3:12

CD bonus tracks

# "Everybody Knows You're Not in Love" (Lowe, Tulin) – 3:05 # "You've Never Had It Better" (Steve Poncher, R. Schwartz, P. Snagster) – 2:07

Personnel

Musicians

* James Lowe –

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

, autoharp,

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inclu ...

* Ken Williams –

lead guitar Lead guitar (also known as solo guitar) is a musical part for a guitar in which the guitarist plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs and chords within a song structure. The lead is the featur ...

, effects * James "Weasel" Spagnola –

rhythm guitar In music performances, rhythm guitar is a technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., drum kit, bass guitar ...

, vocals (tracks 2-11, 13) * Mike Gannon (uncredited) –

(tracks 1, 12, 14) * Mark Tulin – bass, organ,

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

* Michael "Quint" Weakley –

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

(tracks 2, 4, 8, 11-12) * Preston Ritter (uncredited) –

(tracks 1, 3, 5-7, 9-10)

Technical

– producer, liner notes *

Richie Podolor Richard Allen Podolor (January 7, 1936 – March 9, 2022) was an American musician, record producer and songwriter. His career started as a session musician in the 1950s, and he was best known as the producer of Three Dog Night. Life and caree ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...

* Bill Cooper – engineer *

Ed Thrasher Edward Lee Thrasher Jr. (March 7, 1932 – August 5, 2006), known as Ed Thrasher, was an American art director and photographer. He was the recipient of numerous Grammy Award nominations for his work on album covers and won a Grammy for Best Album ...

–

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

* Tom Tucker –

photography Photography is the art, application, and practice of creating durable images by recording light, either electronically by means of an image sensor, or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film. It is employed ...

Covers

The track "Wind-Up Toys" was recorded as a demo by the

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

Opal Butterfly Opal Butterfly was an English psychedelic rock band from Oxfordshire, that was active between 1968 and 1970. Although the band itself did not gain widespread success, the musicians did go on to conduct successful musical careers. The band fe ...

in 1968. It has been included in psychedelic rock compilations including ''Psychedelic Schlemiels''.

Charts

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine and is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of art ...

(1967) - No. 172

References

{{Authority control The Electric Prunes albums 1967 albums Reprise Records albums Albums produced by David Hassinger