Blossom Toes We Are Ever So Clean Vinyl LP Record

Imagine the late-'60s Kinks crossed with a touch of the absurdist British wit of the Bonzo Dog Band, and you have an idea of the droll charm of Blossom Toes' debut album. Songwriters Brian Godding and Jim Cregan were the chief architects of the Toes' whimsical and melodic vision, which conjured images of a sun-drenched Summer of Love, London style. With its references to royal parks, tea time, watchmakers, intrepid balloon makers, "Mrs. Murphy's Budgerigar," and the like, it's a distinctly British brand of whimsy. It has since been revealed that sessionmen performed a lot of these orchestral arrangements, which embellished the band's sparkling harmonies and (semi-buried) guitars. But the cello, brass, flute, and tinkling piano have a delicate beauty that serves as an effective counterpoint. The group sings and plays as though they have wide grins on their faces, and the result is one of the happiest, most underappreciated relics of British psychedelia. [Ten bonus tracks were added to the 2007 Sunbeam edition.] ~ Richie Unterberger

Double LP version. Released at the height of flower power in1967, We Are Ever So Clean is the first record by the UK's Blossom Toes, widely considered to be the finest pop-psych album ever recorded. Produced by Giorgio Gomelsky (discoverer of The Rolling Stones and The Yardbirds), it's a fascinating amalgam of whimsical pop, music hall humor and acid rock. Much-bootlegged over the years, this is its first official reissue, timed to coincide with its 40th anniversary. Produced with the band's full involvement, it's presented with no fewer than ten bonus tracks, encompassing non-LP singles, demos, out-takes and live performances, and comes housed in a gatefold sleeve, with rare photos and detailed historical liner notes. Pressed on 180 gram virgin vinyl.Uncut (p.84) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[The album] captures the spirit of '67 to perfection with delightful, crazed pop-psych..."