PLASTIC PENNY Two Sides ORIGINAL freakbeat psych LP '68

$

86

This is a genuine ORIGINAL MONO pressing of Plastic Penny’s first UK only LP, “Two Sides of a Penny” on the Page One label, from 1968 – and not only that, it’s in EXCELLENT pristine shape! The first thing you can say about Plastic Penny – they’re really not kidding when they named their debut album “Two Sides of a Penny”. This album has two VERY different sides, indeed. I mean, this thing has more mood swings than Judy Tenuta during her monthly visit. You won’t find two completely different sides on a single album until that Zamfir/Wolfmother album comes out next year. It’s like a drive-in movie double bill showing “Places in the Heart” followed by “Blood Sucking Freaks”. Okay, you get the point. But they’re 100 percent right about the two sides. Just so happens the first side is all lightweight, tame and oh-so-twee British pop, with the kind of titles that sensitive teen girls love – “Everything I Am”, “Wake Me Up”, “No Pleasure Without Pain My Love” – a cover of the Association’s “Never My Love” mid-side does absolutely NOTHING you wake you out of the deep sleep you’ll be in by the time the needle gets to the run-out groove. So excuse me while I skip right ahead to Side 2, the “TAILS” side and the one I hope lands upside in a Plastic Penny album toss. Now I’ve already told you the two album sides are markedly different, so you’re expecting good things from TAILS, right? And let me tell you, it does NOT disappoint. In fact, it opens with “Mrs. Grundy”, one of the most amazing, KILLER slabs of English psychedelia EVER created – and I mean that, as Sammy Davis Jr. would say. Right away, you can’t help noticing the similarity to the Who’s “Boris the Spider” – and Plastic Penny do in fact nick John Entwistle’s ominous creepy-crawly rhythm. But where “Boris” was more of a novelty track, a Ringo-like departure from the more manic Daltrey/Townshend material, “Mrs. Grundy” is dead serious, and clearly meant to be Plastic Penny’s crowning achievement (which it is). It’s a pop art explosion of sound and Technicolor, a Roy Lichtenstein print come to life. Some chunky freakbeat organ and pounding piano add flesh to the bones of the spidery rhythm, like the Small Faces of “Ogden’s Nutgone Flake” or “Shine on Brightly” era Procol Harum. And the lyrics are equally insane – “What will Mrs. Grundy say, when she finds I got away? She won’t find me, that I knows (?), ‘cuz I’ve taken all her clothes…Mrs. Grundy locked me up, ‘cuz she thinks I’m off my nut. What she does to me, neighbors’ eyes don’t see.” Seriously, someone here has some really deep-seated issues. And this whole INCREDIBLE mod freakbeat kaleidoscopic explosion culminates in a wild screaming coda that sounds like some form of primal release after such an intense workout (not to mention the countless freakish things Mrs. Grundy made our vocalist do), strange and eerie vocal moans that somehow manage to make George Harrison’s wailing coda to “Long Long Long” seem positively rational by comparison. So where, oh WHERE can you go after THAT? Well, how about a simple, deceptively catchy old-fashioned pop song? Like “Take Me Back”, an infectious slice of vintage Northern soul popsike that should’ve been a BIG hit for these boys. It wasn’t, so they retaliate by retreating to the heavier, chunkier and more acid-drenched sounds again for Song 3, the stomping “I Want You”, with vocals by a young Nigel Olsson – yes, the same Nigel Olsson who would go on to much MUCH greater fame…with the 1979 single “Dancing Shoes”. No, I’m kidding, much greater fame as the drummer for Elton John’s band. Although he did release “Dancing Shoes” too. “I Want You” is a freakbeat CLASSIC, and in the battle for most over-the-top wah wah guitar in a song, it just noses out the Status Quo’s “Pictures of Matchstickmen” for top honors. The Penny kids even find the time to get in a little drum solo – a LITTLE one, so don’t worry, drum solo haters. Feeling braver than ever now, they finish off the album by tackling the Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” – and promptly jettison John’s trippy arrangement for a more streamlined, chunky organ-led freakbeat approach. It works nicely, like ’67 Small Faces. Two sides of a Penny, indeed. Half tame pop that’ll put you to sleep, followed by the most amazing album side of crunchy popsike freakbeat you’ll ever hear in your life. As a numismatist might say, It’s one of the most solid half penny pieces out there. Original 1968 UK pressing on the Page One label. MONO LP, POL 005. Cover's in VG++ shape with some minor lamination crinkling, creased edge and a 1-inch section along the bottom seam where it's split. Vinyl looks great and plays EXCELLENT. Winning bidder pays $4.50 for media mail shipping with tracking in the US, $8 air mail to Canada, $14 everywhere else. Paypal, Bidpay, cash, checks and money orders accepted. Please check out my other auctions for more vinyl obscurities, and I will combine shipping costs on multiple wins.