If you dig through the crates long enough, you may come across an album called Psychedelic Psoul, released in 1967 by The Freak Scene. However, it turns out The Freak Scene wasn’t a band in the sense that others are. They were more like The Monkees than a ‘proper’ band like Jefferson Airplane.
The Freak Scene was a one-time studio ensemble formed by Rusty Evans, a musician and songwriter who had previously been involved in various other musical projects. Evans was a Greenwich Village folkie turned producer, and he dreamed up The Freak Scene as a project to work on. It was an in-house psychedelic “band” used for only one project: the record Psychedelic Psoul.
Technically, the “band” had previously recorded another album under a different name. In 1966, a different iteration of The Freak Scene called The Deep released Psychedelic Moods, which had more of a garage-psych feel than the more Eastern, trippy sounds of Psychedelic Psoul. At that point in the Sixties, everyone was making psych music and wanted a piece of the action.
Psychedelic Psoul can be seen as a period piece and Evans’ effort to create topical psychedelic music for Columbia Records. At the time, Columbia only had The Byrds making psych sounds and, to a much lesser degree, Bob Dylan. While all of this makes The Freak Scene seem silly, Psychedelic Psoul is a decent album that blends rock, folk, and Eastern influences.
The record features a mix of original compositions and covers, all infused with a trippy, experimental vibe characterized by the era. A standout track is “Mind Bender,” which features swirling guitars, a sitar, and other psychedelic effects. The opening track—“A Million Grains of Sound”—is another good one. While it feels a bit dated, it has the classic psych sound down pat.
Alas, The Freak Scene never achieved mainstream success, and they were relegated to the dustbin of history. The band never toured to promote Psychedelic Psoul, and they apparently disbanded after the short-lived project. In 2008, the album was reissued on compact disc by P-Vine Records.
The Freak Scene and Psychedelic Psoul could be considered cult classics. The album sounds very much rooted in the late Sixties. They’re one of those early psych bands among a vast crop of others making music like that at the time that left behind something interesting. Check out Psychedelic Psoul and add it to a playlist; it’s as obscure as possible. Enjoy!
Read more about The Freak Scene here.
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