The Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes are a rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s, and contributed two tracks to the soundtrack of Easy Rider. After a period in which they had little control over their music, they disappeared for thirty years, reforming as a recording and touring band in 2001.

History

Origin

The group started in the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles, though during the group's long disbandment, rumors circulated that they were from Seattle, probably because their records were very popular in that city. The first members, Ken Williams (guitar), James Lowe (lead vocal), Michael Weakley (drums) and Mark Tulin (bass) called themselves The Sanctions, and later, Jim and the Lords. Soon, Dick Hargrave joined on organ, but shortly thereafter left to pursue graphic arts. Their lineup changed many times, including one lineup with Kenny Loggins.

Lowe, Tulin, Williams and Weakley were introduced to David Hassinger, then resident engineer at RCA studios, who arranged for them to record some demos at Leon Russell's home recording facility (which he called Sky Hill Studios). Hassinger also suggested they needed a new name. In response, the band produced a long list of suggestions, with The Electric Prunes last as a joke. Somehow it stuck.

A single Ain't It Hard/Little Oliver was released from these sessions, and flopped.

Early success

The Prunes' next single, I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) (1966), was chosen from material Hassinger culled from the established songwriting team of Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz. It remains their highest charting success, reaching 11 in the USA and 49 in the UK. Personnel included Jim Lowe on vocals, James "Weasel" Spagnola and Ken Williams on guitar, Mark Tulin on bass and Preston Ritter on drums. This is regarded by many as the classic Prunes lineup.

Their third single, Get Me to the World on Time, was also successful but less so, peaking at 27 in the USA and 42 in the UK. Both their first album, The Electric Prunes: I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) (1967) and consisting mainly of Tucker/Mantz material, and the followup Underground (1967) which featured mainly original Prunes material, charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard charts.

By the time Underground was complete, there had been several more personnel changes. Original drummer Weakley returned to replace Ritter, and Spagnola was replaced on guitar by Mike Gannon, who appears on only two songs. Their fourth single Everybody Knows You're Not In Love appears on this album.

The Axelrod period

The Prunes's third album, Mass in F Minor (1968), was a psychedelicized setting of the Mass, written and produced by David Axelrod, and somewhat of an underground favorite. Kyrie Eleison from this record was used to back the Mardi Gras drug-trip scene in Easy Rider. The band reportedly broke up during the recording, and Axelrod completed the album using Canadian band The Collectors[1] and session musicians. A tour had been planned to follow the album release, but it was cancelled after one disastrous show at which it was obvious that the Prunes couldn't play the music, some of which they had seen for the first time only a few days before the concert.

This was followed by Release of An Oath (1968), another religious-themed Axelrod work this time combining Jewish and Christian liturgy. It was produced by Axelrod using top session musicians for all instruments, backing the Prunes's vocal work.

"the new improved Electric Prunes"

The following album Just Good Old Rock and Roll (1969) was recorded by another, completely different, group of musicians, originally from Colorado, who were assigned the Prunes's name, which was not legally owned by Hassinger (according to James Lowe in a recent interview). The album cover read the new improved Electric Prunes. This band toured and also released a single on Reprise Records in 1969, but had totally dissolved by 1970.

Reissues and reformation

Through the inclusion of their classic "I Had Too Much to Dream Last Night" on the seminal "Nuggets" compilation of 1960s psychedelic gems the Electric Prunes continued to reach new fans in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. That track in particular has been a regular of psychedelic bands through the decades including Australia's Prince Vlad & the Gargoyle Impalers in the early to mid 1980s. The track was recorded by psychedelic punks The Damned in the 1980s, under their alter ego of Naz Nomad and the Nightmares, and was also a feature of The Damned's live set in the mid-80s. XTC, recording under the name Dukes of Stratosphear also paid homage to the song on their song "25 O'Clock" which emulates the style of the song.

The late 1990s saw renewed interest in the Electric Prunes, with the release of Stockholm, a concert recorded by the Swedish Broadcasting Corporation while the (original) Prunes were on tour there in 1967. An early collection of recordings by The Sanctions and Jim and The Lords was also released, recovered from unplayed 35-year-old acetates.

After a period of 30 years, the original quartet of Lowe, Tulin, Williams and Weakley met in the studio to consider a revival. As a result Lowe, Tulin and Williams (the three who had played on all the early recordings) were joined by two new members including James Lowe's son to reform the band. They began touring internationally in 2001, and in 2002 released a new recording titled Artifact and a DVD album called Rewired.

Continuing the momentum in 2007, the trio of Lowe, Tulin, and Williams released a new CD entitled Feedback and have also taken residence in myspace, reaching out to fans new and old.

They are now recording and touring with a new drummer, Walter Garces, who has been called the "drum guru" of LA.

Discography

(incomplete)

Singles

• Ain't It Hard/Little Olive 1966
• I Had Too Much To Dream Last Night/Luvin 1966 US #11 - UK #49
• Get Me to the World on Time/Are You Lovin' Me More 1966 US #27 - UK #42
• Dr Do-Good/Hideaway 1967
• The Great Banana Hoax/Wind-up Toys 1967
• Long Days Flight/The King In His Counting House UK only 1967
• Everybody Knows You're Not In Love/You Never Had it Better 1967
• Shadow 1968, one-sided single
• Left in Blue (original by Azure Halo)

Albums

• The Electric Prunes 1967
• Underground 1967
• Mass In F Minor 1968
• Release of An Oath 1968
• Just Good Old Rock and Roll 1969
• Long Day's Flight (compilation) 1986
• Stockholm 1997
• Artifact 2002
• Rewired (DVD) 2002
• California 2004
• Feedback 2006

Recent Compilations

"Last Night at The Rendezvous" Exclusive track on the Psychedelica Volume One compilation on Northern Star Records. 2005

External links

• Archive website.
• Official website on current activities.
• Independent discography with images.
• Comprehensive discography.
• Lost Dreams CD Track Annotation.
• Liner notes from I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night).
• Interview with James Lowe, discussing effects used on the early recordings.
• Interview with Annette Tucker, another perspective on the Prunes.
• Exclusive track on Psychedelica Vol.1 on Northern Star Records.