The Hidden Door: Found

Forming in Riverside, CA, in the mid 60s, the Misunderstood made one big mistake. Instead of remaining in their home and probably being a big hit on the Sunset Strip they followed the current British Invasion and relocated to England where they became one of the great lost bands of the sixties.

This album, recorded in 1966 was not even released until 1982, when even with the rise of neo-psychedelia this could never have hoped for an audience. The group's move is also significant in how it tells their sound. The Misunderstood is to the Yardbirds what the Olivia Tremor Control was to the Beatles. That is to say that their sound is what the blues rockers could have become had they gone further and further into their psychedelic territory. That London blues sound never leaves their sound even though the band goes as far into the psychedelic whirlwind as the 13th Floor Elevators - the band with whom they warrant the most significant comparison, particularly the first album. Lead vocalist Rick Brown's soulful voice on par with Eric Burdon's adds an element not often heard in American psych-rock, even outdoing Arthur Lee. The steel guitar provided by Glenn Ross Campbell wail in a way that set the standard of masterful use of alternative instrumentation is both the psychedelic and progressive rock that would follow in the footsteps. That is not to say the regular guitars don't kick ass as well. The songwriting is as strong, perfectly creating some of the heaviest rock of the sixties on par with the Creation. Some of the best tracks are opener "Children of the Sun," I Unseen," "I Can Take You To The Sun," and should-have-been hit "I Cried My Eyes Out." The Misunderstood's splicing of bluesy British Invasion, far-out acid rock, and proto-punk/metal heaviness makes it perhaps the quintessential underground rock album of the era.


The Misunderstood - Before The Dream Faded (1966/1982)

You Don't Need a Lover, You Need An Interpreter

Typically, when people talk about Camper Van Beethoven, they talk about the first and last records. I, however will mostly talk about the first two.

This album, originally intended to be two separate ones, as the title would suggest, really stands up to Telephone Free Landslide Victory and surpasses everything else the band made. It is a shame that this one is not spun around as much, and I owe it all too the short-lived Bernardsville, New Jersey record store Spin City which was open only during the summer of 2003. There, the owner had just acquired a first pressing of this, played it for me, and a week or so later decided to sell it. For a long time it was the top pride of my LP collection, and really deserves that honor. This, however is from the CD, which is a shame because one of the best tracks (arguably first as the LP lists the sides as "B" and "II") "(We're A) Bad Trip" is an inferior, yet more up-tempo version than on the vinyl. It should also be noted that this version is from the boxed set, so the track listing is different from the separate CD, but other than the previously mentioned track, is identical to the LP.

The record really picks up where the last one left off, which cannot really be said about the rest of the band's discography. Even more than on the previous album, though the instrumentals stand out the most and verge on psychedelia and further integration of disparate genre/styles as country, gypsy music, ska, raga, and southern rock. Some of the best examples of this are "Circles," "Abundance," the gorgeous "Dustpan," and the brilliantly-titled "ZZ Top Goes to Egypt." Like the previous album's re-envisioning of Black Flag, Camper pulls out another amazing cover, like Mudhoney, they outdo Sonic Youth in their own game on "I Love Her All The Time," transforming it into a delightful East-meets-West romp. David Lowery's unique sense of humor remains intact and the lyrics do not disappoint, though I admit are not quite up to par with the likes of "The Day Lassie Went To The Moon" and "Where The Hell Is Bill?" with the possible exception of "Goleta," an ode disparaging the Southern coastal Universities of California - perhaps an attempt for a local anthem for Santa Cruz.

Either way, there is nothing like this and if you like Telephone Free Landslide Victory this is incredibly essential and will not disappoint.


Camper Van Beethoven - II & III (1986)