Plastic Cloud LP rare private 1968 stoner acid folk psych pop sike garage rock

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Plastic Clould LP vinyl re-issue of this rare 1968 psych record - from limited edition repro of Allied Records original.  with insert.   excellent like new open copy.  hard-to-find and collectible.  own this artifact!

"One of the GREATEST Psychedelic albums EVER made.  This 1968 Canadian release is one hip album, full of catchy melodies and West-Coast harmonies, as well as some of the most superb Fuzz guitar ever recorded.  There is no point singling out a specific track, THEY ARE ALL EXCELLENT.  Formed in 1967, they managed to encompass the commercial side of the music in pleasant, "The Plastic Cloud" were an Ontario-based Folk-Rock quartet, consisting of "Brian Madill" (bass guitar), "Don Brewer" (lead vocals, 12-string guitar), "Mike Cadieux" (guitar), and "Randy Umphrey" (drums).

The mix of dreamy "West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band"-style vocals with ripping Fuzz and "The Bachs" attitude works BETTER than one might imagine possible, and the LP gains appeal from its youthful basement edge.  There's lots of Fuzz guitar on tracks like "Shadows Of Your Mind", "Face Behind The Sun" and "Civilization Machine", whilst "Dainty General Rides" and "Art's A Happy Man" are nice Soft-Rock - SUNSHINE numbers.  Two tracks are nearly 10 minutes long which still is unusual for 60's Psychedelia.  In one take of listening, near the end, the last track, "Civilization Machine" might seem too much, for it is very densely arranged with the Fuzz really all over the place, with not one moment of peace.  Still this is an ESSENTIAL remastered reissue to 60's Psychedelic fans. Enjoy it!!!"

"The Plastic Cloud were a psychedelic rock band based out of Bay Ridges, Ontario.  Had their homebase been located elsewhere (San Fran, NYC, or LA) things may have been very different for the Plastic Cloud but instead this sole album has languished in obscurity.  Psych fans and collectors remain divided, however: collectors consider Plastic Cloud one of Canada’s best psych albums (or indeed the best from anywhere) while some jaded day-trippers merely find it just ok/ nothing special.   All lyrics were written by guitarist/vocalist Don Brewer but other members were drummer Randy Umphrey, bass player Brian Madill, and guitarist Mike Cadieux.

At first listen I was not impressed with the Plastic Cloud’s only offering.  After reading all the hype about mind-jarring fuzz guitars and John Lennon-like vocals I found the disc rather mediocre and unimpressive.  After several more spins I began to appreciate the band’s intensity and lysergic charm: this disc truly does deliver the goods if you’re into hardcore, late-night psych sounds.  Two of the tracks (“Civilization Machine” and “You Don’t Care”) come close to or exceed the ten minute mark and both are repetitive but also very good.   “You Don’t Care” features nasty eastern style fuzztone and powerful drum work that never bores despite its 10.5 minute length.  Other tracks like “Epistle To Paradise” and the superb “Bridge Under The Sky” show a dreamy, softer folk-rock side which is equally appealing.  These tracks have a nice trippy production and attractive ringing guitars.  Another gem, the “Dainty General Rides Again” sounds like a lost British psych pop nugget and features a nice brief fuzz guitar break.  While not a major classic, Plastic Cloud is surely one of the better Canadian psych albums and is consistently good throughout.  The guitarists’ tones vaguely remind me of Jorma Kaukonen’s work with the Jefferson Airplane: these guitar tones coil, uncoil, and burrow deep into your head like all great psych guitar solos should.  Once again, if you enjoy great, ripping fuzz guitar and sinister vocals (check out “Shadows Of Your Mind”) this album is definitely for you.

Originals came out on Allied in 1968 and are very expensive.  The group also released a single off Allied in 1968 (“Shadows Of Your Mind” coupled with “The Dainty General”).  The best and only official cd reissue I know of is by Pacemaker (from 2005) although it offers nothing in the way of liner notes, just a couple of photos.  If Canada produced acknowledged, underrated classics like Spirit Of Christmas’ Lies To Live By (prog), The Guess Who’s It’s Time (garage/beat), The Sinners Vox Populi (psych pop/garage) and Kensington Market’s Aardvark (psych pop) then Plastic Cloud is just a notch or so below these records but still a great album."

"In July of 1967, the Jefferson Airplane took up a week-long residence at the massive O'Keefe Centre in Toronto, and then played an additional outdoor freebie in front of some 20,000 souls in the sun-drenched and spanking-new Nathan Phillips Square. Grace Slick's soaring vocals and Jorma Kaukonen’s searing electric guitar must have had a huge influence on young bands like Oshawa's Reign Ghost and the Plastic Cloud from Bay Ridges, Ontario, just east of Toronto. Both bands recorded superb and highly sought-after psychedelic LPs for the Allied label, with the discs changing hands for upwards of $1000 these days.

The four-piece Plastic Cloud were led by guitarist and singer Don Brewer, who penned the eight songs on this, their only LP. The Plastic Cloud is essentially two discs in one, bookending the summer of love with alternating mid-sixties folk-rock gems and extended tracks of blistering late-sixties guitar work. The somewhat wooden harmonies on 'Epistle to Paradise' and the bucolic guitar of 'Bridge under the Sky', which open sides 1 and 2 respectively, are fine examples of the former, recalling the pre-psychedelic work of the early (pre-Grace Slick) Airplane or the starry-eyed folk of the Youngbloods. 'You Don't Care', the ten-minute swath of lysergic fuzz guitar that closes out the first side, and which is by far the best of the latter, must surely be what all the fuss is about. Scorching solos, George Harrison-esque singing, a rousing refrain - this is definitely worth searching out!

Released at the tail end of 1968, and thus wedged in between the Beatles' White Album, Hendrix's Electric Ladyland, and Led Zeppelin, The Plastic Cloud drifted into the bargain bins without much notice. Still, the record never quite fell off the radar among collectors, and has been lovingly reissued by the good folks at Pacemaker, from the original masters, replete with lyrics and a facsimile of the promo insert that was included with the original vinyl. "

Thanks for your consideration.