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Biography
Refimprove|date=September 2010Infobox musical artist | name = The Electric Prunes| image =| caption = The Electric Prunes in London during their European Tour, December 1967.(From left) Mark Tulin , Quint , Mike Gannon , James Lowe (Seated) Ken Williams | image_size = | background = group_or_band | origin = San Fernando Valley , Los Angeles , California , United States|U.S. | genre = Acid rock Psychedelic rock Garage rock | occupation = | years_active = 1965–1970 1999& ndash;2011 | label = Reprise Records Heartbeat Productions Birdman Records Heartbeat Records (Bristol)|Heartbeat | associated_acts = | website = http://www.electricprunes.net/ | current_members = James Lowe Ken Williams Steve Kara Jay Dean Walter Garces | past_members = Kenny Loggins Michael "Quint" Fortune Preston Ritter James "Weasel" Spagnola Mike Gannon Joe Dooley Mark Moulin Cameron Lowe Peter Lewis (musician)|Peter Lewis Mark Tulin (deceased) "New Improved" Electric Prunes Members: John Herron Brett Wade Ron Morgan Mark Kincaid Dick Whetstone
The Electric Prunes are an American rock band who first achieved international attention as an experimental psychedelic group in the late 1960s. Their song "Kyrie Eleison" was featured on the soundtrack of Easy Rider . After a period in which they had little control over their music, they disappeared for thirty years, reformed in 1999, then resumed 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 . Their first hit was discovered by Seattle disk jockey Pat O'Day at KJR (AM) and was very popular in that city before it broke into the national charts. The founding members, Ken Williams (guitar), James Lowe (lead vocal, autoharp), Michael Weakley and eventually Joe Dooley (drums) and Mark Tulin (bass) called themselves The Sanctions , and later, Jim and the Lords . Soon, Dick Hargrave joined on organ, but left shortly afterwards 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.
A single ''Ain't It Hard/Little Olive 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 Spagnola|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 (Electric Prunes album)|Underground (1967) which featured mainly original Prunes material, charted in the lower reaches of the Billboard magazine|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 , was recorded by this line-up, but does not appear on this album.
The Axelrod period
At the suggestion of manager Lenny Poncher, the Prunes's third album, Mass in F Minor (1968), was a psychedelic ized setting of the Mass (music)|Mass , written and produced by David Axelrod (musician)|David Axelrod . Initial work on the arrangements was done by Mark Tulin, but it became clear during the recording that Axelrod's intentions outstripped the band's technical abilities, Jim Lowe commenting that "David Axelrod was so far above what we, as a garage band, were able to deliver." http://www.solesides.com/winblad/david%20axelrod/axelrodmojo0601.html Interview with David Axelrod, Mojo magazine, 2001 The band reportedly broke up during the recording, and Axelrod completed the album using Canadian band The Collectors (band)|The Collectors http://discorder.ca/oldsite/features/02febdavidaxelrod.html 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. Nevertheless, the album became somewhat of an Underground music|underground favorite. Kyrie Eleison from this record was used to back the dinner scene wherein Billy was trying to convince a grief-stricken Captain America to go to Mardi Gras to get laid and do drugs in the movie Easy Rider .
This was followed by Release of An Oath (1968), another religious-themed work composed and arranged by Axelrod, this time combining Jewish and Christian liturgy . It was produced by David Hassinger 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 to reflect the new lineup, although the group name remained the same. This band toured and also released a single on Reprise Records in 1969, but dissolved early in 1970.
Reissues and reformation
Through the inclusion of their classic " I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) " on the seminal Nuggets (album)|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 (band)|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-1980s. 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. It was also recorded by Webb Wilder and the Beatnecks for their album "Doo Dad", and featured in the "trip" sequence in Webb's movie "Horror Hayride". A Patrick Cowley -produced Hi-NRG version, simply entitled "Too Much to Dream", was released in 1983 by Paul Parker as part of an album of the same name.
The late 1990s saw renewed interest in the Electric Prunes, with the release on Heartbeat Records (Bristol)|Heartbeat Records of Stockholm (Electric Prunes album)|Stockholm , a concert recorded by the Sveriges Radio|Swedish Broadcasting Corporation while the (original) Prunes were on tour there in 1967. Heartbeat also issued an early collection of recordings by The Sanctions and Jim and The Lords , recovered from unplayed 35-year-old acetate s.
After a period of 30 years, the original quartet of Lowe, Tulin, Williams and Weakley met in the studio in 1999 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 (album)|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 , a hook-laden orgy of tremolo, reverb, rollicking drums and hilariously juvenile lyrics ("I have to off myself just to get away from you") that was heard by too few critics but hailed as a masterpiece by some of those who did, including author Elizabeth Hand , who blogged, "'Feedback' is truly one of the best albums I've heard in years. Anyone who's expecting an oldies nostalgia act is going to be wicked disappointed: these guys sound like they're still twenty years old with something to prove."
The Prunes have also taken up residence in MySpace and Facebook, reaching out to fans new and old.
In 2007, the rock band The Verve ran the track "Holy Are You" before their concerts.
They were mentioned in Thomas Pynchon 's 2009 novel Inherent Vice (pg. 103) and receive a shoutout from James Murphy (electronic musician)|James Murphy in the LCD Soundsystem classic single " Losing My Edge ."
The band is now recording and touring with a new drummer, http://www.waltergarces.com/ Walter Garces, who has been called the "drum guru" of L.A. They are currently recording new tracks with musician and producer Billy Corgan of Smashing Pumpkins .
On February 26, 2011, founding member Tulin collapsed while helping out at the AvalonUnderwater Clean-Up in Avalon, California. Baywatch Avalon and Avalon Fire Department medics responded immediately, but he could not be revived and was pronounced dead. http://www.facebook.com/CatHyperChamber Since Mr. Tulin's sudden death, there have been no public activities by the band.
"Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" / ("Lies" by the Knickerbockers) (Elektra K 12102) 1973 (from the Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968|Nuggets compilation) UK
"I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)" / "Luvin" (Radar ADA 16 - picture sleeve reissue) 1979 UK
Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era, 1965–1968 (includes "I Had Too Much To Dream (Last Night)") 1972 Elektra, reissued 1976 Sire
Pebbles, Volume 2 1979 (includes "Vox Wah-Wah Radio Ad") BFD Records, reissued 1992 on CD by AIP Records
Rarities 1981 (4 songs from a 1967 concert in Stockholm plus the Vox ad, split with Count Five ) Great Live Concerts label
DVDs
Rewired (DVD)|Rewired (DVD) 2002
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.electricprunes.com/ Archive website
http://www.electricprunes.net/ Official website on current activities
http://members.tripod.com/~shadwell/epdisco.html Independent discography with images.
http://web.archive.org/web/20091021090110/ http://geocities.com/antlion7/prune.htm Lost Dreams CD Track Annotation
http://www.richieunterberger.com/prunes1.html Liner notes from I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night) .
http://www.richieunterberger.com/lowe.html Interview with James Lowe , discussing effects used on the early recordings.
http://www.spectropop.com/AnnetteTucker/ Interview with Annette Tucker , another perspective on the Prunes.
http://shadwell.tripod.com/mantz.html Interview with songwriter Nancie Mantz
http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/electricprunesunderground/message/102 Interview with Preston Ritter , on his history with the group.
http://www.northernstarrecords.co.uk Exclusive track on Psychedelica Vol.1 on Northern Star Records
http://www.heartbeat-productions.co.uk/heart/hbr8.htm Live and early recordings on Heartbeat Records
DEFAULTSORT:Electric Prunes, The Category:Garage rock groups Category:Musical groups established in 1965 Category:Musical groups disestablished in 1970 Category:Musical groups reestablished in 1999 Category:Psychedelic musical groups Category:Rock music groups from California
