The California Poppy Pickers were one of several relatively anonymous studio projects assembled by Alshire label head Al Sherman to record budget-priced copycat LPs of ’60’s pop hits. Virtually all of the groups in question — Fats and the Chessmen, Los Norte Americanos, and the Bakersfield Five, among them — were helmed by producer and songwriter Gary Paxton, best-known for composing the novelty smash “The Monster Mash.” In 1965, Paxton founded his own Hollywood recording studio, assembling a session crew and the group released three 1969 LPs — Sounds of ’69, Hair/Aquarius, and Today’s Chart Busters comprised primarily of covers and thinly-veiled rewrites. [Jason Ankeny, All Music Guide]
‘Sounds of ’69’ is solid exploito album with some cool fuzz instros as Bun Buster, Happy Organ, Do Ya, Do Ya and Wipe Out ’69 [included in Surfadelic “The Hell Surfers” soundtrack] and unfortunately few lame shitty vocal tunes as horrible cover of Blowin’ In The Wind and Why Don’t We Do It In The Road.
The Projection Company lp is another 60’s exploatation slab that includes involvement of famous studio musician Jerry Cole and his crew. Some songs featured on this album are alternate versions of tracks found on his project “The inner sound of the ID” originally recorded for RCA records [Boil The Kettle, Wild Times, Don’t Think Twice]. Here you got some fine psych/lounge instrumental trax as Kimeaa, Our Man Hendrix, Tune Out Of Place, What Else…
SURFADELIC 