We the People - Visions of Time '1968/2015

Tracks list

We present the amazing story of We The People, a 60s teen band from L.A (not to
be confused with the other band with the same name from Florida) who created an
amazing blend of garage, folk- rock & psychedelic sounds. Between 1967 and 1968,
the band, comprised of four young kids, recorded a few 45s for the Reena label,
two of them released under the American Zoo name.

Despite their young age, the band members were accomplished musicians /
songwriters. They debuted in 1967 with "Feelings of my emptiness" / "For no one
to see", two amazing pieces of moody garage with superb vocal harmonies and
arrangements.

Their second 45, "Back Street Thoughts" / "Who Am I?" offered two pieces of
introspective psychedelia with some over the top tape/echo effects courtesy of
Dal Kacher, a session guitar player and sound engineer who had been part of
early Mothers Of Invention. "Who Am I?" was included decades later in
"Diminishing Returns", a famous psych mix by DJ Shadow.

In 1968, the group released their third 45, this time under the American Zoo
name: "Mr. Brotherhood" / "Magdalena" were another two examples of outstanding
garage- psychedelia. A second pressing of the 45 was released featuring a new
mix of "Mr. Brotherhood" losing one minute but incorporating some wild
electronic effects. In the 1980's, the song was included on such legendary
compilations as "High All The Time" and "Psychedelic Unknowns".

That same year, American Zoo released their last 45: "What Am I?" was a
reworking of "Who Am I?" with a more psychedelic production by Del Kacher. It
was backed with the earlier recording of "Back Street Thoughts.

So, the story of four young kids playing and recording top- notch garage-
psychedelia is in itself amazingbut even more amazing is what happened later to
some of the We The People / American Zoo members: Guitar player Bill Bottrell
became a Grammy award producer, working with Michael Jackson, Madonna and George
Harrison among others. Drummer Jason "Jasun" Martz toured with Frank Zappa and
recorded with Michael Jackson. Today, he's a well- known avant- garde artist and
sculptor. Steve Zaillian, the first We The People drummer, became an Academy
Award winning director, producer and screenwriter ("Schindler's List" and
"Hannibal" among others).This collection includes all the We The People /
American Zoo 45 sides plus two previously unreleased tracks from 1967, taken
from the only surviving copy of the band's 10" demo acetate.

Carefully remastered sound.

"Until now, the earliest musical output of the We The People / American Zoo
members was a well- kept secret, known only to a few collectors and connoisseurs
of obscure records. This collection brings together all their recordings for the
very first time and it is fascinating to hear the budding talents of these
incredibly creative teens bloom and burst into flower." - Gray Newell (Shindig!
/ Ugly things)

"The album clocks in at less than 30 minutes, but when every one of those
minutes is pure magic, how could you possibly complain? We have a new contender
for album of the year" - Mike Stax (Ugly Things)

Tracklist:
1.01 - We the People - Feelings of My Emptiness (We the People) (2:24) 
1.02 - We the People - Back Street Thoughts (We the People) (2:38) 
1.03 - American Zoo - Magdalena (American Zoo) (2:04) 
1.04 - We the People - Who Am I ? (We the People) (3:01) 
1.05 - American Zoo - Mr. Brotherhood (American Zoo) (2:59) 
1.06 - American Zoo - What Am I ? (American Zoo) (2:27) 
1.07 - American Zoo - Mr. Brotherhood (American Zoo) (Remix) (1:55) 
1.08 - We the People - For No One to See (We the People) (2:04) 
1.09 - We the People - Back Street Thoughts (We the People) (Acetate Version)
(3:48) 
1.10 - We the People - Visions of Time (We the People) (2:59)

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