For whatever reason, I can never take The Seeds seriously. There are garage bands, but The Seeds always seemed to be a satire of a garage band. Mostly due to the stance of Sky Saxon and his full embracement of the Flower Power movement. The first two Seeds albums were straight ahead 60s era garage rock that seemed simple, yet profound. Throughout my life, I have felt The Seeds belong to the cinematic world of Roger Corman, or the "Something Weird" film distributor. Which in theory, sounds pretty good, but compared to a band like The Music Machine, I find The Seeds aesthetically not as important as the one black-gloved wonders. I avoided The Seeds' third album "Future" like the plague due to the Flower Power motif, but alas, out of boredom, I purchased this album, and I find it fantastic.
For one, I actually prefer the organ/electric piano of The Seeds, then the Doors, which has a similar line-up. Jim Morrison is a college professor compared to Sky's lyrics, yet, even in the Roger Corman sense of an aesthetic, Sky may be the real 'deal.' Straightforward in that Sky had a vision, but he seemed to be the damaged child in some Los Angeles version of a Charles Dickens novel. The Seeds are Ruffins compared to the sophistication of The Doors. Still "Painted Doll" is a beautiful and romantic melody, that's almost Iggy Pop in its poetry. I also love the absurd "Flower Lady and Her Assistant," due that it's a song about a woman who sells flowers on the street, but yet, there's an assistant. That strikes me as brilliant to add the assistant part.
Daryl Hooper's keyboards are minimalist and hypnotic. He's the glue that holds the band together, but for this album, they added various horns, sitar, gong, and most important, a harp. One can call this album psychedelic, but never loses the pilot, and it's a highly arranged work, with beautiful orchestration. With the additional instrumentation and the high concept of 'Flower Children,' The Seeds remain to be bratty, defiant, and classic garage rock (in that trashy manner), but with a bigger budget. It reminds me a bit of The Rolling Stones' "Between the Buttons," in the similar vain in that a band kept their sound, but expanded that landscape with a broader theme. The Seeds' "Future" is utopian but one can feel a bummer will take place around the corner. The album as a whole has the classic Seeds sound, but there are also many exotic touches that fit into the groove that's Sky Saxon.
