Intercourse

The phrase "lost psych classic" is very much overused, but this 1968 effort from the harmony pop group best known for their hit "The Lion Sleeps Tonight" deserves the moniker. Their record label was non-plussed by the new experimental direction the band were taking and refused to put the album out, which is a shame because it deserves to be much better known. Perhaps the best way to describe the album is sunshine pop-psych, similar to the Beach Boys' lysergically inspired work like Smiley Smile or Friends. The songs are short, often funny with great melodies, harmonies and arrangements and the record immediately became one of my favourites. Subject matter includes toilet wall graffiti, an advertisement for pot, sex, animals... Unfortunately, despite the large number of songs on the album, it's barely 30 minutes long, as many albums were in those days. Still, it never outstays its welcome. The Tokens, who have been going since the 50s, prove it's never too late to go psych.

in my opinion,calling this a psych classic is a bit off the ball,but calling this a sunshine pop masterpiece would be an understatement. a brilliant album for all fans of sixties soft sounds.

あまり話題になっていませんが、トーケンズの未発表作品のアルバムが、あのRev－Olaから発売されていました。 以前の、B.T．Puppy盤より音質は良いように思われます。 この作品は当時、全曲オリジナルの力作でしたが、なぜか発売中止の憂き目に遭ってしまった不遇の作品です。 しかしながら、内容は素晴らしいものです。 多様なジャンルの曲をアカペラでつなぎ、一つの作品として形成されているこのアルバムは、トーケンズの傑作として、まさに一聴に値するものといえます。

Psychedelic Doo-Wop ? More like soft rock or folk rock. This album is full of gems, often surprisingly short. Many of the themes hit by these songs could have been expanded to something that explored the themes of these tracks a bit more. For example: Greenfields was a good start to a song but it abruptly ends before it really gets started. Commercial could have gone much farther and followed up the phrase "You have to find out for yourself". There is a definite motif there, but it wasn't pursued. Gray Is Gray starts with comments on the shallowness of city life, but fails to follow the thought. 11 G54321 Lou is just a scrap of a song. It is an introduction that wasn't followed up. The same can be said for the reprise of "It's Amazing To Be Alive." Both could have and should have been taken much farther. In short, there are a great number of ideas for songs that were never developed or fully developed. Many of them are themes worth considering for yourself, but it would have been nice for the song writer to provide their own development of the theme. The audio quality is extremely good; it provides a good, clean, crisp sound. As is usual for the Tokens, the harmonizing is first rate. The album provides a lot of themes to consider, but you'll have to develop them for yourself. Perhaps that's the intent of this album. Buy it and try it for yourself, see where these ideas take you.

This is my favorite album by The Tokens because it's downright weird. Be warned, I'm the son of Mitch so this is a biased review. This album and Cross Country are like journeys into another world. These albums are comparable to Beatles and Beach Boys records of the same era. I'm sure you've heard The Lion Sleeps Tonight. This psychedelic rock concept album captures The Tokens in a completely different light and is a golden gem and must-have for any collector.