THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
1,192) Tangerine Zoo — “Wake Up Sun”
New England heavy rock rollin’ in from somewhere between Bosstown and Rhode Island. “[T]he instrumental breaks strewn throughout the album are marvel to be behold . . . [like] the extended tribal dance in ‘Wake Up Sun’” (MusicGnomeology, https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/the-tangerine-zoo/outside-looking-in)
Paul Martin rhapsodizes:
[“Wake Up” is an] excellent, truly psychedelic tune, full of joy and vitality, jumping off with some hard fuzz guitar runs followed by a killer chorus which repeats the line “Wake Up Sun” like an euphoric evocation. It has a strange but yet awesome rhythmic structure and stunning instrumental breaks that are overflowing with the brilliant haunting drums, almost Prunes-like blistering atonal guitar solos and totally mind-blowing swirling mad organ.
https://tangerinezoo.homestead.com/REVIEW.html
Patrick Lundborg is more dubious:
[Their second album Outside Looking In is] superior to the debut [album] but still unexceptional to my ears. The sound is typical New England . . . heavy psych rock with organ, fuzz and slow elephantine songs. . . . [A]fter more than a dozen plays I’m having trouble recalling one single hook or line from the album.”
The Acid Archives, The Second Edition
As to the Zoo, Jason Ankeny tells us:
Boston psychedelic band the Tangerine Zoo formed in 1967 in nearby Swansea, MA. . . . [T]he group renamed itself the Flower Pot, abandoning the Ebb Tides’ garage rock sound in favor of a more psychedelic approach. In addition to serving as the house band at the local Venus de Milo restaurant, the band also opened for the likes of the Jimi Hendrix Experience, Van Morrison, and Deep Purple. Their growing popularity was buoyed by a large fan base in Boston, and in late 1967 signed with the New York City-based Mainstream label. While recording their debut LP, label execs demanded another name change, fearing backlash from the obvious marijuana reference in the Flower Pot moniker; after setting on the Tangerine Zoo, the group released its self-titled debut in early 1968. . . . In mid-1969, the Tangerine Zoo was invited to play the Woodstock festival, but were forced to decline due to prior commitments. The band dissolved in 1970, with [singer/guitarist Wayne] Gagnon soon resurfacing in Wadsworth Mansion, which scored a Billboard Top Ten hit with 1971’s “Sweet Mary.”
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/tangerine-zoo-mn0001359923#biography
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