THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD
814) The Fallen Angels “I’ll Drive You From My Mind”
I can’t drive this “haunting” (https://psychedelic-rocknroll.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-fallen-angels-its-long-way-down.html?m=1) slab of psych from my mind. It is the album’s “creepiest number . . . [with] dark shadows, whispered vocals, and splashes of sitar”. (Dave Furgess, https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/1714/) As to the LP, Jason says:
[It] a minor masterpiece . . . . the so-called Sgt. Pepper of Washington D.C. Just think of the Left Banke, late night, stoned and producing some serious outsider music. . . . is a killer unknown 60’s album with a lot of great psych moves.
https://therisingstorm.net/the-fallen-angels-its-a-long-way-down/
Patrick Lundborg adds that:
From the depths of despair and angst comes this masterpiece, a howling wail of pain and discomfort embedded in a sophisticated studio effort that sounds like nothing else. Somewhere in here are elements of loner folk, Beach Boys-style pop and psychedelia, but all are used in a unique way that makes this as personal an album as I know . . . . Great songwriting and inventive arrangements throughout. . . . A truly great album . . . .
The Acid Archives (2nd Ed.)
As to the Angels, Dave Furgess tells us:
The[] Fallen Angels were a great psychedelic group who were based in the Baltimore, Maryland-Washington D.C. area and recorded two full length albums for Roulette Records. . . . The . . . debut album failed to cause much attention at the record shops and was quickly deleted. Usually this would have meant certain death to a group like The Fallen Angels. However the good folks at Roulette decided to give the group a second shot and they were even afforded the luxury of complete artistic control. This all resulted in the group’s stunning second album “It’s A Long Way Down” (which sadly suffered the same fate as the group’s debut sales-wise despite it’s obvious quality and inventiveness.) . . . . an exceptional album . . . . that actually lives up to the hype.
https://www.headheritage.co.uk/unsung/review/1714/
Psychedelic Rock N’ Roll adds:
Realizing the futility of trying to control this band, Roulette Records allowed “The Fallen Angels” almost total artistic freedom in the production of their second album . . . . The group’s efforts resulted in what many listeners of the Psychedelic genre consider a masterpiece. . . . Although the album was an artistic triumph, “Roulette Records”‘s promotional campaign was practically non-existent. With no top ten hits, “The Fallen Angels” were unceremoniously dropped from the label. Relegated to the status of local legends, “The Fallen Angels” continued creating and performing original music in the Washington D.C. area until the fall of 1969 when the group disbanded. . . . [T]he February 1972 issue of Stereo Review, music critic Joel Vance wrote an insightful article entitled “The Fragmentation Of Rock”, which analyzed the problem of developing new talent in the industry. To illustrate the overwhelming odds against succeeding, he states:
https://psychedelic-rocknroll.blogspot.com/2015/05/the-fallen-angels-its-long-way-down.html?m=1
“The Fallen Angels, for example, a remarkable band from Washington, D.C., put out two astonishing albums for Roulette Records in 1967/68. But they never made it, even though they were far better than most American groups of the time”.
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