The Electric Prunes — “You Never Had It Better”: Brace for the Obscure (60s rock)! — July 15, 2023

THE GREATEST SONGS OF THE 1960s THAT NO ONE HAS EVER HEARD

893) The Electric Prunes — “You Never Had It Better”

This ’68 B-side is a “dynamic slab of bluesy psych-pop with . . . quite ferocious . . . fuzz and distortion” (Richie Unterberger, http://www.richieunterberger.com/underground.html) and “[t]he fuzz break is nothing but a miracle!!!!!!” (ghislaindormont7866, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8pYVf9Yeo8) The song was “one of the Prunes’ favorites . . . [but] also one . . . that their producers failed to put on any of their . . . albums”! (Bob Baker, https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2002-sep-29-ca-baker29-story.html)

“Get yourself together, you’ve never had it better!” Yeah, that’s the 60’s!

As to the Prunes, Mark Deming tells us:

The Electric Prunes . . . . earliest records were high-powered garage rock with a psychedelic bent fueled by their creative use of fuzz, reverb, and studio trickery. . . . [Then] the group became a vehicle for producer David Axelrod to explore orchestrated psychedelia, most notably on the 1968 LP Mass in F Minor. No original members of the group remained by the time the band folded in 1970 . . . .

James Lowe . . . had been playing guitar in a bluegrass combo [but] decided to form a rock & roll band in 1964. . . . Lowe had an unusual strategy for the group — rather than play the usual bars, dances, and teen clubs where a fledgling rock band would be booked in those days, they set up a rehearsal studio and focused on honing their instrumental skills with an eye toward becoming a recording act. . . . [He] started writing original songs and the group changed their name to Jim and the Lords. . . . Dave Hassinger, a recording engineer . . . . saw potential . . . arranging to work with them at a home studio . . . . Aiming for an unusual sound, the group worked guitar effects into their arrangements that gave the music a distinct sonic signature, especially in their embrace of fuzztone and reverb. . . . Wanting the band to have a more up-to-date image, Hassinger suggested they change their name to the Electric Prunes . . . . [He] presented the Prunes with . . . . . “I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night),” [which when] filled with otherworldly guitar oscillations and Lowe’s impassioned lead vocals, . . . quickly became a hit, topping out at number 11 on the singles charts in February 1967. . . . “Get Me to the World on Time[]” became the follow-up . . . rising to number 27. Behind the success of the singles, Reprise released an Electric Prunes album . . . with only two tracks penned by members of the group. . . . [T]he Electric Prunes began touring heavily, where they had the hard job of learning to re-create their studio sounds in front of an audience. . . . The Prunes’ next two singles . . . made no significant impact on the charts, and only six months after their first album came out, a second LP was released, 1967’s Underground. [It] was a stronger and more cohesive effort than the debut, with more songs written by the group . . . but with no major hits to buoy it, it struggled to number 172 . . . .

https://www.allmusic.com/artist/the-electric-prunes-mn0000135543/biography

Here they are live in France:

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