The final
West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band album didn't even feature the band's name (although for once all four bandmembers, including
Michael Lloyd, were properly credited in the liner notes):
Bob Markley had suggested that they change the band's name for this release, and the rest of the group consented, perhaps simply tired of dealing with
Markley's legendary egomania. Surprisingly, this is actually not a bad record at all (certainly it's better than the last-gasp efforts of the group's former labelmates
the Electric Prunes and
the Beau Brummels, which came out around the same time), including both some excellent string parts by
Lloyd and some of
Danny Harris' best vocals. (Brother
Shaun Harris appears only on the final track, a superior remake of
"Outside/Inside" from 1969's
Where's My Daddy?) Musically, the simple, often delicate sound is most akin to the group's first indie album from 1966 (reissued on
Sundazed in 1997). The soft-edged arrangements prominently feature
Lloyd's keyboards and overdubbed harmonies courtesy of
Harris and
Lloyd; most of the guitars are acoustic for once. Lyrically, however,
Bob Markley seems to be continuing
Where's My Daddy?'s creepy themes of paranoia, class resentment (for someone who funded the band through his trust fund,
Markley seemed to write an awful lot of songs about wealth redistribution), and, perhaps most tellingly in light of the lyricist's eventual legal troubles, a predilection for underage girls. That blend of musical beauty and lyrical ickiness is, at heart, the true legacy of
the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band. ~ Stewart Mason
