The Prisoners, A Taste of Pink

Pinker and prouder

Some of you may have noticed that Overlooked Gems of My Lifetime has been inactive since - not coincidentally - the launch of the blog version of Rock Town Hall. It's time I put a little work into this blog's concept again - and make sure to celebrate some things I love wholeheartedly, with no intent to confuse and educate readers.

Recently I pulled out my lone album by The Prisoners, A Taste of Pink. It sounded as rockin' and fun as ever, and the vinyl was still pink. It's hard to find the space between songs when placing the needle on a particular song on a pink-vinyl album, but the tracks on this album make the effort worthwhile.

I never bothered to find out much about this '80s garage-mod band from somewhere in England. A friend owned another album by them, but it was not as good as the one I happened to take a chance on. I never bothered hearing another note by these guys. One great album by any '80s garage-mod band is enough. (God, as I type that sentence I sense myself looking in the mirror, holding an unopened box of my band's second record!) Honestly, though, I can only take so much garage and mod rock, especially when the lyrics and fuzz-guitar solos are nothing special. This album, however, is together! Simply put, it works. The guitars are chunky. The organ player cooks up that Deep Purple "Hush"/Steppenwolf stew. The singers pull no punches. I have FUN while listening to it. It's a good time to get my lab coat pressed.

Since this is a rare album I've never spent much time thinking about, I'm going to do nothing more but share some tracks with you. Send your lab coat to the cleaner and check out The Prisoners!

"Better in Black"

"Maybe I Was Wrong"

"Threw My Heart Away"

"Come to the Mushroom"