1. By DJ Astro (Santtu Laakso) @ Psychotropic Zone:
1966 continues the 60’s series by Mooch after the amazing 1967 ½ album. The idea of this series is to re-live the musical and cultural vibes of the 60’s, although of course from the perspective of the 21st century. This time Stephen Palmer has written all the music and lyrics by himself apart from one traditional folk song and played all the other instruments except drums. He has a couple of experienced local female singers and a male singer on the album, and the drummer was also found close by. As usual, the album was made in Steve’s home studio. This one has perhaps a bit more folky and less psychedelic touch then the previous album.

The disc starts off with the pretty and peaceful “Love” after which “San Francisco” offers real authentic West Coast vibes in the vein of The Mamas and the Papas etc. This is a wonderfully naïve, mildly psychedelic track that has really great melodies and I do like it a lot. There is of course also a sitar/flute part in the middle as there should be… And no, this is not the hit song of Scott Mckenzie. ”Out on the Street” is a nice, positive and melodic popsike number and ”As Everybody Knows” a very neat piece with a groovy rhythm, pretty vocals, acoustic guitar and Mellotron sounds. ”John Barleyscorn” is a nice, British folk song about barley and the drinks you can make with it. “Birds” has a slower beginning and end, but is a bit more energetic in the middle.

The imaginary side B begins with “My Anger” that is some sort of a protest song with an exciting bass line and later on an excellent organ/keyboard part. ”Life During Summertime” is a nice and happy celebration for summer and nature. The beautiful and laid-back instrumental ”Lughnasadh Theme” has an amazing atmosphere and is rather keyboard-driven, although there is also some soft effect guitar in there and later on also some lead guitar work. ”They Do Not” is a very peaceful track with vocals and keyboards and then they return to the marvelous West Coast moods with ”San Francisco (Reprise)”. One of the album’s best tracks is the slow and mystical “Rocket Ship” that has male lead vocals while the ladies sing backing vocals. A really great ending for this superb album! I’m really looking forward to the next volume 1968 that should be released next month.

2. Floyd Bledsoe @ Progressive Ears:
The wacky Dr. Silbury is at it again. This time he sets his inter-dimensional
space-time machine/quantum jukebox to the year 1966 and uncovers some
groovy psychedelic folk pop from an alternate universe. For those who
don’t know, Mooch is the project of Steve Palmer and I’m convinced he’s
one of the hardest working independent musicians on the progressive scene.
Earlier this year he released an excellent double disc set of electronic
music mixing the sounds of the Berlin school artists with a Middle Eastern
edge and now he’s back releasing the second in a series of music styled
from an era of the sixties.

1966 is simply an amazing recording that captures the feel and sound of
the 60s west coast sunshine pop era perfectly. Imagine a concoction of
music from The Mamas & The Papas, The Association, Spanky & Our Gang
and The Beach Boys brewed somewhere in England under the influence
of the flower child generation and you’ll have a good idea of what this
sounds like. With help from the excellent voices of the hippie chicks Jill
Carr, Linda Harlow and Neville Peake, and the percussive work of “Mr.
Sopht” Erich Z. Schlagzeug, Palmer has put together a wonderful album
that really creates an authentic mood.

The disc opens up with a nice simple theme called “Love” and right
away you can feel the effects of time travel kicking in. The gorgeous
voices sing a wordless melody that whisks you away to another dimension.
“San Francisco” features some really cool organ work cutting through
the folky vibe and there’s a nice sitar-ish solo towards the end. “Out In
The Street” is a fun little romp that introduces another aspect in this
concept, The Omracle, which is an independent newsletter published
by the makers of the music. A miniature reproduction of the newsletter
comes with the album (ala Tull’s Thick As A Brick.)

Other highlights of the disc include a nice cover of “John Barleycorn”
with some added “fa la la la” lyrics to brighten things up, “My Anger”
a nice protest song with a break that has a few organ chords reminiscent
of The Beach Boys, “Lughnasadh Theme” a somber instrumental with a
string section that almost seems out of place on the album, and “Rocket
Ship” a really cool retro-futuristic track that would have predicted the
space rock movement had it actually been from the sixties.

Also a science fiction author, Palmer definitely has a vivid imagination
and it really shows on the latest albums from Mooch. Although I imagine
much of this music was created with modern instruments, the mood
created on this album is wonderful. The female vocals are just sublime.
It’s a real pleasure traveling back in time with this music and I’m sure
most people who hear this will find a great deal to enjoy as well.

3. Simon Lewis @ Terrascope Online:
Following from last year's excellent “1967 1/2” , this album sees Mooch remain
in song writing mode, getting all relaxed and West-Coast, with another fine
collection of mellow psychedelia.
After the drifting ambience of “Love”, which opens the album with gentle washes
of sound, a flurry of organ heralds the arrival of “San Francisco”, a wonderful
song with instantly lovable melodies and an infectious feel that is enhanced by
the glorious sitar/flute interlude, 1966 indeed. Advocating gentle revolution
”Out On The Streets”, is a sixties pastiche par excellence, with some groovy
lyrics and solid playing from all, the gentle revolution is continued on
“Everybody Knows” , another affectionate tribute to a period that is obviously
dear to the heart.

Mixing UK and US influences is the Californian sunshine drenched version of
“John Barleycorn”, which rattles along with lysergic glee, some swirling organ
and layers of percussion driving the song on with inner power. Following on
from the gentle Psych-Folk of “Birds”, and the keyboard driven “My Anger”,
which has a majestic instrumental section at the end, Mooch morph into
The idle Race for the excellent “Life During Summertime”, a shimmering
piece of whimsy that is worth the price of entry by itself.

Opening up our inner eye, “Lughnasadh Theme”, is effective and haunting,
the guitar walking between the stars, as keyboard provide a magic carpet
on which to ride. With a rattle of teacups we are treated to a reprise of
“San Francisco” before the album ends with “Rocket Ship”, which seems
to speak of the abuse of technology as the sixties faded and the world
became obsessed with power.

Recorded played and written by Steve Palmer, this is a delightful album
containing twelve slices of wistful psych-pop, each deserving to be heard,
not one over four minutes, and a splendid way to pass the time.