Pussy - Pussy Plays (1969 UK Psych)

The unfortunately named Pussy released one self-titled album on the small London label Morgan Blue Town in 1969. Morgan Blue Town had a habit of printing its albums in meagre quantities (and in the case of Chimera recording 20 tracks worth of material and then forgetting to release any of it) and as such much of the back catalogue has become very saught after.

Due to its scarcity the original Pussy Plays LP can command large three figure sums from record dealers, being regarded by many as a lost classic of the UK psych scene.


Pussy were previously known as Fortes Mentum, a band who released a string of fine psychedelic singles on Parlaophone. Apart from that, any more biographical information of the band is practically non-existent. On the record itself Danny Beckerman gets named as contributing the majority of the tracks on the LP.

From the fact that the front cover bears a picture of an enormous orange cat and that both the album begins and ends with the sound of said cat screeching, one can ready tell that this is an album not to be taken too seriously. It smacks of the same whimsy that makes British psychedelia so appealing.


ìWe built the Sunî is a marvellous bit of wide-eyed hippy nonsense, with the vocalist proclaiming in hushed tones that ìI am Mr Sun and Mr Snowî over the backing of a single repetitive guitar line and complimentary swells of organ. Sadly the naive chorus lets the track down, with the backing vocals tending to go a bit flat.

ìThe Open Groundî is also apt to raise a smile, being as it is a spoken word piece on the destruction of the environment. Unfortunately any gravitas which the doom-laden poetry may have contained is lost in the vocalistís middle-class diction.

There are some true highlights on this album. ìCome Back Juneî starts with a killer bass-line before crashing into a stone-wall sixties groove. Heavy Hammond organ and a competent bit of guitar work make this an infectious piece of psychedelic pop. Similarly ìAll of My Lifeî is more of the same but decidedly laid back groove, with the band sounding reminiscent of the 13th Floor Elevators.

And as with most albums of this era and nature there are couple of brilliant loose jams. The first of these is ìCometî; lead on its way by a raging Theremin, ably backed up by frenetic guitars, organ and ungodly slowed-down vocals. The other is the final track, ìG.E.A.Bî, and is a prime slice of funky psych rock which builds steadily over a heavy break beat and organ stabs. Meandering guitar solos bring the album to a clattering close.

On the value of their one record Pussy do not seem to warrant their mythical status or hefty price tag. Nevertheless their sole album has its moments, and stands as a piece that bridges the gap between psychedelia and the progressive rock scene.

01. Come Back June
02. All of My Life
03. We Built the Sun
04. Comets
05. Tragedy in F Minor
06. Open Ground
07. Everybody's Song
08. G.E.A.B.

Post by ChrisGoesRock