Group 1850 – Paradise Now (Magenta vinyl)

Repress of 200 copies on magenta vinyl. Recorded, edited and mixed over one long Red Lebanon hash-fueled weekend in October 1969, Group 1850’s second album, ‘Paradise Now’, remains one of the high-water marks of European psychedelia. A wide-eyed, wide-open, synapse-electrifying set of songs, it sounds like the transmissions of a burnt-out satellite spinning through the galaxies of inner space. Group 1850 leader Peter Sjardin skillfully edited the group’s free-flowing improvisations into eight cohesive, yet distinctly different tracks, part ‘Saucerful Of Secrets’, part ‘Electric Ladyland’, part Guru Guru, part Can circa ‘Monster Movie’-era. The album was originally released on Discofoon, the label owned by the Dutch department store chain V&D. It has since become a highly sought-after collectors item. This reissue is packaged in a lavish gatefold sleeve with the original cover artwork, supplemented by rare photos and liner notes by Mike Stax of Ugly Things magazine.