Psychfan's Trip O' Th' Week Dept. - The Churchills

Political events in Israel last week served as a reminder that there are political and cultural divisions there that parallel those in the U.S. and the U.K.That was true 50 years ago as well, as illustrated by this album, recorded in Tel Aviv (the San Francisco of Israel) in 1968.

One of very few psychedelic LPs to be released (at that time) by an Israeli band, it's a winner and was at one time the rarest psych LP in the world.

The tracks alternate between psychedelic and a slightly harder fuzz infused sound that, along with the all English vocals, make them sound like a US West Coast band. A couple of tracks (notably Debka) incorporate a slightly more Middle Eastern sound.

Bonus tracks include covers of Led Zepplin and The Beatles (a version of She's A Woman that rocks pretty hard) as well as a B side called Sunshine Man that is more psychdelic than it's 1970 recording date would indicate.

The band recorded a second album in England in 1971 under the name Jericho Jones. That LP, titled Junkies, Monkeys And Donkeys and also included here, doubled down on the heavy while mixing in some melodic folk rock (oddly, the first two tracks) and retaining some psych flavor here and there. The songs are mostly good, and Haim Romano's strong lead guitar is easily recognizable.