Can't Seem To Come Down: The American Sounds Of 1968 / Various [Import]

• Track Listing

Three CD set. Follow-up to Grapefruit's hugely popular US 1967 anthology 'March Of The Flower Children'. Hit singles, cult classics and tracks from 1968's key albums as the American music scene moved on from the Summer of Love. While psychedelia had been the dominant musical force in 1967, the scene fragmented the following year. Although many acts remained immersed in garage-punk and psychedelic pop, a growing number of heavily-amplified, blues-based hard rock bands like Blue Cheer, Steppenwolf and Iron Butterfly - all of whom enjoyed sizeable hit singles in 1968 - emerged to pave the way for what would develop into heavy metal. Manufactured pop in the form of bubblegum dominated the singles chart, The Byrds and other easy riders developed a country/rock hybrid, a phalanx of folk-based singer/songwriters came to the fore, while Bob Dylan and his occasional playmates The Band pioneered a more organic, rustic sound that would come to be known as Americana. Over four hours and 3 CDs, 'Can't Seem To Come Down: The American Sounds Of 1968' weaves together these various strands to provide a fascinating overview of the year. The set encompasses national and regional hit singles, unexpected flops (The Grateful Dead, The Left Banke), subsequently influential mavericks (Velvet Underground, Beefheart, Silver Apples) and vital cuts from many of the year's most keenly-awaited albums (Dylan, The Band, Mothers of Invention, The Byrds, Beach Boys, Buffalo Springfield, etc). It also feature a number of hugely collectable one-off singles from young provincial bands, who visited local studios to preserve their sound for posterity before the real world - and possibly the increasing conflict in Vietnam intervened. Including a 48-page booklet filled with biographical details, rare photos and quotes, 'Can't Seem To Come Down' is another essential Grapefruit purchase.