The Electric Prunes

The Electric Prunes
The Electric Prunes in 1966. Clockwise from left: Preston Ritter, Mark Tulin, James Spagnola, Ken Williams and James Lowe
The Electric Prunes in 1966. Clockwise from left: Preston Ritter, Mark Tulin, James Spagnola, Ken Williams and James Lowe
Background information
OriginSan Fernando Valley, Los Angeles, California, United States
Genres
Years active1965–1970, 1999–present
Labels
Members
  • James Lowe
  • Steve Kara
  • Jay Dean
  • Walter Garces
  • Rocco Guarino
Past members
  • Mark Tulin
  • Ken Williams
  • Michael Weakley
  • Steve Acoff
  • Dick Hargraves
  • Preston Ritter
  • James Spagnola
  • Joe Dooley
  • Mike Gannon
  • John Herron
  • Mark Kincaid
  • Brett Wade
  • Dick Whetstone
  • Kenny Loggins
  • Jeromy Stuart
  • Ron Morgan
  • Cameron Lowe
  • Mark Moulin
  • Glen Bostic
Websitewww.electricprunes67.com

The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965.[1] Much of the band's music was, as music historian Richie Unterberger described it, possessed of "an eerie and sometimes anguished ambiance." Their most successful material was by songwriters Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz, though the group also penned their own songs.[2] Incorporating psychedelia and elements of embryonic electronic rock, the band's sound was marked by innovative recording techniques with fuzz-toned guitars and oscillating sound effects. In addition, guitarist Ken Williams' and singer James Lowe's concept of "free-form garage music" provided the band with a richer sonic palette and exploratory lyrical structure than many of their contemporaries.[3][4][5]

The band was signed to Reprise Records in 1966 and released their first single, "Ain't It Hard", in the latter part of the year. Their first album, The Electric Prunes, included the band's two nationally charting songs, "I Had Too Much to Dream (Last Night)" and "Get Me to the World on Time". With the appearance of their second album, Underground, the band was more free to create their own material.[6] However, the original group disbanded by 1968 when they proved unable to record the innovative and complex arrangements by David Axelrod on the albums Mass in F Minor and Release of an Oath. Both albums were released under the band's name, the rights to which were owned by their record producer David Hassinger, but were largely performed by other musicians.[7] Several of the original band members reconvened in 1999 and began recording again.[6] The band still performs occasionally, although the only remaining original member is lead singer James Lowe.

  1. ^ "Meet Electric Prunes". Teen Handbook. 1967. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  2. ^ Unterberger, Richie. "LINER NOTES FOR THE ELECTRIC PRUNES' I HAD TOO MUCH TO DREAM (LAST NIGHT)". Richieunterberger.com. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  3. ^ Weller, Don (2001), Lost Dreams (CD booklet), Heartbeat Records cat. # CA91806, p. 2
  4. ^ "James Lowe Interview". Richieunterberger.com. Retrieved June 15, 2015.
  5. ^ Viscounti, Tony (2014). 1,001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die...And 10,001 You Must Download (4th ed.). New York, NY: Universe Publishing. p. 928. ISBN 9780789320896. Archived from the original on 2012-10-31. Retrieved 2015-06-30.
  6. ^ a b Unterberger, Richie. "The Electric Prunes - Biography". AllMusic. Retrieved June 16, 2015.
  7. ^ Interview with David Axelrod, Dazed and Confused, 1999, pp. 45–53