Twink - Think Pink [1970] [2013]

As far as overlooked geniuses of the U.K. psychedelic underground go, the man known as Twink certainly belongs on the shelf alongside Kevin Ayers, Kevin Coyne, Syd Barrett, and Robert Wyatt. As drummer for the Pretty Things and, later, the Deviants, as well as being one-half of Shagrat with Steve Peregrin Took, Twink was integral in the creation of some of the U.K. psychedelic underground's most brilliant artifacts. His Think Pink session contains the classic Twink tracks "The Sparrow Is a Sign" and "The Coming of the Other One," which were cut with Steve Peregrin Took of Tyrannosaurus Rex fame. Incidentally, both tracks appear on the Shagrat album that was only officially released in 2001: Pink Jackets Required, which plays the sister album to the Twink solo outing in question. Think Pink is an incredibly varied album with no two songs resembling each other, but then one assumes an acid masterpiece like "Ten Thousand Words in a Cardboard Box" will stay on high rotation for at least a week on the stereos of most psychedelia fans, so overall album flow may not be such an issue. This is pure psychedelic acid rock of the highest order. If one can imagine a fusion of the Incredible String Band, Deviants, early Pink Floyd, and a fair dose of Twink's heredity as a member of Tomorrow and the Pretty Things, you get an idea of what he was up to. Not known for doing things in halves, he shows little restraint in the assembly of a group designed to tear the roof of the psychedelic scene. The band was made up of the Deviants guitarist Paul Rudolph -- the U.K. equivalent of Fred "Sonic" Smith -- who provides the most astonishing fuzz freak-outs and arrangements on the album. Other players included Viv Prince; Wally Waller; John Povey; Victor Unitt; Deviants bassist Honk; John Wood of Tomorrow; and, of course, the not-to-be underestimated contributions from Steve Peregrin Took. Regardless of the connotations the term "psychedelic" carries with it, it's not all Pink Fairies and Tolkien. Things get ominous and dark on "Fluid" and "I Remember Nothing"; then, by the first half of the album, the mind is expanded enough to take in side two, where the presence of Steve Took really starts to come into play. His brilliant "The Sparrow Is a Sign" is a psychedelic anthem that is worth acquiring the album for alone. Essential stuff, not to be missed by those following the U.K. underground psychedelic scene circa 1968-1972.