The Mandrake Memorial - 3 Part Inventions (1969) (2016)

Having made two superb psychedelic albums and gigged with The Doors, Frank Zappa, Pink Floyd, The Velvet Underground and many others, in June of 1969, The Mandrake Memorial came to London. The plan was to record with famed producer Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who, Pentangle), but when that fell through, they persevered alone. Long thought to be lost, 3 Part Inventions anticipates the woozy, dream-like vibe of their 1970 masterpiece Puzzle, combining eerie vocals, trippy guitar and otherworldly electronics to create a unique whole. Transferred directly from the master tape, it's released here for the first time, together with a detailed band history, rare images, two previously unheard outtakes from a 1969 acetate, and a rare radio interview.
------------------------------------------------
The Mandrake Memorial biography [progarchives]
THE MANDRAKE MEMORIAL, formed by Craig Anderton (guitar, sitar, electronics), Michael Kac (keyboards), John Kevin Lally (drums) and Randy Monaco (bass, lead vocals) in 1967, were one of renowned Philadelphia-based rock bands along with THE NAZZ during the late 1960s. They got started performances mainly in The Trauma, produced by Manny Rubin as a new club located in the middle of Samson Street, where they eventually could attract notice of Poppy Records, an affiliated label of MGM. In the fall of 1967 they signed with Poppy Records and released three albums - 'The Mandrake Memorial' (1968), 'Medium' (1969), and 'Puzzle' (1970).

THE MANDRAKE MEMORIAL were a short-lived outfit disbanded by Michael's withdrawal shortly before the last album 'Puzzle' released, but much influenced by 60s psychedelic rock or folk rock, and moreover blended with their unique originality such as Craig's epochmaking electronics or Michael's Rock-Si-Chord, their soundscape was worth calling a pioneer of Psychedelic Progressive Rock and Acid Folk.