Since 2015, Daniel Hall, the man behind RidingEasy Records, and Lance Barresi, co-owner of music emporium Permanent Records, have been mining the surprising rich reserves of heavy rock and proto-metal from the ‘60s and ‘70s for their popular series of compilations called Brown Acid. Usually taken from one-off singles by bands from smaller markets in the U.S. who had the talent but lacked the resources to hit the big time, these collections have been crucial to understanding the history of a subgenre of rock that had far deeper roots than most fans realize.
“A lot of the bands we are reissuing stuff from made one 45 single, the purpose was to have something to send the major labels so they could get that Led Zeppelin/Black Sabbath fame,” Hall told Paste. “Because there was a lack of ‘commercial’ influence to mold these bands into something that the public could consume en masse, these guys took things in their own direction.”
The well has yet to dry up for Hall and Barresi as this Saturday (4/20, naturally), RidingEasy will drop Brown Acid: The Eighth Trip, a new installment of this compilation, which we are thrilled to share with you here.
As with the previous seven editions of Brown Acid, this rough and ready mix is a varied collection with the fuzzy, garage psych of White Rock, a Houston-based band that only released one single in their short existence, riding alongside a Hendrix-like cover of “Heartbreak Hotel” by the Memphis outfit Grump and “Gambler,” a glammed-up tune from the Ohio-born Bartos Brothers Band.