PENNY ARKADE
Not The Freeze (Sundazed)
Reviewed by Shaun Dale

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Not The Freeze is a treasure-filled time capsule, the first official release of 23 tracks recorded over three and a half decades ago by the best LA band you never heard of. The Penny Arkade produced what fledgling producer (and, oh yeah, star of stage, screen and studio) Michael Nesmith called "...the quintessential LA sound."

Bright, jangly pop, with some country undercurrents and psychedelic side trips. Sounds about right.

The sound is definitely of a time and a place, but it's terrific stuff anytime, anywhere, really. Just as interesting is the tale of a band that knew all the right people, played all the right clubs and made all the right music but was just subsumed in the industry tides. This is one of those cases in which the booklet is as valuable as the disc, and one of the reasons that Sundazed is more than just another label. In this case, as in so many, they're an invaluable documentary resource for the music of a generation.

Track List:

Lights Of Dawn * Country Girl * Thesis * Swim * Color Fantasy * Voodoo Spell * Not The Freeze * Love Raine * Century Of Distance * Sparkle & Shine * Face In The Crowd * Woodstock Fireplace * Year Of The Monkey * Give Our Love To All (To All The People) * Split Decision * Sick And Tired * Nor Rhyme Or Reason * You Couldn't Conquer Me * Swim * Lights Of Dawn * The Freeze * Century Of Distance * Voodoo Spell

© 2005 - Shaun Dale