Electric Prunes, The

The Electric Prunes are an American psychedelic rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1965. 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. 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.

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. 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. Several of the original band members reconvened in 1999 and began recording again. The band still performs occasionally, although the only remaining original member is lead singer James Lowe.

Birth and Death Data: Born Founded 1965, Died Ceased 1970

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1966

Roles Represented in DAHR: Musical group

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Decca 118003 10/10/1966 I had too much to dream last night Electric Prunes, The Musical group  
Decca 118004 10/10/1966 Lovin' Electric Prunes, The Musical group  
Decca 118036 10/13/1966 World of darkness Electric Prunes, The Musical group  
Decca 118037 10/13/1966 Hideaway Electric Prunes, The Musical group  
Decca 118038 10/13/1966 Way of my own Electric Prunes, The Musical group  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Electric Prunes, The," accessed November 10, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/313841.

Electric Prunes, The. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 10, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/313841.

"Electric Prunes, The." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 10 November 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/313841

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

Feedback

Send the Editors a message about this record.