Paper Garden

Sgt. Pepper taught a lot of bands to play in 1967, including New York's Paper Garden, whose absorption of the Fab Four's Summer of Love statement came out on Musicor Records the following year. What Paper Garden can't match in terms of the Beatles sophistication they make up for in ambition, as exhibited on the harpsichord-enhanced pop genius of "Lady's Man, orchestrated gems like "Way Up High, the fuzz-pop-psych of I Hide, and Eastern grooves on Man Do You and Raining. With influences of the early Bee Gees and Brill Building pop also shading the proceedings, the album's kaleidoscopic essence permeates every note right down to the ultra-cool color-burst cover likely drawn under a pseudonym by Australian artist Martin Sharp of Disraeli Gears fame. That brilliant art can be viewed again in its full-size glory on this beautiful RTI vinyl edition, mastered from the original Musicor reels by Bob Irwin.