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After the release of the first three singles, The Seeds released a self-titled 12-song album in June 1966 (GNP 2023). The music on The Seeds had its roots in the primitive garage sounds of bands like The Kinks, but was further out there than anything else at the time. It remains a classic early garage-punk record.

On this debut album, Sky Saxon and his gang tear through a collection of simple tunes at warp speed, doggedly recycling their limited repertoire of musical ideas and skills. What makes it hold up to repeated listens is the band's sheer conviction. Every note is bursting with breathless emotion — technical proficiency be damned.

Resolutely sticking to its simplistic script, The Seeds commands attention. Much of the appeal is in Sky Saxon's unusual voice — the very definition of nasal sneer, Sky was so far ahead of his time that the rock world would take at least ten years to catch up, even longer to really accept it. He spits out his boneheaded teen-angst lyrics, interspersing them with various grunts, howls and wails: pure conviction.

The Seeds contains a classic trio of famous songs: , "Pushin' Too Hard", and "Evil Hoodoo". Each of these performances has a different feel: "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" is as gentle and floating as "Evil Hoodoo" is raw and chaotic; "Pushin' Too Hard" finds a kind of middle ground, bobbing along on a soft-ish instrumental cushion with a slyly aggressive dementia. It would become The Seeds' biggest hit and would remain a perennial rock classic, though it had to be released twice before it caught on.

On The Seeds, aptly-named guitarist Jan Savage has few tricks up his sleeve; his short, simple guitar figures get their power from their economy and magically precise placement. A couple notes here and there add much to the structure of the music. Similarly, keyboard player Daryl Hooper sprinkles a few notes around when necessary, and drummer Rick Andridge keeps the beat without a lot of clever fills. At times, different second guitarists would join The Seeds in the studio, including Russ Serpent, and bass guitar (miscredited to Sky) was played by other guests, including Harvey Sharpe.

All in all, with nothing but a couple pieces of warped lumber and a few ten-penny nails, The Seeds build a majestic garage-punk monstrosity of a skyscraper on their debut album.

Lyrics Sky Saxon's lyrics on The Seeds are perhaps best left unmentioned. They seem as if they were written in about ten minutes — for the whole album — and consist of whatever pop music cliches came most easily to mind. Noticeably, several of the songs include the phrase "night and day". He "needs your love both night and daaay"... and never would tire of telling you. Of course, the lyrics really didn't matter anyway, what with that glorious buzz saw voice of his.

Recording sessions for The Seeds Thanks to the careful and detailed research done by Alec Palao for Big Beat's 2012 , recording info is now known for the album. The following info is taken from the booklet to that amazing and beloved reissue.

Wednesday, April 21, 1965 — Western Recorders At The Seeds' first session, their debut single was recorded: "Can't Seem To Make You Mine" (in four takes) and "Daisy Mae" (fifteen takes).

Tuesday, July 20, 1965 — Western Recorders Four songs were recorded on this day: "Excuse, Excuse" (eight takes), "Out Of The Question" (fourteen takes), "No Escape" (six takes), and "You Can't Be Trusted" (four takes).

Tuesday, September 14, 1965 — Western Recorders The Seeds recorded three songs: "Nobody Spoil My Fun" in four takes, "Pushin' Too Hard" in only two takes, and "Out Of The Question" (again).

Monday, September 20, 1965 — Western Recorders This was an overdub session. the previous week's version of "Out Of The Question" got vocal and guitar overdubs, as did "Nobody Spoil My Fun".

Tuesday, December 7, 1965 — Western Recorders A very productive session for The Seeds, who recorded no less than six songs: "It's A Hard Life" (five takes), "Girl I Want You" (five takes), "She's Wrong" (only one take), "Lose Your Mind" (three takes), "Out Of The Question" (yet another attempt; two takes), and "Dreaming Of Your Love" (one take).

January 1966 — Universal Audio Recorders This session was booked specifically to generate a new single, though other tracks were also recorded. The single, "Try To Understand", took six takes plus overdubs; the band then recorded versions of "The Other Place", "Dreaming Of Your Love", and "The Wind Blows Your Hair".

Friday, April 1, 1966 — Western Recorders At the final studio session for The Seeds, some last minute work was done that would be some of the band's most famous. After four takes of "Fallin' In Love", The Seeds did two takes of "Evil Hoodoo", the second of which was the only complete one and lasted about 14 minutes. The band then recorded some overdubs onto previous sessions — "Excuse, Excuse", "Nobody Spoil My Fun", and "Girl I Want You". Rick Andridge was not at this session; a studio drummer was used, and thus Rick is not heard on either "Fallin' In Love" or "Evil Hoodoo".

The album was mixed and sequenced, and released in June 1966.

CONDITION: Used
TRACK LISTING: A1Can't Seem To Make You Mine2:56A2No Escape2:08A3Lose Your Mind2:11A4Evil Hoodoo5:00A5Girl I Want You2:15A6Pushin' Too Hard3:03B1Try To Understand2:45B2Nobody Spoil My Fun3:50B3It's A Hard Life2:38B4You Can't Be Trusted2:05B5Excuse, Excuse2:20B6Fallin' In Love2:47


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