I Had Too Much to Dream

With its Rolling Stones-y vocal, oscillating guitar intro, and raga influence, the powerhouse title tune (penned by the outside songwriting duo Annette Tucker and Nancie Mantz) will forever keep this band and their debut album secured in '60s rock ’n’ roll history. The Electric Prunes weren’t oddballs like The Seeds, nor were they as creative as, say, Love, but this recording has a Southern California psych magic that is, at times, ethereal if not eerie, and it’s pop as all get out. For example, “Bangles” features an airy roundelay of dirty guitar runs, tempo changes, Motown-style beats, and an overtly baroque chorus, and the psyched-out surf and Eastern modes of “Sold to the Highest Bidder” is so relentless it becomes a sonic kaleidoscope. There’s also heavy orchestral pop (“Onie,” “The King Is in the Counting House”), let’s-break-curfew garage punk (“Get Me to the World on Time,” “Try Me on for Size”), dark pop with a jazzy twist (“Train for Tomorrow”), Brit Invasion lite (“About a Quarter to Nine”), and a finale that’s all cotton candy (“The Toonerville Trolley”).