The Purple Gang Strikes

Purple Gang's sole record is an oddity, not comfortably fitting into any of the scenes — folk, folk-rock, psychedelia — with which some historians have associated it. Actually, it's moderately engaging, moderately modernized jug band music, quite mild even compared to the better revivalists of the style in the 1960s, like Jim Kweskin or Dr. West's Medicine Show & Junk Band. There's little hint of electric rock or psychedelia, and one's left with the feeling that you had to be there to get hip to what made them hip, or that they wouldn't have been that interesting even if you were there. Tossing expectations aside and just judging what's on the platter, it's OK jug band revival music, albeit with wholly original material. It's also pretty restrained, almost to the point of gentility, in its fervor and humor. A bit of the hippie acid-folk vibe seeps into one of the better and more mysterious cuts, "The Wizard," which actually does have a trilling electric guitar. A wee bit of British pop-psych bonhomie also colors "The Sheik," "Kiss Me Goodnight Sally Green," and their most famous track by far, "Granny Takes a Trip" (which is still jug band-based, despite the psychedelic implications that some read into the title). Ultimately, though, it's surprisingly tame and ordinary. [Castle's 2002 reissue featured alternate cover art and four previously unreleased bonus tracks.]