Red Plastic Buddha-Sunflower Sessions

Artist: Red Plastic Buddha
Title: Sunflower Sessions
Genre: Garage Rock-Psychedelic
Label: Spade Kitty Records
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How could you not become immediately intrigued with a name like Red Plastic Buddha? The cover is like psychedelic 60s period poster artwork and the music falls right in line. When you look at the fact there are only six tracks, your first thought is it must be an EP, wrong! We are reaching back to another time when a full album of songs was right around 30 minutes in length or just under. Sunflower Sessions is 3:38 over that previously taboo industry threshold.

The Red Plastic Buddha is Timothy Ferguson (vocals, bass), Todd Lazar (lead guitar), Todd Leiter Weintraub (rhythm guitar), David Kling (drums), Matt Walters (keyboards) and special guests include Pamela Richardson (backing vocals) who recently became a permanent member of the band, and Ric Salazar (lead guitar on "Kerosene").

Ferguson calls their music gas soaked garage with heavy influences from the late great Syd Barrett. I tend to agree with that statement, and I heard a lot of great music on this recording. I am the kind of listener that bought the Nuggets box sets that covered this kind of music in depth. I love garage rock injected with psychedelic feedback. It is so pure and unencumbered by technology and the lyrics do not have to make any sense, it all sounds like a one big acid trip. This approach was intentional and it always gave bands a good excuse as to why the lyrics never made much sense. After all that is what that time was about, experimenting with everything to see what happened. Where would music be today if people like the Beatles and The Beach Boys did not have the brilliant minds and courage to reach beyond their own surroundings and capabilities? Certainly, there would be no Red Plastic Buddha.