Leathercoated Minds

The Leathercoated Minds was a 1966-67 psychedelic studio-based band masterminded largely by Snuff Garrett and J. J. Cale. The band produced one album, A Trip down the Sunset Strip, co-produced by Cale and Garrett, and released in stereo and mono versions on Garrett's Viva label in 1967 ^[1] and on the Fontana label in Europe;^[2] later the mono issue re-released on CD in 2006,^[3] remastering co-produced by Garrett.

The album contains a mixture of cover versions of psychedelic hits from around 1966, together with four original instrumentals of Cale's composition, illustrating a snapshot of Cale's guitar style at the time.

The album includes instrumental tracks and some quirky, heavily psychedelic vocal takes, together with snippets of conversations and automobile noise between the tracks. These abstract sounds, used almost as a form of Musique concrète, were recorded on West Hollywood, California's Sunset Strip specifically for the album. The band's instrumental take on Puff, the Magic Dragon suggests a rising level of psychotic intoxication as the track progresses ...

Band members

The CD notes bear reference to: J. J. Cale, Roger Tillison, Terrye Newkirk, Bill Boatman, Gary Gilmore, Chuck Blackwell, Jimmy Junior Markham (erroneously referred to as Peter Junior Markham), and Jimmy Karstein (mis-spelt Carstein in the notes)

Note: Bill Boatman co-wrote "Soul Food" with Markham. It was recorded by Leon Russell.

Tracks

All tracks credited to John J. Cale unless otherwise indicated

1. "Eight Miles High" (Gene Clark, Jim McGuinn, David Crosby) - 2:03
2. "Sunset and Clark" * - 1:58
3. "Psychotic Reaction" (Ken Ellner, Roy Chaney, Craig Atkinson, John Byrne, John Michalski) - 2:23
4. "Over Under Sideways Down" (Chris Dreja, Keith Relf, Jim McCarty, Paul Samwell-Smith) - 2:10
5. "Sunshine Superman" (Donovan) - 3:12
6. "Non-Stop" - 2:30
7. "Arriba" - 2:15
8. "Kicks" (Barry Mann, Cynthia Weil) - 2:40
9. "Mr. Tambourine Man" (Bob Dylan) - 2:08
10. "Puff (The Magic Dragon)" (Peter Yarrow, Leonard Lipton) - 2:26
11. "Along Comes Mary" (Tandyn Almer) - 2:00
12. "Pot Luck" - 2:04

• "Sunset & Clark" (whilst credited to John Cale) is actually Cale's instrumental interpretation of an earlier Michael Gordon/Jimmy Griffin composition titled "You're So Young"

References

1. Viva Records V36003 (USA) (Viva Records (U.S.) is Snuff Garrett's label)
2. Fontana Records TL5412 (Mono); STL5412 (Stereo) (UK releases)
3. Sundazed Records SC 6231 CD (Released 2006 in collaboration with Snuff Garrett Productions)