Middle Earth 1967-1969 - Various Artists (3CD)

Starting out briefly as The Electric Garden, Middle Earth opened its doors in 1967 and immediately became the most happening club in London.
More than just a home for UK bands that were pushing the boundaries of rock music, Middle Earth also attracted some of America's finest exponents of psychedelic rock such as Captain Beefheart, The Byrds, The Fugs, Jefferson Airplane, and many more.
Fledgling UK acts that would go on to great things such as Soft Machine, Tomorrow (The In-Crowd), David Bowie (The Riot Squad), Yes, The Incredible String Band, Ten Years After, and Free were joined by more established acts like Traffic, Fleetwood Mac, The Who, The Pretty Things and The Yardbirds.
Cult favourites, who would never attain the commercial success of those just mentioned but are revered by those that know, include The Deviants, Dantalion's Chariot, Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera, Third Ear Band, and Mabel Greer's Toyshop, among others.
The club only last a few years but it's timeline coincided neatly with the rapid and everdeveloping
rise of psychedelic rock in the UK and as such this compilation serves as the perfect guide to how the genre evolved.
Jeff Dexter, the house DJ and main man at Middle Earth, has been interviewed exclusively for this release and deep image research has thrown up many unseen images to round out what is the definitive document on the UK's ultimate psychedelic rock club.

Tracklisting

Disc 1
1 Family - A Good Friend Of Mine
2 Soft Machine - I Should Have Known
3 The In Crowd - Am I Glad To See You
4 Julie Driscoll, Brian Auger & The Trinity - A Kind Of Love-in
5 Elmer Gantry's Velvet Opera - Salisbury Plain
6 Fairport Convention - Time Will Show The Wiser
7 Paper Blitz Tissue - Grey Man
8 The Crazy World of Arthur Brown - Devil's Grip
9 The Riot Squad ft David Bowie - I'm Waiting For My Man
10 The Flies - House Of Love
11 Keith Dangerfield & The Way Ahead - She's a Witch
12 Graham Bond - Strange Times, Sad Times
13 Tales of Justine - Monday Morning
14 Denny Laine - Too Much In Love
15 Picadilly Line - How Could You Say You're Leaving Me
16 Third Ear Band - Raga No.1
17 Mabel Greer's Toyshop - Images of You and Me
18 The Action - Climbing Up The Wall (See Me)
19 Blossom Toes - Telegram Tuesday
20 Eyes of Blue - Prodigal Son
21 The Bonzo Doo Dah Dog Band - Canyons Of Your Mind

Disc 2
1 The Incredible String Band - Way Back In The 1960s
2 Traffic - Feeling Alright?
3 Ten Years After - Portable People
4 The Knack - (The Man From The) Marriage Guidance And Advice Bureau
5 The Pretty Things - Balloon Burning
6 The Electric Prunes - Long Day's Flight
7 Dr. K's Blues Band - Pet Cream Man
8 Eclection - Mark Time
9 Dantalion's Chariot - Soma (Parts 1 & 2)
10 Blonde on Blonde - All Day, All Night
11 The Yardbirds - Drinking Muddy Water
12 The Deviants - Garbage
13 Captain Beefheart - Yellow Brick Road
14 Spooky Tooth - Sunshine Help Me
15 Fleetwood Mac - Black Magic Woman
16 Tim Rose - Dim Light A Burning
17 Champion Jack Dupree - I Haven't Done No-One No Harm
18 Tim Buckley - Wings
19 Amalgam - Prayer For Peace
20 Chris McGregor Septet - Up to Earth

Disc 3
1 The Byrds - Artificial Energy
2 The Mindbenders - Uncle Joe, The Ice Cream Man
3 Small Faces - Yesterday Today and Tomorrow
4 Free - I'm A Mover
5 Junior's Eyes - Black Snake
6 Edgar Broughton Band - Evil
7 Killing Floor - Forget It!
8 Jefferson Airplane - Crown Of Creation
9 Pete Brown & His Battered Ornaments - The Week Looked Good On Paper
10 Canned Heat - On The Road Again
11 Chicken Shack - Worried About My Woman
12 The Fugs - Crystal Liaison
13 The Who - Magic Bus
14 Liverpool Scene - Baby
15 John James - Maybelle Rag
16 Yes - Sweetness
17 Sleepy - Love's Immortal Fire
18 The Gun - Sunshine
19 Arcadium - Woman Of A Thousand Years
20 Barclay James Harvest - Poor Wages
21 Love Sculpture - Wang Dang Doodle
22 Steamhammer - Lost You Too
23 Vamp - Floatin'