Would you take my mind out for a walk?

So yet another weekend has come to an end - and what a darn good one. Spring has finally showed her face - about time, too - and it had me thinking that now I need not listen to eerie psychelia no more. Instead, I decided to bid Sister Sping welcome by blasting Tiffany Shade's eponymous 1968 record out of my speakers.



This record first caught my attention last year. I'd never heard about The Tiffany Shade 'til then, but it was arguably among my favourite discoveries in 2006 and the nifty opening track Would You Take My Mind Out for a Walk quickly became the anthem of my summer. Not only due to its ingenious title, but it really sums up everything that's great about the running-through-the-flowery-meadow-while-searching-
for-the-ultimate-trip genre. While Would You Take... followed by the dreamy No Reality is the unquestionable highlight, songs such as A Quiet Revolution, Not Worth the Pain, Come Softly to Me, and One Good Reason also contribute to the dazed teenage expression of the record.
Bearing in mind the fact that the band consisted only of teenagers, this record just has a special feeling attached to it and while I'm sure many would find it mediocre, it just does the trick for me. See, the sound on Tiffany Shade is very naivistic, but the lyrics written by the twisted teenage mind of Michael Barnes make it borderline hallucinatory. The catch frases "Would you take my mind out for a walk...." and "I wanna be where there's no reality / where I can't be forced to see" really say it all.
Tiffany Shade is a true gem from the psychedelic vault and to me it's an all-important record. It's dreamy, shimmering, and full of harmonies that you'll keep humming all summer. For that reason I've - for the first time in the short history of Sing C'est La Vie - made an entire album available for download.

Take my mind out for a walk!