I'm A Freak Baby 3 - A Further Journey Through The British Heavy Psych And Hard Rock Underground Scene 1968-1973: 3CD Clamshell Boxset

Now serving up a third installment of gut-busting, freewheeling, acid-soaked hard rock, Im a Freak Baby is the gift that keeps on giving. U.K. archivists Grapefruit Records first launched the series in 2016, scooping the cream off the top of Englands heaping barrel of late-1960s/early-70s sludge rock, only to uncover yet more layers on their 2019 follow-up, Im a Freak 2 Baby. Does this mean that Vol. 3 consists merely of the dregs? Not at all! Apparently, there is an entire warehouse of early metal delights waiting to pummel the senses. Like its predecessors, this three-disc set features a malty blend of familiar names, cult faves, and true outsiders moving further away from the mainstream and exploring a brave new world of volume, track-length, and drugs. Opening with Strays serrated seven-minute opus Suicide, the set trucks on steadily through an underworld of rousing stoner anthems (Creepy John Thomas This Is My Body), thudding primitive sludge (Wicked Ladys Why Dont You Let Me Try), and blown-out prog rock (Bram Stokers Born to Be Free). Hinting at future glories are nascent cuts by 70s rock stalwarts like Deep Purple and Uriah Heep, as well as notable heavy pioneers like UFO and Hawkwind. Some of it falls on the more melodic psych-rock spectrum like Fuzzy Ducks harmony-laden Afternoon Out, while some tracks are just plain confounding (Nazareths guttural Fat Man or Mighty Hards ridiculously theatrical cover of Simon & Garfunkels Save the Life of My Child). Judging from the lyrics and overall exploratory nature, at least 50-percent of this collection is about drugs and almost every song is cranked up to 11. Warts and all (so many warts), there is something loveable about this period of rock music. These are the awkward and sometimes glorious growing pains that birthed metal, punk, and countless future subgenres. Leaf Hound, Zior, Bone, May Blitz, Stackwaddy… we see you and we salute you. ~ Timothy Monger