The Smell of Incense Fills Your Room: Craft Recordings Announces New Psychedelic Rarities Collection, “Poppies”
Following their announcement of a Record Store Day color-vinyl edition of the title, Craft Recordings have unveiled further details about their new compilation of hard-to-find gems from the psychedelic era, entitled Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age. In addition to the orange-vinyl RSD version, which will be in independent shops on April 13, Poppies will also be released on CD and on digital download platforms on April 19.
The 13-track collection – the first in a series of themed compilations – brings together psychedelic rock and pop rarities from the Vanguard, Stax, Hip, Musart, and Original Sound catalogs. Among the cult-classic favorites that feature are Buffy Sainte-Marie (whose eerie 1969 acid-folk track “Poppies” gives the collection its name), Southwest F.O.B. (whose “Smell of Incense” was one of Stax Records’ most surprising best-sellers), and a wealth of other often-forgotten mementos of the era by the likes of The Honey Jug, The Sot Weed Factor, Erik, The Serpent Power, and The Human Jungle. The latter is represented by a previously unreleased track called “When Will You Happen To Me,” which will be released as an instant grat single on April 12. Alongside the music, Poppies boasts detailed liner notes written by five-time Grammy nominee Alec Palao which provide details on the artists and songs in the collection.
More than fifty years since it first emerged, psychedelia has permeated our culture, influencing visual art, film, literature, and music forevermore. Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age showcases the breadth of its classic era, as psychedelic influences crept into rock, pop, and folk and inspired the melding of genres that was to follow.
So, be on the look out for the color vinyl edition of the compilation on Record Store Day on April 13, and place your pre-orders for the CD with the links below!
Various Artists, Poppies: Assorted Finery from the First Psychedelic Age (Craft Recordings, 2019) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)
* denotes previously unreleased track
- Buffy Sainte-Marie – Poppies
- Southwest F.O.B. – Smell of Incense
- Jefferson Lee – Sorcerella
- The Gospel – Redeemer
- The Frost – Stand In The Shadows
- The Sot Weed Factor – Say It Isn’t So
- IThe Honey Jug – In 1582 We
- The Paternak Progress – Flower Eyes
- Circus Maximus – Bright Light Lover
- The Serpent Power – Open House
- The Human Jungle – When Will You Happen To Me*
- Chapter VI – Oracle
- Erik – Why Come Another Day
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2 thoughts on “The Smell of Incense Fills Your Room: Craft Recordings Announces New Psychedelic Rarities Collection, “Poppies””
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I love all the box sets Craft has done so my heart skipped a little when I saw this in my inbox. I was hoping it was a box set. 13 tracks seems a little skimpy, are they really long songs?
Hi Robert,
Thanks for reading! I’m also a big fan of Craft’s work, including their box sets. Looks like the scope for this one is a bit smaller, though, to the tune of one well-curated disc. Regarding your question about song lengths, I did some digging and found that the majority of the tracks are in the 3:00-3:30 minute range, though there are some that are shorter and some that are longer. Notably, one of the tracks–The Frost’s “Stand in the Shadows”–clocks in at 8 minutes.
No matter the track lengths, it looks like Craft has delivered a really nice collection. It’s the first in a multi-volume set that, when put together, will likely provide a nice overview of several genres of the era. Hope this helps explain things!