The Painted Faces: Anxious Color 1967 - 1969 (2002)

 
The Painted Faces were an American garage and psychedelic rock band from Fort Myers, Florida, who were active from 1967 through 1969, and were not only popular in Florida but achieved a following outside of their own region by playing regular shows in New York City and elsewhere. Originally

known as the Dimension, they went on to become one of the top local bands in Florida during the middle and late-1960's. They even developed a following in New York beginning in 1967, and ended up signed to the Manhattan Records label, where they had a modest hit with "Anxious Color" that same year. The name change to Painted Faces accompanied a gig in the Virgin Islands, where they started doing precisely that. The band broke up in 1968 as members started getting called up for military service.
                            

After disbanding they became practically unknown for a number of years. But since the 1980s, with the reissue their songs on various compilations, they have come to the attention of garage rock and psychedelic devotees. They are known for songs such as "Anxious Color", which Mojo magazine

named one of the top 100 psychedelic songs of all time. The record company received complaints from disc jockeys about perceived drug references in a couple of the songs released on the 45s. Consequently, "I Lost You In My Mind" never received much airplay outside of south Florida. Nonetheless, Painted Faces were beginning to land better gigs and often traveled to New York City. The parents of Jerry Turano and John McKinney objected the excursions to New York and convinced their sons to leave the band to pursue careers outside of music.
               

They were replaced by other musicians, but the core of the band remained with Jack O'Neill, George

Schule and Harry Bragg. The group became popular in Greenwich Village clubs such as Cafe Wha?, whose manager sent them to Puerto Rico to do a two-week residency at popular nightspot, the Jet Set. From here they landed a gig at Creque Alley in St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands, where The Mamas & Papas had performed. At the end of 1967, the Painted Faces released another Manhattan single, "In the Heat of the Night" b/w "Don't Say She's Gone".
                 

As was the case with countless American bands of the era, the Vietnam War led to the ultimate demise

of the group, when drummer Harry Bragg was drafted into combat. Without his services the group fell into disarray and disbanded in 1969. The Painted Faces faded into obscurity until some of their songs began to appear on garage compilations in the early 1980s. Their work was anthologized on the compilation Anxious Color, released in 1994 on Distortions Records.
                          

This compilation includes all seven of the tracks they released during their lifetime, as well as a dozen

previously unreleased cuts from 1967 and 1968. A fair collection of a band that leaned toward the moodiest end of the garage-psych spectrum. Taken from copies of the singles and the like, the sound quality on some of the material  is very poor  and many tracks are distorted.  [Anxious Color was reissued on CD with bonus tracks in 2002.]
                

The Painted Faces – Anxious Color 1967-69
Label: Distortions Records – DR 1020
Format: CD, Compilation, Reissue
Country: US
Released: 2002
Genre: Rock
Style: Garage Rock, Psychedelic Rock

TRACKS

               

01. Anxious Color   2:33
02. I Want You   3:03
03. Things We See   2:04
04. She Don't Care About Time   2:21
05. I Can't Wait   2:12
06. Can't Stop Loving You   2:20
07. I Lost You In My Mind  2:18
08. I Think I'm Going Mad   2:13
09. Don't Say She's Gone   2:08
10. Girl, You're Growing Up   2:15
11. Hard Life   2:22
12. Incense & Peppermints   2:26
13. Play With Fire   2:59
14. Lady   2:46
15. Black Hearted Susan   3:42
16. Birdie Told Me   2:33
17. I Can't See Nobody   3:41
18. Lonely People   2:20
19. I Think Of You   2:54
20. If You Go Away   1:57
21. And Nnow She Knows   2:42
22. Close Your Mind   3:03
23. To Love Somebody   3:09
24. Look Away   2:37
25. Good Day Sunshine   2:08
26. Ain't Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore   2:42
27. One Minute Woman   2:17
28. A Day In The Life   5:10

LINE - UP

Bass – Bruce Morford, Craig Guild, George Schule, John McKinney
Drums – Harry Bragg
Guitar – George Ayers, Jack Ross, Jerry Turano
Guitar [Lead] – Jerry Turano, Tony Yadouga
Guitar [Rhythm] – George Schule, John McKinneyA4,
Organ – Danny Toriello, George Schule
Vocals – Jack O'Neill

NOTES

                        

Re-Issue of 1994 LP compilation on Distortions Records.
Two tracks have been omitted from original comp ("In The Heat Of The Night" and "Shovel Song").
Tracks 18-28 are bonus tracks added for this 2002 CD Re-Release.

Flac Size: 461 MB