Seeing the Unseeable: The Complete Studio Recordings of the Flaming Lips 1986-1990

I became a die hard fan after hearing "The Soft Bulletin" in 1999. It was so beautiful in contrast to what was popular at that time.I began seeking out their early CDS, but everywhere I looked , the seller was asking $75 or more for "Oh my Gawd" "Telepathic Surgery" or "In a priest driven ambulance".Finally they've been reissued in this beautiful 6 CD box set.Oh My Gawd!!! What a stark contrast to what they have evolved into today, but I loved every one of their early CDS especially "oh my gawd" and "In a priest driven ambulance".When I heard "In a priest driven ambulance" for the first time I was blown away. This was way better than anything Curt Cobain and his crew ever made. I listened to it everyday for 6 months straight and it is in my top 20 of my favorite CDs of all time!That CD should have cemented them as the ultimate alternative rock band.Every CD is great and very underated. Now if you're a fan of the " The Soft Bulletin ", "Yoshimi.." "At war" era. This box set makes for a great study on how they built up to their great masterpiece"The Soft Bulletin"I had the pleasure of seeing them on June 17th, 2023 in Tulsa, Oklahoma at The Tulsa Theater. It was one of the best shows I've ever seen and Wayne announced at the beginning of the show that they were recording a live album of the show which consisted mostly of the entire album "Yoshimi battles the pink robots". Sadly, they did not play any songs from this era. Even though I yelled "Rainin babies" (from "A priest driven Ambulance") they did not do it.As an okie from Muskogee I can say The Flaming lips are the reasons god made Oklahoma. Buy this box set and I promise you won't be disappointed.

The Flaming Lips changed the way I listen to music when I bought the “Hear It Is” album at Record Swap in Champaign, Illinois in 1986. The four records they released through 1990 are among the most exciting of that era. A highlight in the Lips’ early discography, “In a Priest Driven Ambulance” is included in this six CD collection along with “The Mushroom Tapes” (a collection of “Priest Driven” demos and alternative versions), “Death Trippin' At Sunrise” (15 rare tracks spanning 1986-1990), and the band’s first three albums. Essential listening!

This collection contains the four albums the band recorded for Restless Records, as well as a disc of demos for the fourth album and a disc of rarities, b-sides and flexi disc recordings. This is the work that helped the band get signed to Warner Bros. Records, when their music was much more familiar to me. The Oklahoma band of "freaks" constantly pushed musical boundaries, resulting in a lot of sonic weirdness. The music here has been re-mastered from original sources by the band's longtime musical foil and producer, David Fridmann, with help by band members Wayne Coyne and Michael Ivins. The four albums are: "Hear It Is" (1986); "Oh My Gawd!!! ... The Flaming Lips" (1987); "Telepathic Surgery" (1989); and "In a Priest Driven Ambulance (With Silver Sunshine Stares)" (1990).The band was formed in 1983 in Norman, with Coyne on guitar, his brother Mark on lead vocals, Ivins on bass and Dave Kotska on drums. Mark left and Wayne took over lead vocals, starting with their debut album, "Hear It Is." The album features speed rock in "Unplugged" and "Trains, Brains and Rain," as well as the rocker "Just Like Before" and "Jesus Shootin' Heroin," which has a spare start then smashes on the chorus. "Charlie Manson Blues" has a silly "ugh" chorus and sounds like a wild, uncontrollable party. Sticking with names that shock or bring up their own imagery, "Godzilla Flick" has a softer vocal.Album two features the punkish "Everything's Explodin'," as well as the 9:21-long, mostly instrumental "One Million Billionth of a Millisecond on a Sunday Morning," which is more melodic and grows from spare to stormy. Psychedelia comes to play in the mid-album trio of "Ode to C.C. (Part 1)" (the song refers to C.C. DeVille of the band Poison), "The Ceiling Is Bendin'" (on which the percussion "travels") and "Prescription Love," with the latter two quite weird. There is another shout-out in "Maximum Dream for Evil Knievel," while "Can't Exist" is acoustic."Telepathic Surgery" was originally conceived as a 30-minute sound collage, an idea that was abandoned. However, this release contains the full "Hell's Angel's Cracker Factory," which runs 23:05 and first was released in 2005. The other late addition to the album was "Fryin' Up." Another highlight is "Chrome Plated Suicide," which is based on "Sweet Child o' Mine" by Guns N' Roses. Solid are the opener, "Drug Machine in Heaven," and the closer, "Begs and Achin'," with its chug beat. The latter mentions a UFO, as does "U.F.O. Story," which begins as a spoken story about seeing six UFOs.Album four, "In a Priest Driven Ambulance," is a concept album of sorts, reflecting on Wayne Coyne's fascination with religion. The album also marked the debut of two new band members: drummer Nathan Roberts and guitarist Jonathan Donahue (of Mercury Rev). The album includes three "Jesus Songs," the best of which is the opening "Shine On Sweet Jesus." There are massed noises on "Unconsciously Screamin'," while "Five Stop Mother Superior Rain," which mentions the deaths of John F. Kennedy and John Lennon, is acoustic. "God Walks Among Us Now" is loud and noisy, while "Mountain Side" is lengthy and noisy. The album ends with an unexpected cover of "What a Wonderful World."Disc six, "The Mushroom Tapes," is made up of demo tapes for "In a Priest Driven Ambulance" -- mostly acoustic -- plus a closing jam track. These demos were previously issued on the Rykodisc compilation CD, "The Day They Shot a Hole in the Jesus Egg."The rarities disc contains 15 tracks, opening with live covers of Sonic Youth's "Death Valley '69" and Led Zeppelin's "Thank You." ("Telepathic Surgery" contains a "kiss off" song for Led Zeppelin.) There also is a fine cover of Neil Young's "After the Gold Rush" (done for a tribute album) and a striking combination of The Sonics' "Strychnine" with Nick Lowe's "Peace, Love and Understanding" (the latter a hit for Elvis Costello). "Death Trippin' at Sunrise" is an ambient, repetitive piece of 4:32 length. The other rarity highlight is "She's Gone Mad Again."

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Up until now, The Flaming Lips first few albums were difficult to find - this set makes them available again plus a couple discs of rarities. If you're a big Lips fan, this is definitely worth it - especially for the under $40CAD price! If you're new to Flaming Lips, this is a great set, but you might want to start off with one of their later albums or their recent Greatest Hits package - they really developed musically as a band with the albums produced AFTER the ones included in this set.

Really enjoying this album, as a big fan of this band

Nice stuff. Pretty interesting.

Excellent