The Litter “Emerge” 1969. The third album from Minneapolis-based psych-garage rockers The Litter, who are probably best known for their 1967 single “Action Woman” which was included on the Lenny Kaye curated comp Nuggets: Original Artyfacts from the First Psychedelic Era. Emerge was the band’s first major label release (on ABC Records) and it hit #175 on the US album charts. The Litter broke up the following year, though reunited – with varying lineups – a few times during the 90′s.

Emerge is a mix of psychedelia and hard-rocking proto-punk garage rock. The opening track, “Journeys,” reminds me a lot of fellow Midwesterners (from Detroit) The Amboy Dukes’ 1968 one-hit wonder “Journey to the Center of the Mind” (I will add this is the only Ted Nugent anything I will willingly listen to). “Feeling” has another Detroit flavor, this time reminiscent of the MC5 sound. “Blue Ice” is a little bit of both sounds (psych and hard rock) and “For What It’s Worth” is a cover of Buffalo Springfield’s 1967 Top 10 hit that goes psych and slow on the verses and punkishly hard rocking on the chorus. They also cover the Burt Bacharach-composed “My Little Red Book” (they drop the “My” for the title) which became a hit for Love in 1966, keeping Love’s garage rock style. “Breakfast at Gardenson’s” is not my favorite, it’s a bit sappy and formulaic in its psychedelia and the closing track, “Future of the Past,” mashes up all the trends in 60′s harder rock into one epic 12+ minute musical trip. (It’s too long for my tastes but I’m listening to this at midday on a Monday and its better suited to a very late Saturday night.)

This album was in the “should it stay or should it go” pile and from what I’ve heard on this first ever listen, I think it should stay: I like psych and garage rock and it’s got a solid Midwestern pedigree.