The Rock and Roll Dubble Bubble Trading Card Co. of Philadelphia 19141 – Bubble Gum Music / On a Summer Night [1968; Buddah Records]

On the A-side of their only single (and only release at all, apart from a split that threw this single’s two tracks together with a pair from Chris Bartley), the lengthily-named bubblegum pop band sings about the appeal of their chosen genre to them, with a solid backing beat holding up the reedy vocal harmonies. References to other bubblegum songs are dropped, and followed with examples of bands (e.g., The Grateful Dead and Herb Alpert) whose music doesn’t turn on the Dubble Bubble boys.

The B-side slows things down to a ballad pacing, with the back vocals ornamenting the simple lyrics of a mid-summer romance, and the percussion again comes off as the best part, this time with an odd beat involving a woodblock. Not quite good enough to justify hunting it down, but for a one-hit wonder all about how much the band loves their own style of music, it’s surprisingly decent.

Here’s the cover art used in Italy.

And Japan.

The Grateful Dead – Anthem of the Sun [1968; Warner Bros. Records, Warner Bros. – Seven Arts Records]

On The Grateful Dead’s second album, the group indulges in rambling psychedelic rock with strong folk flavoring, leading with a three-part opening track that dips and weaves around its main riffs before finally giving way to the rest of the song. Despite the large size of the band (at over half-a-dozen members), they find ways to make room for quiet focus on one or two instruments at a time within the sprawling tunes, which leads to sections that often feel more engaging than when all of the players are used simultaneously. The end song “Caution (Do Not Stop on the Tracks)” provides a solid counter-point to this, with the group going as full-out psychedelic as they get on the album while omitting vocals, and though there’s some odd pacing through the course of it, the album comes together with its idiosyncrasies and oddities just fine.

Here’s the alternate cover art.

And the cover art used for some reissues.

Richard And Mimi Fariña – Memories [1968; Vanguard]

In the last album from the Fariña couple (released two years after Richard’s death in a motorcycle accident), the dreamy folk pop of their previous two albums drifts into more somber tones in some of its tracks, though the playful nonsense of earlier pieces holds fast in other inclusions. Assembled from an assortment of recordings, the songs include Mimi’s sister Joan Baez on two compositions, along with excerpts from live sessions, instrumental jams, and Mimi by herself, covering one of Richard’s early songs.

For such a range of sources, the pieces come together with fine cohesion, a quality helped by the couple’s usual comfort with experimentation. Though the styles and instrumentation change with almost every track, the sense of personalities provide a steadying guide through the jumble of moods and sketches. A very personalized memorial, but the scattered-mindedness, though it fits the departed, makes for an album experience which can be off-putting at first listen.

Here’s the cover art used for the reissue.