The Seeds and "Pushin 'Too Hard" are well enshrined in the garage-acropolis, and if that guitar solo (Jan Savage call-and-responses-himself) and Sky Saxon's feral whine aren't enough, there are those drums, one step removed from "Wipe Out," and an electric piano that whirls the song about like a lariat. (The band even dressed like cowboys and Indians.) The iconic 1967 hit would overshadow their mortal time as a band — and, blessedly limited musicians, the Seeds were not likely to improve on it — but they explored the riff they were given in all its permutations, to the point of obsession (see the 14-minute "Up in Her Room" on their second album).

Their self-titled debut has their tangled influences topmost, not yet hippie-fried (their legend would either suffer or illuminate when Sky worked white-robed on Sunset Blvd. in a health food restaurant), highlighting their unique texture, even today when the fuzz-tone and tambourine duel of "Evil Hoodoo" (two chords!) has become a touchstone of archetype. Witness their more bizarre and enjoyable trails: Savage's flamenco roll of chord (something he shared with Robbie Krieger of the Doors, and there are times on this record where one might hear mutual repercussions at work);… read more »