LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

Label: Sunrise Records

Journey To The Center Of The Mind is the second album by The Amboy Dukes, the Detroit psychedelic hard-rock band that first brought Ted Nugent to wider attention. Released in 1968, it captures the group at the point where garage rock, acid rock and heavier guitar-driven arrangements began to fuse into something sharper and more aggressive.

The title track became the band’s signature song, but the album has more to offer than its hit single. Mississippi Murderer, Scottish Tea, Dr. Slingshot and Death Is Life all show a group pushing late-60s psychedelia toward a tougher sound, with Nugent’s guitar already moving to the front. This Sunrise Records CD edition adds the bonus track You Talk Sunshine, I Breathe Fire.

1. Mississippi Murderer – 5:11
2. Surrender To Your Kings – 2:52
3. Flight Of The Byrd – 2:50
4. Scottish Tea – 4:01
5. Dr. Slingshot – 3:09
6. Journey To The Center Of The Mind – 3:33
7. Ivory Castles – 3:21
8. Why Is A Carrot More Orange Than An Orange – 2:26
9. Missionary Mary – 2:35
10. Death Is Life – 2:08
11. Saint Phillips Friend – 3:33
12. I'll Prove I'm Right – 1:38
13. Conclusion – 1:57

14. You Talk Sunshine, I Breathe Fire – 2:44