LPCDreissues: Looking forward to the past

• Edition: Official remastered reissue
• Audio: Newly remastered sound
• Packaging: Gatefold sleeve reproducing the original artwork
• Extras: Illustrated insert with detailed liner notes by Mike Stax, prepared with input from original guitarist Robb Huxley, plus a separate lyric insert

Junkies, Monkeys & Donkeys is a landmark of early Israeli heavy psychedelic rock, recorded after The Churchills adopted the name Jericho Jones and began pursuing an international career.

The album was created during an extraordinary 24-hour recording session at London’s eight-track Tangerine Studios. The group entered the studio with a collection of songs written mainly in Israel and emerged with a varied album that moves between hard rock, psychedelia, progressive arrangements and melodic songwriting.

Heavy guitar passages and forceful rhythms are balanced by vocal harmonies, acoustic textures and subtle Middle Eastern melodic influences. “Man in the Crowd” delivers concise psychedelic hard rock, while “There Is Always a Train” and “Yellow and Blue” develop through longer, more atmospheric arrangements.

The second side opens with the brief instrumental “Triangulum” before moving into the progressive “No School To-Day.” The extended title track combines ominous lyrics, shifting rhythms and powerful guitar interplay, while “Time Is Now,” written by Mungo Jerry’s Ray Dorset, provides one of the album’s most immediate moments.

Originally released in 1971, the album forms the essential bridge between the psychedelic sound of The Churchills and the heavier progressive direction heard on the following Jericho LP. This Guerssen edition presents the original artwork and complete album with newly remastered sound and extensive archival material.

Personnel:

Danny Shoshan – lead vocals and percussion
Haim Romano – lead guitar, mandolin and organ
Robb Huxley – guitar and backing vocals
Miki Gavrielov – bass and backing vocals
Ami Triebich – drums and percussion

Track listing:

Side A
1. Mare Tranquilitatas – 2:20
2. Man in the Crowd – 3:13
3. There Is Always a Train – 6:31
4. Yellow and Blue – 5:09
5. Freedom – 3:47

Side B
1. Triangulum – 0:47
2. No School To-Day – 5:48
3. Junkies, Monkeys and Donkeys – 7:33
4. Time Is Now – 2:57
5. What Have We Got to Lose – 4:23