Tintern Abbey

★★★★

Beeside: The Complete Recordings

GRAPEFRUIT. CD

The full story of the Britpsych legends is finally told. Tintern Abbey’s sole release was the November 1967 single Beeside with B-side Vacuum Cleaner. Ethereal and etiolated, it barely sold. Its inclusion on 1980’s Chocolate Soup For

Diabetics compilation meant belated recognition for its genius. Although tracks from acetates surfaced later, the band remained vaporous. Revealing all, this 36-track double CD includes 28 previously unheard tracks. It turns out the band was central to London’s psychedelic scene as they were bankrolled by the backer of underground newspaper International Times. Much of this music is amazing: their shelved second single, Snowman, is as stellar as anything on The Pretty Things’ S.F. Sorrow. Let The Wind Blow is in the same bag as Pink Floyd’s Scream Thy Last Scream, while My Prayer is as far-out as the Netherlands’ Groep 1850. Being so allencompassing could have undermined the legend; instead, and despite a few brushes with pop, this set is a mind blower.