Watermelon

When legendary psych outfit The Lemon Drops flew to San Francisco from Chicago back in 1969, they had high hopes for huge success. Practice sessions at the Redwood City, CA estate of financier Dan Herron, were hot and heavy. Musicians coming and going day and night, including Cold Blood, featuring Lydia Pense. Gram Parsons and his new band the Flying Burrito Brothers would move into the mansion for days at a time. But a series of unfortunate events scuppered everyone's plans and broke up the band. That in turn led to former Lemon Drops forming Watermelon, joining forces with famed American musician and composer of ambient music, Raphael (a.k.a. Rafael).

The Watermelon sound is grooving and tight; mostly fiery and hard and heavy. Yet Watermelon were also capable of eerie, haunting and hypnotic moments, combining (as one writer proposed) "an ethereal sound of yesterday with an infinite hope for tomorrow.” Or maybe you’d agree better with the person who exulted, “they sound like Booker T. meets Quicksilver Messenger Service!” As one reviewer said, “If you like late-60's/early 70's rock with a psychedelic edge, featuring a hot organist, go for this baby.” 

Watermelon producer Reggie Weiss tells the band’s story in the notes which accompany this reissue, including how these tapes were found after a long time gone. And as he says, "They sound so good, it’s hard to believe that they were recorded in stereo with only two microphones. I was working in the magnetic tape research division at Ampex at the time… my boss loaned me his pro two-track Ampex machine for a taping — thank God.”