Faine Jade - Introspection: A Faine Jade Recital

Take a peek inside…

Faine Jade’s lone full-length release, 1968’s Introspection: A Faine Jade Recital, ranks as one of the most highly-coveted lost psych classics, and it’s obvious why. Fronting a sparse combo complemented by a distant droning organ, the bespectacled Jade (born Chuck Laskowski in Long Island, New York) sings quirky, melodic tunes drenched in the flavour of their time. The feel is tense and fractured, with stabs of trebly guitar and jittery percussion, but the songwriting remains pithy and pop-radio accessible.

Opening number, Doctor Paul Overture, a wide-eyed psychedelic character portrait, immediately calls to mind Syd Barrett-era Floyd, the most obvious influence throughout (surprisingly, Jade claims he hadn’t heard of Barrett at the time of recording). Ballad Of The Bad Guys, meanwhile, careens with an angry psych-punk momentum reminiscent of early Love. But it’s the album’s title track that offers the finest evidence of Jade’s melodic gifts. A twinkling, frosty ballad lined with shaking tambourine, it lifts into an elegant, inevitable pop-dream chorus: “Introspection,” Jade sings dispassionately, “what am I really like inside?”

This excellent reissue also includes detailed liner notes, a small feast of photos and two worthwhile bonus cuts culled from a non-LP single. Psych lovers take note.

Sundazed | SC 6250

Reviewed by Michael Saltzman
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