Before I discuss the music, I have to say what an incredibly beautiful re-release this is from Sulatron Records. Not only does Mind Control: The Ultimate Edition look wonderful in its yellow and black splatter 180-gramme vinyl, but it sounds fantastic as well (also available on two CDs with bonus tracks as well). Its gatefold sleeve just adds to the overall feel of a wonderfully put-together quality product that just screams buy me at you.
“Mountain Of Fire And Miracles” is a slow-burning opening, sounding like a heavier version of Pink Floyd’s “Set The Controls For The Heart Of The Sun”. The guitar punches over rolling bass and drum lines, and the psychedelic lead echoes from beyond infinity into the void of cosmic consciousness before it plays out an Indian raga in praise of the great universe.
“Radiation” starts with wah-wah guitar and has a similar eastern vibe to it, with Current 93‘s Joolie Wood supplying some haunting flute very much in the style of Raja Ram. This vibe takes me back to long hot summer days in India when scent from joss sticks hung heavy in the air, blowing from ancient temples; it is the sound of the hippie trail writ large in its cascading chords. “Burned In” is a slight piece, with big synth chords over which tabla are played and a guitar crackles occasionally. “Last Rays Of The Sun” has a steadier beat from the drums, played by Conrad Farmer, over which Ramon plays a laid-back riff and organ chords hang like a soft summer breeze, and this is beautifully relaxed atmospheric piece of psychedelia. “Mind Control” rattles into your brain like a freight train on the way to Alpha Centauri. A steady riffing guitar pushes the track forward with a space rock urgency, while keyboard notes dance over the top, sounding reminiscent of early Hawkwind, and it certainly traps you into that freak-out vibe that catapults you into a sci fi universe on a wave of a steady motorik beat. “In Every Dream Home A Heartache” is a cover of the Roxy Music song from For Your Pleasure, here played with more urgency than the original, with acoustic guitar taking up the main theme of the track.Acoustic guitars chime like bells during “Seven Pointed Star (Short Version)” and build beneath instruments that slide over the top, reminding me a little of ELO’s first Harvest album, but also the sound of dark English woodlands, psychedelia down the rabbit hole. “Word Within You” is full of flanged vocals and a rolling bass courtesy of Scorpio. The lead guitar is quite wonderful and makes the track swing upwards towards the heavens, especially when the big key change hits in; this could have been written in 1968.
Disc two has previously unreleased tracks from the recording of the album expanding the mind’s eye of the work, starting with “Lost And Found”, which is a big heavy psych number with Jimi Hendrix-style guitar licks all prepared for a big freak-out during one of those classic sixties films. It’s a powerful rocker where the band let go and take you into another realm; this would be an excellent live track and one to set the fuzz-heads’ hair flying. “I Can Tell” is another heavy slab monster that rises triumphant from the primal ooze in a series of blistering lead guitar workouts over a punchy rhythm section — it sounds like a liquid lens light in its bright array of multicolours. “Liquid Grey” has Mellotron madness happening over a scatter-type rhythm punctuated by groovy Hammond organ lead that sets you right back to those dayglo daze. “Seven Pointed Star” in its full version is a longer and more echoed version of the earlier track, with more instrumentation happening over its acoustic guitar chords. “Fire From Heaven” is a freakbeat floor-filler that would get everyone up and grooving to its catchy guitar riff and its big back beat. “Mask Of Dawn (Part 1)” begins with swelling organ and fuzzed guitar that induce a meditative state as they hang like early morning dew. Here is the sound of the sun rising after a night of revelries, the drum sliding in beneath the lush chords and adding to the languid vibe.‘Siren Song’ opens side four with more Mellotron strings that sweep over the listener and calls to them from some ancient time. Vocals add the sound of the sirens and take you to a world of mythology as the song slowly seeps into the next track, “1018a”, with its frantic rhythm and whooshing synthesiser sounds that travel atop some punchy organ playing and psychedelic vocals. Next is an early mix of “Radiation”, this time with added vocal samples making it sound closer to The Orb than the version on the first album, and in a way I prefer this version. “Mask Of Dawn (Part 2)” closes the vinyl version of the album sounding something closer to “Tomorrow Never Knows” in its vibe as guitar play bounces between speakers, and again the lead guitar sings a symphony to the stars, awash with some beautiful echo.
Mind Control: The Ultimate Edition is a real bangs and whistles reissue that is a must-have for fans of Sun Dial; the extra tracks fit in so well with the original album, and they don’t feel like they were just stuck on for no reason. This is a lovingly designed and well thought-out reissue that gives Sun Dial fans what they want — and also is something marvellous to pick up for those curious enough to want to step into the world of their glorious psychedelia for the first time.-Gary Parsons-
