VIA PRESS RELEASE | The summer of 1967 was a turning point in popular culture that drew as many as 100,000 young people to San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It represented a social convergence driven by free thinking, hippie fashion, political upheaval, sexual freedom, drug use, and creative expression. As the movement spread around the world, it led to an outpouring of poetry, artwork, and especially music.
In July, Rhino will launch its 50th anniversary celebration of the Summer of Love with vinyl re-issues of key albums from that era along with new compilations that provide a soundtrack to this defining moment of the Sixties.
The Grateful Dead were at the epicenter of the Haight-Ashbury scene and the band is well-represented during the celebration with Smiling On A Cloudy Day. This new compilation brings together 10 songs from the band’s early psychedelic period and includes tracks like “Morning Dew,” “China Cat Sunflower,” and “St. Stephen.” The collection will be released on LP ($21.98) and CD ($7.98) on July 11.
More releases will arrive on July 11, including The Best of Peter, Paul & Mary: Ten Years Together ($21.98) and the mono version of Love’s self-titled debut ($21.98). Other releases include colored vinyl editions of The Association’s Insight Out ($21.98), The Young Rascals Groovin’ ($21.98), and The Beau Brummels’ Triangle ($21.98).
The next group of releases comes out on July 18 and features the mono version of Alice’s Restaurant by Arlo Guthrie ($24.98), The Electric Prunes’ eponymous debut on purple vinyl ($21.98), Van Morrison’s Astral Weeks on clear vinyl ($24.98) and Vanilla Fudge’s self-titled debut on white vinyl ($21.98).
A new compilation from The Monkees will also be released the same day. Summer of Love includes 12 tracks that focus on the group’s lesser-known psychedelic side. The collection will be released on LP ($21.98) and CD ($7.98). The LP Gettin’ Together: Groovy Sounds of the Summer of Love will also be released on July 18 for $14.98. Its 16 tracks spotlight memorable hits from 1967 like “Hip Hug-Her” by Booker T. & The M.G.’s, “You Keep Me Hanging On” by Vanilla Fudge, and “Windy” by The Association.
The final round of releases from this Summer of Love celebration will arrive on July 25 and includes Dusty In Memphis by Dusty Springfield ($24.98), Goodbye and Hello by Tim Buckley ($24.98), and the mono version Aretha Arrives by Aretha Franklin ($24.98). In addition, Wildflowers by Judy Collins will be pressed on translucent yellow vinyl ($21.98) and The Zodiac Cosmic Sounds will be pressed on glow-in-the-dark vinyl ($17.98).
And last, but certainly not least, is a new Nuggets collection – Transparent Days: West Coast Nuggets ($31.98). Pressed on transparent vinyl, this two-LP collection includes 30 songs by artists like The Peanut Butter Conspiracy (“Time Is After You”), The Mojo Men (“She’s My Baby”), M.C. 2 (“Smiling”), and Love (“Your Mind & We Belong Together”).
