At their height, the Seeds truly epitomized 60s psychedelic--sowing tales of love and sex, being free, and living in peace. In fact, it has been said that Sky Saxon was clever enough to coin the term "flower power." At the same time, though, there were other sides to this band--disdain for the world establishment and a primal, savage attitude that reflected an uncompromising, arrogant attitude, pretty much like the punk rock bands of the '70s. Before the New York Dolls or Sex Pistols, you had the Seeds. One could say that the Seeds were flower-punk. Another uncompromising 60s artist, Frank Zappa, told me in 1977 that "I liked 60s punk rock like Sky Saxon and the Seeds. But I saw the Sex Pistols on TV and I didn't think they were too suave."

Well, actually--the Seeds weren't too suave, either, with Sky's ranting on sex with songs like "Up in Her Room"--but he indeed helped capture and promote the anti-war, hippie sentiment of "make love, not war" more than most other artists of the time. By the time of the release of "Raw & Alive" in 1968 the Seeds had seen their peak and were on the decline. Although it wasn't really recorded before a live audience, the album is a true flashback--a unique time capsule of the band's evolution. According to rock writer Alan Robinson, drummer Rick Andridge told him in a letter that to do this record the band actually set up their Vox equipment in a Hollywood studio, switched on the tape and exploded into a live set. Thankfully there's little emphasis on songs from "A Full Spoon of Seedy Blues," which Saxon put out to try to get out of his contract with GNP Crescendo, making an album nearly unmarketable to Seeds fans. Perhaps GNP needed to make up for the poor sales and had the group cut this record. There are also no dumb meanderings from the "Future" album--what we have here is what the Seeds sounded like live--a raw, raunchy garage band sound that tore apart the original recordings. Even if the girls' screams are dubbed in, so what--you can really picture the hysteria of a Seeds show--it all works as an energetic, spontaneous flower-punk document!

Daryl Hooper's rolling keyboard intro to "Mr. Farmer" blends together with the first drum rolls, then there's this evolving into notes that sound like the organ grinder on the corner, calling everyone to the carnival. Saxon's words illustrate the story of this guy who leaves society, the huge city, to live in a little tiny town, where down a country road he has five acres of farmland. And there are these "seeds startin' to grow like a beanstalk into the sky." What's the farmer growing, anyway? Well, Saxon doesn't say--but the words say he wants to water, grow and harvest the crops--and "be just like you." The farmer dude even goes into town in his seedy clothes--"he shows them off wherever he goes." Pretty mellow, flowing, and peaceful, as Seeds tunes go.

That all changes with the next tune--"No Escape." This shreds to pieces the version from the first Seeds album. Even if the riff is derived from "Pushin' Too Hard," this is teen angst at its best. Saxon's soul-wrenching vocal screams "no escape from the pain at your fingertips" and we relive the helplessness of teen love gone bad. It's also one frantic dance number, Andrige's drums are going crazy and there's even a short jazzy piano interlude. You can really picture Seeds fans bopping up and down, swishing to and fro, or smashing against the stage like at an early Stones show. The next song "Satisfy You" follows up the relational theme. Saxon's words of teen frustration demand that the girl put aside distractions like the TV guide, the radio and local news--because the promise of him is incomparable. "Night Time Girl" starts with descending oriental-type notes and Saxon growling about a mystery girl that brings him a rainbow. This one grates on the nerves and you either like it or hate it. Next comes Saxon's all-time tribute to lovemaking and one of the album's highlights.

"Up in Her Room" begins with those carnival-type organ notes, and then the guitar fuzz leaps in there with the crashing drums. The first 5 minutes is a glimpse of raw garage at its best--the riff is simple, yet it evokes sounds that encircle you with its swirling intensity. This version is more compact (9 ½ minutes) yet still more loose, crazy and intense than the 14-minute plus, bluesy version on "A Web of Sound." Jan Savage's guitar meanders wildly, hits screeching high notes and weaves in and out of Saxon's moans--too bad he doesn't do his own ripping solo somewhere. As the tune goes on, Hooper pulls off a little jazzy piano part that flows along with the drums, then we go up with Saxon to a wild girl's room two stories high and live his experiences. He moans about being in a cloud of smoke and in ecstasy, driven wild and hypnotized by eyes of a woman who "must be a devil's child." The dubbed-in girls' screams are a swirling mass of madness. An image is conjured up of fans trying to fling themselves onstage at Saxon. The last 4 minutes go totally nuts as the guitar screeches and drums and cymbals get a workout. As the tune reaches it climax, poor Saxon can't get up--"Someone knockin' at my door--I don't care, care no more." It's an intensity that doesn't let up as the notes reach higher and higher, until the tune explodes -- intense, wild and crazy. From here, another Seeds moment in time takes shape.

"Gypsy Plays His Drums" has got one of the most ominous intros ever, with Savage's reverb guitar echoing like it's in a haunted cave, and the weaving organ's notes are like something out an Arabian night filled with moonlight, incense and belly dancers. The words ask the question what has happened to the world of man and declares that music goes on with the drums. Saxon savagely growls out the lyrics, "He plays his drums to a world that can't understand." The bridge part takes the role of the anti-hippie establishment, that says, "Stop him, stop him if you can--spreading peace and flowers over the land." This one is one of my favorites on the album. It's got atmosphere to the max, sounds freaky and scary, and is one of the most mystical, intense moments the Seeds ever created. From here, the set goes back into a relaxed tone with a laidback, relationship classic, "Can't Seem to Make You Mine." This song is Saxon's height in showing the frustration and sadness in teen romance. Arrangement-wise it's close to the studio version, although more amplified. The last three songs are really interesting and sum up the message of the Seeds. "Mumble Bumble" really picks up the pace again and sounds like a speeded-up version of the Doors' "Whisky Bar. This tune and the next, "Forest Outside Your Door," point out that the world is so preoccupied with its problems that it can't see the sky or sun, hear babies cry or notice nature's creation. "900 Million People Daily (All Making Love) is a look at how the world would be if fighting was left behind and everyone focused instead on--guess what? The original studio version of this was 9 minutes but here it's wisely cut down to a little less than 5 minutes. The album ends with the all-time punk anthem "Pushin' Too Hard." Sky Saxon says this was written about the cops destroying Hollywood's Pandora's Box club, the event which helped sow the seeds of anti-establishment, "us versus them" mentality in Southern California.

Many people in the peace movement believed that music could set us free--that rock and roll was somehow bigger than us, that it could raise us above the problems of growing up, of society, of violence, of war. After this album came out, the Seeds were largely ignored. But on a larger scale, Americans noticed other things--the 1968 Tet Offensive made many question our country's actions in other parts of the world. It had become obvious that America had a war on its hands that it could never win, run by politicians instead of the military. The Vietnam War had become more ugly and senseless than ever--the cost in human lives and in money became a price not worth paying. But munitions makers made enormous profits--and in our world money equals power. History repeats itself--does this sound familiar today?

As the 70s unfolded, the 60s hippie dream of peace and love had turned sour, and the original Seeds were history. So what is their legacy? Was Sky Saxon a musical genius or just a psyched-out punk? His ranting and ravings about sex were way overdone--it was more about lust than about love. Yet the attitude about our world, society and relationships he wrote about were right on. And the Seeds indeed paved the way for the ferocity and intensity of artists who came later. Saxon was sort of a flower-punk pied piper. Can his attitude be seen in Iggy and the Stooges? Alice Cooper? Or the Sex Pistols or New York Dolls? Sky Saxon is still a real character and tours now with his new version of the Seeds. In August, 1990 he visited the Buena Park Record Meet in Orange County, where he met fans and signed records. Afterwards I took some pictures of him and asked him if his new Seeds band could go big time and perhaps share the bill with the Grateful Dead, who'd played with Santana, Traffic and Sting. Saxon confidently replied, "That sounds good. We'd give them a run for their money." These days, the band's flower-power image may seem dated. But there's a bigger message behind the Seeds' music, one that is still with us. People can be divided into two camps--those who use people to get riches and power, and those who use things, like money, to help others. Perhaps there is still hope for mankind--if we notice there are forests outside, feel the sunshine, see the sky's colors and start caring about others instead of using people for our own gain. Folks either love themselves, are greedy and selfish or they are generous and show love for their Maker and others. When the power of love overcomes the love for power, there will be peace in this world. Our lives and our world are what we make it. Like the farmer, we indeed reap what we sow.

Ralph Hulett is co-author of Whole Lotta Led biography on Led Zeppelin and the 60s-70s music scene. His photography website is at: www.rockretrospect.com Questions for him can be sent to rhulett@pacbell.net