You’ve stumbled onto a deep-cut psychedelic artifact—"How to Blow Your Mind and Have a Freak-Out Party" by The Unfolding, released in 1967. This album is part of the mysterious wave of “exploitation psych”—records released by studio musicians under pseudonyms to capitalize on the psychedelic boom, often with surreal packaging and outrageous track names.
Here are some mysteries and weird facts about this album:
1. Studio Concoction or Secret Genius?
The Unfolding was likely not a real band, but rather a studio project created by Alan Lorber, a producer involved in New York’s "Bosstown Sound." Some suspect members of this and similar projects were jazz musicians moonlighting or simply session players experimenting under the influence—sonically or otherwise.
2. Sermon or Satire?
Tracks like “Electric Buddha” and “Hare Krishna” show clear spiritual references—but it’s ambiguous whether they’re sincere or part of a kitschy outsider view of Eastern mysticism. The album walks the line between reverence and absurdity.
3. “I’ve Got a Zebra – She Can Fly”
This surreal track title alone screams 1967 acid-fueled imagination. Lyrically and sonically, it’s part whimsical children’s story, part spaced-out psych jam. What does the zebra symbolize? Some argue it’s a metaphor for breaking free from black-and-white thinking.
4. Marketing a Freak-Out
The cover is a collage of stereotypical ‘60s psych elements—swirling colors, bold type, guru-like imagery. This was marketed as a literal how-to for throwing a psychedelic party, aligning with Timothy Leary’s mantra of mind expansion—whether or not the music actually induced such a trip.
5. Cult Classic Status
Although obscure in its time, the album became a collector’s item in later decades, championed by fans of weird psych and library music. It’s been sampled, referenced in underground zines, and appears on various blog lists of "lost psych gems."
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