The Legendary Pink Dots - Stained Glass Soma Fountains [2CD Set] (1997)

In a hollow stone beneath a mossy log, somewhere in a deep green forest far far away, dwells a race of tiny people who call themselves “the ancient ones.” Their history goes back so far that not one of them remembers exactly where they originally came from, or how they arrived here. It’s safe to say that they’ve been around longer than us “tall folk”. Their best friends are mushrooms, and they claim to know who built the pyramids in Egypt, but they’re not telling anyone. Not yet anyway.

The Legendary Pink Dots found these small apparitions one summer day when their bus overheated and broke down at the edge of that far away forest. It was a happy accident that led them to meet each other, for the “ancient folk” were in search of a new source of peppermint, from which they liked to brew their favorite drink. The Legendary Pink Dots happened to be carrying several bags of peppermint tea, the delicious aroma of which could be smelled by the little people, even though they were on the other side of the mountain. Flying on the backs of dragonflies they went directly to shiny pink bus parked by the side of the road, where they found the Dots practicing their music and waiting for the motor to cool down. They introduced themselves.

Within moments The Legendary Pink Dots had overcome their shock at meeting such strange folk, and soon a deal was struck to exchange a modest amount of peppermint tea for a magical spell that would give whosoever learned it the ability to write the most beautiful songs ever heard in the world. The power of this spell was such that the songs composed by The Legendary Pink Dots after this encounter travelled to every corner of the planet, inspiring mass outbreaks of vegetarianism and other gestures of love and optimism.

This collection of songs brings together tracks from numerous rare cassettes, compilations and unreleased recordings, including the oldest surviving recording of the LPDs, made when the band was still called One Day. It should very much be considered a companion to Under Triple Moons, released recently by ROIR. Both CDs present the band’s earliest works, many of which have been impossible to obtain until now.