My Top 1000 Songs #964: The Truth Is Not Real
[I've been writing up my Top 1000 songs on a daily basis--you can see them all in descending order by hitting the All My Favorite Songs tag.] Sagittarius were a short-lived late 60s pop-psych studio creation, the brainchild of songwriter/producer Gary Usher (best known for producing a lot of early surf records, writing a few early Beach Boys songs, and producing the Byrds' best album ). For 1968's Present Tense , Usher teamed up with sunshine pop singer Curt Boettcher and various friends and studio musicians. The record leans towards twee sunshine pop, lovely but maybe a little sugary for those who don't enjoy the genre. (Though essential for those who do.) But a few songs venture more boldly into trippy psychedelia, most notably "The Truth Is Not Real," which sounds like a great lost Moody Blues song, but a little more drugged-out and Floyd -adjacent. It's oh-so-60s, but the sparse percussion, phased vocals, and stereo panning make it an overlooked h...
