Euphoria Euphoria

The only album by Euphoria, released on the Heritage label in 1969, is a terrific sunshine
pop masterpiece filled with dazzlingly bright songs built around radiant vocal harmonies
and solid arrangements, echoing artists such as The Mamas & The Papas, Free Design
and The 5th Dimension, but with a distinctive lysergic edge. The band's sudden break-up
would lead its members to two new different projects: Bermuda Triangle and Pacheco
& Alexander. Presented in facsimile gatefold sleeve and pressed on 180g vinyl. Music
genres are labelled for a good reason. They can be of great help when it comes to
putting sounds into a few words. This terrific album is usually filed with the "sunshine"
tag on it and it is hard to think of a better way to describe the dazzlingly bright songs
recorded in 1969 by this American band. The core of the group was formed by Roger
and Wendy, an acoustic duo that was a regular performer at NYC's Greenwich Village
scene of folk clubs. Two more members, Tom Pacheco and Sharon Alexander, joined
them in Euphoria during their brief existence. The band signed to Heritage Records and
recorded this fantastic self-titled debut, featuring songs mostly written by Tom Pacheco
and led vocally by Roger and Wendy. Their music is built around radiant vocal
harmonies and solid arrangements, echoing artists such as The Mamas & The Papas,
Free Design and The 5th Dimension, but with a distinctive lysergic edge. 'there Is Now',
the opening track, is a beautiful example of the psych twist that eventually spiced up the
strongest songs of the album, as so is ide The Magic Carpet'. On the other hand,
Tucson' or ou Must Forget' are dreamy folk numbers that show the band's smoother
side. The catchy 'calm Down' makes you wonder about Euphoria's commercial appeal if
they had been strongly backed by promotional efforts... However, by the time the LP
came out in 1969, this kind of folk-pop sound had become out of fashion and live
performances with top selling artists such as Van Morrison, Iron Butterfly or Sly & The
Family Stone were not enough to reach decent sales figures. Euphoria disbanded shortly
after their only album was released and two new different projects followed, Bermuda
Triangle and Pacheco & Alexander, pursuing more contemporary sounds