The Animated Egg (1968 US) | Jerry Cole / Psychedelic Rock | Full Vinyl Rip

The Animated Egg was released in August 1968 on Alshire Records (S-5104), pressed in the US by Budget Sound, Inc. Alshire was a Burbank budget label run by producer Monty Kelly, with a well-practiced habit of packaging session recordings under whatever name would move copies - and this one is a particularly interesting case. The mono pressing here is one of two Alshire issues; the stereo version was released as SF-5104. The sessions were built around guitarist Jerry Cole, one of the busiest session players in 1960s Hollywood. Cole’s credits run deep - he was part of the Wrecking Crew circle, and his playing appears on records by the Beach Boys, the Byrds, Nancy Sinatra, and many others. RYM credits also list Billy Preston on keyboards - the same Billy Preston who later played on the Beatles’ Get Back sessions and became the only outside musician ever credited on a Beatles single. Ten fully instrumental tracks, no vocals. The origin of the recordings is murkier than the label implies - Cole himself concluded near the end of his life that the Animated Egg tracks were likely recorded at a different session than his Id project, possibly with different musicians entirely. What’s clear is that Alshire’s Monty Kelly acquired the tapes, gave the project its psychedelic cover and name, and then recycled the same masters again in 1969 - adding strings and sci-fi effects and releasing the result as 101 Strings: Astro-Sounds from Beyond the Year 2000. Instrumentally, this sits right in the Alshire wheelhouse - psychsploitation built for mood and atmosphere rather than artistic statement. The tracks range from grinding blues-inflected garage workouts to more melodic, minor-key pieces, with the guitar work consistently the thing worth listening to. It’s not a unified band record - it plays more like a session that was edited together and handed a psychedelic cover. But the playing is better than the budget origins would suggest, and “Sock It My Way” in particular has real energy. Collectors find it partly for the cover, partly for the Jerry Cole connection, and partly because the 101 Strings relationship makes it an interesting piece of late-60s studio history. 🎧 This is a full vinyl rip from my personal copy - the 1968 Alshire pressing, S-5104, Budget Sound. 🔥 Standout tracks include “Sock It My Way,” “Sippin’ and Trippin’,” “‘T’omorrow,” and “That’s How It Is.” 🎸 Sounds like: The Ventures Davie Allan and the Arrows The Litter Blue Cheer The Id 🎧 Vinyl Finds Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9oSXuMGglp1N8SlbZUEtCJ7 🎧 Full Vinyl Rips Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj0yF7-9YQ9pEOi1yCUyAZikNmWVdz8Hn 📷 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/vinyl_piper/ I sell my doubles and extras here: https://vinylpipershop.com/ 💿 Tracklist 00:00 A Love Built on Sand 03:05 Inside Looking Out 06:09 I Said, She Said, Ah Cid 08:24 “T”omorrow 10:59 Sure Listic 12:47 Sippin’ and Trippin’ 14:59 Dark 16:54 Down, Down and Gone 19:17 Sock It My Way 22:47 That’s How It Is #TheAnimatedEgg #PsychedelicRock #Psychsploitation #VinylRip #InstrumentalRock #VinylCommunity #VinylPiper