Plastic Penny's second album offers various shades of British psychedelic pop that aren't near either the top or bottom of the class. It left the impression of a group who were good musicians, but not ones who had exceptional material or a markedly identifiable style.
Beatlesque psychedelic pop that was lighter than
the Beatles was the main ingredient, perhaps with elements of
the Bee Gees and the poppiest facet of
the Who as well, though there was more organ involved in
Plastic Penny's arrangements than there was in those of any of these other groups. Sometimes the keyboard-driven sound had shades of
Procol Harum and
Traffic. It's respectable listening, but not a record to win commendations for originality; "Give Me Money" in particular is a shameless imitation of
the Who and
the Move in their circa 1967 power pop days, albeit a pretty good one. The inclusion of a couple instrumentals (the closing "Sour Suite," lasting eight minutes, and "Currency") with a heavier, more improvised-sounding organ-grounded approach, as well as mediocre covers of "Hound Dog" and "MacArthur Park," raises the suspicion that the group really didn't have enough material ready to make an album, even though those instrumentals aren't bad. Serious
Elton John fans, however, will be interested in collecting this record for the presence of an early
Elton John-
Bernie Taupin composition, "Turn to Me," that
Elton John never recorded. The way
Plastic Penny do it, it sounds like an early
Badfinger track. The CD reissue on Repertoire adds two bonus tracks.