Emergency Third Rail Power Trip

Updated on Nov 22, 2023

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Released 1983 Artist Rain Parade Producer David Roback		Length 41:51 Release date 1983 Label Rykodisc

Recorded February - March 1983; Contour Studios, Los Angeles, California Emergency Third Rail Power Trip (1983) Explosions in the Glass Palace (mini-LP) (1984) Genres Paisley Underground, Jangle pop, Psychedelic pop Similar Paisley Underground albums, Other albums

Rain parade talking in my sleep

Emergency Third Rail Power Trip is the title of Paisley Underground band Rain Parade's debut album, released in 1983. It is one of the most prominent records in the Paisley Underground movement of the 1980s.

Critical reception

In a contemporary review for The Village Voice, music critic Robert Christgau felt that the band imitates "dumb" music from the psychedelic era, specifically "the wimpy singing, wispy tunes, unsure drumming, repetitive guitar effects, and naïve world view of, oh, Kaleidoscope, Morning Glory, Aum."

However, AllMusic's Denise Sullivan would later state that the band was "clearly way ahead of their time," adding that "it would take years before sleepy music ... would catch on." As a result, the "traditional, gentle psychedelic pop" of this record "sounds no more made in the '80s than in the '60s or '90s."

In his 2003 book Turn on Your Mind: Four Decades of Great Psychedelic Rock, critic Jim DeRogatis stated, "Emergency Third Rail Power Trip is not only the best album from any of the Paisley Underground bands, it ranks with the best psychedelic rock efforts from any era", with uplifting melodies offset by themes that were "dark and introspective." DeRogatis added:

Songs such as "What's She Done to Your Mind," "Kaleidoscope," and "Look at Merri" showcase the Robacks' ethereal vocals, Eddie Kalwa's precise drumming, Will Glenn's colorful sitar, violin, and keyboard accents, and an intricate, chiming, but droney two-guitar attack that picks up where the Byrds left off with "Eight Miles High."

Musician and critic Scott Miller, in his 2010 book Music: What Happened?, cited "1 Hour ½ Ago" as one of 1983's best songs, calling the Rain Parade "core practitioners" of the Paisley Underground movement, with this album being "probably the most certifiably trippy of the branded projects."