The 1960s were barely before my time, so I had to learn about the psychedelic era and its music secondhand. My parents definitely weren’t hippies, and that musical era wasn’t in their wheelhouse. My mom’s tastes have always sat squarely in the middle of the road, while my dad was into doo-wop and country in the decade before I was born.
Luckily, Atlanta had the best oldies station in the world when I was growing up. Fox 97 boasted an impressive and expansive playlist of music from the late ‘50s through the ‘60s (and even dabbled in some ‘70s and ‘80s music for a short time), and its signal was so strong that I swear you could hear it on the moon. It was always on in the car when my parents took me places, and that station expanded my palate of their generation’s music beyond their more narrow tastes.
Psychedelia isn’t my favorite thing, but I can appreciate it when it’s done well (and in small doses). And one criminally overlooked album from the ‘90s used it in a surprisingly effective way.
Patsy Moore made two of the most unique and appealing Christian music albums of that decade. Her debut, 1992’s “Regarding the Human Condition,” brought folk, rock, jazz, and world music together for an original sound — think Joni Mitchell meets Shawn Colvin with more soulfulness than both of them put together. Her lyrics sparkle with intelligence and wit.
Two years later, she raised the bar with “A Flower Child’s Guide to Love and Fashion,” which incorporated psychedelic sounds and terminology expertly without coming across as a cheesy pastiche or even as a concept album. Moore also doubled down on the smart, clever lyric writing — and won.
The album kicks off with the Celtic folk of “I’ve Got a Million.” Moore asks the Lord to deliver her from the “dark Irish poets” of depression, the “rock-and-roll hot dogs” of self-indulgence, and the “sullen psychiatrists” of finding excuses for sin.
The driving psychedelic beat of “Flower Child” compares the blooming of a flower to someone coming to faith. “That makes you a flower, child,” Moore sings.
A pair of story songs comes next. “How It Should Be (Love and Fashion)” tells the story of the young woman who nobody expects to find faith, while “Hate Is a Thief” tells of a woman moving past her abusive past.
Next comes the bouncy, Beatlesque “Thinking of You,” which could double as a love song or an expression of worship.
I can’t decide if “I Love a Boy (on College Radio)” makes fun of pretentious hipster musicians or the people who hang on their every word. Maybe it’s both.
She duets with the legendary Phil Keaggy on “The State I’m In,” and even though their voices aren’t all that compatible, the song works well.
“Who Floats Your Boat” might be the album’s least strong tune (notice I didn't say "weakest"), but the lyrical metaphor is strong and compelling.
The psychedelic sounds return for the raga romp of “Under the Sign of Love,” which brings in phrases from the era and moves from driving sitar to a Fifth Dimension-style gospel singalong.
The gorgeous, elegant “Fine Glide” is the perfect ending to the album.
Moore dropped out of the Christian music scene after this album; I guess her contract was up. She has another album on Apple Music from 2018, but I’m scared to listen to it for fear of disappointment. After all, it’s hard to top the one-two punch of “Regarding the Human Condition” and “The Flower Child’s Guide to Love and Fashion.”
Related: Underappreciated Albums: 'Things Break'
Check out “The Flower Child’s Guide to Love and Fashion” on Spotify or in lossless audio on Apple Music:
