7/13/06: The Fe Fi Four Plus 2:
       “I Wanna Come Back From The World Of LSD” (1967)

Syd Barrett’s dead, and we’re having hallucinations where people avoid saying the Pink Floyd founder was an acid casualty. At least one newscaster had the sense to sound amused while talking about the drug use that “might have” ended what should have been a brilliant career.

We’d be happy to claim the troubled talent, but the trashed Barrett wasn’t RightWingTrash. Instead, let’s honor the proud—and prophetic—men of The Fe Fi Four Plus 2.

These ’60s lads were hanging out in New Mexico when they signed to the legendary Lance label in 1966. The enduring legacy is “I Wanna Come Back From The World Of LSD.” This isn’t just an amazing psychedelic tune. It’s also a stellar freak-out only rivaled by The Bees’ “Voices Green and Purple” as a cautionary tale of lysergic damage.

The Fe Fi Four Plus 2 has the edge, though, thanks to scary organ and ominous background vocals. The music plays like a taunt as teen vocalist (and songwriter) Dan Houlihan shouts some crawling blues:

I don’t know why I did this thing today
I wanted to get my kicks, but this ain’t the way
I must get back, that real world to find
If I stay this way any longer, I’ll lose my mind!

Then he screams, right before a stammered, “I—I wanna come back…” Things get even better as Houlihan starts praying to the Lord to forgive him his sins, before the blathering improv starts.

There’s an interview in which a band member says the band didn’t consider “I Wanna Come Back” to be an anti-drug song. That’s believable. The tune actually makes LSD sound like the ultimate horror-house experience. Sonny Bono hosted an anti-drug film they showed in high schools that made the same mistake.

“I Wanna Come Back,” however, certainly isn’t pro-drug. This site long ago gave up the moral high ground on—well, everything. Still, it’s worth considering that LSD isn’t all sweetness and enlightenment for everybody. You’d have to be pretty stupid not to hear the song as a cautionary tale today.

Speaking of stupid, we knew a teen who didn’t come back from the world of LSD because he drowned in three feet of water. Syd Barrett got off easy.
    
Make it your own: “I Wanna Come Back” has made it onto a few fine compilations, but there’s one that honors the entire Lance roster—and does greater justice to The Fe Fi Four Plus 2 with their fine “Double Crossin’ Girl.”

 

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