The Animated Egg

In the late 1960s a studio-only ensemble called The Animated Egg put out a self-titled collection of psychedelic instrumentals. The central figure behind the project was the well-known Los Angeles session guitarist Jerry Cole, whose fuzzy lead lines—along with touches of electric 12-string, surf, and Latin phrasing—define the record’s arrangements. Cole also supplied all the compositions. Questioned about the album decades later, he remained uncertain about the remaining musicians, though the players may have included Edgar Lamar and Don Dexter on drums, Tommy Lee and Glenn Cass on bass, Billy Joe Hastings and Norm Cass on guitar, and Billy Preston on organ. Despite the caliber of the musicianship, the results suggest a quick studio assembly aimed at riding the psychedelic trend of the era; Cole appeared on several other “psychsploitation” LPs from the same period, each issued under different group names. The full Animated Egg album, together with numerous additional tracks drawn from those similarly styled sessions, is collected on the CD compilation Guitar Freakout.