Sound Magazine

In the trailer for Born Innocent, the documentary about American rock group Redd Kross, a bemused Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth talks about Jeff McDonald of Redd Kross arguing that Sound Magazine is up there with the Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds as a psychedelic pop gem. McDonald has a good point. It’s certainly the best, most consistent Partridge Family album – some say it’s “more sophisticated,” but that feels the wrong way to look at a Partridge Family album. (Sophistication is often a by-word for studio tedium, music drained of all affect, and that’s not an accusation I’d ever throw at the Partridge Family.) There are some genuinely gorgeous songs here, like the swooning “Echo Valley 2-6809,” or the gentle, sparkling “Rainmaker.” It’s a lost classic.