We wouldn't have the Doors without Aldous Huxley, or the rather groovy LP, The Doors Of Perception, by Dave Pike. And you can now hear Mr. Huxiey himself, speaking at his London home in Ennismore Gardens, in 1961. With a voice like warm treacle, and a mind like no other, he sits with tea, sherry and a cat, talking about everything that was important to him, and why- Zen, publishing, mysticism, mescaline and more. It's a fascinating insight into a man of foresight and daring. Originally issued on vinyl LP by Landsdown, an original is hard to come by and very expensive. Well-mastered and a true pleasure to drift in and out of, this 1000-copy CD sees the man at the peak of his intellectual powers, and it's a stirring listen.

Jonny Trunk
Record Collector Feb 2003

A rather odd document from 1961, this is a rambling interview, over tea and sherry, with the master of popular countercultural philosophy, author of Brave New World and The Doors Of Perception. Less an interview, more a record of Huxley's conversational style through a string of reminiscences, the ageing writer lounges intellectually like a cat on a rug, and dispenses wry slapdowns to the likes of Joyce and Freud in an elegant relaxed drawl. Nothing particularly revealing here, but one does get a timecapsule glimpse of alternative cultural coordinates seen from a mid-20th century perspective: from Proust and Zen buddhism, to mescaline and acid ("I'd like to take it about once a year") and DH Lawrence on sex. What hip was like before it was cool.

The Wire Feb 2003