The Green Pajamas - The Complete Book of Hours (Reissue, Expanded Edition) (2010)

"The Complete Book of Hours" is an expanded CD reissue of the seminal full-length album by the American band The Green Pajamas, originally released in 1986 under the succinct title "Book of Hours."

The original album was released on the Seattle-based independent label Green Monkey Records, while a remastered version, dubbed "The Complete..." and featuring archival bonus tracks, singles, and rare outtakes from the period, was released later (in particular, the iconic expanded edition was released in 2010 for the label's anniversary).

The Green Pajamas, led by frontman and principal songwriter Jeff Kelly, formed in Seattle. What's most surprising is that while the entire city was gradually immersed in the heavy, dirty sounds of grunge and punk rock, Kelly and his bandmates went in the opposite direction. They drew inspiration from the Californian Paisley Underground scene (The Rain Parade, The Bangles), early Pink Floyd under Syd Barrett, and the melodicism of The Beatles.

The album "Book of Hours" was a laborious process, recorded over nearly two years. The result is a deeply mature, poetic, and slightly melancholic work. Kelly lyrically blended Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights-esque romanticism and Victorian gothic with memorable, ethereal melodies and soaring jangle guitars.

The album is considered a hidden gem of the 1980s American guitar underground. It was during this period that the band recorded their biggest regional hit, "Kim the Waitress," which later became a hallmark of neo-psychedelia (and was widely known thanks to a cover version by Material Issue in the 1990s). The expanded edition, "The Complete Book of Hours," brings together this entire fruitful period in the band's life.