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Other Groups
Below are other groups that might be of interest for those who enjoy the Lemon Pipers. The groups are also possible influences, because they all came before the Pipers. These groups were top of the line and the Lemon Pipers did not reach their heights, however, they did have around a half-dozen cuts that were without question above average. The Beatles and Byrds in particular were probably the most influential.
The Beatles - The ornate psychedelia of the Beatles' Magical Mystery Tour era was a significant influence on the Leka/Pinz psychedelic pop tracks. Also, the Beatles' 1965 song "In My Life" seems to have been a prototype for the music of "Rainbow Tree" on the Green Tambourine album.
The Byrds - "Ask Me If I Care" was a Byrds influenced track - a folk song given rock arrangement, featuring twelve string guitar. In addition, the Pipers covered "I Wasn't Born to Follow," a Goffin/King song previously recorded by the Byrds for the Notorious Byrd Brothers album.
The Beach Boys - Not any major similarity, but an instrumental comparison between the Pipers' psychedelic pop recordings could be made with the Pet Sounds era.
Pink Floyd - The Lemon Pipers jamming on the longer tracks (such as "Dead End Street/Half Light") had at least some similarity to "Interstellar Overdrive" from Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn, one of my favorite psychedelic albums.
The Lovin' Spoonful - "Turn Around Take a Look" sounded influenced by the Lovin' Spoonful, especially in Bartlett's Sebastian-like vocals.
The Left Banke - The Left Banke's baroque instrumentation was influential on the Pipers more pop oriented efforts, and to my knowledge both groups were recorded in New York. Also, Lemon Pipers producer Paul Leka produced some latter day sessions for the Left Banke.
For the most part, I never saw the Pipers music as bubblegum, yet being signed by K&K may put them in a similar category for some fans. If that is the case, then the Ohio Express and 1910 Fruitgum Company were two of the most successful bubblegum projects of all time, and recommended. However, the bubblegum of those two groups was different and more inclined toward frivolous but fun rock'n'roll.