California may not be a perfect paradise, but spending one hour with this current crop of amazing artists is damn close to heaven.

‘West of Eden” showcases seventeen California artists and each track takes you to the state which is kissed by the sun and blessed with incredible music! From Hollywood to the fruited plains of the Central Valley, pop is alive, well and plentiful. Zip Records, based right here in San Francisco has scored.

In some, cases, the artists are right outside our doorstep! Let’s welcome them in – the 17 artists on this compilation of California pop are virtually the voices and melodies of the California experience. On top of all this grandeur, the songs are damn incredible.

Many of the artists’ names will be familiar but regardless of notoriety, all the sounds resonate with points of reference, like pins on the California map. About half the tracks feature Bay Area musicians; Los Angeles and San Diego are well represented also.

Aside from the noted hotbeds of music, the edge of the Southern California desert is the home of Caroline No, The Rubinoos have distributed themselves into three distinct regions of the state and Pool Party are lost souls who live where they rest their heads and live only to heed the call of the ocean’s curl.

Persephone’s Bees start things rolling with “Sex”, a provocative introduction to the one-hour of seductions and surprises ahead. “California Fade” by Anna Waronker puts a spin on California with a sweet & sour flavor. For The Paranoids, “The Party’s Over” but the chorus of this masterpiece is the opposite of chill – it’s slammin’ vocals!

Mark DeCerbo (of legendary San Diego band “Four Eyes”) checks in with the Squeeze-like “Hollow Love” – despair never sounded so good. The Muffs proto perfect “Even Now” is one of those tunes that can ONLY belong to perennial favorites……The Muffs.

The youthful veteran Lisa Mychols kicks it up several notches with the gorgeous “Out of My Mind” and The Rubinoos put their stamp on the signature “Love” song “My Little Red Book”.

Fields of Gaffney (i.e. Eric Gaffney) contribute a track that encapsulates the slacker pop experience we know and love. The mind numbing Chantigs could keep you from ever progressing beyond their #8 slot on the compilation with “Holly Jalopy”.

Every track is a winner; however, we challenge you to find a more fitting morning wake up call than “Say Hello” by Pool Party….ok, OTHER than the cover of “West of Eden”.

Released in January 2005, West of Eden is more than "Various Artists"... it's the BEST Artists!