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18 February 2014
Del Jones tribute
Now Playing: Water Into Wine Band "Harvest Time"

Del Jones was a militant black activist and sworn enemy of ghetto heroin use. Among record collectors he's also remembered as the creator of "Court Is Closed", a rare underground funk-rock title which has demonstrated remarkable crossover potential with psych specialists, such as the fine gentlemen who coordinated the vinyl reissue about a decade ago. This all refers to the 'rock' version which, as Rockadelic Rich recently revealed, was Del Jones favorite version. The 'funk' version (with the African map on the cover) was created for commercial reasons only, and held less sway with Del.

Here's a mash-up I did combining elements of Del Jones' title track and a Puerto Rican kid speaking about the ghetto from an anti-drug spoken word record I have: http://www.lysergia.com/03CourtIsOpen.mp3

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 15:20 CET
Updated: 18 February 2014 15:27 CET
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1 February 2014
Enlist with the Strawberry Alarm Clock
Now Playing: Milan-Torino
Topic: Minor change or comment

I've probably spent more time defending Strawberry Alarm Clock than any other group on the planet, and it's good to see how the perception of the band has finally begun to change, from the idiotic misconception of them as a "bubblegum" or "exploitation" group into the actual realization that they were a real rock band, grown out of one of the best garage bands of the westcoast (Thee Sixpence), and they proved this for anyone with ears on two outstanding LPs of melodic SoCal psychedelia.

All that said, the vintage SAC (first 3 LPs) offer troublingly little for the avid fan/collector to go out on manic hunts for. Only a couple of non-LP 45 tracks, no withdrawn records or small label discs of unexplained origin, no rare mono promo or quad variants, and a gloomy lack of variation for the foreign picture sleeve 45s (either the "Incense" LP photo or dull title sleeves; the Italian "Tomorrow" is a rare exception). After getting said "Tomorrow" PS and the All-American pre-hit pressing of the "Incense" 45 I figured there wasn't much more, especially since I've been tracking the band for 30 years.

But surprise, surprise, my eyes fell on this odd LP format record, pressed up without sleeve and never commercially released:

This was intended for broadcast on the US Navy's own radio station, and includes ad spots aimed at sailors and sailoresses urging them to sign up for long contracts with subsidized education and whatever. It is narrated by the ubiqitous Dick Clark, and features, indeed, the Strawberry Alarm Clock. Alas, this isn't a live music performance, but rather a short interview where Dick Clark speaks with SAC "leader" Mark Weitz and the other members introduce themselves with name and instrument. The band is referred to as a "quintet" at this point, and judging by the selections played I would place it in early 1968--there are LP tracks from the 1st album but none from the 2nd album, and the most recent 45 "Tomorrow" is heard. Interestingly, "Incense & Peppermints" is not played.

The program runs some 15 minutes and includes four SAC songs in what seems to be stereo LP versions. The sound is remarkably good and a little different from the familiar UNI sound, but this is surely due to different manufacturing circumstances and nothing else. So, you get some mighty fine SAC music that you've heard before, and maybe 90 seconds of chatter that you haven't heard before, and the added bonus of Dick Clark praising the fine young Santa Barbara men in all kinds of ways, "Progressive band"; "the now sound" etc. I can dig it.

Now, flip the disc over and what do you get? Another program for Navy radio broadcast again featuring the Strawberry Alarm Clock! Dick Clark and the band greet each other as old friends, and this time the members reveal their ages (Weitz is oldest, born '45) and engage in a philosophical discourse on what genre their music belongs to. Apparently plenty of people referred to them as "jazz-rock"! This was probably taped shortly after or even at the same session as the program above, since there is no new material (from the 2nd LP) performed. So I'm guessing Spring '68 for the entire disc as a "release", which meant distribution to various Navy bases around the world. How many copies were pressed? How much did the band get paid? We do not know.

While it would have been more exciting with some live music or maybe more indepth interviews, this rarity will suffice as a needed dark horse in the early SAC catalog.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:26 CET
Updated: 1 February 2014 22:39 CET
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The mysterious appeal of the sleeveless
Now Playing: Nightshadows "Live At The Spot"
Topic: Minor change or comment
.

 

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:17 CET
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22 January 2014
Steve Drake / Kaczorowski fully exposed
Now Playing: Joe Lee Kirkpatrick "Turning Point Testimony"
Topic: Minor change or comment

I mentioned the Oxpetals scoop long ago, but didn't get around to updating the tabular breakdown until now. Isn't it a beauty? All figured out by diligent and knowledgable internetters taken in by the strange magic of Steve Kaczorowski, aka Steve Drake, the king of karaoke rock!


Get the full and unbelievable low-down here

STEVE DRAKE BAND: “Cold Sweat” (Odyssey, 1976) 

TRACK LISTED AS

RECORDING USED

Maid In Heaven

BE BOP DELUXE: Maid In Heaven, 1975

Earthworm

STACKRIDGE: Earthworm, 1975        

Sign Your Name

BE BOP DELUXE: Jean Cocteau, 1975

Glimpses Of The Future

OXPETALS: Declaration Of Oneness, 1970

Greenburg, Glicstein, Charles, David Smith and Jones

CRYAN' SHAMES: Greenburg, Glickstein, Charles, David Smith and Jones (slowed down), 1969

Rainbow Peddler

ORPHEUS: Rainbow Peddler (written by Steve Martin), 1971

Cold Sweat/Don't Cry Mother

OXPETALS: Don't Cry Mother, 1970

Do You See Now

OXPETALS: Down From The Mountain, 1970

Sister Seagull

BE BOP DELUXE: Sister Seagull, 1975

Dirty Old Town

LUCIFER’S FRIEND: Dirty Old Town, 1974

Happy In The Lord

STACKRIDGE: Happy In The Lord, 1975

 

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:38 CET
Updated: 1 February 2014 21:12 CET
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8 January 2014
A retrospective tribute to Marcus' "House Of Tracks"
Now Playing: Marcus on cassette dub
Topic: Minor change or comment

During the slow but steady grind to transfer anything worthwhile from old cassettes to WAVs and MP3s on my hard disk, I ran across an old Maxell C90 that is charged with lysergia. Not to sound too much like Grandpa Simpson, but the history of this tape is strongly linked to some substantial changes in my life that are still being felt today.

The year was 1988, I was doing college but spent as little time at 'campus' as possible, preferring instead to hang out with my psychedelic colleagues in the newly formed Lumber Island Acid Crew. Through Mr Subliminal we had hooked up with the now legendary record dealer Paul Major, whose mail-order catalog was entering a phase of rapid expansion. We marvelled over Paul's informative and clever rants on obscure LPs none of us had heard of before, and with frequent intervals cash or trade deals were set up with Paul, who was as genial on the phone as his list indicated. After I mentioned to him that my top want was The Deep "Psychedelic Moods" Paul promptly came up with a stereo original in just a few weeks time--although as rare then as it is now, he actually underpriced it.

Another thing he offered was to tape his rarer or lesser known records to the extent that he had time. I was just shedding my collection of Doors picture sleeve 45s, several of which I already had sold to a DJ guy from Los Angeles while at Plastic Passion in London (a story in itself). Knowing that Paul dug the Doors I offered him a 45 for each tape, and he went for it right away. I checked off a few things I had been curious about and the tapes duly arrived shortly after. All of it was worth hearing, but what really did a number on my head was the the cassette seen below, with Marcus "House Of Trax". As I recall we deliberately held back playing the tape until the next psychedelic session, which came about soon enough. There were several of us doing good quality blotter, and at an early stage the Marcus tape was put in the deck.

I can still recall the bewilderment in my semi-lysergic head as the swirling keyboards, feedback guitars and trippy vocals came on. One must bear in mind that this was 1988, and private pressings were still an almost unknown phenomenon, for which there was no real frame of reference. My view of psychedelic music was traditional, even if I had begun chewing on the Bobb Trimble and DR Hooker side of things. What boggled my mind with Marcus was the fact that it was A) clearly a 'modern' production from a multi-channel studio, but B) at the same time totally psychedelic. I was familiar with 'neo-psych' which was like twee Pink Floyd imitations, but this Marcus record sounded real--being an acidhead I felt I could identify another acidhead with some certainty. This raised the question: who the hell recorded full-blown psychedelia in the late '70s? And of course: are there more records like this? As the private press collector scene exploded in the late '80s-early '90s the answer to the latter question would be a resounding Yes, to my and everyone else's delight.

But that Marcus record, man, there was more to it than the realization that psychedelic music was a timeless phenomenon. Its sentiments, as presented via Marcus' lyrics and voice, seemed to align perfectly to my state as a new-fangled psychedelicist. There were messages running through it which I immediately understood--"Tripping In Time" was easy enough to grasp, but "The City Of Inbetween" and its rejection of dichotomies in favor of ambiguity was exactly the kind of unorthodox wisdom you aquire during those first few trips. The arc of Side 1 reaches an appropriate LSD peak with "Sweet Inspiration", where an otherworldy warmth blends with life-affirming melancholy into the kind of complex emotional cluster that awaits inside the trip space, if nowhere else.

One of Marcus' greatest achievements may be his ability to present the psychedelic consciousness as an open space that anyone, more or less, can enter. He rejects the egocentric pull of acid creativity and insists on the availability of radical insight and spiritual love for all, much like newly converted psychedelicists tend to do. It's all there in "Sweet Inspiration"--the peak moment of celestial love, the insistence upon the value of the trip, the exhortation for one to join with him and all the others that have opened the doors to Innerspace.

Sweet inspiration
Knocking at your door
Come on in
There's room for more

As a psychedelic philosopher and weekend buddhist I don't really believe in coincidences, except on a very small scale. There couldn't have been a more propitious time or a better LP for me to come across as a sophomore hallucinogen student than Marcus, no matter that only 75 people in the world had heard of it at the time. During the year that followed I would set aside a "Marcus moment" for each psychedelic journey, during which I pulled out the Maxell tape, located an available ghetto blaster or Sony freestyle, and went inside the "House Of Trax" for 30 minutes of private headphone meditation. My fellow Acid Crew members were fully aware and slightly amused by this ritual, not least since Marcus' greatness was far from agreed upon. But as my testimony here hopefully shows, there was more to my infatuation than just the musical quality in a good/bad sense.

Things continued like this for a year or two until one day my psychedelic self had matured enough that Marcus' role as teacher for the newly initiated seemed less important. I still loved the LP, and I still love the LP in 2014, but the special part it played in my life was a thing of the past, brought forth today by coming across this old C90 cassette. The Lumber Island Acid Crew kept tripping and a new musical talisman would soon present itself to replace Marcus, once more with a perfect fit for where my mind and soul were at the time, circa 1991. This new talisman was Spirit Of Love by C.O.B, but that's a whole other story for another time...

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:39 CET
Updated: 8 January 2014 21:49 CET
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2 January 2014
Los Angeles -- Open City
Now Playing: Jarvo Runga
Topic: Minor change or comment

I picked up an obscure '60s underground paper from LA called 'Open City' and as often there were some curious surprises in there, such as the only review of the ACID SYMPHONY 3-LP set that I've ever seen. Some other interesting reviews, check it out. In addition there was a long and respectful discussion of Corman's "The Trip", an interview with the US Kaleidoscope, a syndicated interview with the Doors, a review of the Airplane at the Hollywood Bowl, and an instalment in Charles Bukowski's "Dirty Old Man" series of short stories that would ultimately be assembled for his debut book. But this was as early as '67 and the Buk a complete unknown. Cool paper, odd that I haven't run across it earlier.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 19:59 CET
Updated: 2 January 2014 20:06 CET
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29 December 2013
Gwydion wholesale
Now Playing: Jelly Bean Bandits "Caterpillar's Eye"
Topic: Minor change or comment

Opinions may differ as to the aesthetic value of Gwydion's music, but surely every private press collector with a heart must admire this full-page ad. Knowing his audience, the man didn't advertise in Rolling Stone but instead the occult digest FATE, which more than a decade earlier had run a few pioneering LSD articles among its stories of werewolves and UFOs.

The wholesale price is quite competitive. Thanks to avid Acid Archives reader Ken B for this one! 

 

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:41 CET
Updated: 29 December 2013 22:56 CET
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25 December 2013
Beverly Hills Baba & Lite Storm
Now Playing: Buddy Holly
Topic: New review

Here's a real review of a placeholder in the AA book, after I finally located a copy; both this and its predecessor are rarely seen.

LITE STORM (CA)
God Is Truth 1974 (Sai Sound Samitee 10-50)
The second of two albums that the hippie-rockers Lite Storm recorded under the aegis of their Hindu guru Satya Sai Baba, who appears on the cover and is heard throughout the record. The old Acid Archives review suggests that this sequel is similar to the preceding God Is Love, and while they have much in common, there seems to be a certain development in process. The unusual mix of embryonic new age (eerie electronics), liturgic Eastern chanting, and trippy CA folkrock is recognizable, but here given a further spin as Sai Baba picks up the mic and sings a few songs himself--not just the kirtan chanting, but real pop songs. One of them sounds more Bollywood than CA guru music, but the bulk of it is typical '70s hippie-folk with a light rock setting, atmospheric keyboards & wordless vocals, and Sai Baba and the Lite Stormers (male and female) sharing lead vocals, often by trading lines. It's kind of catchy, and fun to hear traces of old '60s sunshine lyte-psych mutated into this unorthodox spiritual music. Whatever Sai Baba's game was, he clearly had no objection to the disciples' Western musical activity. Compared to God Is Love I think this is a more consistent and finalized album that plays through like a charm, but the kirtan curveball gives the psychedelic/new age aspects of the music an ethnic pop sheen which needs to be weighed in. Well-written songs and arrangements with some spooky psych passages and nice female vocals, and as a crossover item it finds its inbetween-ground in a fairly unique spot. [PL].


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:31 CET
Updated: 25 December 2013 22:54 CET
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19 December 2013
Seeds go out with a bhang
Topic: Minor change or comment

The long-running mystery of the last "real" Seeds line-up which did the two MGM 45s in 1970 was finally cleared up via Jeff Jarema's liner notes for the double 45 reissue recently. In case you missed it, Sky Saxon and Daryl Hooper recruited a completely new band with no ties to the various '68-69 players. The new guys were a Pasadena band known as Solid Mist who jumped aboard not knowing where the Saxon magic might take them, although the end result was limited to a number of live gigs and those two 45s. I refer to the reissue 7-inch and my indepth Sky Saxon page for details.

The main purpose of this post is to announce that I now own a copy of "Did He Die", the 2nd MGM 45 and one which I doubted I would be able to score, since it's as rare as some Back From The Grave discs! It landed here sounding more intense than any repros, as 45s tend to do. I also noted that "Love In A Summer Basket" was the designated airplay pick.

The other thing I wanted to share was the discovery (by Richard MJ of Flashback), finally, of a period media reference to this last Seeds line-up including band member names. The reason no one has utilized this info before is because it appeared only in an obscure publication called Entertainment World, which had a few issues around 1970. This brief news item would have been a real scoop a few years ago, and is still worth passing on today.

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:49 CET
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:09 CET
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14 December 2013
Flour Zine Flower Scene
Now Playing: Ithaca "A Game For All Who Know"
Topic: Minor change or comment

I finally found time to scan and document my prized copies of Flower Scene, an independent British music magazine which existed 1967-68 and is rarely seen today. The Lama Workshop has now been expanded with a Flower Scene introduction, content index and some scans for two early issues. Skip Bifferty in the flesh, gov'nor! While waiting for the page to load, here's a small but rare shot of Paper Blitz Tissue who had the great "Boy Meets Girl" 45 (Chocolate Soup vol 2).

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:19 CET
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:13 CET
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6 December 2013
Two obscure reissues
Now Playing: Mario Kart
Topic: Addition

It was easier back when you only had to keep track of Funhouse and Midnight Records catalogs to have a full grasp of new reissues. Nowadays many indie records sort of leak out into the real world without anyone bothering to advertise them, presumably because the internet networking is good enough to move 500 or 750 copies of a repro without standard PR. The risk, obviously, is that people who would love the reissue don't get to hear about it until much later.

Here are two reissues that you may not have heard about:

KEVIN APRILL: Sunset Upon An Imaginary Beach Of Latent Energy (Del Val, US)
This is a limited reissue of a 1-known-copy US private press basement wonderama which seems quite interesting, with references to Madrigal and Charlie Tweddle. I had to order one right away, and maybe you do too. The Del-Val label is back after a few years of hibernation.

CASE: Blackwood (Lion Productions, US)
Another one I never expected to see a reissue of, like Todd, Misty Hush Revival, etc. Discovered some 10 years ago by a young Texas craterist, Case is highlighted by a dynamite westcoasty basement psych track, while the rest of the album left me rather unmoved, as evident from the Acid Archives review. However, holding a real rekkid, even a reissue, in one's hand can change the impression substantially, so for now I'm just noting that this one is out from the renowned Lion Productions, with band info (recorded during X-mas break 1971 by a PA high school quintet) and color photo insert. Limited edition of 500 copies, which is a lot more than the RPC original, of which very few copies are known to exist. 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:01 CET
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:13 CET
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Chaplains (1965)
Now Playing: Floss "Cruisin'"
Topic: Addition

The bold and beautiful few who share my journeys through the shunned woods of mid-60s teenbeat LPs have now come up with another buried artefact from ancient days. Previously undocumented, we give you...

THE CHAPLAINS (Nashville, TN)
More Soul 1965 (MIC 2109)
  [no sleeve]
The band were students at Vanderbilt Univ in Nashville, class of '65. The album apparently never came with a cover. Proud explorer Erik Lindgren reports that "...there are a few good garage numbers and a bunch of horn rock soulish covers. The three or so bona fide garage songs don't have horns and are spirited. Musically in the league of most Justice LPs...". Erik also forwarded a track list, viz: 

Side 1
1 Gloria
2 For Your Precious Love
3 Can I Get A Witness
4 In Crowd
5 Treat Her Right
6 Cry Baby

Side 2
1 Midnight Hour
2 Deep Purple
3 The Last Time
4 My Girl
5 All My Loving
6 Turn On Your Love Light
 

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 16:37 CET
Updated: 6 December 2013 16:40 CET
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17 November 2013
Name That Tune legacy
Now Playing: Midwinter "Waters Of Sweet Sorrow"
Topic: Minor change or comment

The contest is finished and the prizes are being distributed, but late-comers may still be interested in the Name That Tune contest, the music part in particular. The web-pages will be left running and the music remains downloadble, viz:

here you can download the Mystery Disc aka Name That Tune:
http://www.lysergia.com/NameThatTune/lamaNameThatTuneDownload.htm
 
track list here:
http://www.lysergia.com/NameThatTune/lamaNameThatTune.htm
 
Now it's time to look forward and boldly go where no man has gone before!

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 18:35 CET
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10 November 2013
Name That Tune contest finished !
Now Playing: Darius on Chartmaker
Topic: Minor change or comment

Things have been more strange than usual around these parts, as I fractured my hipbone last week and was taken to hospital, where they shot me full of morphine & then, between nodding-off, I checked my surf pad (gotta love Wi-Fi equipped hospitals) only to find that Lou Reed had moved on to, well, wherever a Lou Reed goes when it dies. Reclining in a hospital bed with industrial strength opiates running through my system while thinking of Lou Reed seemed like an unusually memorable event among the dead days of Nordic autumn. They allowed me home after a few days and sent me off with some interesting pharmaceuticals which are currently being evaluated. I'm not really a big narcotics fan, but it if it's clean and nearly free, why not enjoy it while it lasts... and now I really don't care anymore... you can aalll go take a waallk...

Actually, that's not true. What I really came to tell you about is the final results of the massive Name That Tune contest that we kicked off 5-6 months ago. The NTT website has been updated with all the results and winners ('Crazy Juan' in Spain won by a thin margin after having named 15 of the 23 tracks: a very impressive feat in view of the level of difficulty). Of these 23 tracks, only two remained unidentified after the dust had settled.

 

So, winners, track lists and comments can be found here: http://www.lysergia.com/NameThatTune/lamaNameThatTune.htm


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:33 CET
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7 October 2013
Reissue round-up
Now Playing: Koobas
Topic: Entry data revision

I don't intend or pretend to keep track of all new reissues that poureth forth from all corners of the world, but once in a while there may be a quick survey of what's going on. Like right now.

First off is the unexpected repro of TODD's immortal "With Love From Me To You", originally self-released in 100 copies in Indiana 1979. It's been said that Todd sells more t-shirts than records (I have two snazzy Todd tees, for instance), but the back story and significant artefact status of Todd justifies this repro from Swan Fungus, an American label. The modern producers generously provided a photo of Todd in a joyous moment reminiscent of his moment of triumph at the high school prom, where according to legend he became a John Hughes '80s teen movie type underdog/hero after the jocks tried to make fun of him and the other kids rallied to support him.

It was snidely predicted back then that Todd would "still be selling his record 20 years from now" and guess what--the bullies were right, but not in the way they intended! Apparently Todd likes to think that his current status is due to the excellence of his music and nothing else, so buy the rekkid and decide for yourself.

Way off at the other end of the scale, or maybe on another scale altogether, is a brand new reissue of the hallowed debut LP from MU, featuring Merrel Fankhauser and Jeff Cotton. No mind games on this Guerssen reissue, just the classic LP in the original '71 sleeve, with insert liner notes by, well, me. It was great to connect with the Fank, who remembers every aspect of his career well, and given his multitude of projects there was quite a bit to write about. I think this may be the most accurate and complete piece fact-wise for the 1969-72 period so far. The LP is great and now ready to be contemplated by another generation.

Almost as unlikely as Todd is the reissue of MISTY HUSH REVIVAL also on Guerssen. This one's been out for a while but still has me surprised each time I see it listed. It's enjoyable as a time capsule with a sound and vibe you never find on a 'real' label release, but it's also so extremely obscure (for a long while, only one copy was known to exist) that I never thought it would be reissued. Of course, I thought the same about HEITKOTTER, and then a 1000-copy reissue popped up from Time-Lag, so I guess anything is possible these days. When is the Cincinnati Joe & Mad Lydia repro due?

Finally on Guerssen is a record whose qualities are in your face and not in need of ironic analysis, meaning T-KAIL's "Somewhere Sometime" (or whatever--I have an orig here but am too lazy to check), which comes with band story from my Acid Archives colleague Aaron Milenski, esq. Aaron is a major fan of this record since long, which you can see from his review in the Acid Archives. I think it's pretty damn good too, and recommended to fans of Titus Oates, Galaxy and maybe even Anonymous. Watch for the disco track on side 2 though!

In the first version of this post I forgot to mention yet another unlikely reissue of recent making, meaning the extremely obscure METZ album from mid'70s Texas. You can find a review of the album in the Acid Archives 2nd Edition, but basically it's an energetic urban glam-rock sound that is quite unusual for the region. The back story has some interesting angles--the first (presumably) copy was found by the Rockadelic guys back in the 1980s, but one of them managed to break it when demonstrating the flexibility of the thin vinyl! They patched it together enough so it could be spot played, and realized that it kicked ass. After that nothing was heard about Metz for 20 years, until a copy popped up in one of the Pokora books, while a collector in New Orleans simultaneously found another copy.


Metz sleeve as seen in Pokora book, sorry for poor scan

A funny thing about the new reissue from the US Ossining label is that the front cover isn't "real"--the Metz LP was most likely sleeve-less, and what is being recycled is a home-made, modern design drawn by the Austrian (T.U.T) collector who owned the copy shown in the Pokora book, and who reportedly had a habit of creating new sleeves for the sleeve-less items in his collection. This is more of a fun curiosity than a problem, not least since the design is nice and fits the record. Observe the reversed 'Z'.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 20:22 MEST
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:15 CET
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1 October 2013
Name That Tune enters the final lap!
Now Playing: Chris, Chris & Lee
Topic: Minor change or comment

Today we have precisely 1 month left before the doors close on that most exciting of contests, the psychedelic NAME THAT TUNE!

You've seen it on the TV show, you've heard it on the radio -- if not, here's the full low-down:
http://www.lysergia.com/NameThatTune/lamaNameThatTune.htm

Enter now and compete for the extraordinary prizes and even some good old US dollars!


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:32 MEST
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30 September 2013
Missouri's lost drone masters: The Sound Farm
Now Playing: Sound Farm
Topic: Addition

This was forwarded to me by an experienced Midwest collector, and turned out to be a highly interesting and for the area atypical '60s hippie underground sound with avant touches. The band were called Sound Farm and apparently were an early commune of musicians, something which is audible in the group-mind nature of the music. Alas, the Sound Farm settled for a reel-to-reel 'release' of their album-length material (complete with custom-designed box and awesome insert; $3.50), which has never come out in any other format. Reissue labels may take an interest in this in 2013. Reportedly the band laid down a bunch more on tape than what was released.

THE SOUND FARM (Columbia, MO)
Harvest (Music For The People) 1969 (no label)
  [reel-to-reel format; mono and stereo; circa 500p]
Nine tracks of atmospheric hippie drone-rock from communal heads in Missouri; reminiscent of The Electronic Hole and European early '70s psych in the Trad Gras & Stenar style. Recorded as early as 1966-68, this is a pioneering effort for the Midwest, and features structured songs mixed with instrumental organ/guitar headtrips with enjoyably stoned results. Only released on 7" reel tape.

"Mr Bullfrog":
http://www.lysergia.com/SoundFarm_03MisterBullfrog.wma

"Jungle Body", 8 minutes of vintage Missouri drone:
http://www.lysergia.com/SoundFarm_08b_JungleBody.wma

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:22 MEST
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:16 CET
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21 September 2013
Eden Ahbez with bonus
Now Playing: Eden Ahbez
Topic: Entry data revision

As the importance, not to mention sheer enjoyment, of Eden Ahbez' proto-psychedelic masterpiece Eden's Island opens ears and minds in ever wider circles, the reissues step forth. Righteous/Cherry Red in England have recently released what I think is the fourth repro, and it is the best one yet. Earlier repros have simply taken the original album for recycling, not bothering to add even the non-LP 45 side that clearly belongs to the Eden's Island sessions. A recent vinyl repro took the liberty to replace the classic, perfect 1960 sleeve with some yellow abomination that was neither modern nor retro, but simply wrong.

The current CD on the other hand retains the original front cover, and better yet, adds a whole bunch of vital bonus tracks. The 45 track ("Tobago"; actually an instrumental version of an LP number) is present, as are several other 45 (or even 78) tunes written by 'Ahbe', as his friends knew him. Bianchi & The Jungle Sex-Tet have 3 tracks from the Aphrodisia LP which are fun cocktail sipping music from the Atomic Age, and there is also a vocal surf tune with Eden himself.

But what really delighted me was the inclusion of Herb Jeffries' "Legend Of Nature Boy" suite in its entirety. Released around 1957, this is the only recording of Ahbez' complete suite, from which "Nature Boy" was pulled and made a hit for Nat King Cole in the late '40s. Jeffries fell in love with the spiritual depth of this smooth music, and arranged and recorded it with Richard Hazard's Orchestra for a self-financed release; an early private pressing in other words. This is not quite Exotica but big band crooner ballads with a serious, philosophical tone; not at all like Eden's Island yet quite psychedelic in its own way. In my Acid Archives and Psychedelia books I have written at length about Jeffries' LP, which the man even took care to reissue in the late 1970s. In addition to the musical and historical value, it is encouraging to see reissue labels do their homework and dig up contextual recordings of importance. Kudos to the producers.

Second pressing from the late 1970s

With reference to Ahbez' oeouvre, it should be recognized that what we get on this CD is a selection, by no means complete. There are several more 45s and 78s featuring recordings of Eden's songs (I have one in my own quite small Ahbez collection), although I don't think there are any more discs with Eden himself present. If the Ahbe trip continues its victory tour around the world, it may be possible to envision a complete collection of all his compositions in their original recordings. Wouldn't that be something? In the meantime, pick up this excellent CD reissue from Righteous and dream the dream that dreamers dream.


PS if someone is working on a complete Ahbez discography featuring all his compositions, feel free to get in touch for hands-on support.


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:55 MEST
Updated: 19 December 2013 20:17 CET
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9 September 2013
Joy Malay Ensemble on Album World
Now Playing: Eclipse (US 1983)
Topic: Addition

Avid Acid Archives reader JB generously forwarded an odd bird that should interest tax scam hounds and Album World completists.

 

JOY MALAY ENSEMBLE ( )
Maid Inn De' USA 1977 (JM Records AW 14086)

Here's what seems to be a previously undocumented addition to the Album World tax scam discography. The 'band', if we pretend that it existed, delivers what sounds like studio backing tracks for various known and unknown songs before the vocals were added. In other words, it's instrumental music that was never intended to be released in this form. Not uncommon for the wild world of tax shelter rock, and as you might guess, a rather unusual listening experience. Assuming that it all comes from the same source, I would venture that it was a club band cutting some studio sides, as the playing is reasonably good and the track list contains several 'oldies'. Off the top of my head I identified instro covers of "Liar Liar" (Castaways), "La La La La La" (Blendells) and "When You Walk In The Room" (Searchers). People with better ears than me can properly name several more, although the completely invented back cover credits do not offer much help. Since the music was intended to support a vocalist, there is not much of soloing and the verses and choruses float by in an amusingly passive way. It is strangely listenable, and fairly varied style-wise, so why not? [PL]


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:20 MEST
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25 August 2013
Save Wild Basin finally located
Now Playing: Pink Floyd live San Diego 1971
Topic: Minor change or comment

Since time immemorial I have been haunted by the mystery of two obscure vintage 45s for which even the tiniest bit of information refused to surface. Theories as to them being modern hoax recordings, or unreleased, or maybe not from the USA, came in vogue as time went and positively no one I asked seemed to know anything. Recently, after 20+ years, I sort of gave up on the quest, since not even the riches of internet yielded any clues.

And maybe that was just what was needed, because a few months ago, in rapid succession, I found the whole shebang of release data for both 45s. I will return to the other no-longer-mysterious 45 in a later post and focus on the second one of the two here, as I now have the actual rekkid in my hairy hands. It is "Save Wild Basin" by a group called Sonstar, and like almost everyone familiar with it, I first ran across it on the enigmatic 'Good Roots' garage/psych compilation from Austria c1982. The comp contained no data and in fact managed to mis-spell (deliberately?) the group's name as 'Sonostar', which may have contributed to my long delay in finding it.

A mighty fine piece of music it is anyway, energetic hippie-folk with an advanced guitar arrangement and soaring vocals that fit the theme of the lyrics perfectly. The band turned out to be a quartet from Austin TX and the single was released as part of a campaign to save a piece of rural land and a basin from explotiation. It came with a picture sleeve that also could be used as a mailing envelope, and contained a 2-sided insert. Very few people have heard the B-side "Golden Eagle", which is a quite good rock number with a full electric setting; it's probably one step too close to mainstream FM rock to work on underground ears, but does confirm the quality of Sonstar. Another collector who was in contact with the group learned that they had a major label deal in progress, at which point their album master tapes were lost; at least that's what the band claims. Too bad, because one can imagine a pretty damn good LP coming from these cats.

The 45 was released as late as 1976, making it almost contemporary when it was picked for bootlegging on 'Good Roots'. This places it in the fine company of other mid-70s tracks such as Neil Norman's "Phaser Laser" (1977) and Scorpion's "I'm Only Human" (1974) on that most peculiar compilation. In any event, the Sonstar quest is complete and I am very happy for the closure.

You wonder about the campaign? Well, it turned out successfully--wild basin was saved and is probably still there.

 


Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 20:30 MEST
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