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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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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Floridian king of rock Alan Franklin had several obscure LPs under his belt, with at least three in the vintage (1969 onwards) years alone. The album credited to the Alan Franklin Explosion and reissued by Psycho is well-known and not overly hard to find--it was in fact even mentioned in Billboard--but the other two are obscure indeed.

Our diligent friend Juan in Spain recently aquired the LP listed vaguely as 'Climax' in the Acid Archives 2nd Edition, and forwarded several corrections to that entry. The release year is 1969, the title is Blues Climax (same as the Alan Franklin Explosion LP) and there is nothing to really indicate it being the 'demo' it is listed as. Based on the liner notes, which are quite amusing and probably written by Franklin himself, this was a proper commercial issue whose main fault was that no one was interested in it.

ALAN FRANKLIN (FL)
Blues Climax 1969 (Horne J.C. 333-7)
This pre-dates the better known 'Alan Franklin Explosion' LP and features earlier versions of several tracks, recorded with Franklin handling all instruments except the drumming. Despite its obscurity it appears to be a commercial issue, rather than a 'demo' as has been claimed earlier.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:24 MEST

Updated: 9 July 2013 23:26 MEST

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I have written at some length about the sophisticated and partly quite superb college project LP Hoi Polloi from Earlham College 1972. After a long, diligent process the album is now out as an vinyl reissue from a joint indie project between Family Vineyard and Folk Evaluation: http://family-vineyard.com/products/hoi-polloi-lp-reissue

Hoi Polloi is one of few albums where I can claim a stake on being part of its "discovery", and it's an utter delight to see the long process from getting an original in a trade about a decade ago (a transaction actually described in the liner notes) now result in this upscale reissue from people who obviously take a real interest in the story and record. I can still recall the buzz I got from the very first play of my old original--the sound and quality of the opening "Who's Gonna Help Me" was totally different from what I had expected from the crude cover and custom label press. At the time, the album was unknown except for a listing in one of the Pokora books, and only 3-4 copies were known to exist. A few more have surfaced since, but it's still a serious rarity.

The reissue landed here just the other day and is very nicely done; thick sleeve, insert, exact repro of Custom Fidelity labels even. The sound seems to be excellent on the first play--despite the engineer/producer's comments about the limitations of 'bouncing tracks', the original recordings are almost of pro-studio quality, clean yet dynamic. One of my favorite reissues of 2013 so far, although I'm obviously biased. I had no direct involvement with the production of the repro, however.

Don't miss the highly rewarding download bonus tracks, which give the substantial talents of Charlie Bleak more individual space than the group-effort Hoi Polloi album. This cat was the Paul McCartney of Ohio! There are also four tracks from the one and only live performance from Hoi Polloi, which includes a couple of tunes not on the original album.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:59 MEST

Updated: 19 December 2013 20:20 CET

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One of the least known Johnny Kitchen tax scam releases, Jerimiah surfaces only once in a blue moon, a rare astronomical event which recently occurred. The album is listed in the Acid Archives Second Edition, an entry which could use some upgrading. The description of the music (aka review) is brief, although there isn't really much to say about it if you're familiar with the Kitchen '70s kitchen sink releases.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:48 MEST

Updated: 12 June 2013 22:26 MEST

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The Acid Archives entry for the Tripsichord Music Box LP goes some way towards sorting out the complicated pressing situation, but recent info suggests that even that substantial effort may have been insufficient. It's easy to get lost in vague speculation or false memories here, so to try and get to the bottom of this, I encourage anyone owning an interesting Tripsichord original variant to get in touch. Please note that you must have the LP in your possession and be able to provide confirmed matrix number and other info. No 2nd hand info, please! Thanks... now enter through the narrow gate and face the black door:

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:55 MEST

Updated: 10 June 2013 00:45 MEST

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One of the more absurd stories in the Acid Archives book dealt with FRUNK, a group of young women who pressed up an LP of themselves singing along with various famous recordings from the early 1970s. Due to the album's obscurity it seemed the story might end there, but not so -- recently a person involved with the Frunk "project" popped up on internet, and better yet, he had a few copies of the rare LP stashed away which he offered up, along with the Frunk story!

"The album was released in the Summer of 1972. There are 8 copies available and we believe the initial pressing was 25 records, not 100. We have also located the original Master as received from Frankford-Wayne Recording Labs at 212 N. 12th St. in Philadelphia PA. I have also located the original master tape on which I recorded all of the sessions, then mixed them down via a TEAC 4 channel mixer, to the final set. The record was recorded on a Teac 3340 10 1/2" reel 4 track recorder. The tape is exactly as it was when it was delivered to the pressing company. If you would like details of how the record was created and the group formed: Back in 1971 I was just getting into serious electronics and high end audio was my current compulsion. I was living in Haddonfield and I build a recording studio in my basement. One day my sister in law and her friends were visiting and I was playing “500 miles”, Peter, Paul & Mary in the studio and they came in and started singing. It sounded interesting, so I suggested we record. Over the next few weeks we recorded many takes on my Teac 3340 4 channel recorder. As there was no karaoke in those days, I dubbed the girls voices over the original music from the turntable. Eventually we got “acceptable” material. I mixed it all down and created a 10” reel with the master on it (which I still have) and took it to Frankfort Recording Labs and had 25 copies made. We created covers, pasted them up and poof! We had a record. I gave the girls each a 3 copies and asked if they could sell them (for $5 each to help off set the cost of the project. I think my Mom bought the only copy sold, but I felt sorry for her and gave her a refund)..." 

From this detailed account we can derive not only a release year and locale, but also a press size. The run turns out to be RPC's minimum of 25 copies, making Frunk a rare as Mystery Meat, the first Phantasia, and Drywater (if memory serves me). The musical experience is somewhat different, but nevertheless unique, and it also offers Steve Drake Kaczorowski tight competition as to who did in fact invent karaoke rock. The few remaining copies have now been sold one by one to the tune of $400-600, with those interested hopefully realizing that these are the last spares anyone's ever going to see of the Frunk record, much like the Mystery Meat frenzy 10 years ago.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:33 MEST

Updated: 4 June 2013 23:50 MEST

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One of several excellent obscurities on Canadian CBS, the increasingly popular Riverson may be headed towards the $500+ zones where label-mates like It's All Meat reside. However, few collectors outside Canada seem to be aware that there are in fact two different pressings of this LP, despite its rarity. The pressings are easy to tell apart, as the earliest one comes with the old CBS '360' label, while the second variant has the red label with circular yellow lettering that CBS used in the '70s (not sure how this label design is usually referenced).

Both discs were pressed at the same plant and reportedly display no aural differences, but the issue is still significant as most known copies have a pressing defect; a 'stick' or repeat skip on the track "Take Me" which closes side 1. The defect has been described as 'fixable', for those with steady hands and the needed cojones.

When I first posted about this I assumed that the second pressing, does not have this defect, since a few known copies of this run (yellow/red label), including my own, play with no notable problems at all. It seemed a reasonable theory that the repeat skip defect only affected the first pressing and was corrected for the second pressing, during which time CBS also switched label designs.

A neat theory--a little too neat, in fact, for the ever enigmatic domain of vinyl records. A German collector got in touch and pointed out that he knew of a second pressing with the repeat skip defect, which sort of ruins my theory. Things got increasingly confusing when we compared matrix numbers and found that the first and second pressing were manufactured from the same stamper; the dead wax notations are identical. I checked with a couple of other proud Riverson owners, and they confirmed that the dead wax data was the same (side A): 'ES-90136A-1A', and on opposite side 'C2-G' and some tiny squiggles.

In a nutshell, both pressings (with completely different label designs) were manufactured from the same stamper, yet some copies have the pressing flaw on S1T6, and some do not. It appears that all copies with the 360 label have the flaw, while some (but definitely not all) copies with the yellow/red label have the flaw. I see no reasonably simple explanation for this, theories are invited. It's not quite as mysterious as the Madrigal madness (see old post), but close. 

Regardless of the stamper mystery, the collector faces an interesting dilemma--the first pressing has the usual cachet of being the 'original' run, but has a rather troubling defect, which some copies of the less attractive second run lacks. So which one do you want? To complicate things further, it seems that the playability of the defective track differs between turntables, probably due to tonearm weight. As mentioned above, the Riverson pressings are otherwise identical, both are Unipak gatefolds.

On a related note, both Perth County Conspiracy's CBS debut and the Roger Rodier LP exist in two different versions, like Riverson, but PCC is the only one of the three where the basic pressings differ. The earliest PCC run from 1970 comes in a regular gatefold (later replaced by Unipak), is pressed on better vinyl than the 2nd press and includes a booklet which the c1972 reprint lacks (I think). In the case of Rodier it is simply a case of two different pressings, with neither defects or booklets to complicate matters. I hope.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:46 MEST

Updated: 27 March 2013 22:28 MEST

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The long-running mystery around the various pressings of the TX private press classic Creation A Child by Corpus turns out to be not so mysterious after all. There exists at least two, probably three different bootleg reissues, of which one may date back to the 1970s (it may in fact even be a legit 2nd press). One of these, on the notorious bootleg Breeder label from Austria c1987, is easy to tell from an original as it openly credits 'Breeder', and comes with a yellow label.

The earlier bootleg/counterfeit/2nd press is a little trickier since it has no markings to indicate it not being an original BUT they-that-know verify that this riddle is easy to solve: the true Corpus original has a purple label, whereas the later pressing has a red-orange label. Once you've seen these side by side there's no problem in telling them apart -- the purple label really is purple, and it's the only one that is the real thing.

Also, the red label counterfeit/2nd press comes in a thick cover like those used for certain 1980s boots like Morly Grey, while the true original is a slightly thinner sleeve typical of the early 1970s.

The Acid Archives entry needs to be updated thus:

CORPUS (Corpus Christi, TX)
Creation A Child  1972 (Acorn 1001) [purple label; true original]
Creation A Child  197  (Acorn)  [red-orange label; counterfeit or 2nd press]
Creation A Child  197 (Acorn)  [green/pink label; unbanded tracks; 2nd press]
-- existence of this press variant unconfirmed
Creation A Child  1986 (Breeder 567, Austria)
...
(Akarma reissues omitted here, see AA book for details)

I was also told that true Corpus originals are exceedingly rare, more so than Homer or Josefus or such, and this may have contributed to the confusion around the pressings -- very few people have seen an actual original. Checking the internet you can spot several red label reissues/counterfeits being sold as originals, sometimes up to $700-800.

Like Dr Leary says, Just Say Know when buying rare rekkids.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:56 CET

Updated: 10 February 2013 22:13 CET

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The action on the tax scam fringe continues, most recently with an eBayed copy of Too Smooth, one of the rarest Tiger Lilys, which ended up selling for circa $1000.

This is however less interesting than the fact that the story of this band is now emerging. Contrary to what has been claimed before, this really is the long-running Austin TX band Too Smooth, who in other words were given the Tiger Lily treatment with the band name intact. There are (at least) two possible sources for the TL tax scam album, one being a set of unreleaed recordings the group cut for Just Sunshine in California 1974, the other being a prospective LP they recorded for Mercury/Phonogram in 1976. One might speculate that the '76 material may have been a little too 'hot' even for Tiger Lily's fearless production norms, but it's impossible to tell currently whether it's the '74 or '76 recordings that were used. The album, incidentally, is very good Southern rock with a professional finish like most Tiger Lily jobs--see Acid Archives review for details.

The source for the above info also pointed to an (official) 45 release by Too Smooth from 1980, which has a re-recording of a track also on the Tiger Lily album, spelled slightly different:

TOO SMOOTH (Austin, TX)
Non-LP 45 from 1980:
Side 1: "Mamie Mama" (3:47)
Side 2: "Don't Stop Lovin' Me" (3:33)
Label: Armadillo Records (Austin, Texas)
Catalog #: ARS 80-3 Stereo

The band existed between 1973-1981 and seem to offer excellent prospects for a retrospective reissue/sampler.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 21:06 CET

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Except for the insightful (?) review, the Acid Archives entry for the obscure Franklin & Hayes folk LP is woefully short on info. A copy now excavated and sold allows for an update of the basic release data:
FRANKLIN & HAYES (Olmstead Falls, OH)
Autumn To May 1969 (WR Productions WR1-69)

The equally obscure TRANSITIONS album from Michigan also turned up recently with what may be the second known copy. Unlike the one reviewed by Mr DMT in the Acid Archives book, this copy included the back cover paste-on, which has some mighty boastful liner notes plus detailed personnel credits. As it turns out, the album is one of those college project things, a product of 'Maury Dean's Modern Music class' at Monroe County Community College, to be precise. The record is described as featuring a mix of South Detroit 'gutrock' and rural melodies. For a fuller description I refer to the AA review, which accurately speculated on the college project nature of the thing. The title indicates this being the second album in a series, but the first one may never have reached the vinyl pressing stage.

Finally, our Spanish correspondent Juan C pointed out the odd fact that the first album by CHUCK & MARY PERRIN is routinely referred to as 'Brother & Sister', while this supposed title is actually nowhere to be found on the original LP. In other words, this is actually a self-titled LP (the original label gives the title as The Chuck and Mary Perrin Album), which has 'aquired' a new title over the years. Another minor adjustment to the entry: the catalog number is in fact '2101', not '2101/2'.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 23:00 CET

Updated: 10 December 2012 23:22 CET

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Our Northern-most correspondent Jens U recently forwarded the rather remarkable discovery that the contents of the Victims Of Chance Goin' Home Blue LP are lifted wholesale from the obscure Music Of The Santa Cruz Mountains LP. Mastermind behind the Victims Of Chance LP was the notorious music biz hustler Johnny Kitchen, and this case marks the first instance of him appropriating someone else's music in toto, rather than just using old studio reels and backing tracks. There may be other cases like this in the Kitchen catalog.

Both LPs are listed in the Acid Archives Second Edition, but the connection between them was unknown until now. Kitchen renamed some of the tracks and omitted two, and needless to say removed all credits from the Santa Cruz LP. This puts a release date of 1974 at the earliest on the Victims Of Chance LP; most likely it dates from the 1976-77 tax scam window.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 15:42 MEST

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Had to break this out into a post of its own, as various pieces of info flew in regarding Drywater.

This lengthy piece from a local newspaper details the mysterious scoop of Drywater, with all your favorite psych mafia guys name-checked. Mike A managed to namedrop the Acid Archives also, much appreciated!
http://meadvilletribune.com/x1358973881/Drywater-makes-it-big-three-decades-later

Follow up article:
http://meadvilletribune.com/local/x1704536727/Former-rockers-Drywater-enjoying-glow-from-albums-rebirth

The Backbone Of The Nation LP was originally pressed up in only 25 copies, making this a severe rarity even by Acid Archives standards. Apparently 25 copies was RPC's minimum order!

The band were from Ohio (aren't they all?). A 500-press vinyl reissue is now out from Time-Lag with 2 bonus tracks.

DRYWATER (OH)
Backbone Of The Nation  1973 (R.P.C. Z-70581)  [25p; lyric sheet]

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 16:59 MEST

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Thanks to Juan in Spain for alerting me to the rather vital fact that the currently popular girl-pop album the 'Dandelions' is incorrectly listed pretty much everywhere. The band name was Children Of Sunshine, and Dandelions was the album title. However, the group name Children Of Sunshine appears nowhere on the record label, while 'Dandelions' does, so the confusion isn't surprising. Some might prefer to credit the band as Tres & Kitsy for clarity, but according to Tres, they were the Children Of Sunshine. The girls were both 10 when the LP was recorded in 1970. See here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F07o5_AP6zw

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:29 MEST

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The hip and most energetic blog "It's Psychedelic Baby" keeps churning out interviews with bands you never thought be tracked down. Recently two members from Corpus of Creation A Child told the band's story, including the rather mindblowing detail that "Joy" -- probably the best track on the LP -- was about the teenage Farrah Fawcett who went to a Corpus high school back then!

Also, a press size of 1000 copies was reported by both members.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 22:34 MEST

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Contrary to popular record collector belief over the past decades, the rarely discussed Filet Of Soul album was cut by a band named Freedom, with "Filet Of Soul" being the title. The two are usually reversed, as they are in the Acid Archives book. So the entry should look like this.

FREEDOM (Thorp, WI)
Filet Of Soul 1970 (Moniquid 4857)

In addition, there is now a reissue of this album from Gear Fab. The band were formerly known as Attila & The Huns and had some 45s.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 16:48 MEST

Updated: 9 September 2011 16:50 MEST

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The Butch album "The Bitch Of Rock'n'Roll" may be less obscure than is usually assumed. At least the band claims 5000 copies were pressed! They stayed in California in their quest for rock stardom, but were originally from Utica, NY. All this & much more will hopefully be found on a new website that is currently in progress.

Posted by Patrick at Lysergia at 17:08 MEST

Updated: 19 April 2011 16:04 MEST

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