Rainman - Rain Man (1971)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 2:31 AM 0 comments

Under the name “Rainman” was the solodebut of ex- Q 65 guitarist Frank Nuyens presented in 1971. It was a remarkable good record and was far removed from the music of the notorious Q 65. It was typically early seventies laid-back music. Frank wrote most of the music himself. The LP was recorded in the famous GTB-studio in The Hague and partly in the Bovema Studios in Haarlem. On the record he was assisted by well-known musicians as ex-Cuby drummer Dick Beekman and former Q 65 colleague - drummer Jay Baar
Tracks
01.rainman
02.natural man
03.don't
04.vicious circle
05.don't make promisses
06.you will be free by me
07.money means nothing at all
08.get you to come through
09.she told me so
10.they didn't feel
11.the joy that is inside
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The New Hobbits - Back From Middle Earth (1969)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 2:13 AM 0 comments

'Back from Middle Earth', The Hobbit's third & most rare psychedelic recording, appeared in 1969 on Hobbit-supremo Jimmy Curtiss' Perception ... Full Descriptionlabel. 'Back From Middle Earth' is a solid '60s pop album which highlights the vocal talents of Curtiss & session-singer Gini Eastwood & is completely free of any reference to Curtiss' doo-wop past, as indeed are the three heavily psych-influenced 45s Curtiss produced (he also co-wrote two of the tracks) for Decca stable-mates The Bag in 1968.
Tracks
1. You Could Have Made It Easy
2. Growin’ Old
3. I Could Hear The Grass Growin’
4. Comin’ Out
5. The Devil’s Gonna Get Me
6. Underground
7. Love Can Set You Free
8. Flora
9. Woman So Worried
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The Sopwith Camel - Sopwith Camel (1967)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 2:03 AM 0 comments

The band formed in late 1965 and their lineup consisted of vocalist and saxophone player Peter Kraemer, guitarists Terry MacNeil and William Sievers, bassist Martin Beard and drummer Norman Mayell. Sopwith Camel is best known for being the second San Francisco band to get a recording contract with a national record label and the first to have a Top 40 hit.
Sopwith Camel released their first album (and only album recording during the 1960s), the eponymous Sopwith Camel, in 1967 on the Kama Sutra Records label. The band's only hit single, "Hello, Hello", became the first hit title to emerge from the San Francisco rock scene and reached #26 on the U.S. pop music charts in January 1967. The band's first album, and the vaudevillian "Hello, Hello" in particular, had more in common soundwise with earlier songs by The Lovin' Spoonful than typical 1960s psychedelic rock; producer Erik Jacobsen produced for both Sopwith Camel and The Lovin' Spoonful. The band was unable to follow up the success of their first album and hit single and disbanded later in 1967. Sopwith Camel's debut album has been re-released twice as Frantic Desolation in 1986 and as Hello Hello Again in 1990
Tracks
01. Hello, Hello
02. Frantic Desolation
03. Saga of the Low Down Let Down
04. Little Orphan Annie
05. You Always Tell Me Baby
06. Maybe in a Dream
07. Cellophane Woman
08. The Things That I Could Do With You
09. Walk in the Park
10. The Great Morpheum
11. Postcard from Jamaica
12. Treadin' [bonus)
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Dave Harris played tenor sax in Raymond Scott's legendary late 1930s six-man "Quintette." Over a long career as a sought-after session musician in New York and L.A., Harris (1913-2002) released only one record as a bandleader. That was DINNER MUSIC FOR A PACK OF HUNGRY CANNIBALS in 1958, and it was a tribute to his old boss, for whom he held deep respect. Harris and the Powerhouse Five recaptured the manic elegance and rhythmic wit of twelve classic Scott tunes. Nostalgia was the inspiration, but sharp musicianship and a celebratory gusto mark this album as a missing link in the Scott legacy. When Raymond Scott organized his Quintette, he recruited CBS Radio Orchestra compatriot Harris. The group was short-lived--in 1939, Scott expanded the group into a swing orchestra. However, the original RSQ created a sensation during its brief existence, and left a lasting impact on music history. Scott composed "portraits in music," programmatic novelties with eccentric titles like "War Dance for Wooden Indians," "Reckless Night on Board an Ocean Liner," and "In an 18th Century Drawing Room." A dozen tunes from this group's repertoire were later adapted by Warner Bros. music director Carl Stalling in hundreds of classic Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons. Thus was the RSQ's legacy--quite apart from the bandleader's own efforts--preserved for future generations. One title, "Powerhouse," has become a staple of cartoon fare, having been used in The Simpsons, Ren & Stimpy, and Animaniacs, as well as in 40 anarchic WB shorts and several major motion pictures. In addition to leading a succession of orchestras, Scott composed a Broadway musical in 1946, conducted orchestra on TV's Your Hit Parade in the 1950s, and was a pioneer in electronic music development. But in late-life interviews, he professed that his 1937-39 Quintette was his favorite band. That opinion was doubtless shared by Harris, who always spoke fondly of working under Scott. Such was Harris's affection for this band that in 1958 he organized a sextet, called his sidemen the Powerhouse Five, and recorded an album of RSQ favorites in modern high fidelity. After the RSQ, Harris remained with Scott's first swing band, then compiled an impressive resume as a session player on radio and TV, and in the recording studio. In a career that extended into the 1970s, he worked with Billie Holiday, Gene Krupa, Eddie Cantor, Mickey Katz, Stan Webb, Russ Case, Bob Haggart and countless others. As a director with a musical pedigree, Harris, on Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals, maintains the high standards set by his old boss, recapturing the spunk, energy, and humor of the original RSQ. While there's an obvious element of nostalgia at play, don't underestimate the joyfulness and craftsmanship of these performances
Tracks
1. Dinner Music for a Pack of Hungry Cannibals
2. In an Eighteenth Century Drawing Room
3. Siberian Sleighride
4. Reckless Night On Board an Ocean Liner
5. Minuet in Jazz
6. Twilight in Turkey
7. Powerhouse
8. The Toy Trumpet
9. The Penguin
10. Boy Scout in Switzerland
11. The Happy Farmer
12. War Dance for Wooden Indians
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Tritonus - Between the Universes (1976)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 1:16 AM 0 comments

Tritonus is another one of those bands that is interesting mostly because of their obscurity, but not really for putting out any groundbreaking music. The band didn't really have a specific, featured vocalist, but their vocal passages do leave an impression, although not always a good one. Former Kin Ping Meh member Geff Harrison is not a member but does some of the singing, while most of the rest of the band consists of Peter Seiler, who would abandon Tritonus shortly after this album in favor of similar music in duo form with Michael Bundt under the band name Sirius. The drummer is Bernhard Schuh, who is otherwise unknown to me and serviceable at best; and bassist/guitarist Ronald Brand, whose bass is nearly absent but who manages several decent passages of brooding, mostly strumming guitar work.
There's quite a bit of electronic wizardry here (or doodling, depending on your perspective), particularly on the spacey (and appropriately titled) "Mars Detection" and the three-part "the Day". This was released at the height of the synthesizer-heavy part of the seventies, especially it seems with German bands, and these guys were no exception. The keyboards are quite varied and prominent throughout, although some of it is plainly obviously in its source, especially several note-for-note lifts from Pink Floyd and ELP. Some of the vocals also sound a bit like early Moody Blues, or maybe the Nice.

So no prizes for originality, or for lyrical skills either, since most of the vocals are of the slightly psychedelic and theatrical style that so many bands tried to adopt shortly after their respective songwriters hit puberty and heard Sgt. Pepper's for the first time. Plenty of slightly hollow two and three part harmonies lumbering on about peace and love, or space aliens, or something. Not really sure and the liner notes aren't much help either.

And speaking of vocals, the opening title track has some really strange ones, with Harrison delivering a moody tenor, while someone else (Seiler, I guess) steps all over him with a slightly off-key vocal track of his own that sounds a bit like a couple of stoners trying to do harmonies but of different songs. It's actually a bit amusing. by ClemofNazereth
Tracks
1. Between the Universes (9:58)
2. Mars Detection (8:08)
3. The Day Awakes 7:55
4. The Day Works 5:53
5. The Day Rests 3:58
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I'm so hollow - Emotion / Sound / Motion (1981)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 3:36 AM 0 comments

I'm So Hollow was one of the many Sheffield bands that formed in 1978. The "Hollow" sound came after several months of practice sessions in the cellar at Joe Sawicki's parents house. They played their first gig with ClockDVA in the Penthouse Club in Sheffield. Many gigs followed with bands like Vice Versa and their biggest gig at the Leeds Futurama festival in 1980, of which a clip is shown in 'Made in Sheffield'
They released their first single in 1981 and signed up with llluminated Records soon afterwards. In September, just before the release of their album 'Emotion/Sound/Motion', they decide to split up feeling they had achieved their ambitions with I'm So Hollow.
Subtle variations characterize the most interesting songs. Check "Unbroken Line", (based on a slow-motion piano pattern & horror synth effects), "Touch" (set upon a line of feedback, robotic beat & warm vocal harmonies), "Emotion/Sound/Motion" (whose first part is a moody synthscape, while the second part explodes to a suspenseful rhythm groove).
Tracks
01 Entrance
02 Which Way..?
03 Unbroken Line
04 Touch
05 Collisions
06 Excitement = Change
07 The Triangular Hour
08 Emotion / Sound / Motion
09 Nosferatu
10 Distraction
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Mutual Understanding - In Wonderland (1968)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 2:01 AM 0 comments

Masterpiece of Canadian softpop from 1968 that, like Harpers Bizzare's Anything Goes album of the same year, combines music from the 20s, 30s and 40s with the post psychedelic pop of the times. This album was a one of coming together of some of Canada's top composers and arranngers working in television and advertising with top vocal group The Laurie Bower Singers. 40 years on this albums remains a joyous musical treat.
Tracks
01. Wonderland
02. Look Around
03. Everybody loves my baby
04. I'm old fashioned
05. Little girl blue
06. San Jose
07. Pretty people
08. You fascinate me so
09. Rain rain go away
10. Always true to to you, in my fashion
11. When the world was young
12. In wonderland
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Phafner - Overdrive (1971)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 1:22 AM 0 comments

Phafner's 1971 album, Overdrive, is the stuff of record collecting legend. Rumor has it that only fifty copies were pressed. This seems a little suspect, but either way, it has fetched as much as three grand on eBay. Overdrive is a pretty fucked up druggy listen, it's raw, it's sloppy, it's full of vigor and spirit. The opening song "Plea From The Soul" is pure doomy bliss, but then the record trails off into some neanderthal blues rock.
Tracks
1. Plea From The Soul
2. Uncle Jerry
3. Whiskey Took My Woman
4. Rock And Roll Man
5. Red Thumb
6. Overdrive
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Electric Music For The Mind And Body, Country Joe and the Fish's debut album, was one of the first psychedelic albums to come out of San Francisco in 1967. Many timed their acid trips to peak during Country Joe and The Fish performances at The Avalon or The Fillmore, where they were frequent performers.

Tracks from the LP, especially "Section 43", "Grace", and "Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine" were played on progressive FM rock stations like KSAN and KMPX in San Francisco, often back-to-back. A famous version of the song "Love" was performed at the 1969 Woodstock Festival
Tracks
1.Flying High (2:45)
2.Not So Sweet Martha Lorraine (4:28)
3.Death Sound Blues (4:30)
4.Popoise Mouth (2:55)
5.Section 43 (7:30)
6.Superbird (2:11)
7.Sad and Lonely Time (2:30)
8.Love (2:28)
9.Bass Strings (5:07)
10.The Masked Marauder (3:16)
11.Grace (7:03)
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Suicide - Suicide (1977)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 6:12 AM 0 comments

Suicide is the influential first studio album by American No Wave band Suicide, released in 1977. It is often cited as the first synth pop album, but is more intense than most albums of the genre. In 2003, the album was ranked number 446 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.

"Frankie Teardrop" is one of the songs featured in Nick Hornby's 2002 book 31 Songs, and appears in Rainer Werner Fassbinder's 1978 film In a Year of 13 Moons. "Cheree" is featured in the closing scene of Downtown 81 with artist Jean-Michel Basquiat. "Girl" briefly appears in Nick Zedd's 1979 film They Eat Scum. "Ghost Rider" was featured on the soundtrack of the 2006 video game Driver: Parallel Lines and also appears on True Crime: New York City.

"Ghost Rider" has been covered by R.E.M., Rollins Band, Merzbow and The Young Gods, and was featured in a Brazilian deodorant commercial in 2005.

In September 2009 the album will be performed live in its entirety as part of the All Tomorrow's Parties-curated Don't Look Back series.
Tracks
01. Ghost Rider – 2:33
02. Rocket U.S.A. – 4:17
03. Cheree – 3:41
04. Johnny – 2:10
05. Girl – 4:06
06. Frankie Teardrop – 10:25
07. Che – 4:51
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Junior Wells - Hoodoo Man Blues (1965)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 4:41 AM 0 comments

Hoodoo Man Blues is the 1965 debut album of blues vocalist and harmonica player Junior Wells, performing with the Junior Wells' Chicago Blues Band, an early collaboration with Grammy Award-winning artist Buddy Guy. Released on LP by Delmark Records, the album has been subsequently reissued on CD and LP by Delmark and Analogue Productions.

The album of Chicago blues music was solicited by Bob Koester, the founder of Delmark Records, who liked Wells' music enough to give the musician considerable freedom on the album in spite of concerns of commercial response. The resultant innovative album became Delmark's best seller, establishing Wells' career and receiving critical acclaim as being among the best albums Wells ever produced and even among the greatest blues albums ever made.
Tracks
1. Snatch It Back And Hold It
2. Ships On The Ocean
3. Good Morning Schoolgirl
4. Hound Dog
5. In The Wee Hours
6. Hey Lawdy Mama
7. Hoodoo Man Blues
8. Early In The Morning
9. We're Ready
10. You Don't Love Me Baby
11. Chitlin Con Carne
12. Yonder Wall
13. Hoodoo Man Blues (Alternate Take)
14. Chitlin Con Carne (Alternate Take)
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Blues Magoos - Psychedelic Lollipop (1966)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 3:47 AM 0 comments

The band was formed in 1964 as "The Trenchcoats". The original members were Emil "Peppy" Thielhelm aka Peppy Castro (vocals and guitar), Dennis LaPore (lead guitar), Ralph Scala (organ and vocals), Ronnie Gilbert (bass) and John Finnegan (drums). The band made a name for itself in various clubs in Greenwich Village. By 1966 the band had changed its name to fit in with the psychedelic vibe of the times - they first changed their name to the Bloos Magoos, though they changed that to the more conventional Blues Magoos. They also made some line-up changes, bringing in Mike Esposito as lead guitarist, and Geoff Daking as drummer.

Like their name, the group's sound was of the psychedelic variety. They released singles on smaller labels, like Ganim Records and Verve Records, but those singles did not gain the band much recognition. However, Mercury Records signed the band to a record deal in late 1966 and the group's debut album, Psychedelic Lollipop was released shortly thereafter. It was one of the first records to contain the word "Psychedelic" on the sleeve (along with the 13th Floor Elevators' first album, The Psychedelic Sounds of the 13th Floor Elevators, and The Deep's Psychedelic Moods, both also from 1966). They played a lot then at the Chess Mate Coffeehouse owned by Morrie Widenbaum, a mostly folk venue that also hosted bands like Southbound Freeway, Siegel-Schwall Blues Band and Blues Magoos.

In a tour of the US in 1967 they were the opening act followed by The Who and then the headliners Herman's Hermits. The group's biggest song, "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet", whose Farfisa riff bears an uncanny resemblance to the 1962 hit by Ricky Nelson, "Summertime" (Deep Purple also used this riff in their hit "Black Night") , was released as a single in 1967 (albeit from their 1966 album), with "Gotta Get Away" as the b-side. The song hit number 5 on the US charts, although it did not fare nearly as well in the UK. It was used for the movie Easy Rider in 1968. Incidentally, The Magoos' "(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet" was released as a single in February 1967 by British group The Spectres (later to become The Status Quo). The record did not chart.

The next single by the Blues Magoos, "There's A Chance We Can Make It," was only a minor hit, with its b-side "Pipe Dream" actually charting higher (though neither side hit the top 40). After one more minor chart single with "One By One," subsequent singles were largely ignored by record buyers. Neither of the two albums released after Psychedelic Lollipop, Electric Comic Book and Basic Blues Magoos, had much success. By 1968, the band was discouraged and they split up.

The group's management had other plans. The band was signed to ABC Records, but most of the members did not go along with this plan. Only Castro agreed and started up a revamped Blues Magoos, with Eric Kaz, Richie Dickon, John Leillo and Roger Eaton. In 1969, the band completed Never Goin' Back To Georgia, but that release did not attract public attention either. Eaton left the band, and the other Blues Magoos used session musicians for the follow up Gulf Coast Bound. It did poorly as well and though the Magoos struggled for another two years, they eventually parted ways. In 1981, Castro resurfaced with the group Balance.
Tracks
1.(We Ain't Got) Nothin' Yet (2:18)
2.Love Seems Doomed (3:02)
3.Tobacco Road (4:42)
4.Queen of My Nights (3:05)
5.I'll Go Crazy (2:03)
6.Gotta Get Away (2:42)
7.Sometimes I Think About (4:13)
8.One by One (2:52)
9.Worried Life Blues (3:53)
10.She's Coming Home (2:43)
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Forever Amber - The Love Cycle (1969)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 12:35 AM 0 comments

Tracklist:
Prologue. According to the CD's booklet (and the Gibraltar Encyclopedia, by the way), Forever Amber's only "The Love Cycle" album musically represents "psych" (i.e. the well-known psychedelic Rock music). "A cross between early Pink Floyd and Zombies" (this is already a quotation).

The Album. I am asserting that the music of the only Forever Amber "The Love Cycle" album has nothing to do with the psych music and the creation of both mentioned bands, especially with the (Great!) early Pink Floyd - the real Fathers of Progressive Rock. Actually, most of the 16 songs of the album represent just more or less a good imitation of (very, very) early Beatles (1962-1963), when the band performed the most simple and shortest songs they ever played. There are just a few tracks that don't remind me of The Beatles both vocally and instrumentally: Misunderstood, On Top of My Own Special Mountain, I See You As You Used to Be, and Letters From Her (tracks 6,9,14, & 15). While both the latter songs are beautiful, completely acoustic ballads (they're the only that are performed without drumming, which is simply awful on this album). Misunderstood has a slight trace of a medieval feel, and On Top of My Own Special Way contains the nice organ and bass guitar solos in the instrumental arrangement. In other words, all these four songs are the best on the album, because (quoting myself) "Originality is the main trump of any true artist". It must be said that at least vocally, all the other 12 songs sound like typical early Beatles, except those few episodes in which all the band's vocalists sing together (do not confuse these choir parts with backing vocals that are always Beatles-esque here as well as all lead vocals). Instrumentally, there are, however, several tracks on the album that sound different from The Beatles absolutely. These are, of course, those songs that have organ parts (including solos) in their compositional 'schemes' ( we all know that The Beatles never did use the organ). But does it really matter to talk about the presence of organ in the band's equipment since the majority of instrumental parts they played are short and simple? And, after all, vocals played the main part in the creation of early Beatles. So I don't think there is a necessity to list the songs that feature organ parts.

Summary. There are, however, a few songs with instrumental arrangements that include some of the most primitive, yet progressive, elements. These are Silly Sunshine, The Dreamer Flies Back, and On Top of My Own Special Mountain (already mentioned above), which, with the longest and most diverse instrumental part, is undoubtedly the best song on the album. So, there are only six, more or less decent songs, out of sixteen on the album. Despite the fact that there are only six really original songs on the album, I am sure that most of the lovers of The Beatles will be pleased with "Forever Amber" as a whole. Taken from HERE.
Tracks
1. Me oh My
2. Silly Sunshine
The Talking:
3. Bits of Your Life, Bits of My Life
4. For a Very Special Person
5. The Dreamer Flies Back
6. Misunderstood
7. Better Things Are Bound To Come
The Walk Home:
8. On a Night In Winter
The Joy:
9. On Top of My Own Special Mountain
10. Mary (the Painter)
11. All the Colours of My Book
The Doubt:
12. Going Away Again
The Sorrow:
13. A Chance to Be Free
The Scorn:
14. I See You As You Used to Be
The Grief:
15. Letters From Her
16. My Friend
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Fairport Convention - Liege & Lief (1969

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 12:25 AM 0 comments

British hippies who started out emulating Jefferson Airplane, Fairport Convention escalated their homeland connections with each outing, culminating in this, their fourth album and a watershed for British folk-rock. Hindsight offers the ironic possibility that the Dylan covers of its predecessor, Unhalfbricking, opened a window onto the earlier Irish-English-Scots roots of the American music they loved, and Liege & Lief jumps through that window triumphantly. "Come All Ye" underscores their affinity for the Band yet is joyfully rooted in their own fertile folk traditions, echoed in a mix of classic songs from members Sandy Denny, Ashley Hutchings, and Richard Thompson, and given direct homage in the extended ballads "Matty Groves" and "Tam Lin," which evoke Neil Young & Crazy Horse in kilts. Fiddler Dave Swarbrick's arrival as a fulltime member adds new richness and a wonderful foil for Thompson's superb guitar leads. A medley of jigs and reels showcases their flair for hot-wiring traditional British Isles dances, a fixture ever since.
Tracks
1.Come All Ye (5:01)
2.Reynardine (4:33)
3.Matty Groves (8:09)
4.Farewell, Farewell (2:39)
5.The Deserter (4:24)
6.Medley: The Lark in the Morning (4:07)
7.Tam Lin (7:13)
8.Crazy Man Michael (4:37)
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Erica Pomerance - You Used To Think (1969)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 1:42 AM 0 comments

Erica Pomerance is a Canadian documentary film maker, poet and singer songwriter. In December, 1968, she assembled a diverse group of musicians to record her debut album, with engineering by Onno Scholtze. The late Trevor Koehler played alto sax. Gail Pollard, now also deceased, played flute. Dion Grody, Lanny Brooks and Craig Justen, of Octopus fame, assisted. Billy Mitchel, the legendary guitar virtuoso, Don Coopersmith, Ron Price on lead guitar, Richie Heissler on rhythm guitar, and Tom Moore on flute, an eclectic mix of classical, improvisational, folk and rock musicians.
"Pomerance shook things up, taking what she wanted, dissecting the past and reconstructing her own tightly woven original folk blast. Groovy flutes, buzzing sitar, minimalist piano, bongos, sax squawk, and tambourines create a vision-drenched psychedelic stew -- with Pomerance's voice wavering over the surface like a skipping stone." - Cary Loren (Blastitude)
Tracks
1. You Used To Think
2. The Slippery Morning
3. We Came Via
4. The French Revolution
5. Julius
6. Burn Baby Burn
7. Koanisphere
8. Anything Goes
9. To Leonard from the Hospital
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The Search Party - Montgomery Chapel (1969)

Posted by Amelia Swhizzagers On 1:27 AM 0 comments

A primitive Christian folkrock LP which hits some truly unique moods and sounds on about 2/3rds of the tracks. Obviously inspired by the westcoast psychedelic sounds of the era, the Search Party take compositions by their spiritual mentor, a Catholic middle-aged priest, and turn them into primitive California garage folkrock and psych with fuzz leads and raw vocals! Most Christian folkrock LPs suffer from still having one foot left in Sunday School, but these young seminarians have definitely broken through to the other side. Side 1 ends with an unparalleled 9-minute downer folkrock excursion with heavy soul-searching lyrics that alone makes Montgomery Chapel worth checking out, but beware -- it’s crude, even the female vocalist has a strange edge. Unrehearsed confessions from a basement Music Emporium.
Hauntingly beautiful!
Tracks
01. Speak To Me
02. Renee Child
03. Melanya
04. When He Calls
05. So Many Things
06. You And I
07. All But This
08. Poem By George
09. The Decidedly
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