***BACK IN PRINT ON NEW COKE BOTTLE GREEN VINYL!!! Note new price. In the spring of 1969, 49TH PARALLEL had a hit in with ‘Twilight Woman’, a lovely song that sounds like a poppier version of what bands like Tomorrow were doing in England. That success led to the release of 49th Parallel’s only album. All hyperbole aside, it is easily one of the top Canadian rock albums of the psychedelic era. The album is strong throughout—from the pulsating psychedelia of ‘Lazerander Filchy’ and the ultra-strange ‘(The) Magician’, the shimmering beauty of 'Twilight Woman', to the quintessential slashing guitars punk edginess of ‘Now That I'm a Man’ and ‘(Come On Little Child &) Talk To Me’. DAN LOWE’s Lowe's blazing fuzz guitar work stands out on ‘Missouri’ and also when matched by organist Jack Velker's brilliant work on ‘Eye To Eye’, ‘Talk To Me’ and ‘(The) People’. Limited edition of 200 copies.
LP $32.35
04/19/2024
***Teeming with infectious hooks and delicate textures, “Keady & Vallins” stacks up favorably against now heralded titans of soft pop / yacht rock and pop disco-lite, living in the intersection between Bobby Caldwell, Steely Dan, and Saturday Night Fever-era Bee Gees. “Keady & Vallins” is an all-too-familiar story of potential left unfulfilled—glorious pop music shunted by the impetuous thrums of a music industry stricken by decadence and a preference for high turnover and rigorous proprietorship. A tour with the Bee Gees by Vallins and help from Robert Stigwood resulted in a deal with Polydor. After a pair of singles produced by a young, upstart (now hugely important head of Universal Music Group) Lucien Grange achieved moderate success in France, an album was next: taped by Keady and Vallins during downtime from other sessions. They pulled world class talent from the studio, from the pub down the street from the studio, while also (temporarily) pilfering instruments from the shop below the studio (price tags still affixed)—to create a striking blend of sepia-toned soft pop / yacht rock and pop disco-lite. Born out of a quick friendship turned decades long songwriting partnership between Gary Keady and John Vallins, the full-length record was meant to be a mark of the duo’s growing promise as songwriters at Chappell—the publishing house’s self-proclaimed Australian facsimile of the American duo Hall & Oates (or maybe a two-person Bee Gees?). But that’s not what happened, is it. Dormant since its completion in 1979, the “Keady & Vallins” album...
LP $26.95
04/19/2024
***BACK IN PRINT!!! A total heavy sonic assault! Since the release of No Rest for the Wicked in 1976, it's stature among collectors of '60s and '70s hard rock and psychedelia has grown steadily over the years, with original copies now fetching large sums. Originally formed as TRUTH in 1969 in Iowa, USA, TRUTH & JANEY was named after a record by Jeff Beck. Between 1973-75 they played thousands of gigs, many with Leslie West, as well as playing with Blue Öyster Cult at a festival in Davenport, Iowa in front of 20,000 hard rock fans. All the while, Truth & Janey were writing original material, gearing up to record their first full length album. In 1976, they laid down the tracks that would see release on their stunning No Rest for the Wicked album later that same year. The record featured six original tunes and two traditional blues covers revved up in true powerhouse Truth and Janey fashion. Only 1,000 copies of the album were pressed on the local Montross records. Just as the ball started rolling, it all ended, as DENIS BUNCE left the group and quickly thereafter they completely disbanded. In a last ditch effort, guitarist BILLY JANEY reformed the group with all new members in 1977 and released the Just a Little Bit of Magic album, but it was a move in a completely different direction and has little to do with the ferocious hard rock Marshall 100-watt super lead guitar sound that dominates No Rest...
LP $22.65
01/05/2024
***"It's dark and still in the chief's village protected by mountains of the great southern regions of Africa..." so begins the seventeen minute epic 'African Day' that kicks off the greatest Afro-psychedelic concept album ever made—first released on Parlophone in 1971. Hawk’s music on this epochal album is a fusion of tribal African rhythms with acoustic hippie music elements—long solo jams, saxophone breaks, percussion—sounding at times like an African version of Embryo fronted by Tim Buckley! In Johannesburg, bursting, like Durban, with musicians aeons ahead of their time, Hawk added the sunburnt, brown prairies of Africa to the genre of the concept album—the heady, steady beat of drums, and enough cross-rhythms to make you dizzy. Add the mesmerizing voices—and the telling of a story. Tuck in the ranging flute, the saxophone. The deep bass buzz. And the hypnotic talking drums. Music the African way: earthy stuff—virile, extraordinary, substantial. Hawk were listening to a lot of Hugh Tracey tapes (the Afro-musicologist who traveled Africa capturing sounds and music on tape for posterity). They went to Swaziland and came back with their own sounds: drums and a burning desire to make their own brand of African music. From all of this came African Day. Our Lion/RTA reissue comes with an LP-sized 12-page booklet which includes a complete band history by music writer Owen Coetzer, packed with photos, plus the story of the re-discovery of the multi-track master tapes and the transfer of those newfound tapes that resulted in this very reissue. 150...
LP $35.50
11/17/2023
***Wild, loud, raw New Jersey hard psych beast from 1970 that’s been a favorite target of record collectors, dealers, aficionados and swamp dwellers for the past few decades. Also described thus: “Totally fucked up, messed up New Jersey hard psych monster that can’t be bettered. Loud, wasted vocals, speedfreak riffing / soloing, bashing rhythm section, like a hayride to hell. To me, one of the all-time best albums if you like drugged-out 60s anarchic hard psych.” Another quality collaboration between Lion Productions and the Vintage/Rockadrome label. Deluxe package includes an 11x17 poster and full size insert with liner notes, press clippings and lyrics. Edition of 500 copies with only 250 available for distribution.
LP $26.95
11/17/2023
***In December 1976, Carpe Diem entered whacked-out recording wizard Jean-Pierre Massiera’s Azurville studio and recorded—on 16-tracks—and in just ten days—working sometimes from ten in the morning until three the following morning—all the material they’d written since their first album. The trademark Carpe Diem sound is here in full force: cosmic synthesizers, psychedelic-flavored guitar-led flights of fancy, fluid woodwinds, along with an astounding degree of harmonic sophistication. The highlight is the 21-plus minute suite, ‘Couleurs,’ which develops through a series of sublime melodic motifs. As should be expected, the musicianship is monstrous, the playing is tight and energetic, and the melodies veer from gorgeous to haunting. The remainder of the album is taken up by short tracks which present more concise takes on Carpe Diem's ideas. This vinyl reissue includes a fascinating bonus track: an excerpt from the never-released English language version of the album. Includes an insert with notes and lyrics. Pressed on transparent orange with black swirl vinyl in a hand-numbered edition of 150 copies.
LP $35.50
10/20/2023
***Vinyl debut for post-JERUSALEM material from 1972-73! Jerusalem is well known among '70s hard rock enthusiasts thanks to their stone-cold classic 1972 Deram label debut album. After that record was released, the band made the bold decision to not to continue with the same name—for them, Jerusalem was a one-off moment in time and could never be recreated. And so, three-fifths of Jerusalem (founding members PAUL DEAN and RAY SPARROW, along with BOB COOKE), became PUSSY. The new band were still managed and produced by IAN GILLAN (DEEP PURPLE). Pussy recorded and released one single on Deram and then went on to record tracks between 1972 and 1973 with BRIAN GOFF taking over for Bob Cooke on guitar, for their debut album—which was never released. Pussy was a different beast from Jerusalem, despite Paul being the main writer for both bands. There seems to be a touch of Ziggy Stardust crunchy space glam in the mix—although Pussy kept the raw, no rules edge from Jerusalem which sets both bands apart from many others of the era. Gillan was far more proactive this time around; he played piano and percussion, and was responsible for many backing vocals on the songs. Pussy were a hard rocking band with no pretensions of being super musicians or technical geniuses. If it seemed like fun, it was worth a try, which explains a lot about their sound and direction. On stage anything could happen—no rules of course! They gigged all over the UK and Germany...
LP $26.95
05/19/2023
***A new edition of this Canadian folk/psych classic—perfect dreamy, sunshine-infused-yet-with-clouds-passing-by pop psychedelia with a folk bent, originally released by independent Canadian label Allied Records in 1968. When we first issued this terrific album many many years ago, our booklet featured the few scraps of information on the band we could find. We challenged “anyone out there” to find some information on this elusive and intriguing band. Well, we’re pleased that someone took us up on that offer, and that the specific someone was band leader Tom Waschkowski (credited on the album as Tom Martin). He graciously offered us a band history, lyrics, and some terrific photos. This allows us to offer up as perfect a reissue of this album as humanly possible. The Folklords Release the Sunshine is a captivating album, a notion shared by the many collectors world-wide who fight for original copies, which are few and far between. Strange thing is, if someone were to say to us that the Folklords album was released by Creation Records in 1987, it would be difficult to argue. You may well ask, why? Our answer: the chiming guitars, the rattle of tambourine, the dreaminess, the sometimes dark lyrics, and the harmony vocals of Martha Johnson place the Folklords closer to Biff Bang Pow, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Revolving Paint Dream, or even My Bloody Valentine’s debut, “Ecstasy and Wine” (granted, at a much slower speed, and without the rampant fuzz guitar) than it does to sunny 1960’s poppiness. Glorious...
LP $35.50
04/28/2023
***Psychedelic improvisational spiritual avant-rock/jazz featuring the legendary Larry Young on organ and equally astounding Joe Gallivan on drums, steel guitar, Moog synth, and percussion; the mysterious Nicholas wailing on guitar synthesizer and ring modulator; and Jimmy Molneiri on drums and percussion—recorded live at an anti-war rally in Washington D.C., in June 1972. They aimed the speakers at the Nixon White House, and blasted away as an anti-war protest! (The music so completely freaked out President Nixon that he demanded his chief of staff H.R. “Watergate" Haldeman to shut off the band’s source of electricity.) "After establishing himself as a leader on Blue Note in the 1960s, Young played on Miles Davis’ Bitches Brew, John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana’s Love Surrender Devotion, and the first three Tony Williams Lifetime albums. He emerged from those sessions at an exalted level of inspiration and with a formidable fire in his belly, and these traits helped shape Love Cry Want into a sui generis classic—a tone poem expressed with a flamethrower. Using a self-built guitar synthesizer, Nicholas stuns throughout the disc with brash flashes of Hendrix-ian extravagance. Gallivan displays both inventive exoticness and cyclonic power as he and Molneiri deftly guide the group through its furious paces.”—Dave Segal, Jazz Times
LP $28.75
04/21/2023
***First reissue of rare cassette-only underground neo-psychedelic punk steeped in Pebbles-era rock, from this Milwaukee band which featured Dan Mullen (Plasticland) on guitar and the talents—songwriting and otherwise—of iconic underground maven Tess (James Tessier). ‘I Want Speed’ shows The SilverBeats’ affinity to West Coast psychedelia. And it’s no coincidence that they cover the Human Expression’s ‘Calm Me Down,’ rich with harmony vocal, and The Pretty Things’ ‘Midnight to Six (Man),’ replacing the original’s rough R ’n’ B-edge with a slight psychedelic tinge—a real showpiece for drummer Mike Hughes. Another killer is ‘Over And Over,’ penned by Tess (like all the other originals on this album). It layers beautiful, trippy guitar, a catchy vocal melody, lots of echo, strange effects, and weird sounds before it closes, and we move on to the jolly, jumping ‘Love Comes Knockin.’ Comes with an 8-page booklet featuring a description by journalist David Luhrssen of the Milwaukee underground music scene which produced Plasticland, Daszu, the band Ör, and the Violent Femmes, among others. Edition of 150 copies on coke bottle vinyl.
LP COLOR $35.50
01/06/2023
***Plastic Crimewave Syndicate has finally returned with a wide-ranging/raging new album—recorded two years ago in an expansive, benevolent alleyway in the midst of a dark, diseased, claustrophobic time of global chaos. The new PCWS album, entitled Space Alley, boldly travels into the relatively unexplored malevolent terrain of free doom, space/noise punk, and darkly dubbed-out library/soundtrack grooves (call it '70s crooked-cop show/freak-funk, if you must). This is all capped off with a sidelong, (beat of the) earth-harvesting modal exploration of synthed-out kraut-throb. With new bassist Rob Rodak (Dead Feathers) aboard, and guests like sax-skronk legend Taralie Peterson (Spires That in the Sunset Rise), flautist Sara Gossett (Spiral Galaxy), and synthlord Will MacLean (Protovulcan), new influences have seeped into PCWS's dystopian vision. The Syndicate have opened for revered deities like Nik Turner, Loop, Simply Saucer, Chrome, and Josefus; but now a more diverse and groovy array of past underground sounds like Skin Alley, Sound of Imker, Here and Now, Mann/Sharrock, Black Sun Ensemble, Parson Sound, and Schizo have influenced PCWS's journey. Recorded by Eric Block (Rhys Chatham, Sick Gazelle) of Rec Rooms studios, and mastered by Monster Magnet/Desert Sessions guitar god JP McBain, the mind-fry level is set to 11 ½ on Space Alley!
LP $25.25
12/02/2022
***After nearly twenty years of work, finally a proper reissue of this sought-after album by the Souls of Inspyration, first released on Columbia in 1970. Sought after, yes—and deservedly so, with stellar keyboard-driven, melodic songs, strong vocals, and an overall sense of cohesion. Terrific acoustic driven songs like 'Eyes of Nature' and 'Sun Shines in the Winter’ merge beautifully with hard-edged, progressive-tinged offerings like 'Dil Kusha (Heart's Happiness) and 'Of Lambs and Wolves.' Souls of Inspyration emerged from Sherbrooke, Quebec. They had two big breaks: they recorded this album with famed producer Don Grashey (49th Parallel, Jarvis Street Revue and yes, discoverer of Loretta Lynn!); and they were chosen for a two-week engagement at the Expo 70 Canadian pavilion for the 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan. After Expo 70, the band were happy: they had been chosen the best band to represent their country, and had brought back a nice plaque signed by the people of Japan and Prime Minister Trudeau. They felt they were going somewhere. But it was not to be. Read all about why and how in the beautiful 12-page insert booklet. Now is the perfect time to discover this beautiful aberration, one of the unspoiled jewels of the late psychedelic era—on vinyl cut from 24-bit/96kHz transfers of the master tapes! Pressed on orange vinyl with 12-page booklet.
LP $28.85
04/22/2022
***Jeff Carney's sophomore effort for audioFile (1989) could not have been criticized were it to have remained in similar territory as the electronic wall of sound he had created on Imperfect Space Journeys. Instead, he created a more sparse, evolving tapestry of analog timbres. Using an exclusively vintage analog arsenal and recording live without overdubbing, Carney pushed forward with new ideas and uniquely developing sweeps of filter madness. The side-long 'Questions (Unanswered)’ is immensely innovative: the sounds are at once organic and of the earth, yet futuristic in their skyward drones and hypnotic hooks. Additional layers are gradually added, like a bubbling alien swarm tone that comes in successive falling surges, followed by cosmic whooshing and howling rushes of wind. The effect is simultaneously meditative and intense. And live. As Carney said, "I was quite proud because I managed to essentially perform the entire composition without error. Just about every sound came in at the right level. Every part was performed without mistake. And nothing was adjusted or corrected. This was what happened on the spot.” Carney explores different territory on the two B-side tracks: ‘ARP 2600 Improvisation’ is like a master class of cosmic effects. It feels like the soundtrack to a 1950s sci-fi movie, recalling Forbidden Planet’s most electrifying moments, but also at times sounding like sci-fi flick meets battle-in-space video game. ‘Pensive Mood’ roars out of the starting gate with a high octane electronic arpeggiated pattern, creating a somewhat white-knuckled brand of “pensive” contemplation. This is...
LP $25.25
01/21/2022
***Ultra-rare rehearsal sessions from 1969 by this South African heavy psych / acid rock band, mastered from a tape transfer—and yet still doom-laden, dark, heavy, and as messy as can be, in all the right ways. Influences from heavy bands of the time, such as Black Sabbath, Deep Purple and Steppenwolf are noticeable, with proto-doom and psych/funk undercurrents. Do you like fuzz guitar? You’re going to hear it screaming and wailing and building to epic tidal waves and crashes, the kinds of astonishing guitar cascades not heard since you cued up the best of all available live Jimi Hendrix recordings.
LP $25.35
12/03/2021
***Official heavy-duty gatefold double album of early ‘70s Scottish underground heavy rock from IRON CLAW, a band who were stomping around the UK with the likes of Black Sabbath, Hackensack, Pink Fairies, Juicy Lucy and others, but who never released a proper album. Iron Claw started their career in 1970 as (more or less) the world's first Black Sabbath tribute band: they incorporated the entire first Black Sabbath LP and single into their live set! And as it happens, it was Iron Claw bassist ALEX WILSON who unearthed the oldest known concert recording of Black Sabbath, a 1969 gig recorded by Wilson in Dumfries, Scotland! As time progressed, Iron Claw's live sets started to include many originals, as well as covers such as 'War Pigs,' 'Fairies Wear Boots,' 'Wicked World,' 'Green Manalishi' and 'Lady Whisky.' This collection of sixteen original studio tracks documents Iron Claw's existence from 1970 thru 1974 and includes extensive liner notes, lyrics and photos inside the gatefold and on a 12" insert; also includes an 11x17 poster. For fans of Tear Gas, Leaf Hound, Jerusalem, Ancient Grease, Toad, Incredible Hog, Elias Hulk! Newly re-mastered for vinyl and sounding better than ever!
2XLP $31.95
09/10/2021
***"I doubt whether the name Earthforce will be familiar to many, mainly due to the fact that they merely existed for a couple of years, with only a 60x copy private press cassette release in 1977 to their name during their time together. Earthforce were a musical collective out of step with the punk age, children of the UK free festival scene—events like the Psilocybin Festival—enjoying a connection with the earth, singing meditative songs with lyrics about the 'moontide of the pagan heart' and the 'wind blowing seaward.' The end result is a fantastic album, loosely charting the course of a day, from dawn to moonrise. The diverse instrumentation (sitar, 12-string guitar, flageolet, electric guitars, fretless bass, harmonium, doogi, synthesizer, acoustic guitar, percussion, tabla, cymbals, etc.) are used in ways which bring unexpected wonders to the Earthforce sound. And if the late date of Earthforce’s existence is at all worrying to you, as you probably remember, Caedmon’s legendary debut album, also released as a private pressing—and one of the most sought-after progressive folk-rock albums from the UK—came out in 1978. Had Earthforce opted for vinyl instead of cassette for their release, we have little doubt that an Earthforce LP would be at least as sought after as the Caedmon LP—and so, with that idea in mind, we have made an Earthforce LP." The first ever vinyl issue of these recordings. Includes a 12-page full color booklet with band info, photos, and lyrics.
LP $24.95
03/26/2021
***Dominique Blanc-Francard’s Ailleurs is trippy and weird... and yet… the songs are catchy and the album rocks out. Fuzzy guitar, chunky drums, weird effects, a thick mix of layers of sound—all tasty ingredients. Pink Floyd meets T-Rex? It’s a terrific recipe, which surely must describe other albums? Even so, we can’t think of another album that sounds quite like Ailleurs. Without realizing it, you've probably already listened to Dominique Blanc-Francard's work—as a sound engineer. DBF worked from 1970 to 1973 at the mythical Chateau d’Hérouville studio under the leadership of Michel Magne, the legendary composer of soundtracks such as Les Tontons Flingueurs, Fantômas, and Angélique. The studio was the famous “Honky Château’’ of Elton John, a place where Dominique Blanc-Francard participated in recordings by Pink Floyd, David Bowie, T. Rex, Elton John, and Cat Stevens Pink Floyd. You can also find DBF’s involvement on records by Magma, Cœur Magique, Gong, Catharsis, Ergo Sum, Zoo, Markusfeld, Axis and the compilation Puissance 13+2 (Power 13 + 2).
LP $24.95
02/19/2021
***The first official reissue—or in most cases, re-release of any kind—of these recordings since their initial release as singles. Comes with an 8-page full color booklet with info and photos supplied by Cambodian musician SINN SISAMOUTH's surviving family. "Discovering the wealth of Cambodian recordings was like falling into a parallel universe, complete with its own Elvises, Patsys and Jimis. You can recognize some of the anonymous outstanding instrumentalists as they appear on record after record and marvel at their uncanny blend of Western and Far East, a pure synergy Western musicians have never accomplished. Of course, looming over every recording is the tragic end of the music and the musicians themselves under the axe of the Khmer Rouge, a cloak of darkness hovering over some of the most joyous, festive music ever made. In a world of instant global communication and mass pop culture, Cambodian rock remains one of the few undiscovered secrets of music. Not content with killing the musicians, the government further ordered the destruction of their records, implicitly understanding the power of pop music to create community. It is a testament to the power of Sinn Sisamouth's music that it has survived all that has been done to vanquish it.” — Joel Selvin.
LP $24.75
11/13/2020
***Traveling the spaceways as Spiral Galaxy, flautist/painter Sara Gossett and treated guitar/machines manipulator Plastic Crimewave (of Plastic Crimewave Syndicate/Galactic Zoo Dossier magazine) have created devotional sonic voyages and droney soundscapes with the occasional rhythmic pulse to conjure the textural and kosmische vibe of 70s German seekers like Yatha Sidhra, Emtidi, Popul Vuh, Achim Reichel, Sand, and early Kraftwerk. The duo have just completed their first album, expansive tracks they had been performing live on tours in the UK and Italy, plus USA events like Chicago Psych Fest, Milwaukee Psych Fest, Far Out Nashville festival, and The Feed Me Weird Things series in Iowa City. Treating the studio as an instrument, new layers, instruments and collaborators were added to the heady mix, like special guests Jean-Hervé Péron of legendary avant-German collective Faust (who Spiral Galaxy was lucky enough to open for, and collaborate with on stage); Kawabata Makoto of Japanese communal psychlords Acid Mothers Temple on chants and spoken voice; and Alisha Sufit of UK 70s eastern-folk band Magic Carpet (also chanting her heart out). Also appearing on the album are guitar wunderkind Ryley Walker (playing backwards guitar on this, not easy!), Taralie of Spires that in the Sunset Rise on Terry Riley-ish circular sax, sitar-player Hands of Hydra, Moog-maestro Will MacLean of Protovulcan, and Christian Luke Brady of meditative Virginia cosmonauts Fargon. What results is a dense, hallucinogenic, sonic tapestry of an LP that covers many moods—from divine soundscapes to Krautrock's motorik beats, doomy experimental pieces to dark...
LP $22.95
11/13/2020
***A masterpiece of South American percussion, recorded in 1977 by worldwide legend and Gipsy Kings percussionist Jorge Trasante—and impossible to find for decades—finally reissued! "In the mid-'70s I was struck by a young Uruguayan percussionist named Jorge Trasante. I met him accompanying Rada and Pippo Spera, in recordings in the Sondor Studio. He turned out to be an experienced percussionist and remarkable musical researcher, despite his young age, only 23 years old. At that time he invited me to a rehearsal with Eduardo Mateo, at his house in El Cordón. We decided to record the album "Mateo y Trasante", which today is an iconic album of Uruguayan music. And at the same time, I suggested to Jorge, to record an LP of instrumental percussion, based on Afro Uruguay rhythms. It became his letter of introduction when a few months later he traveled to Europe, where he joined very good groups, including the Gipsy Kings, with whom he recorded 18 albums between 1987 and 2001, and also accompanied other great artists. Jorge Trasante settled in Paris, France, where he lived for more than 30 years. The album “Folklore Afro Uruguayo” was not a success of the moment, but is a sound document which maintains its validity through time.” —Enrique Abal Oliú
LP $22.95
08/07/2020
***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! What was available to unknown hard rocking dreamers like Umbra in Denver in 1971-72? Weekend gigs. Nothing but weekend gigs. But there was an upside to that: bands like Umbra could mix original material in with covers, and make enough money to survive. Or in the case of Umbra, to make enough money to build a home studio, where they recorded ads to promote their upcoming shows—and eventually, laid down the eight tracks on this disc. Everything was recorded by bouncing tracks back and forth between two-track and four-track reel-to-reel tape recorders. Spacey intros and weird effects were created by recording guitar licks, then re-recording them played backwards at double speed. What sounds like a flute was the result of blowing over the top of a 14” goose neck (believe it or not). The resulting tracks are hard edged and heavy, verging on acid rock at times. Makes sense, as Umbra was a power trio most of their too-brief existence. Yet the songs (heavy though they are) have a deft touch. There are weird effects, space rock elements, plenty of melody, and a refreshing category-free approach to writing songs that makes Umbra’s music exciting to hear. Our Lion LP edition comes with an 8-page LP-sized color booklet, with lyrics, photos, plus interesting and funny things that can only happen to musicians, and did to Umbra. The CD edition comes with a sixteen-page color booklet containing the same material.
LP $24.50
02/07/2020
CD $11.00
12/20/2019
***Once upon a time, when the music business was more music than business (but only just), there was a band that created a quintessential dose of New York sixties psychedelia: one perfect album, loaded with fuzz guitar riffs of the greatest ferocity, heavy swirling organ, pulsating drums, and intense vocals. That band was ODYSSEY. It is true that their album, Setting Forth, did not take them from support slots in their native Long Island to the major label heights of other local bands like Vanilla Fudge. That could be because there were only a few copies made, and they came in a plain white jacket. Yet it is that same Odyssey Setting Forth album that is one of the greatest guitar-heavy psychedelic records in the world, and as a result is one of the most sought after and rare (expensive) LPs of the era. The last original vinyl copy to hit the open market was back in 2005, it’s that rare. Now Setting Forth is available on vinyl again for the for the first time in a decade, ready for true psych fans to devour. This is truly one of the cornerstones of underground psychedelic music, recorded in 1969 and released as we have said in a minuscule private edition. It is an album that jumps right out of the speakers at you, from it’s opening blasts of 'In-a-gadda-da-vida’ fuzz guitar riffs, right to the very end. Color insert has a suitably kaleidoscopic band history by Odyssey leader VINNY KUSY,...
LP $22.95
11/01/2019
CD $15.50
03/15/2005
2XCD $17.50
10/15/2013
***Official authorized reissue of the legendary psychedelic LP by Christopher from South Carolina. One of the absolute best American psychedelic LPs of the 1960’s, and one of the rarest—a copy went for close to $4,000 the last time an original copy sold online, and nearly double that changed hands off-line for an original! Every song is of the highest quality (all originals too), with an accessible sound the suggests that the band could have had more widespread success, had they ever made it out of their native South Carolina. Originally pressed in 1969 to use as a demo, the album is a mix of trippy lysergic lyrics with flanged vocals (among other effects), fine vocal harmonies, extended jamming, and a transcendent quality expressed with gutsy and creative guitar work. Includes a 12-page full-size booklet with rare photos, stories from the road and complete lyrics.
LP $24.50
09/06/2019
***BACK IN STOCK!!! In February of 2009, Jim Valice of Index discovered three reels in a cardboard box stuffed in a closet of his parents home in Michigan. These songs from 1969 were on those reels. Fourteen original compositions by Index, seven making their vinyl debut, the other seven released for the first time ever, all transferred from the original tapes! Index was once again a pure power trio by 1969. There was massive demand for Index personal performances. Index was not interested. It was becoming more difficult for guitarist John Ford to travel back from Yale University to Detroit on a weekly basis. Index wanted to push the bounds of their own creativity. They chose to use their limited time together to write and record. Index were the epitome of a DIY band. They made great use of the newly developed sound on sound (SOS) technology. It allowed Index to record basic tracks (guitars, drums and lead vocals); with SOS they then could add keyboards, additional guitar tracks and vocals. A musical revolution in miniature!
LP $24.50
06/14/2019
***The Sidewinders formed in the spring of 1985. The group released "Cuacha!” in 1987 (and again in 1988), and subsequently signed to RCA/Mammoth Records, with whom they released two full-length albums, 1989's “Witchdoctor" and 1990's "Auntie Ramos' Pool Hall." “Witchdoctor" cracked the lower echelons of the Billboard 200 on the strength of two rock radio hits. The band scored exposure on MTV and VH1 and embarked on a worldwide tour. But the Sidewinders were soon sidelined due to legal problems stemming from a challenge over the band’s name. As the Sand Rubies, they released an album on Polydor/Atlas in 1993 (at one point, Pearl Jam served as their opening act). However, the strain of the legal tussle led the Sand Rubies to dissolve during a tour in 1993—just as two other Arizona rock bands, Gin Blossoms and The Refreshments, attracted mainstream attention. "By the time they recorded Cuacha!, the Sidewinders had almost figured out what kind of band they wanted to be. On some cuts here the Hüsker Dü-goes-West mix of acoustic textures and roaring guitar is almost perfect. 'I Guess It Doesn't Matter' and 'Blood on Our Hands' are punk-pop masterpieces driven by Rich Hopkins' snarling guitars and Dave Slutes' country-inflected but brash singing... The album is worth having for the first released version of 'What She Said,' a song that the band released on three different albums, each time rocking a bit harder and at greater length. The version here is a dark, mournful folk-rock piece."...
LP $23.45
05/03/2019
***Formed in 1970, CARPE DIEM started out playing covers by the likes of East of Eden, King Crimson, Deep Purple, and Uriah Heep in clubs along the French Riviera. Original compositions made their way into the band's repertoire over the five years between their formation and the release of their debut album, En Regardent Passer Le Temps, in 1976. Little wonder then that the band sounds as magnificently tight, polished and mature on this classic debut, truly one of the gems of the French rock scene. The success of the album brought them dates with other major French bands like Magma and Ange, led to the recording of a second album, and then ultimately to the sort of nearly total obscurity which deserves to be undone with a reissue such as this one! “The album practically encompasses the diversity and inspiration of the French progressive rock underground. It is, easily, one of the finest albums to have emerged from that scene. At the risk of sounding like a raving fanboy, En Regardent Passer Le Temps is indeed a classic record for the ages.”—Greg Northrup, Progweed
LP $22.95
04/19/2019
***Graduate in Fine Arts, JEAN-EMMANUEL DELUXE quickly realized that pop culture offered a wider field of investigation than a bloodless art world where being conventional is required of everyone. A specialist in pop culture, J-E Deluxe is also an author (check his Yéyé girls of 60’s French Pop published by Feral House) and an artist. Journalist for Shindig, Acid Beans, Rock and Folk, Citizen K, Transfuge, Schnock and many other magazines, he knows that one can't be both judge and jury, which is why he prefers to promote the artists he likes rather than criticize the ones he doesn't. He also runs the Martyrs du Pop label which made a name with April March, Jacques Duvall and Jay Alansky. The concept of Rouen Dreams—like the cover by BART JOHNSON—is an interior voyage: Hollywood seen from the eyes of a Frenchman who has never been there, but knows that no matter in what part of the world we live, our collective unconscious has been shaped (brainwashed?) by the "dream” factory. Musically, the album is inspired by a sort of tradition of weird Pop from Francois Werthheimer to Dashiel Hedayat… as well as seeking its roots in music ranging from the very popular Gilbert O'Sullivan to the baroque experimentations of Stevie R Moore. If you like to immerse yourself in weird popisms, in sweet and syrupy madness, we’d like to welcome you to Rouenllywood. Roll up for the mystery tour.
LP $22.95
03/15/2019
***One of very few indie label releases on Spin Magazine's list of 100 top counter-cultural music, ahead of legends like Mulatu Astatke, Brigitte Fontaine, Pärson Sound, Ornette Coleman, Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra, Harry Partch, and Os Mutantes. Zowie! "In 1965, eight guys from London, Ontario, decided to start a free-improv group—'free' to the point of building their own instruments, which they decided couldn't be set up to produce specific pitches... Their vocalist, schoolteacher Bill Exley, banged on a cooking pot and bellowed hilariously about stupidity and destruction and Canada. They didn't treat what they were doing as an advanced, visionary form of experimental music, but as a big, stupid, fun, ecstatic noise. By the '90s, noise artists finally recognized NSB as their ancestors—and, almost 50 years after they started, the surviving members of the Nihilist Spasm Band still play every Monday night while their children haunt loft spaces the world over."—Spin "The record you’re holding is one of the masterworks of that big gray area of noise/weirdo/freak-out music. It’ still hard to believe that No Record was released in 1968. This was a time when popular music was still growing up, and these outsider guys from Canada came out of nowhere and made this mindfuck of record that was years ahead of itself. And as with albums like Trout Mask Replica, and The Faust Tapes, it still sounds fresh today. No Record is mandatory listening.” —Lasse Marhaug
LP $22.95
10/31/2018
CD $15.50
09/02/2014
***NOW AVAILABLE ON VINYL!!! Not only is this the first time the music of THE LOST SOULS has been available since a cassette released in 1984 by member DENNY CARLETON, our Lion Productions edition is the first release for many additional Lost Souls cuts, including alternate versions of key tracks like the insightful ‘Things That Are Important’ and ‘I’m Falling’ (the closest to a hit the band ever had), all taken from the original tapes and carefully mastered. Seven bonus tracks highlight the work of Lost Soul's main songwriter Denny Carleton (one-time member of THE CHOIR, and more surprisingly, punk legends the PAGANS); selections by The Choir, Moses, Milk and Carleton, many in all possible low-fi glory, recorded on various 4-Track devices, ranging from power-pop to grimy garage. "The Lost Souls never released any records, yet the meager recorded evidence that survives indicates that they were one of the finest unknown American groups of the mid-'60s, able to write both catchy British Invasion-type rockers and, in their latter days, experimental psychedelic pieces with unusual tempo changes and song structures. The band were also unusual in their occasional embellishment of the typical period guitar-bass-drums lineup with flute, sax, and mandolin. Although popular in their Cleveland hometown, they broke up in 1968 to attend college. Rhythm guitarist Denny Carleton, who wrote and sang some of their best material, went on to briefly join The Choir, their chief (and more successful) rivals." —Richie Unterberger
CD $11.00
10/19/2018
2XLP $32.50
03/18/2022
***BACK IN PRINT!!! What have we here? At first glance it seems like the missing volume from our Groove Club series, which it so easily could have been! In short, it's a stunning collection—which took more than fifteen years to put together—of tracks that combine cumbia with psychedelic rock. Starting in the late 1960s, there was a boom of tropical music in Peru, both in Lima and the provinces. The music called ‘cumbia peruana’ merged this tropical sound with that of psychedelic rock. Peculiar aspects of traditional Colombian cumbia were mixed with electric (often fuzz) guitar, played over native Andean and jungle rhythms; this combination provoked an explosion of original musical styles: an instrument to lead the way, usually from the introduction of the song; over this, hypnotic layers of keyboards or guitar with wah wah, and simple bass-lines; to top it off, syncopated rhythms from percussion instruments such as bongos, congas, huiros, cymbals, timbales, among others, often played at breakneck speed, to drive the song forward. Simple, funky, effective. In the end, it's like a sonic cousin to Nigerian music: these musicians liked guitar, they had a fondness for echo, and they loved a murky high-octane jam. Firece, funky and full of flavor. Includes an insert.
LP $22.95
08/31/2018
CD $15.50
07/14/2015
***BACK IN STOCK!!! All of the original compositions from the band's two self-released holy grails of psychedelia (the Black Album and the Red Album, from 1967-68) combined into one collection—all newly transferred from the original tapes! Most of you have no doubt heard of records that have been touted as “mind blowing”, “fuzz monsters”, or “lost/undiscovered classics”. The raves rarely turn out to be justified. That's certainly not the case with the music of Index—if anything, the raves underplay the essence of the band's music, which is seething with cavernous reverb, snaky guitar lines, and downer lyrics. It is fantastically minimalist, starkly atmospheric, and sprinkled with ferocious guitar work. In the mid 1960’s, Detroit Michigan was a thriving industrial city. But the great ethnic diversity in the inner city was a brewing powder keg of civil unrest. This, coupled with a disillusioned population struggling to make some sense of a questionable war in the rice paddies of Viet Nam, set an uneasy and troubling tempo for the future. Still, there were pockets of communities in the Detroit area where things were good and economic life was vibrant. The Grosse Pointes were such communities. It was on the outskirts of this political and racially tense era, in those affluent suburbs just outside Detroit, that Index was formed. The music of Index has been lauded by (and bootlegged by) music heads for decades, and with good reason: it is unexpected, atmospheric, and "home-made" in the best...
LP $24.50
07/06/2018
***BACK IN PRINT ON VINYL!!! First official release of this cult favorite-an album overflowing with brooding, mystical, Eastern-influenced hippie psychedelia dominated by long and largely instrumental tracks-all based on a complex interplay of recorder, hand drums and acoustic guitar. PTARMIGAN recorded the basic tracks for what would eventually become their only album in Vancouver, BC during the fall of 1972. It then took the band's producer and manager, renowned flautist Paul Horn, more than a year to find a label willing to release such unusual music. Finally, in 1974, Columbia Records released Ptarmigan's album to critical acclaim, and minimal sales. The music of Ptarmigan is deep and authentic, and sounds best when meditating on a landscape, an emotion, or a bottle of wine. Sometimes it is free-flowing and jazz-oriented; at other times it has the mystical feel of a shamanistic ceremony, with its oriental or South American harmonies. But in the end, this album is about the sea—Ptarmigan was, after all, from Vancouver Island, and the musicians were well-versed in the contradictory moods of the surrounding ocean. One of those hidden gems from the 70's that make life better when you discover them all these years later, rated by many as one of the best “folk/progressive” and/or “folk/psych” albums ever made. Limited second edition of 300 copies with huge insert.
LP $22.95
05/25/2018
CD $15.50
08/28/2006
***BACK IN PRINT!!! SEARCH PARTY was the brainchild of (then Reverend) NICHOLAS FREUND. Having left Wisconsin to join a burgeoning West Coast religious scene, Freund made his way to San Francisco in 1968 to lay down this sole effort with some of his students. The result is a spooky trip that’s equal parts acid-soaked mind expansion and God. Laced with haunting vocals and dreamlike passages, sinister farfisa, blasts of fuzz guitar and downer lyrics, Montgomery Chapel is psychedelic music at its most evocative and thanks to its depth and sense of anxiety, most truly spiritual. The ominous nine-minute drifter 'So Many Things Have Got Me Down,' for example, tackles the difficulties of an unfulfilled married life, depression and spiritual apathy, all while riding a stripped down, grooving beat. If you can imagine a lo-fi United States of America/Jefferson Airplane hybrid, you have an idea of how cool this band sounds. Only 600 copies were pressed and issued on the custom Century label; they've become holy grails of collectors. Artists as disparate as Current 93's David Tibet and Sonic Boom have heaped praise on it. We're thrilled to give this lost classic a proper reissue. Audio restoration by Anders Peterson. Insert is packed with info thanks to Nick Freund, who was gracious enough to delve into his memory, scrapbook, and photo albums to help us flesh out the portrait of one of the most potent—and perhaps most unlikely—psychedelic groups to ever record an album. New hand numbered pressing...
LP $25.25
04/20/2018
***AVAILABLE AGAIN!!! The rise of power trio T2 was rapid: important open-air festivals; headlining at the Marquee Club; appearances at virtually every major venue in London. Their debut album (It'll All Work Out in Boomland) was released; they seemed poised for a breakthrough. They were playing the Marquee club, with John Lennon and Jimi Hendrix hanging out backstage, which was all to the good. But people were saying, “we can’t find your album anywhere.” In short order, the band fell apart. Still, their sole Decca label album has become well established as an all-time classic amongst progressive and psychedelic music collectors—even the techno and DJj crowds. The fact that it has done so without hype is a testament to the innate quality of the music. Following the departures of KEITH CROSS and BERNARD JINKS, PETE DUNTON put a new version of T2 together; in this manner, T2 toured the UK continuously throughout 1971 and 1972. The UK music scene was changing with great rapidity. T2 recorded a group of great tracks along the lines of what Free, Deep Purple, and Atomic Rooster were doing; but they were also being pressured to compromise their very-personal sound. These musical difficulties (and possibly some contractual troubles) stopped T2's material of that period from being released—until now. The sound of the band is virtually unchanged from the dense, hard-driving excellence of their previous recordings. It’s amazing that a band could produce so much quality music and still be confined...
CD $11.00
03/23/2018
***BACK IN STOCK!!! PLASTIC CLOUD recorded, quite simply, one of the greatest underground psychedelic albums ever made: a swirl of gossamer vocals and Tolkien references, swathed in the some of the most relentless fuzz guitar you will ever hear. There is no point singling out a specific track, they are al excellent—one is equally as good as the next. Take for example the album centerpiece, the ten-and-a-half-minute ‘You Don't Care,’ an insane piece of social commentary that features terrific back-of-the-mix fuzz guitar as an elusive focal point to its extended pounding-drum laden instrumental breaks; a ten-minute swath of lysergic fuzz guitar that closes out the first side, it doesn't overstay its welcome, winding its way to a final freak out. A record with few equals, full of foreboding melodies and lovely hippie harmonies, as well as some of the trippiest fuzz guitar ever recorded. Essential psychedelia! LP pressed on 180-gram vinyl with lyric insert and replica vintage press release in an edition of 500 copies.
LP $24.95
03/15/2018
***DASZU was based in Milwaukee, not in the UK. Except for cassette distributions in Helsinki and Dublin, and a few scattered performances, they lived, practiced and performed near home. In 1979, MARK RUDOLPH (now an interactive 3D artist, musician, software developer, mathematician and the director of i3Dmedia LLC) talked in his kitchen to DAVID WOLF about an idea he had for a new music: how music could be 'popular' without rock guitars and big wall sound such as large amps and organs. "I said we could do a minimal three-piece music based on new melodic lines and poetry and synthesis. I thought that we could remake reality. It was possibly ambitious, but I didn't think so. We decided to do it." They didn't use a big polyphonic keyboard, preferring a mini-moog sound generator. The 1/2 Dativa material included on our Lion survey of Daszu's musical innovations was the work of Rudolph and his Australian friend and musician, GREG O'CONNOR (BOOM CRASH OPERA). Rudolph had been studying mathematics and computer music in Australia, and a mix of Daszu, his computer generated music and O'Connor's great genius with electronic parts is evident in these intense, propulsive recordings made on a pair of DX-7 synthesizers one feverish day in 1983. CD version includes a 24-page booklet. First time on vinyl for all tracks, including two bonus songs not on the CD version. LP comes with an 8-page booklet.
CD $11.00
02/02/2018
2XLP $31.45
05/24/2019
***After venturing from Brazil to England to attend the Isle of Wight Festival, Brazilian band the BUBBLES—the toast of the underground Rio de Janeiro scene, who had backed Tropicalist singer Gal Costa’s residence at the Sucata night club in that epochal year of 1970—decided to experiment with a heavier sound than that of their Brazilian cohorts. Step one, they changed their name to A BOLHA. Then, loaded with verve and swagger (and fueled by drugs), they recorded their first album, which has secured a permanent place as one of the best rock/psych albums to ever emerge from South America. That album, Um Passo a Frente (A Step Forward), was released in 1973 by the Continental label, in a gatefold cover which was quite luxurious for the era. This masterpiece, now impossibly hard to find as an original, made a name for A Bolha in the pantheon of 1970’s Brazilian rock. But success in the early 1970s was not like it had been in the Tropicalia days, when even weird bands like Os Mutantes had weekly TV gigs to help them become well-known nationwide—and eventually, worldwide. A co-release with Portugal's Groovie Records. Includes both sides of the band's hardrocking 1971 single as bonus tracks. Pressed in an edition of 300 numbered copies with insert.
LP $24.50
09/08/2017
***Thirty five years on the road. Eight albums acclaimed by the international press. Exalted shows at Near Fest, Baja Prog, Mexico DF Prog. Cinematographic sounds made by the four original members. Heavy and dynamic keyboards/Hammond; elaborate guitar work; powerful bass & drums. Their latest album—not a reissue of previously released material All analog recording to enhance the 1970's flavor "Clearly we have found the band's live performance and albums to be among the best modern progressive albums we've heard. Worth a trans-Atlantic journey, maybe even a trip to Argentina, Nexus' albums and live performances are not only a must listen but also a must see!”—musicaldiscoveries.com. Edition of 300 hand-numbered copies, of which only 150 copies are available for distribution.
LP $27.85
09/08/2017
***Another great album from Canada's legendary Paragon label, a set of super bluesy psych demo tapes from 1968. The band's album Stink was received not just as a great album of electric blues, but as some sort of revelation when it appeared in the second half of 1969. But lead guitarist MIKE MCKENNA had spent time ('67-'68) in the UGLY DUCKLINGS, and had already developed a 'local hero' tag by playing hard electric blues as a member of the legendary LUKE AND THE APOSTLES. Together, he and JOE MENDELSON made arrestingly earthy music, which soon attracted another of Toronto's rock gods of the day, bassist DENNY GERRARD from the PAUPERS, whose legendary talents had served him well on the stage of the Monterey Pop Festival, where his work with the Paupers was (and still is) considered a highlight. The material included on this disc, rough and searing demo material, is arguably even more rare and interesting than that on their classic McKenna Mendelson Mainline Stink album.
LP $19.25
07/31/2017
***In the days before genre obsession, a rock and roll fervor drew on a rediscovery of blue grass, folk, blues and ‘country music’. Add to the mix consciousness-expansion afforded by the proliferation of psychedelic drugs, and the music scene of the West Coast of America percolated, powered by this heady brew. At the heart of this experiment in new music and consciousness the NEW RIDERS OF THE PURPLE SAGE were born. The history of the New Riders will forever be intertwined with that of their fellow travelers the GRATEFUL DEAD. Both bands shared a down-home vibe, and shared members for recording dates. JERRY GARCIA of the Grateful Dead co-founded the New Riders with JOHN DAWSON and DAVID NELSON as an opportunity to play pedal steel guitar—although he plays banjo and dobro on Powerglide, first released in 1972. Dawson and Nelson returned the favor, playing on Dead masterpieces American Beauty and Workingman’s Dead. PHIL LESH and MICKEY HART of the Dead rounded out the New Riders rhythm section until DAVID TORBERT took over on bass and SPENCER DRYDEN of JEFFERSON AIRPLANE fame took over on drums. Grateful Dead drummer BILL KREUZMAN plays percussion on this album. To add to all that star power, noted British pianist NICKY HOPKINS (Beatles, Kinks, Stones) played keyboards on Powerglide. Dave Torbert's ‘California Day’ is a gem, a hymn to the West Coast with some beautiful slide and fuzz guitar work; ‘Contract,’ is an equally impressive blend of country rock and old west imagery. NRPS's cover...
LP $17.75
06/09/2017