Perth County Conspiracy - Kanada / Break Out To Berlin (1975) [GDR Original]

Perth County Conspiracy - Kanada a.k.a. Break Out To Berlin (1975)

Original East German (GDR/DDR) pressing
AMIGA – 8 55 424  (Discogs)
~ThePoodleBites rip at 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

Canadian hippie-folk legends the Perth County Conspiracy released what would be their final album Kanada (a.k.a. Break Out To Berlin) behind the Iron Curtain in East Berlin, February 1975. The album was recorded in several sessions over a three-day period, following the group's appearance at the Fifth Annual Festival of Political Song, where many (communist and predominantly state-sponsored) bands from the Eastern bloc and other countries gathered from across the world. With statewide broadcast of the festival providing advertising, the final PCC album reportedly sold upwards of 80,000 copies in the Soviet bloc. Whether or not that figure is true, it certainly stands as one of the band's best efforts, and it was cut with an audiophile-level quality of high fidelity, making it sound terrific even 50 years later.

Many thanks to Richard Keelan for his wonderful insights into the creation of this terrific album!

Front cover of the East German edition.
The band display their signature tapestry, as also integrated on the cover artwork of their debut album.

The band released several albums following their masterpiece Columbia debut, and while to my ears none made it to the same high musical standards as their first, this album probably comes closest. In many ways it feels like PCC's parallel to the Beatles' White Album; maybe that's an over-exaggeration, but Richard Keelan and Cedric Smith have their own songs recorded with the rest of the band with minimal intermingling. Hearing these two individuals separated, it suddenly occurs to me why the band's formula worked so well: Keelan and Smith form a divine counterpoint to one another, with Richard's soaring, angelic voice relaying holistic and even idealistic poetry that lingers mentally long after exiting the air, till Cedric cuts through with his cynical irony and humor, his raspy voice bellowing lines of a story like a playwright. It's these two elements mixed together, and their mutual respect for one another, which makes this album (and band) so great.

This record was released with two different covers and titles: Kanada in the GDR (distributed throughout the broader Soviet bloc), and Break Out To Berlin on the band's home turf of Canada. Richard Keelan remembers: "Now, I'm not sure if you're aware that there are two versions of this album; the Amiga (German) pressing is surely the best quality vinyl I ever recorded – hands down! However, we also pressed our own batch (again at RCA) with our own printed sleeve, a red, black & white high-contrast photo of the Brandenburg Gate as viewed from East Berlin ... We titled it 'Break Out To Berlin'. ... but! The vinyl was crap compared to the Amiga vinyl. The actual German pressing is entitled 'PCC Kanada' – we titled our domestic repressing 'Breakout to Berlin' ... I tend to favour 'Kanada' mit ein 'K' ... heh ..." Indeed, the GDR pressing quality is audiophile-grade, which makes this album a joy to listen to. Musically it's a perfect snapshot of the political era, with some timeless masterpieces worked in as well: "I have no way to know whether UToob postings of tunes from that album are from the OG or our repressed version. Either way, I do know a lot of the material on it is somewhat dated, politically speaking. But I also know my 'Voice in the Wilderness' is the favourite song of mine I have ever recorded ... one of my best, in my humble opinion."

Front cover of the Canadian edition, showing the Brandenburg gate from Pariser Platz on the east side.
The band's name is listed as PCCDNEGDR -- that is, the Perth County Conspiracy Does Not Exist in the German Democratic Republic.

The album kicks off with Cedric's "Old Ways," a short, nostalgic rememberance of more difficult yet camaraderie-driven days. This song has only two stanzas but immediately establishes the album's tone while simultaneously reflecting familiar back-to-the-land ethos from the group's earlier LPs:

Oh, it isn't like the old days But there's a feeling still around Of a time when independence wasn't being alone Looking out for one's own And he still recalls the old ways When the horses pulled the plow Now life was hardly simple, but a neighbor lent a hand And you worked close to the land
	Cedric, riding one of his horses in the back forty of Perth

The musical arrangement is a reflection of the lyrics: a solemn back-county jam led by acoustic guitar and fiddle. This album generally has much less studio tomfoolery than the earlier LPs, and as such it feels very organic. The medley smoothly transitions into "Hooray For The Farmer," a reverent ode to farmerhood, first recorded for the band's earlier live, self-released Rumour LP What School Bus Tour. Straight from this first track, it's clear: the PCCdne is back.

This near-perfect opener is followed by pianist Paul Gellman's sole songwriting contribution to the album, "Breaking Down The Walls," a frankly strange symbol to use on this predominantly socialist album recorded not far from where the real and quite symbolic Berlin Wall still stood. It hardly sounds like the same band; Richard does backing vocals while Paul takes lead, which is understandable but definitely a less professional sound. However, Richard's first contribution, "Heart Of The Beast," immediately follows and more than compensates for any possible deficiencies, with intricate lyrics, internal rhymes and wordplay: "Between the bankers and the police / I'm lookin' for a little rest in peace," but sounding like "rest 'n' peace" until you hear "a little R.I.P." in the final verse. Indeed, who hasn't tempered that very mood? – I'm reminded by this theme of Pink Floyd's "Welcome To The Machine," but "Beast" has a much more uplifting spirit: an almost acceptance, or self-awareness of sorts.

The spirit remains largely the same till Cedric cuts through with his keen, jaded "Lining Up To Go":

Oh, there's been no rain, and the crops are the same
as the day we put them in
No money around, and no work to be found
and Mabel says it's 'cause we've sinned...

Oh, the freight cars were rough, and I sure had enough
of soup lines and taking the dole
I used up my prime serving hard times,
now how could I end up in the hole?

Hearing this verse I feel that Cedric really meant those lines; it would only be a few years until the Perth County Conspiracy -- that is, the loose association of Ontarian farms, and not just the recording act -- had totally disintegrated. You can still feel the reverberations of that idealistic dream from the first LP, but also begin seeing cracks where it's breaking apart. In any case, I think this song is really about Canadians going to serve in World War II: "when the mad dogs of Europe barked at the moon and we were lining up to go."

After "Live With Me On Earth," which is Milton Acorn prose set to music, Richard reemerges on side 2 with "Touch A Spark," an inarguable album highlight; even after hundreds of listens, its beautiful, lilting chorus still gives me chills:

The lightning arcs and the angels sing in the spring sky
Spark a touch and the feeling is such
That all living things are free to fly
Away, away, away we go in order to return again

"Military Spectatorships" -- a rare feature combination of both Richard and Cedric vox -- is a dated parody of Cold War-era Western insensitivity to happenings abroad. Cedric's lead – scathing – makes reference to Henry Kissinger among others. This short song is then answered by Keelan's "Richard's Down," where "Richard" refers not to Keelan, but to former U.S. President Nixon. The song, written in a minor key, encourages, above all, love: "to keep the world from falling apart." It's this amazing back-and-forth interplay between Richard and Cedric, positive and negative, jubilation and sorrow, love and war, that adds incredible depth to the songs on this LP.

Apart from a cringe-worthy line in "Dance Of The Fat" ("We can streak to the moon in a silvery penis"), the program straightforwardly ventures on till the album closer, "Voice In The Wilderness," the final song the band ever released; and wow, what a valedictory coda it is. Suddenly all of the politics, the inner struggles, the woes and the fears are vaporized: it's a timeless, life-guiding musical statement, as ripe in idealisms as Relatively Clean Rivers, running free with wildlife and natural imagery, parallelizing purification of one's own journey and will. Its permanence permeates every song the band ever recorded.

The original GDR edition of the album was apparently sold at 16,10 East German marks (Ostmark), which assuming the country's "official" 1:1 exchange rate with the West German mark, would equate to about $41.42 in 2025 U.S. dollars. Of course, the Ostmark traded on the black market for a fraction of this price -- but it still shows how expensive it was to an Eastern Bloc worker at the time. The government-controlled record label sold it off as follows:

Liner notes on the East German LP

Begleittexte auf der DDR-LP

The following tracks were recorded by the Canadian group "Perth County Conspiracy" during the 5th Festival of Political Song. The group members live on various farms in Perth County, where they earn their living by making toys and handicrafts. Their music, heavily influenced by their country's folklore, also incorporates elements of rock. The lyrics are characterized by a wealth of poetic imagery, and they strive to reflect and simultaneously transform the existing order, aiming to use song as a weapon in the struggle to create a better social order. However, wordplay and idiomatic expressions do not always allow the meaning to be immediately clear to the listener in translation. What is evident, though, is the group's desire to publicly express their progressive views, even in capitalist countries. This is why they refer to themselves as "Perth County Conspiracy does not exist," a group that does not exist as a conspiratorial formation.

Die vorliegenden Titel wurden von der kanadischen Gruppe „Perth County Conspiracy“ während des 5. Festivals des politischen Liedes eingespielt. Die Mitglieder der Gruppe leben auf verschiedenen Farmen im Distrikt Perth County, wo sie sich ihren Lebensunterhalt mit der Herstellung von Spielzeug und kunstgewerblichen Gegenständen verdienen. Ihre Musik, die von der Folklore ihres Landes stark beeinflußt ist, enthält auch Elemente des Rock. Die Texte zeichnen sich durch eine Vielzahl poetischer Bilder aus, und sie bemühen sich um die Widerspiegelung und zugleich Veränderung des Bestehenden mit dem Ziel, das Lied als Waffe im Kampf um die Herausbildung einer besseren Gesellschaftsordnung einzusetzen. Wortspiele und idiomatische Wendungen lassen es in der Übersetzung allerdings nicht in jedem Fall zu, daß sich der Sinn dem Hörer sofort voll erschließt. Erkennbar ist jedoch das Anliegen der Gruppe, ihre progressiven Auffassungen auch in kapitalistischen Ländern öffentlich zu bekunden. Deshalb bezeichnet sie sich auch als „Perth County Conspiracy does not exist“, als eine Gruppe also, die als konspirative Formation nicht existiert.

Indeed, when listening to the album, more progressive political elements surface, but they're not overwhelming; the political messages, when they even appear, are more generally statements of discontent and reflections of poverty than all-out communist worship (another, I guess, similarity with the White Album -- or not). The Canadian edition had a more simple and graceful message on its cover:

Front cover text on the Canadian LP

Text auf der Vorderseite der kanadischen LP

A heartfelt thank you to the people of the GDR for their hospitality and for the opportunity to make this record. We would like to share this experience with the people of all socialist countries.

Einen warmen Dank an die Menschen der D.D.R. für ihre Gastfreundschaft und für die Möglichkeit, diese Schallplatte zu machen. Dieses Erlebnis möchten wir mit den Völkern aller sozialistischen Länder teilen.

Back cover of the Canadian LP, with credits for the musicians
and facilities involved in its production

Back cover of the GDR LP, with similar credits and rough
translations of each song's lyrics

Richard Keelan, one of the architects of this great record, kindly agreed to share his recollections about its history:

I'll try to recall how this all came about as best I can nearly 50 years after the fact. We received an invitation to take part in the 'Fifth Annual Festival of Political Song' (I think that was the title – I'd have to look it up). Anyway, our participation was advocated by a guy named Michael Friedman, a Canadian who was studying music in East Berlin at the time (he is pretty well-known singer-songwriter now living in Vancouver, BC). Somehow, our participation was approved by the Canadian government(!), and we were flown via KLM Airlines to Amsterdam (pre-paid!); then we boarded a Polish airline plane (maybe the Polish airliner), a two-engine prop plane that shook and shuddered its way to East Berlin. We ended up ensconced the Stat Hilton, the absolute most modern edifice we could see in the city – a sleek, modern needle of a hotel overlooking a square called Alexanderplatz (I think... somethin' like that...).

As you might guess, we were a definite anomaly at this Festival; most of the folk groups were from Russia, Denmark, GDR, South American countries, wherever – almost all of which were affiliated with their respective countries' Communist parties, if not actually sponsored by same; we were not! (Our closest connection to the Communist Party of Canada was our friend, the great poet Milton Acorn, who defiantly maintained his membership in the Party most of his life.) ... We were a bunch of anarchic hippies from a first-world country in a country that would disappear from the planet within a decade or so ... it was, um ... weird, to be sure.

Excerpt from an article in the East German newspaper Neues Deutchland, 11 Feb 1975

With Red Songs in the Class Struggle Revolutionary Singers Seek Experience in Berlin   The group "Perth County Conspiracy" comes from Canada. With their songs and programs, which also include dance, pantomime, and cabaret, they aim to educate the public in their country about the social, cultural, and historical situation. Cedrik Smith [sic], the group's spokesperson, describes Canada as a veritable cultural colony of the USA. "All you have to do is turn on the television – it's all from the States." The group doesn't just want to state facts, but also offer alternatives and appeal to Canadian national pride. They perform for students and farmers, in prisons, churches, and union halls. Today, they belong to the growing progressive front in Canada, which is advancing for national independence and the victory of socialism.

Songs of Victory and Confidence Tuesday Evening Program at the Volksbühne   Signals, reports, and commentaries on the freedom struggles of other peoples will also be presented at the first evening event on Tuesday at the Volksbühne in Berlin. The Canadian group "Perth County Conspiracy" will perform. Five young people who, with their songs, not only champion national independence from the USA but also consistently engage in the spirit of anti-imperialist solidarity. In "How a Body Richards Down," they sharply criticize the Canadian government's willingness to compromise with the ruling clique of terrorists and murderers in Chile. The young people in the packed Volksbühne hall stand with their Canadian comrades, applauding them long and heartily, wanting to hear more.

Neues Deutchland, 12 Feb 1975

Now, we were only there for about ten days, and most of the days were a blur, with three or four memorable performances that come to mind: the main one was in the major concert venue (Opera House?) in the city ... possibly a 10,000 seater, which was also televised around the country. Most of the groups, including us, did sets in the course of that evening. On another day, we were asked to rise early one morning, and were bused to the outskirts to perform a set at a wire factory for the workers in their cafeteria for lunch ... That was a pretty gritty gig that felt really good to do in terms of connecting with the reality of the place – which, overall, was pretty grim, not unlike the depressing feel of the whole country. About the only natural resource there was brown coal, which fuelled the place with a blanket of coal-smog hanging in the air... and the coal-fuelled street lighting was dim, dull, and yellowish.

Neues Deutchland, 13 Feb 1975

Meetings in Berlin Companies A Premiere: Among Workers  "This is a premiere for us," said the five singers of the group "Perth County Conspiracy" from Canada. "Here at the KWO, we're singing for workers in a factory for the first time." Their visit to the Berlin cable factory workers offered the Canadian friends ample opportunity to get a picture of a large socialist enterprise and the workers who are in charge here. During a tour of various factory departments, they witnessed how many thin wires eventually become thick cables for telephone lines, which allow 960 simultaneous conversations to pass through. But machines and products alone do not characterize the new, socialist production conditions. And then there was a plethora of questions for representatives of the management and for members of the Free German Youth (FDJ): "Can a worker simply be fired here? What training opportunities are there? What is the position of women in the factory?"  For the members of the "Perth County Conspiracy," some of the answers prompted them to speak about the capitalist society in their homeland. They reported on rising unemployment and increasing corporate profits: "Eighty percent of the profits go to the USA."  They long for the kind of opportunities for contact that existed in the GDR. In Canada, singers like them find it very difficult to connect with workers in factories. "We mostly sing at universities, but we've also performed in prisons." Questions and counter-questions abounded. The schedule became disorganized. The late afternoon performance at the KWO clubhouse was pressing.

Official logo of the festival:
a bird beating a drum. The
Freie Deutsche Jugend (FDJ) symbol
appears on the drum's rim.

Other than those occasions where we performed, I also recall a party gathering for the performers sponsored by the Young Communist League... or Committee, or something. These 'young commies' were just really young people like us – some beards, a little longish hair, liked to have a beer, shared smokes. Larry Brown told me later he'd chatted up a girl (he was renowned for his, uh...charm) ... They ended up under a piano with a floor-length cover on it, where they became acquainted 'biblically', shall we say ... rascal! Later, as we walked across the plaza to our hotel, I was quietly tootling on my pennywhistle when out of the darkness appeared two green-coated Stasi with shouldered rifles; they asked what we're doing, we indicated our hotel destination, and they warned me ... "musik NICHT!", and I put the whistle back in my pocket.

Here's another VERY vivid memory: we had to go to the Amiga Records office to collect the 10,000 marks we were offered to go into the studio; Paul Gellman and myself went to said office... which was located in the former villa of Hermann GOERING...! It was located on the edge of steep-sided valley overlooking the frontier (demarcated by crossed timber posts [XXX strung with barbed wire] patrolled by more pairs of green-coated Stasi). We noted bullet-hole chips still in the walls around the front door. I should point out here that Paul was a Jewish lad from Richmond Hill (north Toronto), accompanying me, the IrishAmeriCanadian guy, to pick up East German cash at Goering's villa ... you could NOT make this shit up, I must say.

Spending a share of 10,000 GDR marks really was difficult to do – most any kind of clothing available I wouldn't wear on a bus! ... drab colors and east Euro styling of the mid-'70s. The shoes were in a dull rainbow of choices in brown or black ... or grey. The most memorable gew-gaw I bought was a Russian made stopwatch which performed according to its name – it stopped soon after I got back. I may have given some marks to the young Commie friends we met, drank beer and shared smokes with ... I think I had some Deutschmarks left when I got home.

So we had three days after the Festival to record all the material on the album. We did quite a few sessions (not sure how many) in those remaining days; I recall at least one at night, and another vivid image remains with me from that. The studio was on a dead-end street that was blocked by The Wall, and as I was at the top of the steps down to the studio, the dull yellowish street lights lit the street where I stood, while above the Wall, those huge rectangular mercury street lights brightly lit up the street on the West Berlin side; it was a very stark visage.

The studio was a large subterranean space where it was obvious that classical music was recorded there. There was a lovely 9 foot grand piano, vibes, tympani, etc., and what seemed to be pretty good mics and other hardware. The one failing was that a decent bass amplifier was lacking ... what they had was a goinky little amp with an 8 inch speaker that had seen better days. The upshot ... Larry Brown sat in a chair behind baffles, headphone on right ear to hear what we were playing, hunched over with left headphone off his ear so he could hear himself in that tiny amp...! In particular on 'Richard`s Down', as the tune accelerates into a faster tempo on my guitar solo, Larry walks that bass like a boss...! ... I am not even sure what 'time' we were in at that point, but it was cookin'! ... Underpinned by his bass – not to mention Paul's remarkable piano work, as well. That song, as well as 'Voice...', were laid down on the last day by just moi, Paul, and Larry (my memory is vague here, but I think Dorit, Cedric, and Harry left to visit friends in London before we three finished those songs – I don't hear Dorit or Smith's voices on the overdubs, at any rate). I spent a while at the end writing several pages of notes on mixing the songs – because the album was mixed by staff after we had left the country...! The mix turned out OK, with some flaws I didn't care for – like the maracas on 'Touch A Spark' being mixed too high; a few other minor flaws as well, but overall, it came out pretty good. We were told later on (somehow) that as many as 80,000 copies were distributed (sold?) in the Eastern (Soviet) bloc; no idea if that's true.

Paul was committed to get back to T.O. immediately, but Larry and myself decided to take a train north to go to Copenhagen before we went back to Amsterdam for our flight home. As we were about to cross the Frontier to the west, two Stasi came to the door of our compartment demanding I.D.; we handed them our passports, and mine being a U.S. passport, one of them said "humph, Amerikanicher" with a suspicious glance ... I nodded, they handed back our passports and moved on. It was a relief to get out of there, frankly. There is more to the story as Larry and I made our way on the train to the North Sea and beyond, but I'll save it for later ...

Recent street view of the old AMIGA recording studio
Brunnenstraße 154, Berlin, Germany (source)

Track listing:
1) "Old Ways / Hurray For The Farmer" -- 2:43
2) "Breaking Down The Walls" -- 4:41
3) "Heart Of The Beast" -- 3:43
4) "Mothers Blues" -- 3:47
5) "Memory Stains / Lining Up To Go" -- 3:42
6) "Live With Me On Earth" -- 2:43
7) "Touch A Spark" -- 3:37
8) "Military Spectatorships" -- 1:50
9) "Richard's Down" -- 3:55
10) "Dance Of The Fat / You Growing" -- 3:10
11) "The Pioneer Song" -- 3:10
12) "The Voice In The Wilderness" -- 3:10

Vinyl condition: M-
Dynamic Range: DR 12

Equipment / Lineage:
– Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2024 (recording)
– iZotope RX 11 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 3.x.x (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v2.x.x (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/52tXSRRJ#7u8o9gBwbaAGdlPBO0ot9w

Neues Deutchland, 13 Feb 1975

Songs That Unite Us "Viva Chile!" - The solidarity at the festival Since the beginning, the global theme has resonated   If it weren't for the language barrier, our Chilean friends would have learned even more about the thoughts the groups express in their songs. These thoughts were audible throughout the festival, right from the start. ... The Perth County Conspiracy (Canada), participating for the first time, "wonders" why their government, even though their ambassador in Santiago was abroad buying a limousine during the coup, nevertheless recognized the junta 22 minutes after the coup.

Steppenwolf - s/t (1968) [Original USA Dedicated Mono]

 Steppenwolf - Steppenwolf (1968)

Original Dedicated MONO White-Label Promo
Dunhill / ABC Records D-50029
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + hi-res artwork scans~

Because standard US mono copies of the Steppenwolf debut are all a simple stereo fold-down, the dedicated mono mix of the LP was totally unknown to exist until Bob Irwin uncovered a mono tape in the UK, which was reissued on Sundazed in 2019. Following this surprising discovery, it was suggested that the original UK mono release must contain this dedicated mix as well, which surprisingly turns out to be true. I say that it's surprising because there are several late-'60s albums that were only available in stereo stateside, so in foreign countries these albums were folded down to create mono variants (stereo took over a bit later internationally). But in the US, where mono stock copies of Steppenwolf existed and sold prolifically, they were all fold-downs. So why is it that a dedicated mix would be made for foreign markets, but not sold domestically? Certainly ABC/Dunhill realized that their biggest Steppenwolf market was in the US, not the UK?

When I argued this obvious fact on Steve Huffers' Manufactured Forums, I was dismissed as Monsieur Idiotic Poodle by some ignorant English wanker. But I wasn't dissuaded; and for good reason, as it turns out that I was onto something: that dedicated mix actually was released in the good ole USA -- so take that, ya tea-sippin' British plonker! Yes, this mix was apparently released on some (but not all) white-label promo copies, one of which I was quite lucky to score... and another of which I have never seen even offered.

Many thanks to C.F. the Record Phantom for his usual invaluable contributions!

My attempt at photographing the rather worn foil cover from this dedicated mono Steppenwolf LP 

It's really quite curious why this mix was so quickly deleted and replaced by a stereo fold. Perhaps this had something to do with the bump in popularity from Easy Rider, the soundtrack of which used a stereo vinyl rip; or maybe someone felt there was some issue with this mix which wasn't on the stereo version. Also possible is that original mono tapes or stampers had unexpectedly become lost or suffered damage, or became ignored just purely due to logistical issues between different pressing plants... who knows? It surely is a shame, though, that this mix was essentially unheard until over 50 years after its initial release; it's clearly better than the folded-down stereo mix. The hits "Born To Be Wild" and "The Pusher" arguably sound best here -- I like these album mono mixes even more than the mono single versions, which are yet another source of alternate mixes (confused yet?).

Reconstructed front cover scan with monaural & promo stickers

Original UK mono LP, front cover

Original US mono LP, front cover (later fold-down edition)

Back cover of the original US pressing

As I am the first person to discover this particular mono variant, I can report that this dedicated mono mix is now known to exist in at least three places: this original US mono promo, the Sundazed reissue, and the UK mono, in order of sound quality from best to worst. The Sundazed is pretty good, but you can hear severe phase cancellation issues on the inner-groove tracks, possibly from being played back with a stereo head and hastily collapsed to mono, or maybe from generational loss, or even tape damage -- not sure. What is certain is that this original US mono sounds killer from beginning to end, and most listeners will likely consider it an improvement on any other existing version of this album. This original US pressing has a treble roll-off around 16 kHz which is not found on the Sundazed, but even given this, it sounds more realistic to these ears, especially on "Your Wall's Too High" and "The Ostrich."

Promo photo from a teen music magazine.
Back row (L to R): Goldy McJohn, Jerry Edmonton.
Front row: John Kay, Michael Monarch, Rushton Moreve.

Musicians:
- John Kay: lead vocals, guitars, harmonica
- Michael Monarch: guitars, backing vocals
- Goldy McJohn: organ, piano, Wurlitzer electric piano
- Rushton Moreve: bass guitar, backing vocals
- Jerry Edmonton: drums, backing vocals, percussion

Track listing:
1) "Sookie Sookie" -- 3:15
2) "Everybody's Next One" -- 2:56
3) "Berry Rides Again" -- 2:50
4) "Hootchie Kootchie Man" -- 5:12
5) "Born To Be Wild" -- 3:29
6) "Your Wall's Too High" -- 5:45
7) "Desperation" -- 5:46
8) "The Pusher" -- 5:50
9) "A Girl I Knew" -- 2:40
10) "Take What You Need" -- 3:33
11) "The Ostrich" -- 5:46

Vinyl condition: VG (played phenomenally despite the visual
    downgrade, and cleaned up perfectly!)
Dynamic Range: DR 12

Eagles Auditorium, Seattle, WA — 26–28 July 1968
Offset litho poster (design by Chuck Trimble)

Community Concourse, San Diego, CA — 21 December 1968
Supported by local rock group The Brain Police

Equipment / Lineage:
– (brand new!) Audio-Technica VMN40ML stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2024 (recording)
– iZotope RX 11 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 3.x.x (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v2.x.x (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Thanks for taking the time to read my posts and check out my blog. I'd greatly appreciate it if you leave a small comment below. Notes from my readers are what inspire me to keep going. Thanks!
MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/snUzBBoL#CckBBllCBQ40HkMZfyOBFw

Here are a couple interesting articles from some period teen music magazines pertaining to the band. Since these were published a couple years after this debut LP was released, the band's lineup had changed; nonetheless, much of the content itself pertains to the material from, and creation of, this debut album.

D.R. Hooker - The Truth (1972) [Original Pressing]

D. R. Hooker - The Truth (1972)

Original USA Private Pressing
On Records – XPL-1029 (Discogs)
~ThePoodleBites rip at 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~

"The Truth is one of the big private press classics ... Covers all the bases
in an impressive manner" ~ Patrick Lundborg

"For some, The Truth is one of the real 'treasures' of the early seventies private press scene." ~ Clark Faville

"If the softer songs are your cup of tea, this album will be an all-time favorite. If
not, it’s still a must-own for the rest." ~ Aaron Milenski

The underworld of rare psychedelic records is flooded by thousands of obscure and overlooked sounds, enough to easily overwhelm the interested explorer. Yet among the fold are a few well-known classics against which all others are judged -- enduring signposts to guide searchers along the path of cosmic musical discovery. The 1972 privately-pressed debut album by Donald R. Hooker, widely praised for its unique combination of psychedelia, lounge music, and early religious rock, is undoubtedly among those chosen few. Mr. Hooker, reportedly an east-coast computer engineer and Jehovah's Witness, successfully integrated then-contemporary electronic effects and Christian lyrics into a single album with diverse instrumentation, and the album's now-legendary status has led to it becoming a valuable collector's item.

All of that being said, I have always found this album to be rather mediocre: with enough interesting moments to make it a worthwhile listen, yet enough cringey guitar leads, lackluster melodies, and awkward Jesus crooning to distance it from the level of a total killer. Nonetheless, in the world of private pressings, there's no doubt that D.R. Hooker is several standard deviations above the average, and its unquestionable ubiquity among psych seekers means that a proper digital version is of indispensable value, the lack of which of course makes it an invaluable addition to this blog.

Many thanks to R.D. for kindly loaning out this gem from his archives for digital preservation!

Front cover of D.R. Hooker's The Truth

Enough rumors have circulated between collectors about D.R. over the years to make one confused about what is myth and what is reality. Certainly, the strange sounds here enclosed help contribute to that legend: after all, how many people in the early 1970s created a drug-addled LP mixing lyrics about love, mind expansion, and holy praise? Of course, it's unclear how much psychedelics were actually involved in its production: while utilized effects include those sourced from prime late-'60s acid-fried experimentalism, to my ears they more so serve to obfuscate the usual singer-songwriter gaffes than to accentuate a tangible musical goal.

"The Sea" starts off the album with D.R.'s ode to coastline life and the ever-changing ocean, musically rife with vintage synthesizer glissandi, furious bongos, and surf-like whammy guitar. The sound of waves crashing against the shoreline frame the song, giving it an almost radio-friendly polish, even if the vocals are occasionally strained and out-of-tune, and the guitar has some flubs towards the end. This track is a stand-out for many, and I also think it's great, though it's also hard to overlook the effects as sounding very dated these fifty-some years later. The second track, "Fall In Love," is surprisingly not psych nor rock at all, apart from perhaps a small subset of heady lyrics:

'Cause this world is beautiful when in touch with your mind
Expanding your consciousness is all very fine
So just relax, come along, fall in love

It's nonetheless a stand-out, perhaps because D.R.'s baritone voice aptly fits the song's relaxed, even enchanting spirit. The slower "Weather Girl" strikes me the same, like the thunder that bookends its reflective love refrains in an almost eerie mood, stretching the imagination with femme-inspired imagery not unlike the Elevators' "She Lives." This theme continues into the album-side closer "This Thing," a multi-part suite and signature D.R. guitar-driven track, beginning with amateurish guitar trills, jumping through blasts of synth and rock bits at various tempos, before concluding with a cacophonous electronic freak-out. It works, and although it's weird, that's part of this album's appeal.

Period photo of D.R.

Perhaps the LP's wriggliest earworm commences the more Christian-oriented side 2: the unassuming "Forge Your Own Chains," a laid-back lounger with synth arpeggios, horn accents, and reflective, anti-drug/anti-consumption lyrics -- it may sound contrary for a psych-head, but it's somehow very satisfying and even empowering, encouraging the listener to emancipate themselves from bad habits to improve mind, body, and soul. The arrangement is strong, with a woozy trombone reply to D.R.'s comments on drunkenness coming off as almost Zappaesque. Owing to the brass, this song would much later become the title track for an international funky-psych comp. Next comes "I'm Leaving You" which is probably the album's jammiest moment, drenched with enough flanging to put Strictly Personal's 'psychedelic bromo-seltzer' to shame. It's also good, though after a couple minutes the overdone effects become monotonous.

The album's title track then follows, creeping in with a backwards bell chime, reminiscent of the "A Thousand Days" intro from Relatively Clean Rivers. Wreathed by a spiraling guitar line, some surprising reversed cymbal hits oscillate between stereo channels, setting a sublime mood before the chorus. The lyrics are about accepting one's truth by shedding self-lies, and despite the (mostly-)unspoken underlying message (in the background D.R. says "give thanks to God, for without him we have nothing"), it doesn't come off as overly preachy. D.R.'s self-truth is more overtly revealed in his distorted-guitar-driven follow-up, "The Bible," overdubbed with reverb-laden names of Bible verses which are hardly audible above the music. The driving guitar lead has the right direction but is underwhelming in magnitude and mostly unexciting. The floating closer, "Falling Asleep," then slowly crescendos to a revelatory sign-off, before abruptly terminating with a reversed piano arpeggio, complete with a cryptic backmasked recitation:

Life is a mystery, 'course it's true
Look for the answer, recorded clues

While D.R. sadly passed away in 2009, Tom Sokira, the recording engineer behind this album (credited with his name written backwards, Samot Arikos, on the back cover), had these recollections regarding the creation of this record:

"I [was] owner of Dynamic Recording Studios in New Haven, CT. I had set up the studio in 1969 after a 10 year hiatus from audio spent as an aerospace engineer here in CT, designing tape data storage systems for spacecraft like Mariner and a bunch of others. D.R. came in one day in '72 and wanted to do a custom album. I did most of the track lay-down and mixing with one of my guys doing a lot of the mix-downs. I think we pressed 250-500 pieces for him. There was no regular D.R. Hooker band. All the guys on the session were local pick up dudes D.R. knew and worked with. D.R. was into the Jehovah's Witness Church at the time. We talked about a lot of stuff & why I was not into joining his church. D.R. really liked our piano tuner who was also a Jehovah's Witness. I still have the autographed Jehovah's Witness Bible D.R. gave me. He suggested I do Bible study with the tuner."

After The Truth was released, D.R. would assemble a band to record his second, slightly proggier album Armageddon, the first side of which is just as good as (if not better than) his first effort. Though it appears to have never been quite finished to his satisfaction, the existing demo recordings were released on the same On Records label in 1979. Nearly a decade later, in 1988, he released his final album, Rain On The Moon, on cassette tape only. While much different from his earlier LPs -- with some awkward 1980s synth and electronic drums -- a couple well-written songs still prevail.

"Seems like D.R. dropped out of sight after the first LP. I never heard from him again. I wasn’t aware of the other two albums until very recently. D.R. apparently worked in I.T. and traveled around quite a bit according to his obituary and was living in New Hampshire. ... By the way, there were no pictures that I know of during the sessions. I never took pictures during sessions unless the client requested it, sometimes pictures were taken by talent, etc." And as for Tom Sokira: "Sold the studio in '75 and I am still an active EE."

Back cover of D.R. Hooker's The Truth

Despite having been reissued several times over the past three decades, The Truth has never been reissued from the original tapes, rendering its modern versions betwixt barely tolerable and horrible. The first vinyl dub was released in 1993 on Gregg Breth's Del-Val label, which was vinyl-only and had awful inner-groove distortion from the source LP, perhaps from having been played with a worn stylus. The first digital version appeared in 1999 on the Swedish Subliminal Sounds label and was even worse, haphazardly recorded from a very noisy copy with some of the original music even missing. After Subliminal Sounds repressed this master in 2008, the label released a new digital master via Numero Group in 2023, sourced from a cleaner original copy; but this time it was processed with dynamic range compression, noise reduction, and a heavy automatic declicker, removing not only surface noise but musical percussive sounds such as cowbell, acoustic guitar strums, etc.

The recording itself, of course, didn't do these remastering attempts any favors. The Truth lacks a bit in the highs, and already underwent some form of vintage analog noise reduction (Dolby B?) before being cut to wax. Residual NR artifacts where tape noise increases along with treble in the music -- colloquially referred to as "breathing" -- are plainly audible. The pressing itself also has some issues: mint-looking copies play with high levels of noise when using thin-ridge type styli like the MicroLine on the AT150MLx or VMN40ML, while they sound nearly silent with cheaper elliptical types. While ML styli have technically better specs, good audio restoration isn't about using the most expensive or spec-impressive equipment, it's about using the right tool for the job; so for this project I used my VMN30EN, and after calibrating a counter-EQ for this stylus, the album sounded virtually identical to ML playback sans surface noise. A careful manual declicking was then carried out as usual, and given these substantial efforts, this could be the best this album has sounded since the tapes were rolled back in 1972 at that local Connecticut studio.

Example entries from the US Catalog of Copyright Entries in Music, 1971-72.
"Alive Wind" is an unreleased (unrecorded?) track.

Track listing:
1) "The Sea" -- 4:33
2) "Fall In Love" -- 2:35
3) "A Stranger's Smile" -- 2:21
4) "Weather Girl" -- 4:11
5) "This Thing" -- 5:22
6) "Forge Your Own Chains" -- 4:42
7) "I'm Leaving You" -- 4:04
8) "The Truth" -- 3:40
9) "The Bible" -- 4:47
10) "Falling Asleep" -- 5:04

Vinyl condition: M-
Dynamic Range: DR 13

Equipment / Lineage:
– Audio-Technica VMN30EN elliptical stylus on AT150MLx dual moving-magnet cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB direct drive professional turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– Pro-Ject Phono Box S2 Ultra preamp with dedicated Zero Zone linear power supply
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2024 (recording)
– iZotope RX 11 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 3.x.x (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v2.x.x (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

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