Love - Four Sail (1969) [Compiled Version]

Love - Four Sail (1969)

Compiled version using best available sources

Original 1969 US Elektra EKS 74049 (Monarch Pressing)

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit + full high-resolution scans~

Arthur Lee's followup to the beloved Love Forever Changes will never eclipse its predecessor's fame or lyrical, musical, and conceptual mastery, but it is a shame that Four Sail is therefore almost nearly forgotten, as it certainly is as beautiful (if not more so) than the first two Love albums, or, as some reviewers (here, here) say, even on par or better than its legendary cousin. Many of my favorite Love tracks lie in these grooves; however, Four Sail has a little bit of a strange history.

The Four Sail lineup, starting in front and moving clockwise:

Arthur Lee, George Suranovich, Jay Donnellan, Frank Fayad.

The story goes that three albums worth of material were handed off to Elektra, in the form of finished mixes by Lee, from which the label hand-picked its favorites for the band's final album on the label, to be entitled Four Sail (an obvious play on "For Sale"; see the first review above for an interesting discussion). However, just before release, the mixes were laced in reverb, blanketing all tracks with an echoey effect. These post-reverb versions, notably less clear than Lee's originally intended counterparts, are what would appear on all issued versions of the album, including all vinyl pressings and both CD reissues. The remainder of the tracks discarded by Elektra would be released on Bob Krasnow's "Blue Thumb" label as a double-album set called Out Here, which smartly stuck to Lee's unadulterated mixes and unharmed clarity.

Four Sail rear cover artwork by Peter Schaumann, who was

known also for his artwork on Joe Byrd & The Field 

Hippies' album The American Metaphysical Circus

Nonetheless, and perhaps by accident, a 1995 compilation Love Story 1966-1972 included six of the Four Sail tracks in their pre-Elektra form. At long last fans could hear these tracks as they were originally intended. Although the mastering was not perfect, the jump in sound quality was enormous.

The two stock CD issues of Four Sail, however, left much to be desired. The original issue on Thunderbolt Records (catalog CDTB 047) was quite muffled as compared to the original vinyl, and the 2002 Elektra/Warner remaster (catalog 8122 73640-2) did not fix this issue, instead trying to cover it up with compression and V-shaped EQ.

This version has been compiled from the best available sources to produce the highest fidelity version of Love's fourth LP available to date.

Track Listing:
01) "August" -- 5:08
02) "Your Friend And Mine – Neil's Song" -- 3:47
03) "I'm With You" -- 2:42
04) "Good Times" -- 3:33
05) "Singing Cowboy" -- 5:52
06) "Dream" -- 2:52
07) "Robert Montgomery" -- 3:40
08) "Nothing" -- 4:48
09) "Talking In My Sleep" -- 2:49
10) "Always See Your Face" -- 3:22

Lineup:
- Arthur Lee - lead vocals, piano, harmonica, rhythm guitar, congas
- Jay Donnellan - lead guitar
- Frank Fayad - bass; backing vocals (tracks 6, 7)
- George Suranovich - drums (tracks 1, 5-10), backing vocals (tracks 6, 7)
- Drachen Theaker - drums (tracks 2-4)

Sources:
- Original 1969 US pressing (Elektra EKS 74049), Monarch Record Mfg. Co. [NM]: tracks 3, 6, 8-9
- 1995 CD of Love Story 1966-1972 (Elektra/Rhino WPCR-629/630): tracks 1-2, 4, 7, 10
- 2002 CD of Four Sail (Elektra/Warner 8122 73640-2), bonus material: track 5

Vinyl Lineage:
– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2018 (recording)
– iZotope RX 7 Audio Editor (manual declicking, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.2.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.4.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1cZNIcpO7jNc4Bx_RJLMBxAIIGgPyAymf?usp=sharing

Enjoy! :)

Salem Mass - Witch Burning (1971) [Original US Private Press]

Salem Mass - Witch Burning

Original 1971 Private-Press LP

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-resolution scans~

This one will be of interest to fans of private psych rarities and early prog. This record features one of the earliest Moog synthesizers (the now-famous Minimoog was only introduced to the public in 1971), and its appearance is welcomed as an evolution upon the classic psych rock organ. Salem Mass must've made quite the impressive live performance in these early days: imagine, inside a small town's local bar around 1970, near midnight, the lights turned off except for some red stage strobes, the local band takes the stage, and begin a mesmerizing tour of sound, the Moog creeping then slowly screaming, and the over-driven guitar rattling its retorsion, as the rhythm guides this trip through the depth of a 17th century witch trial. Witch Burning is by no means early-Sabbath proto-metal, but the sound (and especially the Moog) provide a strange darkness that will be familiar to fans of Iron Butterfly or The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown. My favorite tracks here are "Witch Burning" and "Bare Tree", which both find their ways into my playlist quite often, although "My Sweet Jane" is also one of the most powerful, as a man confesses to the fault of one such victim ("I'm sorry I did those things to her/She was just a worthless cur"), and "You Can't Run My Life", which launches the group into the realm of Deep Purple. 

I previously ripped this album from the Guerssen reissue, but this original pressing sounds far superior.

Track Listing:

1) "Witch Burning" - 10:29
2) "My Sweet Jane" - 4:39
3) "Why" - 2:46
4) "You Can't Run My Life" - 3:53
5) "You're Just A Dream" - 3:46

6) "Bare Tree" - 6:57
7) "The Drifter" - 3:12

Vinyl Quality: NM- / VG++
Dynamic Range: DR 13

Bass – Matt Wilson
Drums – Steve Towery
Keyboards – Jim Klahr
Lead Guitar – Mike Snead

Lineage:
– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2018 (recording)
– iZotope RX 7 Audio Editor (manual declicking, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.2.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.4.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1YYq8S0B3LK61sYNUx5y0YY7mhnk97dd7?usp=sharing
Enjoy!

Autosalvage - s/t (1968) [Original US Mono Mix]

Autosalvage - Autosalvage (1968)

Original USA Mono LP

RCA Victor LPM-3940

~ThePoodleBites Rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-resolution scans~

Autosalvage has their claim-to-fame from getting their name from Frank Zappa, who supposedly said the band should change their name from "The Northern Lights" to the title of one of the songs that Zappa saw them perform. Autosalvage were later signed to RCA Victor, who were looking for the East coast version of Jefferson Airplane. Unlike the Airplane, however, Autosalvage never took off (pun intended). Nonetheless, their sole album is still often placed on many "best-of" and "psych favorites" lists across the web. Autosalvage does not at all sound like Zappa, for those looking for Mothers-influenced weirdness; but, their sound is certainly much more progressive than most psychedelic bands of 1968, featuring dynamic song structures, varying time signatures, and interesting chordal modulations throughout. 

A standing ovation is in order for our friend @PsychTrailMix, who purchased this album for ripping and our enjoyment! Thanks again for making this post possible, man. 

The stereo mix of this record isn't abysmal, but I think it's safe to say that the mono mix will probably be preferred by most. For some reason, the sound is much clearer here than on the stereo mix, with a much brighter top end. It's clear that the mono mix is dedicated, as the segments between tracks are drastically different, and the mixes are much more "in your face" than the showcase-y sound of the stereophonic version. However, this album was cut dreadfully loud, and plays with some distortion throughout the loudest parts of some tracks. This is not from my equipment; it's on the record (at least this copy, and perhaps/probably others). 

Track Listing:

01) Introduction -- 0:18

02) "Auto Salvage" -- 5:43

03) "Burglar Song" -- 2:31

04) "Rampant Generalities" -- 3:14

05) "Medley: (a) Our Life As We Lived It" -- 2:55

06) "Medley: (b) Good Morning Blues" -- 3:33

07) "Ancestral Wants" -- 3:53

08) "A Hundred Days" -- 2:28

09) "Land Of Their Dreams" -- 3:04

10) "Parahighway" -- 2:37

11) "Medley: (a) The Great Brain Robbery" -- 2:28

12) "Medley: (b) Glimpses Of The Next World's World" -- 2:44

- Thomas Danaher (lead vocals, rhythm guitar)
- Darius LaNoue Davenport (vocals, oboe, piano, drums, trombone, guitar, bass guitar, krummhorn, recorder)
- Rick Turner (lead guitar, banjo, dulcimer)
- Skip Boone (bass guitar, piano)

Lineage:
– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2018 (recording)
– iZotope RX 7 Audio Editor (manual declicking, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.2.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.4.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1tPPrq0MeQYyk69IACzfmhzXlzen9WIZk
Enjoy! :)

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows (1993) [Rockadelic RRLP-2.5]

Cold Sun - Dark Shadows

Original 1993 Rockadelic RRLP-2.5 (#253/300)

~ThePoodleBites Rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-resolution scans~

This album is well-known by psychedelic enthusiasts, to say the least; Patrick Lundborg, leading contributor to the Acid Archives, said that it is the "best Rockadelic LP ever, and in my opinion the best Texas LP after Easter Everywhere and Power Plant." However, do not expect anything that sounds like either of those albums here. Dark Shadows was recorded in 1970 for the soon-to-become-defunct label Sonobeat Records, and the sound is much like what you'd expect from a private label recording done 50 years ago. The demo-like quality, though, contributes to the album's dark, mysterious nature, and its overall charm. My experience with Dark Shadows is that it is most definitely a 'grower,' but it is certainly a genuine masterpiece, with its own unique blend of mescaline-fueled psychedelia and proto-punk intensity, creating a soundscape which is perhaps better understood in alternate states of mind than our normal corporeal reality.

Yet another big thanks to @PsychTrailMix for helping to make this rip possible! 

Dark Shadows was originally released in 1993 on the Rockadelic Records label in a limited run of 300 copies after years of resting in obscurity. In 2008 the album was finally reissued on LP/CD for the World In Sound label, but the sound quality was (in my opinion) far inferior to this original release, with extreme digital editing and distortions throughout all the tracks. That said, the original LP was also far from perfect; in Billy Miller's own words,

"The track order is different because Rockadelic changed the track order without telling me. The track order on the World In Sound issue is the correct order."

The track order has thus been corrected here to reflect the band's original intention (not to mention that it also makes much more musical sense).

This LP also had some noise problems; the right channel had some strong hiss throughout the entire album, probably due to a previous owner playing this album one too many times with a Wal-Mart brand $50 turntable, but possibly also just due to poor pressing quality. Unfortunately these original LPs are quite expensive so I've not heard another copy to compare; instead, I've spent hundreds of hours manually cleaning this up, and at this point I believe it's time to call this transfer "good enough." It's not perfect, but it is still a remarkable improvement (again, in my opinion) over the W.I.S. reissue. This mastering has brought me a new appreciation for the beauty and density of this dark record.

This album is one which has a remarkable ability to transport the listener to another universe, somewhere that can be quite haunting and intense... And part of the immense power of this trip is Billy Miller's incredibly delivered vocals, which feature mesmerizing and symbolic lyrics, which I have included here both as tags and in an external .txt file. Billy has been kind enough to review and correct my transcriptions, so you're not going to get closer to the true lyrics than this!

COLD SUN:

• Billy Bill Miller: electric autoharp, harmonica, third eye
• Thomas McGarrigle: fuzz, slide, and rhythm guitar
• Hugh Patton: Fibes drums, chimes
• Mike Waugh: Fender bass

Track listing:

1. "South Texas" -- 5:18
2. "Twisted Flower" -- 3:02
3. "Here In The Year" -- 8:46
4. "For Ever" -- 4:23
5. "See What You Cause" -- 3:40
6. "Fall" -- 7:08
7. "Ra-Ma" -- 11:13

Lineage:

– Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
– Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator)
– Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2018 (recording)
– iZotope RX 7 Audio Editor (manual declicking, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.2.2 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.4 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)


Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1AZQGkMcPjfm_DOayb2cSqO33-GBj_28K
Enjoy! :)

The Stars Rock 'N' Roll Show - Demos

The Stars Rock 'N' Roll Show - Demonstration Recordings

Original Reel-To-Reel Tapes

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full artwork~

Firstly, I must thank our friend @noxid for transferring all these fantastic recordings from the original reel-to-reel tapes (and for rewinding one completely by hand after I had shipped it insecurely)! His efforts are greatly appreciated. This post is probably more his work than mine. 

Here are some more of my favorites from the post-Omnibus apocalypse. Jay Polt and fellow Omnibusian Jerry Garino's first post-Omnibus band was the New Milford All-Star Rock 'N' Roll Band, which featured the famous Thom Panunzio along with friends Frank Aita and Jimmy Perez. No known recordings exist of this group, although a professional photo-shoot was done. The band evolved into the Stars Rock 'N' Roll Show, which featured covers of popular tunes from the 1950s-1960s along with some original material. Professional recordings of this band were made on numerous reel-to-reel tapes, many of which have been lost over the years; however, various stereo mix-downs have survived. These are what is included here.

The New Milford All-Star Rock 'N' Roll Band: (left to right)
Jay Polt, Thom Panunzio, Jerry Garino, Jimmy Perez, Frank Aita 

Jerry Garino in costume for the Stars Rock 'N' Roll Show

Box for one of the 5" 2-track mixdown reels

The hardest-rocking song of this set is "Groupie," which is just a blast. My favorite track here, though, is probably the fantastic "Steed," which is a song about the heroin epidemic of that era. The lyrics are laced in symbolism, Jay's voice is so incredibly genuine, and the synthesizer has a strange unsettling effect on the nerves. Unfortunately there's a small tape dropout near the end of this track ... perhaps someday I will try to see if I can fix this.

Track Listing:
01) "Ah Oo (I Love You)" -- 4:44
02) "Louder" -- 3:04
03) "Sugar & Spice" -- 3:18
04) "Groupie" -- 2:22
05) "Steed" -- 3:18
06) "If You're Feelin' Blue [Basic Tracks]" -- 4:06
07) "Midnight [Basic Tracks]" -- 2:56
08) "Groupie [Basic Tracks]" -- 2:34
09) "Rack My Brains" -- 2:14
10) "Move Over" (Janis Joplin) -- 2:28
11) "Great Balls Of Fire" (Jerry Lee Lewis) -- 2:01
12) "Don't Be Cruel" (Elvis Presley, by Otis Blackwell) -- 1:55
13) "Leader Of The Pack" (the Shangri-Las) -- 2:46

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1LoIK2wLVQAuDVih6eHLb4YZYjM9VgOj8?usp=sharing

Enjoy!

Precious Metal - Demonstration Recordings

Precious Metal - Demonstration Recordings

Original Cassette / Reel-To-Reel Demo Recordings

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full artwork~

This is some of my favorite post-Omnibus material. Precious Metal was one of one of Jay Polt's post-Omnibus bands featuring his then-wife Cheri on vocals. The sound is quite a bit different from that of Omnibus, but some of the demos here are quite exemplary -- the original demo of "Ships," for instance, is an incredible little gem with Jay singing into what sounds like a portable tape recorder. It has the low-fi appeal of many private acoustic masterpieces, and even features female backing vocals. 

All of the tracks presented here are previously unreleased recordings from guitarist Jay Polt's archives. Thanks so much for sharing these songs with the world, Jay!

Also, the cassettes here were transferred by myself, but most of the material (on old 1/4" stereo 15ips reel-to-reel tapes that required baking) was transferred by @noxid on his semi-professional machines. A round of applause for his amazing efforts here! Thanks again for everything, man!

Track Listing:

01) "No Reason" -- 3:17

02) "Mean Man" -- 3:06

03) "Rack My Brains" -- 2:11

04) "Johnny Was A Hell Raiser" -- 3:25

05) "Ships" -- 3:52

06) "Sugar & Spice [Mix 1]" -- 3:18

07) "Sugar & Spice [Mix 2]" -- 3:09

08) "Rack My Brains [Alternate Demo]" -- 2:26

09) "Ships [Original Demo]" -- 3:54

10) "Rack My Brains [Alternate Version]" -- 2:14

11) "Mean Man [Alternate Version]" -- 3:11

12) "No Reason [Alternate Version]" -- 3:25

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10HHBY_gV4-CWeEbXARU-Y1h4f5pHZfjH?usp=sharing

Enjoy!

P.S.: If anyone has access to a 2" 30ips tape machine for playing multis, let me know. There are a few more tracks for which no stereo mixdown was ever made. 

Jeff & Jay - Moment Of Your Time / Flying Into Tampa Bay

Jeff Reeder & Joseph Polt - Moment Of Your Time / Flying Into Tampa Bay

Columbian Gold Records 311029

Original 45RPM Single + Bonus Tracks

~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full artwork~

Here's one of the many very interesting post-Omnibus obscurities. After the original Omnibus disbanded, Joseph (Jay) Polt moved to Clearwater, FL where he eventually joined up with musical partner Jeff Reeder. Bob Wegrzyn, the Morrison-esque voice behind Omnibus, would come to visit Jay in Florida and tour as "Omnibus II", and they wrote a number of songs together in the '70s. One of them was "Moment Of Your Time," for which no recording is known to exist of the two playing together. This song ended up being the last song that Jay and Wegrzyn would write together. However, Jeff & Jay recorded the track along with their own "Flying Into Tampa Bay" and put it on this private-pressed single (with quite the clever record label name). The music is far more pop-based than anything from Omnibus, featuring prominent synthesizer and electronic drums, but it is still essential for the devoted Omnibus fan such as myself.

Two additional tracks are included here. One is a modern re-recording of "Moment Of Your Time" by Jay using his keyboard and a synth drum track. The other is "Flying Into Tampa Bay," actually from a 15ips reel-to-reel tape transferred by my friend @noxid. I'm not entirely sure if the reel and 45 have the same mix, so I've included both here. 

LINEAGE: 
 – Audio-Technica AT150MLx Dual Moving-Magnet Cartridge
 – Audio-Technica AT-LP1240-USB Direct Drive Professional Turntable (internal stock preamp/ADC removed)
– TCC TC-754 RIAA Phono Preamp (new regulated power supply, added LM7812 regulator) – Focusrite Scarlett 6i6 MkII (96kHz / 24bit)
– Adobe Audition CC 2018 (recording)
– iZotope RX 6 Audio Editor (manual declicking, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.2.1 (fades between tracks, split tracks) – Foobar2000 v1.3.17 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

Google Drive: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1Nbe6HX1pBuYfsLLywfrxpEB5EByI38U8?usp=sharing
Enjoy!