Shadrack - I Wonder Why / It Was Me (1973) [Original US Single] {RE-RIP}

Shadrack - "I Wonder Why" b/w "It Was Me"

Original 1973 Private Press 45 RPM Single

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

The night as I lay so sound asleep

The spirit he touched my eyes

He opened them for me to see

What lies beyond the skies

Shadrack, a psych-rock act out of Iowa, is widely known among collectors of private press records for the album Chameleon. Steve Fox was the main creative force behind the Shadrack LP, but this single apparently had a bit more group involvement than the later recordings. This was supposedly recorded about 18 months before Chameleon, but was discovered by collectors some time after its long-playing brother was known to exist. 

I originally posted this single in April 2019 from a rather rough copy lent to me by C.F. I've since found a very nice copy with no warp, so here is a well-deserved digital upgrade. 

Shadrack's album Chameleon is often misidentified as a self-titled release from Shadrack Chameleon (which the existence of this 45 disproves). Their album demands insane prices, but I actually like both the songs here more than anything on the LP. Unlike the Shadrack Chameleon album, this single sounds like it was recorded in a professional studio, and apart from the shrill vocals on side 2 (it's in the mix) and somewhat noisy pressing, it actually sounds really good. This has only ever been reissued on Gear Fab with their usual noise reduction and bad EQ, which this blows away. I've done my best to clean up the inherent groove noise without doing any damage to the audio, but you may hear a bit of noise in the intro/outro of the tracks, and a wee bit of distortion from the cutting on side 2.

Hangin' out with the Shadrack guys

Shadrack:

- Steve Fox (bass, guitar, vocals)

- Randy Berka (guitar, vocals)

- Jon Porter (keyboards)

- Dan Dodgen (drums)

Track Listing:

1) "I Wonder Why" (Steve Fox & Randy Berka) -- 2:40

2) "It Was Me" (Randy Berka) -- 2:30

Vinyl Condition: M-

Dynamic Range: DR 11

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 2020 (recording)

– iZotope RX 7 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)

– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)

– Foobar2000 v1.5.1 (tagging, dynamic range analysis)

A-side also on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rL9tdRqjYU

MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/ik4T2QKT#t1VwB6vlPwF9fwtdrhbUFA
Enjoy! :)