July - Dandelion Seeds (1968) [1987 Bam-Caruso LP]

July - Dandelion Seeds (1987)

Vinyl reissue of self-titled 1968 LP + two bonus tracks
Bam-Caruso Records – KIRI 097 (Discogs)
~ThePoodleBites rip in 24 bit / 96 kHz FLAC + full hi-res scans!~

Among adventurers who embark into the orbit of underground psychedelia, the 1968 self-titled album by July is one of the most well-known destinations, a veritable hidden platform from which almost all departures deep into the realm of obscure forgotten sounds venture through, if not begin. An arcane British band who released a single album during its tenure, with a legend now circulated for four decades or more, July boasts a cult following that few similar acts enjoy: but if I'm totally honest, it's not at all clear to me why. While the album's original artwork is unarguably extraordinary, to even the untrained listener it is obvious that July had one of the most inept vocalists this side of the acid trip, which made nearly every track they cut borderline unlistenable. Anyone who calls this album a masterpiece is outright lying to you, and should be excommunicated from your inner musical circle. But after years of revisiting this record, I must admit that a few songs have worn on me: the few tracks that sneaked out with enough special effects to hide the poor intonation. Therefore, despite my distaste for much of its content, I've resolved that the eponymous July LP is nonetheless a worthwhile addition to the blog.

Front cover artwork for this 1987 Bam-Caruso reissue

The original UK pressing of July on the Major Minor label has become a rare and expensive item, so given the (perhaps controversial) opinion I've shared above, you'll doubtlessly comprehend why I've no interest in spending several grand to own one. It's for that reason that I tracked down this 1987 reissue on the Bam-Caruso label. According to the label owner Phil Smee: "We licensed the album from EMI at the time, who owned Major Minor. It was cut from 1/4" master tape by EMI at Abbey Road, and they also pressed it for us, which is why it didn't have our usual labels but black and silver labels."

I was therefore quite content owning this reissue, up until I started working on this rip; more on that below. From what I can tell, this was the only tape-sourced reissue of the July album until only a few years ago:

- 1993 Aftermath: NR'd vinyl rip, rather muffled sound quality.

- 2006 Mason Records (paired with 'Second Of July'): sourced from 1993 Aftermath, plus even more NR, super muffled sound quality.

- 2008 Rev-Ola: sourced from 2006 Mason Records, plus a treble boost and even more NR: now harsh, and super-duper muffled sound quality.

- 2020 Expanded Edition: new master from tapes. Not no-noised, but heavily compressed.

 

Of these more recent digital editions, the Bam-Caruso is most similar to the 2020 remaster. However, the 2020 remaster is noticeably clearer, even when level-matched to negate the extra compression. My suspicion is that the original master tape was dubbed for the Bam-Caruso edition in order that the two bonus tracks, extracted from a non-LP single, may be inserted in the track listing. The extra analog generation would explain the slight loss of high-end clarity heard throughout this pressing.

 

However, there are sadly even more significant problems here. Most of the tracks have rather serious azimuthal meandering; it's most dramatic throughout "Dandelion Seeds," where tape dropouts can be heard in most of the song. This effect can be easily observed in the spectrogram for other tracks as well. Curiously, the dropouts are very similar -- but not identical -- to those heard on the 2020 remaster, suggesting that some damage occurred to the tape pre-1987 which was subsequently used to produce both editions. These problems are not heard on the original UK LP (as evidenced by the NR'd CDs referenced above), nor on the original US LP. In other words, even if this were an untouched cut from the original master tapes, it could not be definitive, as the source material itself is faulty. The American edition on Epic is easier to find [thanks C.F. for loaning out a copy!], but it only exists in fake, 'duophonic'-style stereo, and as a folded version of such on the white-label mono promo. The UK mono should therefore be preferred above all, but who has one?

Back cover artwork for the Bam-Caruso reissue LP

That being said, the bonus tracks on this set, "Hello, Who's There?" and an alternate single mix of "The Way", seem to appear with better mastering, perhaps even better than the versions on the 2020 remaster, which come off as dull and lacking dynamics.  Unfortunately, "Hello, Who's There?" is simply one of the dumbest, most tedious and nondescript songs I have heard in my life, and the band's repertoire and this album would have been better without it. "The Way", on the other hand, may be even better than the nominal album version, which itself is a highlight from this LP.

 

So, while it would be neigh impossible to create a better rip of the Bam-Caruso LP, I cannot say that it presents the July debut in its definitive form, because of the reasons described here. Nonetheless, I still want it to exist, if for nothing else to document the sound quality of this "master tape cut at Abbey Road" issue for posterity.

 

Original front cover design, by Stephen Hill (source: Qobuz)

Band members:
- Tom Newman: lead vocals, guitar
- Tony Duhig: lead guitar, organ
- Jon Field: vocals, flute, organ
- Chris Jackson: drums, organ
- Alan James: bass guitar

 

Track listing:

1) "My Clown" -- 3:28

2) "Dandelion Seeds" -- 4:32

3) "Jolly Mary" -- 2:21

4) "Hallo To Me" -- 3:01

5) "You Missed It All" -- 2:52

6) "Hello, Who's There?" * -- 3:15

7) "The Way" -- 3:24

8) "To Be Free" -- 2:50

9) "Move On Sweet Flower" -- 3:28 

10) "Crying Is For Writers" -- 2:37

11) "I See" -- 2:43

12) "Friendly Man" -- 3:12

13) "A Bird Lived" -- 2:39

14) "The Way" [Single Mix] * -- 4:18

* bonus track for this reissue

 

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 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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MEGA: https://mega.nz/folder/onsBTRAZ#8QupSspi0fSQYAs1xBH51A

Lead single review in Melody Maker, June 8, 1968

Album review in Melody Maker, August 3, 1968

Advertisement for the band's first concert, at Middle Earth -- Melody Maker, June 22, 1968

Advertisement for a concert at the Marquee in London -- Melody Maker, August 24, 1968