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Showing posts with label Tripsichord Music Box. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tripsichord Music Box. Show all posts
Original 1967 Mono 45 RPM Single Embassy Records – C-1968 (Discogs) ~ThePoodleBites rip at 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~
Before the band was renamed to "Tripsichord Music Box" by San Francisco
producer Matthew Katz, Tripsichord was previously known as "The Now",
and in fact released a single 45 under that moniker on a tiny label out
of Hollywood. The A-side of this disc is especially killer, and certainly rivals their later recordings, even as a garage-y band in-development. It's a pity that there are not more recordings of the band from this era. (There was also an even earlier 45 on the Brent label, released by an earlier incarnation of
the band known as "The Ban". This is not
something that I have found yet, so the search continues...)
Many thanks to C.F. for loaning out this 45 from his archives!
Track Listing:
1) "I Want" -- 2:21 2) "Like A Flying Bird" -- 2:21
Vinyl condition: VG+ 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 9 audio editor (manual declicking, EQ subtraction, additional adjustments)
– Audacity 2.3.3 (fades between tracks, split tracks)
– Foobar2000 v1.6.9 (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/E0hiEDwT#HthJM6TsT0tpbAeH66gHMg
Enjoy ... :)
The Now circa 1966/67: (L-R) Oliver McKinney, Randy Gordon, Frank Straight, David Zandonatti
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + full high-res scans!~
Fifth Pipe Dream – Volume I is a collection of recordings from Matthew Katz's roster of bands as it stood during the spring/summer of 1968. The most familiar group is It's A Beautiful Day, who made their debut here, before their self-titled album (finally) appeared on Columbia the following year. Tripsichord Music Box add three consistently great tracks, backed by the astounding contributions of West Coast Natural Gas (misattributed to Indian Puddin' & Pipe) and Black Swan, a more pop-oriented group.
This album is famous enough that most '60s guys are at least vaguely familiar with the notion that it exists, but it only recently occurred to me after conversing with several people that many folks are seemingly confused by the notion of this being a "compilation" album. Yes, this record contains tracks by various artists, but it is not a Nuggets-style comp of previously-released psych hits; rather, this is the first-issue for all of the songs here, and over 50 years later it remains the only tape-sourced release for any of this material.
Thanks must be given to the usual suspects: to C.F. for his massively extensive (!!!) help with research and for all the wonderful artifacts shared from his archives; to Psych Trail Mix for invaluable information retrieval; and to members of Tripsichord and WCNG for some invaluable fact verification.
Credit due: many poster scans here are from Split Fountain Hieroglyphicsby Scott McDougall. Find it, if you can!
Original greyscale cover artwork for Fifth Pipe Dream – Volume I
This album has two cover variations: one in greyscale, and another with added color. Collectors have debated for years which came first, and although no definitive proof has been given one way or the other, the greyscale version seems a little rougher around the edges and is lacking an extra design credit, which seems to suggest that it was the earlier of the two. The cover drawing was created by Katz's then go-to artist, Donna Cohen (née Wallace), and credited simply to "Wallace Studio," as was her usual signature in those days. Here is what Donna has to say about this debate:
"The greyscale is my original. I have no idea who added color... although I wish they hadn't, or at least had chosen better colors. I
did lots of posters for Matthew, however this was the only album I designed for
him."
Original colored cover artwork for Fifth Pipe Dream – Volume I
... though I'm admittedly partial to the colored version, which "pops" a bit more than the lifeless grey print. The album's title is of course a play on the phrase "pipe dream," which means something fanciful or unrealistic. The origin of this phrase is more revealing: the Oxford English Dictionary writes that the etymology is "apparently with reference to the kind of visions experienced when smoking an opium pipe." The red flowers on the cover are probably poppies.
"Fifth Pipe Dream" was in fact one of several names that producer Matthew Katz had invented, copyrighted, and forced upon his unsuspecting musicians when they signed with his label. Owning the name of the band gave Katz (who insists his name is pronounced like "Cates") full legal control of any performances or recordings which bore it. When Jefferson Airplane split from Katz to pursue a major-label contract, an action that was soon followed by Moby Grape and It's A Beautiful Day, endless legal pursuits ensued. These groups had already spent considerable time and resources building a following under those monikers, so they could not simply change names, but they had no right to perform or record without permission from the original copyright holder.
After the departure of Moby Grape and a subsequent legal ruling that the name was still owned by Katz, a new band was assembled under the same name for touring purposes, which consisted primarily of members from Tripsichord Music Box, West Coast Natural Gas, and others. This assemblage played Moby Grape songs under the Moby Grape name, and sometimes even dressed like Moby Grape did on their debut album cover, but none of Skip Spence/Jerry Miller/Don Stevenson/etc were present. Although Tripsichord guitarist Frank Straight remembers that this was "well-accepted within the crowd," there are several accounts of disappointed or enraged fans demanding refunds for their tickets. Katz seems to remember this somewhat fondly: "Tripsichord made a great job of it. They did a better job than the original guys. They were disciplined, they worked better together, they liked each other and they listened to each other and they sang better (except for Bob Mosley, of course – he was an excellent singer). When Frank Straight played the Moby Grape stuff, he played it as well as Jerry Miller did, but he added his own flavor to it – it was actually better. They went over well, but the audience gave us a bad rap – the people with the attitude."
The "Fifth Pipe Dream" band performing in Phoenix, Arizona, circa Easter (14 April) 1968. L to R: Kris Larson, guitar (WCNG), Burke Wallace, guitar (new Moby Grape), Jeffrey Cohen, guitar (Black Swan), Skip Bowe, bass (new Moby Grape), Tommy Rowe (Games), Oliver McKinney, organ (Tripsichord Music Box). Drummer is either Randy Gordon (Tripsichord) or Pat ? from Seattle (new Moby Grape). [Thanks to Pat Craig for help with the identification!]
Katz has become a controversial figure over the years, and he has been the subject of much scrutiny for his production approach, and for being a "vexatious litigant" – a description apparently assigned to him by a presiding judge – which sadly impacts his artists even today. One can simultaneously imagine, however, how disheartening these developments must have been for Katz, who gave these unknown bands a jump-start into a new worldwide sensation, yet was slowly abandoned by those he had originally fought for, not against.
While Katz was the sole originator and proprietor of San Francisco Sound, he is joined in production by Mark Uzilevsky a.k.a. Marcus a.k.a. Rusty Evans, the infamous acidhead bandleader behind The Deep, The Third Rail, The Freak Scene, and other studio groups. In fact, Uzilevsky also appears here as a songwriter and performer, as Pat Craig recalls:
"Aquarian Dream is a song that Katz put together after It's A Beautiful Day split with him so that he would have a B-side and could release Bulgaria as a single. I am playing on the cut along with Mark Uzilevksy (Rusty Evans), who is the singer and guitarist and producer, and June Richards (Katz's girlfriend). I think Jeff LaBrache may have been playing drums, but I'm not sure. Frank [Straight] from Tripsichord did the lead guitar."
Original San Francisco Sound "It's A Beautiful Day" sticker on red-orange DayGlo paper. Design by Donna Wallace-Cohen
Original IABD 45 for San Francisco Sound, probably released contemporaneously with the Fifth Pipe Dream LP
It's A Beautiful Day at this point in time included David LaFlamme (violin, vocals), his wife Linda LaFlamme (electric piano, organ), Mitchell Holman (bass), Val Fuentes (drums), and the beautiful Pattie Santos (vocals, tambourine, bells). The band had no guitarist. The version of "Bulgaria" which appears here is totally different from the one released on their debut album, but (contrary to Patrick Lundborg's unfounded claims) it is not mistitled. A demo tape recorded at the Avalon Ballroom on 9 April 1968 boasts an eleven-and-a-half-minute version of this tune with both segments melded together, which proves that these two tracks are in fact the same, but that two different sections were chosen for the Fifth Pipe Dream versus Columbia sessions. This could have been because of the length, or purely due to copyright reasons, as commission already had to be paid to Katz for use of the band's title.
The uncredited band on the flip side definitely contained Mark Uzilevsky (vocals, guitar), June Richards (vocals on chorus), Frank Straight (lead guitar), and Pat Craig (organ, piano); other musicians are believed to include David Zandonatti, bass (Tripsichord) and Jeff LaBrache, drums (WCNG). No one seems to recall who played the French horn, so it probably was a local session musician; the trumpeter may have been Saul Chait from Black Swan, but this is unconfirmed.
These SF Sound stickers were all seemingly manufactured with two color variants: red (pictured above) and green (pictured here). These colors, and the different designs, appeared somewhat randomly throughout this time and were apparently used primarily as promotional items.
It's A Beautiful Day was not the only band to have its Katz-given name applied incorrectly. Four tracks appear from the Seattle, Washington-founded band West Coast Natural Gas, but by the time of this album's release, that band had ceased to exist, and credit given to a follow-up act called Indian Puddin' & Pipe (another Katz name). Pat Craig explains:
Screen print poster for The Frye Hotel, 3 Dec 1966 (artwork by Milo Johnstone)
"[Our recordings] took us until early 1968. At that time we went back to Seattle for several weeks and played the club circuit up there. I had switched from just vocals to playing piano and organ and we really had gotten tight. We went back down to San Francisco without Steve Mack and went on a tour with Katz where he put out a group of guys (all good players and great guys) as Moby Grape. We played Denver, St. Louis, and Phoenix. It was a shoestring tour and by the time we got back we were done with Katz. The band broke up and went back to Seattle. Katz released a single – Go Run And Play / A Favor on his S.F. Sound label under the name WCNG. Later he released a compilation album—the first San Francisco Sound sampler—called Fifth Pipe Dream. [The Fifth Pipe Dream tracks] were recorded by WCNG and relabeled Indian Puddin' And Pipe."
Obviously Katz was aware of the group names, but this "mistake" was likely intentional. Owning the band name, and popularizing the music under that name, Katz gained effective control over the use of those songs. Pat Craig adds some additional frustrations:
"Again, because of the manipulations of our manager, Matthew Katz, and because he did not own the name West Coast Natural Gas, all of the recordings that The GAS did were credited to Indian Pudding and Pipe after WCNG broke up—one of the great kerfuffles of the psychedelic era. THIS RECORDING IS NOT INDIAN PUDDING AND PIPE!!! It is West Coast Natural Gas, which was a great band in its OWN right... The GAS was a five piece Folk-Rock band. The PIPE was a 10 piece Fusion Jazz orchestra. Huge difference."
Those five members included Pat Craig himself (piano & organ), Kris Larson (12-string guitar), Steve Mack (lead guitar), Dave Burke (bass), and Jeff LaBrache (drums). The four WCNG tracks included on this set are well-known collector favorites, especially the two tracks which open side 2, "Hashish" and "Water Or Wine." For a transcription and explanation of the lyrics for "Hashish," you can see the spotlight in Psych Trail Mix #10, available here (there's a PDF!).
Offset litho poster for the "Happening," 24-26 Nov 1967 (artwork by Tony Schmid)
Original greyscale gatefold design, with photo montage of the bands and several uncredited others
The colored cover featured largely the same design, save for the purple hue and an additional design credit
Along with WCNG, two strong segments here are performed by none other than Tripsichord Music Box. The eight-and-a-half-minute "Family Song," easily the longest track here, is interstellar. The extended guitar + organ solos suggest to me a comparison to the Doors' "Light My Fire," but feature Frank Straight's hectic, feverish guitar lines, the kind you would expect from a top-notch Bay-area band. The songs have more obvious psychedelic influence than can be heard on their later full-length album, which would drop Oliver McKinney on organ but gain Bill Carr as second guitarist and songwriter. As with much of their later material, all of the songs here were penned by bassist David Zandonatti. While their later lyrics are religiously focused, that influence does not seem to manifest here. One can only imagine the foothold this well-founded band could have established if they had been touring under their own name instead of somebody else's.
S.F. Sound artwork by Donna Wallace-Cohen; November (above) and December (below), 1967
The album is concluded by two tracks from a band called Black Swan, who make their sole public offering here. The first of these songs, "Lady Blonde," is a lightweight pop tune with horns that sounds like it was ripped off a Sonny & Cher LP. The closer, though, "She Encircles Me," is an enchanting, melting psychedelic fire, a forgotten classic whose dramatic 3/4 time seems to bring the perfect conclusion to this San Francisco conglomeration. The few lyrics that C.F. and I have been able to definitively make out seem to be highly-stoned characterizations of female beauty (think the Elevators' "She Lives") and sex... totally fitting subject matter for the free-lovin' Californian '60s. I may even suggest that this conclusive female image is depicted in Donna Wallace-Cohen's front-cover artwork:
Face of rain and voice of river Gently spoken words deliver Message of the sea
Ribbon hair and swirling eyes Assuring me that therein lies My dream, so it would seem...
As our thought-dreams crystallize Looking out, we realize All is as it seems
The line-up of Black Swan at this time was extensive, and included Bruce Good, lead guitar (later of The Good Brothers), Jeffrey Cohen, guitar & keyboards (later writing for Herbie Hancock and others), Saul "Soul" Chait, bass & trumpet, Tom Bright, drums, and Mark Hanesworth, guitar & harmonica. Most of the band members also sang, and they gigged regularly with the other S.F. Sound groups.
Original concert ticket for Valentine's Day week (Wed.-Sat., 14-17 February), 1968
With the sheer amount of talent that is collected here, it is no surprise that this album was musically quite strong. What is surprising, though, is how much of a smoothly-transitioning concept piece this turned out to be. While there are several bands appearing here, with seemingly little connection to one another, it feels in some cases as if they lead into one another, or at least knew exactly where their pieces fit. In 1968 this concept – surely devised by Katz – was pretty novel, and in the liners he writes:
"If you like hearing four groups on one album write us, as the musicians would dig to continue this idea. This record is so different that if you, the music lover, do not demand it, then the company won't be able to evaluate the idea & therefore won't do it again. All the songs are available on single records and reproduced on song posters and in the San Francisco Sound Music Book. For more information or whatever, write to: San Francisco Sound General, Del. 94101, S.F."
The fact that there never was a Fifth Pipe Dream – Volume II (Sixth Pipe Dream?), nor individual singles, nor a San Francisco Sound Music Book, seems to imply that response to this album was weaker than anticipated, or that interest quickly waned. Since Katz simply did not have the same distribution channels as a major label like Columbia, this was probably through no fault of his own. It is criminal that West Coast Natural Gas never received the studio time it deserved for full-album treatment, but the tracks here, plus their non-LP 45, plus a couple acetate tracks and commercial ads were compiled and reissued a few years back as Two's A Pair on Raymond Dumont's label out of Switzerland. Apart from a recently-surfaced acetate, Black Swan made no other recordings, though Jeffrey Cohen and Bruce Good would go on to be in other recorded musical acts. Tripsichord of course would go on to record their full-length LP with San Francisco Sound, which was treated to major-label distribution on Janus, albeit years after the band had dissolved.
"Merry Christmas" S.F. Sound sticker, which may have been included with some promo copies of the Fifth Pipe Dream LP
Article in Billboard Magazine, 26 Oct 1968
The album appeared, probably simultaneously with the IABD 45, on or around 15 November 1968, as revealed by a period article in Billboard. In that same article, it is mentioned that Katz is flirting with the idea of recording these bands at sea, which presumably was his idea for future Fifth Pipe Dream compilations or for the Tripschord solo album; neither of which actually occurred. Under the assumption that the color gatefold variant was designed and released after the greyscale version, the time necessitated by a full reprinting operation would imply that the color variant was probably not released until the next year, though there are of course several extrapolations made in this retroactive dating.
Although some wishful thinkers have quoted uncited claims for the pressing sizes for each of these variants, the number of each cover has fluctuated over the years, and while both are rare, it does not seem at present like one is particularly rarer than the other. The greyscale variant was indeed considered far rarer until a quantity of sealed copies were located in the last couple years, and now it seems that the grey one is several factors easier to procure. The discs contained in both versions are identical, and according to the deadwax etchings, they were manufactured by the well-known Monarch facility in Los Angeles, California. While Monarch is usually known today for their high-quality, well-mastered LP products (and their low-quality styrene 45s), this album is pretty lo-fi.
Unfortunately, several mastering (or recording) issues plague this LP. The audio has a frequency cut-off around 12kHz, which could have been from a low tape recording speed, generational losses from the excessive processing and duplication needed to compile this release, or simply as a low-pass filter aimed towards AM radio; who knows. The cutting has obvious harmonic distortion, even on mint copies played back with any hi-fi equipment. I also noticed after dubbing my first copy that there was a weird hiss that repeatedly turns on-and-off during the entirety of side 2. I figured at first this was purely a pressing fault with the copy in hand, but after dubbing four different M- copies of this album and seeing the exact same hiss in the exact same location on all four, as well as on several other needledrops reissued throughout the years, I realized that this is actually a fault with the master lacquer, or maybe even the master tape.
Even though most mint-looking copies of this album play with unusable levels of noise, I was able to create a pristine master out of the cleanest-playing copy I've ever heard, courtesy of C.F.'s collection. As mentioned above, several of these tracks have been comp'd elsewhere, but nothing compares in sound quality to the original without any EQ, compression, NR, or other digital fuckery. S.F. Sound self-released a CD of this with exactly those issues, as did RD (Two's A Pair) and Akarma (Tripsichord). So for full historical accuracy, I've decided to leave the oscillating hiss on side 2 intact, since that's just how this album sounds. I guess that most of you old hippies that frequent my blog will not hear or care about this anyways.
Comparison of the printed track listing between the grey and colored variants, in particular showing the less-polished editing that is seen on the greyscale version (thought to have been manufactured first). For some reason the title is printed here as "Fifth Pipedream" (one word); this is the only place where this is the case.
Track listing:
1) "Bulgaria" by It's A Beautiful Day -- 2:39
2) "Aquarian Dream" by unnamed, Mark Uzilevsky-led band -- 2:47
3) "You're The Woman" by Tripsichord Music Box -- 3:39
4) "It's Not Good" by Tripsichord Music Box -- 3:13
5) "Two's A Pair" by West Coast Natural Gas -- 4:15
6) "Beyond This Place" by West Coast Natural Gas -- 2:34
7) "Hashish" by West Coast Natural Gas -- 3:03
8) "Water Or Wine" by West Coast Natural Gas -- 3:38
9) "Family Song" by Tripsichord Music Box -- 8:25
10) "Lady Blonde" by Black Swan -- 2:08
11) "She Encircles Me" by Black Swan -- 2:09
Dynamic Range: DR12 Vinyl condition: M-
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)
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!
Note that the Artwork directory is pretty large (9.7 GB) and may require downloading separately. Or, alternatively, you can click any image on this page to bring it up full-screen, then right-click and "Save image as..." to save the JPEG on your computer, if you are low on bandwidth.
Thanks for visiting my blog, and enjoy! :) Here are some more of Donna's S.F. Sound posters from 1968:
I leave you with a quote from Matthew Katz, as given in Richard Morton Jack's book Psychedelia, 1966-1970: "I'm very proud of the contribution I've made to music, the spirit and the feeling. In the UK, George Martin is Sir George Martin. Why is Matthew Katz not thought of like this as well? I did as much as George Martin—I did more than George Martin."
Tripsichord Music Box - "Fly Baby" b/w "We Have Passed Away"
Original 1970 45 RPM single versions
San Francisco Sound T-5-12700-Y // 1-6-12 700-Z (Discogs)
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96kHz / 24bit FLAC + high-res scans~
When I first heard "Fly Baby," all the hype about this band finally started to make sense. After repeated listening I realized that song is simply one the best San Francisco psychedelic-sounding masterworks ever recorded. Everything about it oozes eerie midnight trips, the heightened fluid lead of Frank Straight jazzing out before the band suddenly bursts into harmonic overdrive, 3-part vocals pleading to "flyyy... fly with me baaeee-beeee..." -- wow!
This Tripsichord 45 was probably released contemporaneously with their demo album on the red San Francisco Sound label, which has been dated to circa November or December 1970. Unlike the band's first single, both of these tracks appeared on their full-length album, but "Fly Baby" was truncated to less than half of its original length, omitting the long guitar solo and final verse. The B-side sounds identical to the red-label demo LP to me, but I guess there will be people who argue this is superior sonically, having been cut at 45 RPM rather than 33⅓. This 45 has never been reissued or ripped elsewhere, so both sides make their digital debut here.
Major thanks again to C.F. for lending out this treasure from his never-ending archives!
Although the lyrics are pretty easy to hear, and even though they unambiguously define the B-side title as "We Have Passed Away," somehow that song was mistitled on the labels as "She Has Passed Away." This was corrected in 1971 for the Janus release and for all future reissues, but it surely makes one wonder what Katz was listening to these recordings on back in those days...
Unlike the first single, this was a New York affair, and it was pressed on vinyl, which bodes very well for the sound quality. Those who have never heard the red-label SF Sound pressing of the Tripsichord album (which is probably pretty much everyone reading this post) will note that the sound quality here is far better than on the Janus LP or any of the subsequent reissues: vinyl, CD, or otherwise. More on that later...
Frank Straight absolutely burning up the lead on his ES-330; Randy Gordon on drums, Burke Wallace on the SG
Lineup: - Bill Carr: acoustic guitar, vocals - Frank Straight: lead guitar - Dave Zandonatti: bass, vocals - Randy Gordon: drums, vocals
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!
The band performing "Omaha" as the fake Moby Grape in Phoenix, circa April 1968 (L-R): Frank Straight, Burke Wallace, Dave Zandonatti, Oliver McKinney, Randy Gordon
Tripsichord Music Box - "Times And Seasons" b/w "Sunday The Third"
Original white-label promo 45 RPM mono single
San Francisco Sound / Janus Records J-115 (Discogs)
~ThePoodleBites rip in 96 kHz / 24 bit FLAC + full high-res scans~
This is one of several releases by a San Francisco, California band known as Tripsichord Music Box, or Tripsichord, and the first of several records that I plan to post on this blog by that group. These guys were one of a handful of bands to secure major label distribution after working under producer Matthew Katz, the others including Moby Grape, Jefferson Airplane, and It's A Beautiful Day. They also previously had three tracks on the Fifth Pipe Dream compilation, released 1968, which are some of the best songs on that entire LP. For some reason Tripsichord never reached the same popular highs as their peers, though for me their music is some of the best from the aforementioned acts: and for those of us who deeply love the '60s SF music scene, that's no minor statement.
Major thanks to C.F. for loaning out a stunningly pristine promo copy of this rare 45; for his dedicated research; and for his (perhaps endless) altruistic contributions in even the most obscure ways!
The recordings on this 45 were completed in late 1969, after their album had already been tracked. However, these songs were actually released first, and not until around February or March of 1970. Both the promo and stock copies (labels of both pictured above) were manufactured by Monarch in L.A. and pressed with styrene instead of vinyl, which makes finding a flawless player copy quite challenging. I had somewhat resigned to the idea that every copy around may have suffered from the typical groove damage until I received this seemingly unplayed WLP from CF.
These tracks have been released on the Akarma reissue of the Tripsichord album, with the usual Akarma "remastering." For those who don't know, Akarma is an Italian bootleg label who likes to masquerade as being legit, so their releases are usually either done from needledrops or from someone else's digital transfer. In this case, the 45 dubs on their set suffer from channel issues and noise reduction. The restorations I present here are a major improvement in sound quality upon all other digital versions.
Record World review, 13 March 1970
Lineup:
- Ron McNeely: vocals
- Frank Straight: lead guitar
- Bill Carr: rhythm guitar - Dave Zandonatti: vocals, bass - Randy Gordon: vocals, drums
Track listing: 1) "Times And Seasons" -- 3:28 2) "Sunday The Third" -- 3:22
Dynamic Range: DR12 Vinyl condition: M- 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)
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!
The "Fifth Pipe Dream" lineup (plus Burke Wallace) performing as the "new" Moby Grape (L-R): Frank Straight, Dave Zandonatti, Randy Gordon with groupie, Burke Wallace from Easy Chair, Oliver McKinney Photo from Phoenix music pamphlet A Closer Look, 20 April 1968
