Rock & Indie 227 Items

ULTIMATE-SOUNDING VERSION OF THE HARMONY-RICH LANDMARK: DELUXE AUDIOPHILE PRESSING LIMITED AND NUMBERED COPIES
1/4" / 15 IPS analogue master to DSD 256 to analogue console to lathe


The enduring charm, contemporary relevance, and harmonic convergence of Crosby, Stills & Nash's fabled self-titled debut owe not only to impeccably played songs and resonant lyrics, but to career-defining performances by music's first genuine supergroup. Crosby, Stills & Nash lingers as an example of the whole being greater than the sum of its parts. Factor in phenomenal studio production and acoustic-based architecture that served as guideposts for myriad albums that followed, and popular music would never be the same.

Limited and numbered, pressed on MoFi SuperVinyl at RTI, and mastered from the original master tapes, Mobile Fidelity's UltraDisc One-Step 180g 45RPM 2LP collector's edition enhances the incalculably influential work for the ages to come. Surpassing the sonics of any prior version, it peels away any limitations to provide a transparent, ultra-nuanced presentation of a record that birthed the Laurel Canyon movement and established a precedent for close harmony singing that has never been eclipsed. The organic presentation of the textures; expanse and depth of the soundstages; fullness of tones; natural extension of the acoustic guitar strings; realistic rise and decay of individual notes; seamless blending of the vocals – all those important sonic facets (and more) reach demonstration-grade levels.

The packaging features the same attention to detail. Housed in a deluxe box, the Crosby, Stills & Nash UD1S pressing features special foil-stamped jackets and faithful-to-the-original graphics that illuminate the splendour of the recording and the reissue's premium quality. Aurally and visually, MoFi's UD1S copy exists as a curatorial artifact meant to be preserved, touched, and examined. It is made for discerning listeners that prize sound quality and production, and who desire to fully immerse themselves in the art – and everything involved with the album, from the images to the finishes.

The backstory of how Crosby, Stills & Nash came to be nearly matches the import of its content. Already a renowned multi-instrumental virtuoso, Stephen Stills sought a fresh beginning after Buffalo Springfield splintered. Similarly, vocal powerhouse David Crosby arrived after leaving the Byrds and gaining a reputation for being difficult. Graham Nash drifted over after a frustrating stint in the Hollies. He met his new mates at a party. When the three sang together informally for the first time, their fate was sealed. To further tie their fortunes together, the singers used each of their surnames to identify the group to ensure the collective could not exist or continue on without all three members.

From the opening of the lead track, the multi-part "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," written for Judy Collins, it's apparent the trio's dynamic cannot be replicated or substituted. Originally released in May 1969 on Atlantic, the eponymous debut cracked the Billboard Top 10 and spent almost two years on the charts. Such longevity can be credited to the distinctive traits each member lends to a record Rolling Stone cites as the 252nd Greatest Album of All Time. Stills trades in folk, country, and rock accents while handing a majority of the instrumental duties (organ, bass, and lead guitar included). Crosby paints with mood and atmosphere, as well as direct political commentary. Nash ties everything together with accessible pop melodies.

More than five decades later, the ensemble's mellifluous singing and homespun arrangements continue to soar. The evidence pervades Crosby, Stills & Nash, whose magnetism reflects in standards such as the breezy "Marrakesh Express," protesting "Long Time Gone," poignant "Helplessly Hoping," and poetic "Wooden Ships." No wonder the trio's chemistry – as well as the distinctive traits of each member's singing, interwoven guitar parts, and contrasting personalities – became a permanent part of an American culture dealing with conflicting themes of peace and war, love and violence, and change and status quo.

More About Mobile Fidelity UltraDisc One-Step and Why It Is Superior
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab's UltraDisc One-Step (UD1S) technique bypasses generational losses inherent to the traditional three-step plating process by removing two steps: the production of father and mother plates, which are created to yield numerous stampers from each lacquer that is cut. For UD1S plating, stampers (also called "converts") are made directly from the lacquers. Since each lacquer yields only one stamper, multiple lacquers need to be cut. Mobile Fidelity's UD1S process produces a final LP with the lowest-possible noise floor. The removal of two steps of the plating process also reveals musical details and dynamics that would otherwise be lost due to the standard multi-step process. With UD1S, every aspect of vinyl production is optimized to produce the best-sounding vinyl album available today.

MoFi SuperVinyl
Developed by NEOTECH and RTI, MoFi SuperVinyl is the most exacting-to-specification vinyl compound ever devised. Analog lovers have never seen (or heard) anything like it. Extraordinarily expensive and extremely painstaking to produce, the special proprietary compound addresses two specific areas of improvement: noise floor reduction and enhanced groove definition. The vinyl composition features a new carbonless dye (hold the disc up to the light and see) and produces the world's quietest surfaces. This high-definition formula also allows for the creation of cleaner grooves that are indistinguishable from the original lacquer. MoFi SuperVinyl provides the closest approximation of what the label's engineers hear in the mastering lab.

A classic now cut at 45 RPM!

Originally released in 1969, the concept for Dusty In Memphis was to take England's reigning female soul queen to the home of the music which had inspired her. Produced by Atlantic's Jerry Wexler and Arif Mardin and engineered by Tom Dowd, the record's highlights include "Son Of A Preacher Man," "So Much Love," "Breakfast In Bed," "Just One Smile," "I Don't Want To Hear It Anymore" and "Just A Little Lovin'". Springfield is backed by a crack band that had previously worked with Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, King Curtis and Elvis Presley among others. The musicians - collectively known as the Memphis Cats - include guitarist Reggie Young, bassist Tommy Cogbill, drummer Gene Chrismann, pianist Bobby Wood and Bobby Emmons on organ and electric piano. Songwriting contributions came from, among others, Randy Newman, Carole King, Gerry Goffin, Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil. Dusty Springfield is one of the finest white soul singers of her era, and this is the undisputed proof.

"Analogue Productions' reissue functions as a case study in what careful remastering and good pressing can achieve-even if the single-jacket package means both 45RPM LPs get crammed into one space. Sonically, it doesn't entirely erase the lack of fill, but adds such a three-dimensional frame to the picture that the holes begin to disappear. Additionally, it creates a much larger soundstage than found on the original, and the improved pitch stability makes it seem you've acquired a better turntable-not just a better pressing." — 4.5/5 stars, Dennis Davis, vinylreviews.com. Read the whole review here.

LP of the Month - Hi-Fi News
"...this LP proved definitively that Ms. Springfield ranks right up there with Aretha Franklin, Etta James and other soul/R&B queens of the post-WWII era...This edition is the finest I've ever heard." LP of the Month. Sound Quality = 99% - Ken Kessler, Hi-Fi News

"...absolutely stunning double 45rpm issue mastered from the original tape by Kevin Gray...I didn't know what to expect from this but my most optimistic hopes didn't begin to approach this album's reinvention at 45rpm...A classic reinvented. Very highly recommended for the music, for the mastering and for the superbly detailed pressing quality too from Quality Record Pressings." Music = 9/11, Sound = 9/11 - Michael Fremer, musicangle.com, November 2011

"...As with all 45 RPM remasterings, the higher groove velocity has made possible the extended high frequencies and lower noise that make this edition a marvel of sound." Performance = 5/5, Sound = 5/5; Editor's Pick, Recording of the Month — Robert Baird, Stereophile, February 2012

"... Kevin Gray turned in a sparkling re-mastering and the 45-RPM pressing from Chad Kassem's Quality Records could hardly be better. 'The Windmills Of Your Mind' throws a huge soundstage and Dusty on vinyl sets a high barrier for high def digital to aim for." Recording = 10/10; Music = 10/10 — Dennis D. Davis, Hi-Fi +, Issue 86

The latest release in Now-Again’s Reserve Series is Hunger – Strictly From Hunger: the band’s preferred version of the album, unedited, fuzz-guitar heavy late 60s psych-rock, restored and remastered from a rare test press. Hunger arrived in L.A. from Portland in late 1967 as the Outcasts, a teenage cover band, but within a six months they had signed with a connected manager, played all over Los Angeles, embraced psychedelia and signed on to record an album of original music for the label their manager founded for them: Public! Records. They showed tremendous promise – and their producers invested heavily into a band that was going to be the next marquee act at the Whiskey A Go-Go, bringing in members of Strawberry Alarm Clock, including future Lynyrd Skynyrd star Ed King, to produce an album. But Hunger broke up before their album’s release and their entry in rock’s canon was shadowed for years. This is the definitive Reserve Edition reissue of a late ‘60s psych–rock classic, overseen by Hunger’s band members John Morton, Steve Hansen and Mike Lane: the band’s preferred, unedited, fuzz-guitar heavy version of the album, restored and remastered from a rare test press. This is the first time that band’s vision for the album has been issued in full on vinyl. Contains an extensive booklet by Jim Cherry, Eothen Alapatt and Clark Faville that corrects many factual inaccuracies told over the record’s celebrated past three decades as one of rock’s holy grails. The booklet is filled with never-published photos from lead guitarist John Morton’s archive. Here’s an example of what’s in store – the full version of “Open Your Eyes” featuring Ed King’s lead guitar lines – all but absent on the Public! Records issue – and nearly double the length of the issued version! Download card for WAV files and bonus tracks – including the full Public! Records version of the album and 7” single tracks – included.

Why you'll love it...
“Released on June 20, 1966, Blonde on Blonde is the third entry in Bob Dylan’s so-called ‘rock trilogy’ of the mid-1960s. Following half an electric album (Bringing It All Back Home) and a romping raw rocker (Highway 61 Revisited), Dylan renewed the sound he was seeking with number three. But words can’t fully describe the music on this double LP. It’s simultaneously wiry and mercurial, skirting the border of out-of-control – too fresh to pin down with record store bin titles.”

Features new all-analog mastering by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio, direct from the original analog tapes - Pressed at RTI - Includes liner notes by Brian Barr - Featuring unseen photos by legendary photographer Joel Brodsky - LP housed in an expanded gatefold jacket

Description: “My favorite singer in the place was Karen Dalton. She had a voice like Billie Holiday’s and played the guitar like Jimmy Reed.” – Bob Dylan

Karen Dalton's 1969 Capitol debut is finally back in print! Light in the Attic is thrilled to present a brand new edition of this heart-wrenching & bluesy introduction to the intoxicating world of Dalton and her deep well of musical secrets.

World-weary and filled with the blues, Dalton’s unsurpassed interpretive depth and emotional range were like no other. Recorded for Capitol in 1969, It’s So Hard To Tell Who's Going To Love You The Best spans generations of classic American songwriting–covering classics by Lead Belly, Fred Neil, and Tim Hardin. While no longer with us in the physical, Karen’s growing musical presence is stronger than ever and worthy of re-examination by both the converted and the uninitiated alike. This new re-release serves as the definitive, all-analog version of Dalton’s stunning debut, featuring remastered audio from the original Capitol masters, the original 1969 artwork in an expanded gatefold jacket, unseen photos by album photographer Joel Brodsky, and an essay interviewing Karen’s friends and music collaborators, from album producer and bassist Harvey Brooks to musician Peter Stampfel of the Holy Modal Rounders.

Five Live Yardbirds – 1964, their first live album contains some of Eric Clapton's earliest recordings. It was recorded at the legendary Marquee club in London. This lineup features Eric Clapton/lead guitar, Keith Relf/ lead vocals & harmonica, Chris Dreja/ rhythm guitar, Paul Samwell-Smith/bass and Jim McCarty/drums. This deluxe package includes color vinyl, an OBI side spine and printed inner sleeve.

The definitive vinyl reissue of V3Nancy’s third album - Contains the hits “Summer Wine” and “Friday’s Child” - Features audio freshly remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin - Includes four bonus tracks: The complete 1969 Mickie Most sessions with the previously unreleased “Colors Are Changing” - Vinyl pressed at RTI on black, "Summer Wine" red, & "Little Bird Blue w/ Peach" splatter wax - Beautifully packaged and expanded gatefold LP with 20 page booklet features Q&A with Nancy & GRAMMY®-nominated co-producer Hunter Lea Plus never-before-seen photos from Nancy Sinatra’s personal archive “Strawberries, cherries, and an angel’s kiss in spring…” were the immortal words sung by a twenty-five-year-old Nancy Sinatra on a frigid spring day in a London recording studio during the sessions for her third LP in four months! The 1966 album was cut in three days at Pye Studios where The Kinks, Petula Clark, and David Bowie recorded their songs in the mid-1960s. By going directly to the source and choosing songs like “On Broadway,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” and “This Little Bird,” the album has an unequivocally British feel. The LP includes the timeless Nancy & Lee Hazlewood duet “Summer Wine.”

The definitive vinyl reissue of V3Nancy’s third album - Contains the hits “Summer Wine” and “Friday’s Child” - Features audio freshly remastered from the original analog tapes by GRAMMY®-nominated engineer John Baldwin - Includes four bonus tracks: The complete 1969 Mickie Most sessions with the previously unreleased “Colors Are Changing” - Vinyl pressed at RTI on black, "Summer Wine" red, & "Little Bird Blue w/ Peach" splatter wax - Beautifully packaged and expanded gatefold LP with 20 page booklet features Q&A with Nancy & GRAMMY®-nominated co-producer Hunter Lea Plus never-before-seen photos from Nancy Sinatra’s personal archive “Strawberries, cherries, and an angel’s kiss in spring…” were the immortal words sung by a twenty-five-year-old Nancy Sinatra on a frigid spring day in a London recording studio during the sessions for her third LP in four months! The 1966 album was cut in three days at Pye Studios where The Kinks, Petula Clark, and David Bowie recorded their songs in the mid-1960s. By going directly to the source and choosing songs like “On Broadway,” “Wishin’ and Hopin’,” and “This Little Bird,” the album has an unequivocally British feel. The LP includes the timeless Nancy & Lee Hazlewood duet “Summer Wine.”

The Seeds’ second album released in 1966 is a pop-art garage rock classic. ‘Mr Farmer’ was to become a Billboard Hot 100 single in 1967 and the second side of the album features the 14-minute epic ‘Up In Her Room’. This deluxe gatefold edition features the original stereo mix along with an 8-page insert. “Web Of Sound” deluxe comes with a second LP stuffed with mono versions, outtakes and more.

‘Faithfull Forever…’ is a 1966 studio album by Marianne that was only issued in the United States. This RSD pressing marks its first U.K release and it has not been re-issued on vinyl in the U.S. In 2024 Marianne celebrates her 60th anniversary in music, and for fans of her Decca catalogue ‘Faithfull Forever…’ is a must. All tracks have been remastered from the original tapes by Andrew Batt, and this special RSD release comes with detailed sleeve notes featuring exclusive commentary by Marianne herself and new artwork based on the original sleeve shot by the master French photographer Jean-Marie Perier.

Limited to 500 copies. Strictly Limited Edition Deluxe Gatefold LP with exclusive scholarly liner notes by Alvin Lucia! Full dynamic range 2022 remasters direct from the first generation analogue master tapes! Limited Edition 500 LPs

Velvett Fogg are a psychedelic rock band hailing from Birmingham, England. Active during the late 1960’s, Velvett Fogg were one of the many new bands from the Birmingham underground scene trying to take pop and rock music to a higher level of creativity. They were given a record deal by Pye Records, through which they released their first and only studio album, the self-titled Velvett Fogg. The original package was accompanied by a quote from U.K. disc jockey John Peel, who commented that “there is a lot of good music on this record. Remember Velvett Fogg - you will hear the name again”. Ironically the band broke up shortly after release. The album has since become a much sought after title.

Velvett Fogg is available on black vinyl.

Yes - Yes is the band's acclaimed 1969 debut. Includes "Sweetness" and a cover of The Beatles' song "Every Little Thing"

If you’re as obsessed with unfairly unheralded bands as we are, bringing out a proper, well-deserved official re-release to change that course is always an honor. Case in point, Jackpot Records proudly announce GANDALF’s 1969 self-titled release as one of our proudest moments. Working alongside band member Peter Sando from the original master tapes, it is time for the rest of the uninitiated to catch up with this beautifully crafted haunting psych-pop record (fans of THE Left Banke, Kaleidoscope, THE Millennium, and THE Zombies, take note!). Recorded at Century Sound in Manhattan with Grammy-winning producer Brooks Arthur (who engineered Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” and Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl”), the production of the album was created on the spot in the studio with arrangements being thrown about and the incredibly haunted vocals being recorded directly from the band’s PA using a Binson Echorec to make this innovative sound (Pink Floyd later used the same echo unit to great effect). Add to that sitars, vibes, B3 organs, harpsichord, minor tragic guitar chords, and bass drones aplenty, and you’ve got the recipe for an album that bears listening to with eyes closed, music cranked, mind open. So get in on the beauty of this record, and as Sando says on the liner notes: “Put the needle in the groove, sit back, and take the trip with GANDALF.” Enough said.

The Stormy Six debut album is, in some ways, the mirror of an era with simple atmospheres and an almost like ‘messa beat’ feel. The harmonies are kinda elementary and the general setting is strongly influenced by the Beat origins of the group. The "Stormy Six" formed as a sextet in Milan in 1965, right along that student environment that had already given birth to Maurizio Arcieri's "New Dada". The album is an eccentric mixture of Beat, Psychedelia and proto-prog in the vein of Moody Blues "In the search of the lost chord" or even early Genesis. The songs are almost written by the Rocchi-Fabbri duo even if, in retrospect, it was assumed that three of them belonged to Rocchi alone: ‘Ramo’, with a mystical indian flavor, ‘I Tuoi Occhi Sono Tristi’ – much in the vein of Brian Auger- and the poignant ‘Sotto I Portici Di Marmo’.

Rare, historic 1966 “Early Allman” sessions Featuring Duane and Gregg Allman recordings pre Allman Brothers Band

Songs featured include “Spoonful” & “Gotta get Away”

First time available on vinyl in over 45 years

Prepared from original Dial/ Mercury analog master tapes Mastered by Tom Lewis at Jim Hawkins’ Studio 1093, Athens, GA

Vinyl cut by Kevin Gray at Cohearent Audio Vinyl pressed at Record Technology Inc.

This is one of the first Chilean rock albums recorded in Spanish. "Boots a Go Go" (1966) by Beat 4 is released now on vinyl, from the original IRT masters! Los Beat 4 (Santiago de Chile, 1966) began as the partnership of four childhood friends: brothers Mario and Willy Benitez, Johnny Paniagua and Reinaldo Rhino Gonzalez. Under the influence of the Beatles, the Kinks and the Animals, they formed Los Electrones, a group with which they played at school parties and various meetings, following the style of the New Wave. Around 1966, and after the explosion of the beat rhythm in our country with the arrival of the Beatles, they decided to change their name to Beat 4 and sing in Spanish. In 1967, backed by the wide radio diffusion of their single "Llora conmigo" (a Spanish version of an Italian pop song), they toured throughout the country. The band's second hit came with the jingle "Dame un Bananino", composed to promote a banana-flavored ice cream. The song was released as an EP, was a great success and took them on tour to the main beaches of Chile. They would later replicate the model with the song "Ta ta ta ta", as simple and catchy as the previous one. The Beat 4's career was short but intense and popular. At the beginning of the 70's they had already released four LPs, and since then they began to incorporate their own compositions. When Willy Benítez left the band, Tilo Mandiola replaced him, but soon after, the Beat 4 decided to leave. Willy Benítez entered the theater school of the Catholic University, to later begin a career as a humorist in television programs such as "El festival de la una". Reinaldo Rhino González, vocals (1966 - 1971). Johnny Paniagua, guitar (1966 - 1971). Willy Benítez, bass (1966 - 1971). Mario Benítez, drums (1966 - 1971). Tilo Mandiola, bass (1971).

180 gram high quality pressing vinyl!

limited edition analogue 180 gram vinyl reisue ... sampled by Run DMC, Public Enemy, ODB, ...

RidingEasy Records has teamed up with Permanent Records in Los Angeles to bring this very special heavy psych rocker back into the fold for RSD 2023. New York City based African-American & Latino hard rock/psych trio Maximillian released their sole self-titled album on ABC Records in 1969, then promptly vanished. It has remained a collectors’ conversation piece ever since. Maximillian combined elements of beat poetry, a little bit of The Fugs, a hit of Funkadelic, a lick of Cream and a vibe of Hendrix worship with an ambition that seems to have jumbled these influences. The Maximillian album is a rare artifact of late-60s psychedelic rock whose appeal is not the skill of their musicianship, but the downright strangeness of it. While at times it sounds like the trio is playing entirely different songs at the same time, it’s said that producer Teddy Vann had a hand in the album’s sometimes confusing production. Gatefold

Why you'll love it...
“Knowing Tammy Wynette’s troubled history, and with 50-plus years of social change since the recording and release of Stand By Your Man, it’s difficult to hear the album and not want to scream: Tammy, get out of there; you’re so much better than him! But that’s not to say that the album, which ascended to No. 2 on Billboard’s Country Albums chart and earned a Country Music Association Album of the Year nomination in 1969, isn’t worth listening to. Wynette’s mournful voice, described by her longtime producer Billy Sherrill as ‘husky and soulful and tearful and dynamic,’ was made for songs like these; frankly, so were her real-life experiences. ‘She lived it, you know. She lived every tear every-body ever heard her sing,’ Sherrill once said of Wynette, and he assembled talented musicians to match her delivery in lush, Nashville Sound-era style.”

Why you'll love it...
After recording demos with Sam Phillips that he considered "too jazzy" Charlie Rich was given a stack of Jerry Lee Lewis records to study and "come back when [he got] that bad". The single "Lonely Weekends" hit Top 30 and earned a gold record for selling one million copies. The album features classics such as "C.C. Rider," "You're Gonna Be Waiting" and "Apple Blossom Time."

Limited to 1000 copies, the VMP exclusive edition of Charlie Rich's Lonely Weekends is pressed on Sky Blue vinyl at Softwax Record Pressing. The AAA 1LP will arrive in a single, direct-to-board jacket.

Why you'll love it...
“In the first 75 years of Carnegie Hall being in operation, country music was an intermittent guest in the hallowed hall. In March 1966, however, a country band from Bakersfield, California, took to Carnegie Hall’s stages at the peak of their powers, as only the second country band to headline a show there, and ultimately released — outside of At Folsom Prison — the most important live country album ever. An album that proved many things between its two sides: that country music had an audience around the world already, and that the artist behind the album’s gamble on himself and his sound proved that you didn’t need to go to Nashville and sell out to sell big. With Carnegie Hall Concert, Buck Owens and His Buckaroos entered the pantheon of country music, becoming part of its very fiber, and altered the way it was considered in big cities and at record labels.”

Why you'll love it...
No one knows what happened to Jim Sullivan, but there have been various rumors floated involving the mob, police foul play, and, due to his closeness to Roswell, alien abduction. Because of the mystery of his disappearance, the lyrics on U.F.O. took on an otherworldly quality; the songs about aliens, and being in the sky, and disappearing seem like they were written to explain his disappearance, just written six years early.

Ultra-rare 1966 solo album by singer/songwriter Trevor Lucas of Fairport Convention, Fotheringay, and Election. This Australian born folk legend recorded his own songs and a handful of covers – mostly solo acoustic, occasionally accompanied by bass, concertina, and fiddle. First ever authorized reissue (by his estate) of this gem.

* Newly Remastered!* Ultra rare 1969 private press psych-folk-rock masterpiece – featuring the legendary Wrecking Crew (Beach Boys, Phil Spector) * Lacquers cut by John Golden Mastering * Plated at Record Technology Inc. (rti) * Includes deep booklet with liner notes by Andria Lisle, rare photos, archival materials and full lyrics (LP: 16-pgs, CD: 48-pgs) In March 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost in the desert. Some think he fell foul of a local family with alleged mafia ties. Some think he was abducted by aliens.

By coincidence – or perhaps not – Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost, until Seattle’s Light In The Attic Records begun a years-long quest to give it the full release it deserves – and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened.

For record collectors, some albums are considered impossible to get hold of, records so rare you could sit on eBay for years and not get a sniff of a copy. U.F.O. is one of those albums. A seventh son, Jim Sullivan was a West Coast should-have-been, an Irish-American former high school quarterback whose gift for storytelling earned him cult status in the Malibu bar where he performed nightly. Sullivan was always on the edge of fame; hanging out with movie stars like Harry Dean Stanton, performing on the Jose Feliciano show, even stealing a cameo in the ultimate hippie movie, Easy Rider.

Friend and actor Al Dobbs thought he could change all that, and founded a label – Monnie Records – to release Jim’s album, enlisting the assistance of Phil Spector’s legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew to do so. That’s Don Randi, Earl Palmer and Jimmy Bond you can hear, the latter also acting as producer and arranger.

U.F.O. was a different beast to the one-man-and-his-guitar stuff Jim had been doing on stage; instead, it was a fully realised album of scope and imagination, a folk-rock record with its head in the stratosphere. Sullivan’s voice is deep and expressive like Fred Neil with a weathered and worldly Americana sound like Joe South, pop songs that aren’t happy – but filled with despair. The album is punctuated with a string section (that recalls David Axelrod), other times a Wurlitzer piano provides the driving groove (as if Memphis great Jim Dickinson was running the show). U.F.O. is a slice of American pop music filtered from the murky depths of Los Angeles, by way of the deep south.

With no music industry contacts, the record went largely unnoticed, and Jim simply moved on, releasing a further album on the Playboy label in 1972. But by 1975, his marriage breaking up, Jim left, for Nashville and the promise of a new life as a sessioneer in the home of C&W. That’s where it gets hazy.

We know he was stopped by cops for swerving on the highway in Santa Rosa, some 15 hours after setting off. We know he was taken to a local police station, found to be sober, and told to go to the local La Mesa Motel to get some rest, which he did. Some time later, his car was spotted on a ranch belonging to the local Genetti family, who confronted him about his business there. The next day his car was found 26 miles down the road, abandoned. His car and his hotel room contained, among other things, his twelve-string guitar, his wallet, his clothes and several copies of his second album, but no note, and no Jim. It was as if he had simply vanished into thin air.

Jim’s family travelled out to join search parties looking for him, the local papers printed missing person stories, but the search proved fruitless. Around the same time, the local sheriff retired and the Genettis moved to Hawaii. Jim’s manager Robert “Buster” Ginter later stated that during the early morning hours of a long evening Jim and Buster were talking about what would you do if they had to disappear. Jim said he’d walk into the desert and never come back.

Tracking down the truth behind Jim’s mystery became an obsession of Light In The Attic’s Matt Sullivan (no relation) when he happened upon a copy of the album and fell in love. He took on a cross country pilgrimage in search of master tapes and truth, and came back with neither, despite hundreds of phone calls, e-mails, letters, faxes, private detectives, telepathy, palm readings and meetings with Jim’s wife, son and producer. Thanks to superb digital mastering techniques, Light In The Attic is still able to present a clean, near perfect copy of Jim’s masterpiece for general consumption for the first time. Enjoy. And remember, beyond the mystery, there’s the music.

Limited to 2000 copies.

Legend On Legend!

Eddy’s superb reverb-drenched renditions of Dylan’s biggest hits gives your ears a fresh take on these familiar favorites. Full of twang and gut bucket harmonica, this collection of 12 songs encapsulates the ‘60s in a way only Duane Eddy could.

Originally released in 1965, the album has remained one of the rarest and hard-to-get collectibles for Duane Eddy fans everywhere. Produced by Lee Hazelwood, the album is completely instrumental and showcases Eddy’s individual stylings of the 1960s.

Eddy’s guitar romps and soars through Dylan’s brain waves – translated in this album into notes which build and explode into bar lines of enjoyable melodies. By instrumentally interpreting 12 of the significant songs of the 60’s, Eddy proves there is quality and richness in popular music, too often knocked down for its tendency toward shrillness and over-amplification.

What Bob Dylan is capable of saying with his magical way with words, Duane Eddy is capable of saying instrumentally. As you will undoubtedly hear, it’s a happy marriage.

Due to high demand, Svart Records will release represses of Wigwam's early works on vinyl once again. The Finnish legends in Wigwam are no strangers to fans of Progressive Rock around the world. Their debut album Hard N’ Horny from 1969 and the following Tombstone Valentine from 1970 are a couple of cornerstones among many in their impeccable discography. The previous Svart editions of these absolute classics by the pioneers of early progressive rock date back to 2019, so it was about time to bring back these must-haves to the market.

Hard N’ Horny started the legacy of Wigwam. Album’s A-side is jazzy, early prog-rock by the keyboardist Jukka Gustavson, with an exception on the first track written by the original bass player Mats Huldén. Lots of heavy organ, jazzy piano, and some vocal parts by Gustavson. The B-side is ‘60s psychedelia written by the British-born vocalist Jim Pembroke. It consists of songs about a man called Henry, together forming a mini Rock opera.