Innervisions - Beginnings End. 1977 USA-New Jersey

For the CDRWL I wrote:

Innervisions were an 8 piece horn rock band from New Jersey and perhaps the most surprising aspect of this release is the recording date. This kind of record was waaaaaaaaaaaay past its shelf life in 1977. It sounds more like 1970 era Lighthouse than anything coming around this late. But it's still mixed with that wonderful and aggressive Terry Kath-like raw guitar and a few complex horn charts. The pop is really a bit too saccharine to highly recommend to progressive and underground rock fans, though it is a pleasant listen if in the right frame of mind. And honestly being the sentimentalist I tend to be, I find myself attracted to music such as this. Overall a strange anachronistic album with a very cool private looking cover.

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In hearing this album again last night, I enjoyed a +1 listen due to my increasing enjoyment from that particular era of sentimental pop. But I still have to shake my head on just how out of time this album really is. No one was doing music like this in 1977, especially here in the States.

Ownership: LP: 1977 Visions. Single sleeve with lyric insert. Recent online acquisition (2022). Great cover as noted above. The pressing, however, is atrocious. Makes the Soviet label Melodiya seem like Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab by comparison. All copies (apparently) have dimples, and mine has the added bonus of a stress lift on the last two tracks of side 2. Would have been nice had the seller pointed that out. Its impact is no worse than the rest of the album where occasional ticks and pops are the norm. This is an album that would benefit greatly from any kind of master tape quality reissue. Also worth noting is that that the labels and the back cover are reversed. For whatever reason, Discogs insists the back cover is right. But Side 2 is Side 1 if scoring at home.

6/22/15 (CDRWL); 11/23/18 (new entry); 10/11/22 (update)