*Ultimate Spinach - Behold & See. 1995 Big Beat (CD) (1968). Collection revisit (Dec). Ultimate Spinach's second album is an inventive psych album from the freewheeling 1968 landscape. Part of the Bosstown manufactured set of groups, Ultimate Spinach mixes Jefferson Airplane hard hitting female sung psych combined with long experimental tracks. 'Mind Flowers' is as close as any band has come to sounding like the great Group 1850. Not long after recording this opus, the primary group dissolved and the label had to scramble to piece together an unrelated set of musicians to complete their third and last album. Yet another tale from America of great talent wheezing out before taking it to the next level. Given the commercialism of our music industry, perhaps not a bad sequence of events. Interesting reissue supervised by Alan Lorber, the man who created the Bosstown brand in the first place. One track is missing and apparently others have been altered slightly. Borderline free association liner notes. If I find the LP, I'll have to compare the differences.
*Wolf People - Tidings. 2010 Jagjaguwar (LP). Collection revisit (Nov). My original notes from 2011 were: "Tidings is a compilation of singles, with nicely done artsy interludes, and is more geared to late 60's psych similar to Gary Ramon's Sun Dial project (especially Other Way Out). Wolf People have truly captured the essence of another era, and aren't just a retro copy band. Definitely start with Steeple though." This was my second encounter with Wolf People after Steeple, and both were relatively new at the time. As noted on these pages, two albums later came Ruins which I think is one of the greatest albums from the last decade. And sadly they haven't released anything since though it appears they are still around. But one can hear their trademark sound here on Tidings. This is an odd release as it compiles two of their singles from 2007 that appear to have been also issued on cd-r in 2006. Discogs calls them a psychedelic folk rock band, but I would never associate folk rock with Wolf People. However one can hear that strain on Tidings, so it's not inaccurate. This album had fallen to the bottom of the rankings, but I was certain not to let it go given my affinity for their three fully realized works. The album provides historical context for this great band.
*Strawberry Path - When the Raven Has Come to the Earth. 1998 P-Vine (CD) (1971). Collection revisit (Nov). An interesting duo from Japan. Years ago I compared them to Tractor, but I think they're closer to the post Hendrix sound with additional organ. At times they really jam out. They also throw in ballads, a drum solo, and a melancholic proggy closer complete with flute. Debated on whether to keep this, but it's just unique enough for a +1 rating, and this CD is a wonderful mini-LP reproduction.
* - Keeping for the collection
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