I picked this one up at The Big Dig record show in Seattle. Keep an eye out for the show if you’re in the area. They bring some great dealers to a great location. Enough about the show. Onto the dig and review. It was toward the end of the day so most of my funds were spent. Digging through a crate the cover caught my eye but the price tag was a little out of reach for a late score. It was priced at $80. I found the seller and told him the honest truth. “Hey man, I really dig this record. I know you don’t know me and definitely don’t owe me anything. I have to ask, it’s the end of the day and I have $50 left. Would you let it go for that?” If the fact that I’m writing a review on the record hasn’t tipped you off, he said yes. Score! I thanked him and headed home with my new digs. Now, before you start searching for this record let me fill you in on something, it’s weird, like really weird. If different isn’t your thing you’ll hate it. Especially at the prices it typically goes for, but I was aware of the oddity before I went into my buying pitch. It starts off with a track, Do It All, which opens with a walking bass line and a female vocalist. Her style of singing is; different. At first she’s yelping then transitions into what can only be described as some level of yodeling. There are some actual words but not many and they come in the style of spoken word. The band kicks in with horns and strings in the freest jazz style I’ve ever heard. Extremely scattered, they might be freestyling to record. The bassist makes some daringly experimental sounds. Percussion is present but isn’t a driving force by a mile. All together it sounds… pretty damn cool. The second track, Stagflation, offers up a little more uniformity but it’s still far from your average. The third track, The Ocean Moves Primitively, takes us right back to where the first track leaves us. Extremely weird, I won’t spoil you with a description. If strange is your thing begin the dig for this because I’m not sure I’ve heard another recording this far out there.
• Released 1975 on Arch Records
Review by: Def Wax
Def Wax 