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(2018) Alexander Spence – AndOarAgain
Review:
AndOarAgain provides unparalleled access to what David Fricke calls “the most harrowing and compelling artifacts of rock & roll’s most euphoric era” across three dozen unheard tracks! In addition to the quintessential original album, AndOarAgain features nearly two hours of unheard music on the way to Oar–along with roads not taken–that both clarifies and muddies the enigma of how psychedelic legend Alexander “Skip” Spence determined the final state of his iconic masterpiece.
The time: December, 1968. The setting: the Columbia Recording Studios at 504 16th Avenue South in Nashville, Tennessee. Alexander Spence – a singer, songwriter, and guitarist commonly known as Skip, recently relieved of his duties in the San Francisco rock band Moby Grape after a descent into excessive hallucinatory-drug use and a psychotic episode with a fire axe – is recording Oar, his first album as a Columbia solo artist. It will also be his last. Made in six days spread over two weeks, then released six months later on May 19th, 1969, Oar will be Spence’s only complete expression of his experimental verve and musical facility, under his real name and creative control, before he recedes into rapidly deepening, ultimately conquering darkness. A half-century after its brisk, strange birth, Oar remains an apparent chaos of eccentric composition and overwhelming melancholy, wreathed in country-blues shadows and the smokey blur of Spence’s wounded-baritone singing.
AndOarAgain, a 3-CD set including the seminal original album, the 1999 bonus cuts, and nearly two hours of unheard Oar; all packaged in a hardbound book-style jacket with rare photos and extensive notes from David Fricke!
Tracklist:
CD 1: Oar
1. Little Hands – 3:43
2. Cripple Creek – 2:15
3. Diana – 3:31
4. Margaret-Tiger Rug – 2:16
5. Weighted Down (The Prison Song) – 6:25
6. War In Peace – 4:04
7. Broken Heart – 3:28
8. All Come To Meet Her – 2:03
9. Books Of Moses – 2:42
10.Dixie Peach Promenade – 2:52
11.Lawrence Of Euphoria – 1:29
12.Grey/Afro – 9:38
13.This Time He Has Come – 4:42
14.It’s The Best Thing For You – 2:49
15.Keep Everything Under Your Hat – 3:06
16.Furry Heroine – 3:35
17.Givin’ Up Things – 0:59
18.If I’m Good – 0:48
19.You Know – 1:47
20.Doodle – 1:03
21.Fountain – 0:34
22.To Think You And I – 1:14
CD 2: And Oar Again
1. Little Hands (Take 2) – 3:43
2. Cripple Creek (Basic) – 2:08
3. Diana (Take 3) – 4:39
4. Furry Heroine (Halo Of Gold) (Alternate) – 3:29
5. My Friend – 2:52
6. War In Peace (Alternate) – 3:49
7. Broken Heart (Vocal And Acoustic) – 4:47
8. All Come To Meet Her (Alternate 1) – 2:17
9. I Want A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band – 3:13
10.Dixie Peach Promenade (Yin For Yang) (Alternate) – 2:09
11.Lawrence Of Euphoria (Alternate) – 2:03
12.Mary Jane / Steamboat – 5:01
13.I Got A Lot To Say (Version 1) – 1:53
14.Diana (Alternate 1) – 2:41
15.War In Peace (Instrumental) – 3:29
16.Diana (Alternate 2) – 5:57
CD 3: More
1. Little Hands (Vocal Overdub) – 3:48
2. Diana (Version 2) – 1:13
3. Weighted Down (The Prison Song) (Rehearsal) – 1:13
4. The Shape You’re In – 0:57
5. I Want A Rock ‘n’ Roll Band (Instrumental) – 1:50
6. It’s A Hard Life (Version 1) – 0:36
7. I Got Something For You – 2:03
8. Diana (12 String Version) – 4:00
9. I Got A Lot To Say (Version 2) – 0:52
10.It Ain’t Nice (Version 1) – 1:19
11.She Don’t Care – 0:58
12.All Come To Meet Her (Alternate 2) – 2:16
13.It Aint’t Nice (Version 2) – 1:07
14.It’s A Hard Life (Version 2) – 0:38
15.All Come To Meet Her (Rehearsal) – 3:03
16.Diana (Overdub) – 4:04
17.War In Peace (Take 2) – 4:18
18.Broken Heart (Extended Master) – 4:38
19.War In Peace (Guitar Overdub) – 4:48
20.Diana (Basics) – 3:44
Summary:
Country: USA
Genre: folk-rock, psychedelic rock
Media Report:
Source : CD
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode : Variable
Bit rate : ~ 833-1000 Kbps
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 44.1 KHz
Bit depth : 16 bits |
