ACID VISIONS,Vol.1 60s garage punk/psych LP ORIGINAL
A$
22
$
14
A$ 22
Sold For
Apr 29, 2010
Sold Date
Apr 22, 2010
Start Date
A$ 10
Start price
5
Number Of Bids
Australia
Country Of Seller
eBay
Auctioned at
Favourite Auctions
To save auctions to your favourites, please login
If you don't have an account, please register
Description
I recently had the good fortune to buy a big collection of those rather limited early 80's Garage Punk & Psychedelic compilations LPs from a trusted collector who bought these all at the time....(ummm...from a shop I owned back then, in fact....ah, the cycle of time works in wonderful ways sometimes).
Anyway, this is one of them.
ARTIST: VARIOUS ARTISTS -
TITLE: "ACID VISIONS, VOL.1"
SUB-TITLE: "THE BEST OF TEXAS PUNK AND PSYCHEDELIC" .
FORMAT: …vinyl LP…
LABEL: Voxx .
CAT. #: VHM-200.008 .
DATE OF RELEASE: 1983 .
PRESSED IN: USA .
ORIGINAL FIRST PRESSING? Yes!...
QUANTITY PRESSED (if known): .
TRACKS: Side 1 1. The Great Believers - Comin' Up Fast (Part 1) 2. The Scotty McKay Quintet - The Train Kept A-Rollin' 3. A-440 - Torture 4. The Things - I Don't Believe It 5. The Stoics - Enough Of What I Need 6. Satori - Time Machine 7. Neal Ford & The Ramadas - Life Is So ToughSide 2 1. Roy Head & The Great Believers - Easy Lovin' Girl 2. Johnny Winter - Birds Can't Row Boats 3. The Pandas - Walk 4. The Bad Roads - Blue Girl 5. The Things - In Your Soul 6. The Stoics - Hate 7. Amos Boynton & The ABCs - The Ballad Of Bertha Glutz
Acid Visions #1
Texas. Something decidedly groovy going on. Texans have always had a reputation for doing things in
a big way, and this record all but proves that theory.
While perhaps not the definitive collection of Texas punk, "Acid Visions" contains some of the best
obscure recordings of the era. Ranging from the R&B inspired ravings of the Great Believers to the
vitriolic punk of the Stoics, this record covers nearly all aspects of an incredibly diverse scene.
While unfortunate, it is true that most of these songs didn't have the mass popularity needed to become
national hits. This obscurity, however, is part of their appeal, and actually indicative of the Texas
scene as a whole. During this period Texas was bursting with great bands, yet few ever even made the
top 100 on the national charts. Enough said about the American record buying public.
Of all the great groups on this record, the Stoics had the most potential for making it big. These kids
were inherently groovy and even had something of a fan club in a Mexican gang called "Capinch."
Both sides of their single are included here. Both "Enough Of What I Need" and "Hate" display the
greatest of demented, agonizing punk vocals. When singer Al Acosta sings of hate you can almost feel
the cactus in his voice. The Stoics achieve a sound unlike any other group on the record, in fact,
unlike any other Texas group of the era. They had the potential to make it big in Texas but,
unfortunately, "Enough Of What I Need" was banned by the local radio station in San Antonio, for
an "obscene" line ("remember all the nights you kissed my lips, and the pleasure of my fingertips").
Very few copies were printed therefore, making this an extremely rare single.
Another standout, the Things, were also unfortunately neglected. Two of their songs are included
here, both previously unreleased. Since none of their recordings ever made it to vinyl, little is known
about this group (though there can be no doubt these Things were Ugly - Ed). A groovy fuzz guitar
buzzes its way through both songs, yet a truly wyld Farfisa is the key element of this group's sound.
"In Your Soul" features one of the greatest organ breaks imaginable, while in "I Don't Believe It" the
smooth organ chords carry the song along almost gracefully, as if riding on some sort of magic carpet
(oh well, so much of poetic discourse). Anyway Houston's Things were great and it's a shame their
recordings were never previously released.
With four of the tracks on this record associated with Johnny Winter, it becomes apparent that Winter
loomed large on the Texas teen circuit. The Great Believers were a Houston band consisting of Johnny,
brother Edgar, Amos Boynton, and Dave Russell. Included here is "Comin' Up Fast, Part I," a groovy
little party song about Johnny being too old for all the young teenagers in mini-skirts. A great fuzz
bass
pounds along as Johnny screams and laments his sorrows. "The Ballad Of Bertha Glutz" is basically
the same song, recorded earlier by Amos Boynton & The ABCs, before they became the Great
Believers. "Easy Lovin' Girl" is another Great Believers entry, this time with Roy Head doing some
cool R&B vocalizing, Johnny plays guitar while brother Edgar displays some manic vibraphone action.
After leaving the Great Believers Johnny Winter began concentrating almost exclusively on blues. One
happy exception is the B-side of one of his blues singles, "Birds Can't Row Boats." The LP version of
that song is included here. While revealing a universal truth about birds, Winter also displays a unique
and original sound not found in his previous work with the Great Believers.
If one song stands out as being the most unique, the most original, and perhaps the most insane, it
would be "Time Machine" by Satori. Satori actually consisted of one man, Dennis Warkentin, and is a
perfect example of what happens to a man's brain after eating too much cactus out in the hot Texas
sun. "Time Machine" is a surrealistic trip into the mind of a demented man, replete with the frightening
sounds one might expect to find there. It's great.
"Torture" by A-440 is another great mysterious number. The singer barks about death and misery as
some spooky, windy Farfisa chords sail by, and an eerie voice in the background chants "torture." The
drummer abuses his drums unmercifully, and does it well.
The Scoty McKay Quintet achieve an amazingly groovy version of "Train Kept A-Rollin'" here, with
the unlikely assistance of Jimmy Page. It seems Mckay became friends with Page while opening for the
Yardbirds, sent him a tape of the song, and Page sent it back with his guitar lead overdubbed. The
result is a version that rivals that of the Yardbirds own.
Perhaps even more unlikely is Neal Ford and the Ramadas doing "Life Is So Tough." A slow,
antiseptic number with vocals their mother must have approved of, it is undeserving of the term
"punk," and not very representative of the Texas scene. The one true disappointment on the record, it
is conveniently located at the very end of Side One, making it easy to just flip the record over without
having to listen to it.
"Walk" is a great screamer by the Pandas with wyld fuzz guitar and a pounding bass line that's sure to
make your hair bounce. (When the singer screeches "Walk! Walk!" etc he definitely sounds not unlike
a giant prehistoric bird - Ed). The Pandas later became the Giant Smiling Dogs and won awards for
most humorous name.
The Bad Roads strike a pretty deep groove with "Blue Girl" as it comes off as one of the strongest
recordings included here. A great fuzz guitar coupled with sneering Jaggeresque vocals give this songs
an infectious quality that leaves you wanting more.
So that's it. A groovy collection of Texas punk and psychedelia circa 1966-67, buy this record and
expose yourself to some truly WYLD SOUNDS.
- Bill Calhoun (Originally published in Ugly Things #2, 1983)
CONDITION:
COVER: (M-)...basically mint/untouched...
VINYL: (EX-)...shiny vinyl, but with just some very mild scuffs (like, virtually nothing, right?)...
LABELS: (Side One: MINT / Side Two: MINT)...
If you have any concerns about the accuracy of my gradings, please check my feedback for the odd nice comment from some satisfied folk out there.... (and hopefully you may be able to join their ranks).
You can pay in US$'s or UK pounds or EURO's or Australian dollars.
CLICK ON view sellers other auctions ABOVE FOR SIMILAR ITEMS - I list lots of punk / garage'n'psych (60s –> 90s) / power pop / guitar pop / soul & R'n'B / some occasional original 50's rock'n'roll & rockabilly plus industrial/experimental rarities from down this way - vinyl mostly, and posters, some CDs - (admittedly you’ll find all sorts of other guff too)...
Thanks for considering this item. Best of luck if you decide to bid...Cheers, Jules.
============================
The Small Print
(it's a good idea to read this)
POSTAGE:
: first class airmail to USA, Canada: AU$17.95: first class airmail to UK, all of Europe, Israel / South America / Central America / Africa / Continental Asia (Russia, Turkey, etc.): AU$19.95
: first class airmail to Japan / Asia-Pacific (China, Thailand, Korea, Singapore, India, etc.): AU$15.95
: first class airmail to New Zealand: AU$13.95
: within Australia: AU$7.50
Combining Postage
...take note:
..postage costs come down considerably per LP/12" if you happen to win more than one...(for instance, to the UK/USA/Europe, etc., winning extra LPs/12"s means adding AU$6.90 extra postage for the second, and even less for a third....or AU$2.00 within Australia for each extra LP)...
PAYMENT
OUTSIDE AUSTRALIA:You can pay by: 1. Paypal......easiest and cheapest way 2. MoneyyOrderr - no fees if made out in Aussie dollars - (you'll need to add a US$7.50 [or equivalent] exchange fee for any non-Australian dollar money order)
.. .. ..or.. .. ..
3. CASHif you like (but must be sent in a registered envelope ONLY) WITHIN AUSTRALIA:
Pay by Paypal, MoneyOrder, BankCheque, PersonalCheque (allow 5 days for clearance)...or DirectDeposit/Internet Transfer into my account (quickest method, along with Paypal).. .. ..
PACKING:
Don’t worry - we pack anything you buy VERY CAREFULLY to make sure it arrives in EXACTLY the condition it left here. More specifically, in the way we'd like to receive parcels ourselves.
WE MAIL OUT FROM AUSTRALIA VIRTUALLY EVERY DAY. Pay instantly with your debit or credit card through PayPal. 6.0
price rating
