MAJOR ARCANA - VERY RARE & GOOD 1975 US PSYCH FOLK LP W/HTF POSTER - EXCELLENT

$

150

MAJOR ARCANA - VERY RARE & GOOD 1975 US PSYCH FOLK LP W/HTF POSTER

- RARE LP (1000-2500 PRESSED) IS IN GREAT SHAPE - MAYBE PLAYED ONCE

- JACKET IS STILL IN ORIGINAL CELLO AND IS ALSO VERY NICE. THE "X" IN THE TOP LEFT IS ON THE CELLO.

- INCLUDES ORIGINAL POSTER BY PETER POPLASKI

A rare and sought after private press that came out of the small but heady scene of 1970s Milwaukee. Led by Jim Spencer - who was a major player in the Wisconsin underground both as a musician and a writer/publisher of counterculture magazines, including Freek - Major Arcana released this lone LP in 1975. Generating comparisons to Pearls Before Swine and, of course, the man himself, Bob Dylan, Major Arcana benefits from subtle musicianship and arrangements, and quality songwriting. Covering ground from folk, to hippie tinged pop, to jazz, to blues-rock, the album is held together by Spencer's distinct voice and poetic spirit. A classic piece of the 1970s hippie underground that fetches serious coin at auction.

Jim Spencer originally made his name as a writer/publisher, responsible for a series of early-1970s underground magazines, including Freek.  He also found time to record a pair of mid-1970s solo LPs that attracted local attention, but did little on the national scene. In 1974 Jim Spencer decided to form a band, recruiting the talents of bassist Michael Burdecki, lead guitarist Randall Dubis, and percussionist Jim Kitchen. Released on Spencer's own A Major Label (which also released the highly sought after Anonymous album), "Major Arcana" served as a showcase for Spencer who handled all of the vocals and was credited with writing, or co-writing nine of the ten songs (the one exception being a cover of the traditional 'Greensleeves'). Propelled by Spencer's likeable voice (for some reason every time I listen to the LP I think of Jack Black in 'High Fidelity'), musically the album was hard to describe since it bounced all over the horizon including stabs at conventional blues, commercial ballads, folk-rock, Dr. John-styled funk ('Papa Doc') and even jazzy interludes. Depending on which source you use, between 1,000 and 2,500 copies were pressed. Regardless, the LP's hard to find. Original copies are also worth owning for the cool Denis Kitchen cover art (the only album cover he's ever done), as well as the hard to find Peter Poplaski poster insert.