OPAL Happy Nightmare Baby LP SST 1987 USorig KENDRA SMITH-MAZZY STAR-RAIN PARADE

	£		35
	$		46

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DAVID ROBACK & KENDRA SMITH

plus KEITH MITCHELL, SUKI EWERS, WILLIAM COOPER, AARON SHERER,

PAUL OLGUIN, TERRY GRAHAM, ADAM NIMOY

Paisley Undergound folk rockers that pre-dated Mazzy Star. 

The neo-psychedelic group Opal formed in the mid-'80s, featuring former 

Rain Parade guitarist David Roback and former Dream Syndicate bassist Kendra Smith. 

Initially, the group was called Clay Allison, but the group dropped the name 

after one single; Roback, Smith, and drummer Keith Mitchell released the 

remaining Clay Allison tracks under their own name in 1984 on the Fell From the Sun EP. 

After its release, the group adopted the name Opal and released an EP, Northern Line, in 1985. 

Happy Nightmare Baby, their first full-length album, followed in 1987. 

Smith left the group during the Happy Nightmare tour, effectively putting 

an end to the band. Roback continued with vocalist Hope Sandoval; 

the group then metamorphosed into Mazzy Star 

"HAPPY NIGHTMARE BABY"

1987     LP     SST RECORDS     SST 103      

PRINTED IN U.S.A.      ORIGINAL  FIRST PRESSING

SINGLE SLEEVE

HEAVY DUTY CARDBOARD COVER

Barcode and Other Identifiers

Barcode: 0 18861-0103-1 1

LABEL: SST - BLACK LABEL - SILVER TEXT

Catalog on cover: (spine) SST 103

Catalog on labels: SST 103 (Side 1 / Side 2)

Matrix / Runout (Side A, Etched & Stamped): SST-103-A   S-17840   kdisc JG   L?27636

   Matrix / Runout (Side B, Etched & Stamped): SST-103-B   S-17841   kdisc JG   L?27636?X

On labels: Produced by David Roback

All compositions BMI

? 1987 SST Records

Rights Society / Publishing: ©Salley Gardens Publishing, Northern Line Music

On Back Cover: All Songs Written by David Roback and Kendra Smith

© 1987 Salley Gardens Publishing/ Northern Line Music (BMI)

 ®1987 SST Records........

from my records collection

tracklisting

Side A: ROCKET MACHINE - MAGICK POWER

RELEVATION - A FALLING STAR - SHE'S A DIAMOND

Side B: SUPERNOVA - SIAMESE TRAP

HAPPY NIGHTMARE BABY - SOUL GIVER

   grading

RECORD NEAR MINT but (please, read above description)

 SLEEVE NEAR MINT but (please, see pictures and read above description)

At once drowsy, psychedelic, entrancing, and possessed of a sinuous spark, Happy Nightmare Baby may have been Opal's only album but deserves more attention than merely being a blueprint for Roback's later work in Mazzy Star. For one thing, Opal was very much its own band, with Kendra Smith's particular lyrical visions of mystic power and universe-scaling dreams and nightmares its own entity. As is her singing, though she's got less of Hope Sandoval's wistful drift and more focused control -- check out the brief "A Falling Star," where the comparatively stripped-down arrangement places her singing in the foreground, notably without much in the way of echo. Roback's playing certainly won't surprise anyone per se who backtracks to this group from albums like She Hangs Brightly, and the atmosphere of textured, moody power is evident right from the start with the wonderful early T. Rex tribute, "Rocket Machine." The compressed string swirl and steady stomp is pure Marc Bolan-via-Tony Visconti, though Smith avoids Bolan's style of warble for her own cool, something also quite evident on the slow-groove stomp of the great "She's a Diamond" and the concluding "Soul Giver." Meanwhile, other familiar elements Roback would later use are present aplenty -- very Ray Manzarek-like organ lines on the mantra-chugs of "Magick Power" and "Siamese Trap," compressed acid rock solos and lots of reverb. The title track itself stands out a bit as being a bit more of a '60s Europop confection in a stripped-down 1968 setting -- Roback's electric guitar adds some fire, but it's the slightly jazz-tinged rhythm and easy delivery from Smith that helps establish its own character. It's a release that stood out both in time and place (a 1987 release on SST Records, of all places!), but it stands up to future years and listens darn wel...(AllMusic)