"A great distillation of what the underground was
capable of back in the day, and still feels as fresh and poignant now." --
Clrvynt
The popular compilation series of long-lost vintage 60s-70s
proto-metal and stoner rock singles, Brown Acid, curated by L.A. label RidingEasy Records and
retailer/label Permanent Records, premieres a heretofore unheard track from
series standouts Zekes today via Clrvynt. The song, "Comin' Back" was
never released during the band's heyday and makes its debut today HERE. (Direct
Soundcloud.)
Brown Acid: The Fourth Trip continues the epic collection of
rarities and hits streets on April 20th. Brooklyn Vegan previously shared
Kanaan's "Leave It" HERE. (Direct Soundcloud).
About Brown Acid: The Fourth Trip:
If you thought we were getting close to the end of the Brown
Acid series with our last Trip, you were dead wrong...we're only just getting
rolling. The well of privately released hard rock, heavy psych, and proto-metal
45s is deep and we are nowhere near tapped out. Most of these records were
barely released and never properly distributed so they ain't easy to find, but
they're out there if you're willing to dig...and we aren't afraid to get our
hands dirty. Hard calluses have formed from handling the shovel and we've sifted
through a lot of dirt, but we've dug up another ten tremendous records to share
with all the heavy heads out there. This volume brings together eight insanely
rare and skull-crushingly heavy 45s as well as two previously unreleased
bangers.
You may remember the Zekes' jaw dropper "Box" from
the First Trip. If you don't, you better go back and refresh your memory, you
stoner. That song rips! And so does this previously unheard recording we
legally obtained from the Beverly
Hills records vaults. "Comin' Back" is the
longest tune we've yet to include on this series and it's a full-on rager! The
only surviving copy of this recording came to us on the original 1/4"
master tape from Hollywood's
long-defunct Demars & Duffy Music. We did our best to preserve the
recording and we think you'll appreciate the rawness.
There have been numerous groups named Bad Axe over the
years, but the one you hear here is the baddest. This five-piece fresh outta
high school kicked out this jam (and a few others) in a Chicago studio in 1973 just for the hell of
it. As a garage band, they were previously named The Burlington Express and
they went on to be known as Bitch, but these dudes hit their stride as Bad Axe
and "Coachman" is their crowning achievement. It went completely
unreleased until 2014 when Permanent Records issued it and "Poor Man,
Run" as a limited edition 45 with a killer picture sleeve. It's long
out-of-print and only obtainable now on Brown Acid.
The rest of the records included on this volume vary in
rarity, but at least two of them were virtually unknown until we discovered
them. You'll win the lottery before you
find copies of all of the original 45s in even the best record stores. Many of the records included in this volume
are owned only by the members of the bands and some of the band members don't
even have personal copies. That's just
how hard these guys hit it back in the day!
We're lucky some of these guys are still alive and well enough to give
us permission to use their masters.
About the Brown Acid series:
Some of the best thrills of the Internet music revolution is
the ability to find extremely rare music with great ease. But even with such
vast archives to draw from, quite a lot of great songs have gone undiscovered
for nearly half a century -- particularly in genres that lacked hifalutin arty
pretense. Previously, only the most extremely dedicated and passionate record
collectors had the stamina and prowess to hunt down long forgotten wonders in
dusty record bins - often hoarding them in private collections, or selling at
ridiculous collector's prices. Legendary compilations like Nuggets, Pebbles, ad
nauseum, have exhausted the mines of early garage rock and proto-punk, keeping
alive a large cross-section of underground ephemera. However, few have delved
into and expertly archived the wealth of proto-metal, pre-stoner rock tracks
collected on Brown Acid: The Fourth Trip.
Lance Barresi, co-owner of L.A./Chicago retailer Permanent
Records has shown incredible persistence in tracking down a stellar collection
of rare singles from the 60s and 70s for the growing compilation series.
Partnered with Daniel Hall of RidingEasy Records, the two have assembled a
selection of songs that's hard to believe have remained unheard for so long.
"I essentially go through hell and high water just to
find these records," Barresi says. "Once I find a record worthy of
tracking, I begin the (sometimes) extremely arduous process of contacting the
band members and encouraging them to take part. Daniel and I agree that
licensing all the tracks we're using for Brown Acid is best for everyone
involved," rather than simply bootlegging the tracks. When all of the
bands and labels haven't existed for 30-40 years or more, tracking down the
creators gives all of these tunes a real second chance at success.
"There's a long list of songs that we'd love to
include," Barresi says. "But we just can't track the bands down. I
like the idea that Brown Acid is getting so much attention, so people might
reach out to us."
Brown Acid: The Fourth Trip will be available everywhere on
LP, CD and download on April 20th, 2017 via RidingEasy Records. Pre-orders are
available for digital (with immediate download of the first single) at
Bandcamp, physical pre-orders at RidingEasy Records.
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