OASIS (Marin County, CA)
"Oasis" 1973 (Cranbus no #)
"Oasis" 2005 (CD Radioactive, UK)Professionally produced hippie folkrock with great male/female harmonies, strong tracks and a general uplifting quality about it. Pressed in Canada but the group was from Marin County and had help from David Crosby, who even on coke knew good music when he heard it. There is also a double CD "Retrospective Dreams" (Black Bamboo, 1995), which was issued by the group themselves under their alternate name R.J Fox and has about half the LP plus dozens of unreleased cuts including personal fave "Parallel trains". The LP was pressed in Canada but distributed primarily in California. [PL]
~~~
see -> Cookin' Mama
OBJECTS (VT)
"Live At The Greatwood Cafe" 1980 (Gildersleeve) [insert]
Vermont show from 1978. Garage punkish trio with Scott Gildersleeve (pre-Queers) and Marc Weinstein (pre-MX-80 Sound). The LP has been offered as "rare garage psych" by record dealers since the mid-1980s, but not many people seem to like it, and it's not a highly rated title today.
JUSTEN O'BRIEN & JAKE (MN)
"Time Will Tell" 197 (no label S80-1556)
"Time Will Tell" 2001 (Mystic, Europe)One of the more recent finds to be introduced to a wider audience, this is an atmospheric 1970s s-sw/loungerock trip from the depths of Middle America. Somewhat reminiscent of the loungier side of D R Hooker, with idiosynchratic vocals and a glitzy mid-70s production with keyboards upfront and fairly professional playing. The total effect is like driving around in late-night Minneapolis looking for some action, but instead ending up alone in an airport hotel lounge; a desolate 2 drink-minimum neon light trip of creeping originality. I like it, but it may not be the first LP you recommend to psych newbies. [PL]
~~~
This is a tough one to assess. I hated it on the first four or five listens, but a few months later played it again and found it surprisingly enjoyable. The vocals are very, very weak, and there’s an amateurish feel that doesn’t really work in its favor, but the songs are bizarre and occasionally surprising. It’s singer/songwriter stuff from a very bent perspective, with an unfortunate influence from 70s top 40. A definite labor of love, and it took O’Brien about two years to complete it. There’s some sort of overriding theme about aliens and abduction, but I can’t figure it out. Not quite as far out as, say, Damin Eih, but certainly more unusual than, say, Richard Soutar. [AM]
OCTOBER (MI)
"October" 1979 (Charisma Sound) [insert]
"After The Fall" 1979 (no label) [gatefold; 25p]
Symphonic space progressive with acoustic guitars and lots of keyboard, including moog. "After The Fall" is excellent with spacy mellotron and hard guitar runs and comes in a handmade watercolor cover.
OCTOBER COUNTRY (CA)
"October Country" 1968 (Epic) [wlp; mono]
"October Country" 1968 (Epic BN 26381) [stereo]
"October Country" 2003 (CD Rev-Ola 51, UK) [+6 tracks]
"October Country" 2004 (Epic) [exact reissue]This band was in the hands of Michael Lloyd, and they did two songs that would later be redone for the Smoke album. In some ways, this is kind of a lesser variation on that album, but it does contain one atypical fuzz-guitar blaster, “My Girlfriend Is A Witch,” which is totally great. It’s really a good album, but just a little redundant (i e: like the Michele "Saturn Rings" and first Sagittarius album). [AM]
~~~
Anyone who enjoys "sunshine pop", the orchestrated, harmony rich material that makes bands such as The Association, Millennium, Orange Colored Skies and Sagittarius such a delight, will certainly find "October Country" a pleasure. That said, in many respects this album is almost a Michael Lloyd solo effort. In addition to producing, arranging, writing all eleven tracks and providing much of the instrumentation, Lloyd's distinctive creative fingerprints are found all over the album. While neither of the vocalists is much of a singer, in the confines of this album they're individual vocal shortcomings don't really matter that much. Surrounded by breezy melodies, complete with imaginative (and occasionally quirky) arrangements, material such as 'Painted Sky', 'Little Boy Smiling' and 'She's Been Away' just exudes a sense of joy and innocence. [SB]
OCTOPUS (CT)
"Octopus" 1969 (ESP-Disk 2000) [color cover]
"Octopus" 1969 (ESP-Disk 2000) [black & white cover]
"Octopus" 199 (CD ESP, Germany)Bluesy melodic rock with organ, sax, fuzz. real amateur sound. A highlight is "U.S. Blues" with trippy dippy counterculture lyrics, basement vocals, and avant sax noise.
ODA (San Francisco, CA)
"The Black Album" 1973 (Loud 80011) [1000p]
"The Black Album" 1998 (Void 10)
"The Black Album" 2000 (CD Hallucinations 010) [+4 tracks]Strong local hardrock in the stripped down, riff-happy, non-bombastic style, comparable to the Estes Bros and Glory on Rockadelic. Guitar playing from Randy O is killer throughout, lyrical and fluent yet hard and no-nonsense. Randy also plays the organ in an unusual combination, while his brother Kevin plays drums. Art Pantoja's vocals are OK in the non-operatic style common to these bands (though clearly not as good as on Dryewater and Top Drawer), and all over I have to rate this one of the better within the style. The CD bonus tracks show an impressive versatility with more melodic moves, as well as a very good take on Butterfield's "Mind to Give Up Living". Randy Oda later had a taste of mainstream success as member of Tom Fogerty's band Ruby in the late 1970s, then reformed Oda for a 1984 LP. [PL]
~~~
This is above average 70s hard rock, with good guitar leads and memorable riffing. The vocals are uninteresting, though, and there’s not much variety or originality here. A few pleasant exceptions: the surprising funk/horn interlude on “Cheated,” and the poppy melody and hot guitar solo on “Give It Up”. The best songs are in the middle of the album, so give it a chance if the first couple of songs underwhelm you. The CD adds four bonus tracks that span more styles than the original album. [AM]
KEVIN ODEGARD (MN)
"Kevin Odegard" 1974 (Wooff W4ST)
Unexceptional album with a westcoasty folk/rock sound, one long Neil Young:ish track being the highlight. The cover shows a drawing of the guy. Odegard had at least one more LP, "Silver lining", but is more famous for playing on Dylan's classic "Blood on the tracks" LP, about which sessions he's also written a book.
ALAN O'DAY (Los Angeles, CA)
"Songs By" 1973 (Edwin WH Morris AO-100)
Demo-only album from singer/songwriter who later would achieve fame & fortune both as an artist and composer. As few as 100 copies may have been pressed.
ODYSSEY
(Brentwood, NY)
"Setting Forth" 1971 (Organic org-1)
"Setting Forth" 1990 (Trip 1000) [new sleeve]
"Setting Forth" 1995 (CD Timothy's Brain 103)
"Setting Forth" 2000 (CD Odyssey)
"Setting Forth" 2005 (Lion, Italy)Rare demo LP with East Coast mainstream guitar/organ hardrock sound.
~~~
see -> Cathedral
OFOEDIAN DEN
(San Francisco, CA)
"The Birds" 1970 (Rock Bottom 2151) [4 inserts]
Soundtrack of a collegiate tackling of the Aristophanes play. The play was connected to a College of Marin student protest of the Vietnam War. There is a bit of psychy guitar work on a couple tracks else the music is incidental and of little interest. [RM]
OGANOOKIE (Santa Cruz, CA)
"Oganookie" 1973 (Oganookie dsw-4154) [lyric inner]
Live recording of communal band playing modern bluegrass & rock with George Stavis, who had a solo LP on Vanguard and was in Federal Duck. Oganookie existed for years and its members collaborated with many name musicians, such as Jerry Miller of Moby Grape and Charlie Prichard of Conqueroo.
OHO (Baltimore, MD)
"Okinawa" 1974 (Sky nr-4579) [book]
"Okinawa" 1994 (Little Wing lw-3044/47, Germany) [800#d; four 10" LPs in a metal film can; booklet; +bonus tracks]Cool artsy weirdness from a Baltimore band who actually are still around (and have several further albums.) They influenced a number of strange new wave bands and even appeared on the Bomp "Waves 2" compilation (one of the finest compilation LPs ever). Their first and most sought-after album is full of proggy experimentation, but the songs are short and often goofy. It's much more complex and creative than, say, Northern Front, and the lyrics reach some really far out (and often obscene) places. Zappa was probably an influence, but this is too unique and distinctive to make comparisons. Some of the songs are downright catchy, some completely impenetrable. Originally it was intended to be a 2-LP set, and the rest of the original recordings have since been reissued (the coolest reissue is a set of four 10-inch records in a tin box). Not everything here works, but the songs are short enough for the failures to be harmless, and enough of it is wonderful so that if you're interested in music of this type, it's the first album I'd recommend. This breaks some of the same ground as the Residents, and may even predate them, which makes them pioneers of just plain bizarre rock and roll. There was also a 1980 LP released as by Dark Side, and a 1984 LP on Clean Cuts titled "Rocktronics". "Vitamin Oho" from 1991 (Little Wing, Germany) contains unreleased 1974-75 tracks. [AM]
OJAS (Oklahoma City, OK)
"Seven Levels Of Man" 1979 (Unity ur-703)
Densely layered cosmic synth progressive with side-long tracks, on the same label as Iasos. Home studio one-man-band with lots of electronics and found sounds in the mix. Chakra-based concept somewhere in the burbling noises. Opinions differ on its merits. There may also be a slightly later pressing. Steve McLinn went on to release lots more music on tape and CD.
OLD HICKORY & THE PIRATE (CA)
"Old Hickory and the Pirate" 1977 (Hakim 1001)
Laid-back cosmic cowboy countryrock and eastern moves with sitar and tablas. The LP was assembled from recordings spanning more than a decade, which explains its schizophrenic nature. The few folkpsychy tracks may be worth checking out, although this is not a highly rated LP at this point.
OLD SALT (Rochester, NY)
"Old Salt" 1976 (PTO 101) [1000p]
Upstate New York rural rock album that’s more country and less inspired than, say, Cambridge. Typical lyrics include “women and whiskey, which one will be the death of me.” Catchy but in an annoying way. Pretty weak, really. The long jammy last track is probably the best thing here. Not an expensive LP. [AM]
OLIVER KLAUS (Waterloo, Canada)
"Oliver Klaus" 1970 (Captain Moze 8841/42) [poster; insert]
"Oliver Klaus" 1996 (Captain Moze/No Exit) [booklet; insert]
"1967-70" 200 (Captain Moze) [LP + 10 bonus tracks]The first side has six shorter westcoast/folkrock originals played with energy and an upbeat feel; side 2 is a live recording of harder club rock/r'n'b sounds with an extended and not bad version of "Season of the witch". Appealing organic feel on both sides with inbetween song chatter and a loose rural freak vibe doing what is mainly 1967-68 type material. The live recording was made before a crowd of 280 people in Waterloo (Quebec), where "you don't often have that many people assembled". The rarity and dealer hype has made this an overpriced album, but at a low rate (or as a reissue) it is worth checking out. There are also several later 45s with 5 non-LP tracks between them. [PL]
DENNIS OLIVIERI (CA)
"Come to the Party" 1970 (VMC 130)
Freeform folky psych rock with organ, rocksichord, sax, guitar, percussion. Weird, uncommercial LP produced by songwriter Tandyn Almer, this has been used for samples. Olivieri was primarily a TV actor, and this LP release parallels Rex Holman's in some ways.
HANS OLSON (AZ)
"Western Winds" 1973 (Joplin Records 3266)
"Western Winds" 1980 (Marshall Records 10320) [reissue]"Blonde Sun Album" 1978 (Blond Sun Records 1002)
Electric and acoustic blues on the debut, live-recorded loner folk/blues on the followup from this long-running performer, who has continued to record and release music and played with some success in both the US and Europe.
OMEGA (IL)
"Omega" 1969 (Fellowship 100) [sprayed logo cover; insert]
Mostly folk and blues covers on this debut LP, including Butterfield, "Violets Of Dawn" and even "Leaving on a jet plane", which indicates a 1969 release year. Folkrock setting plus banjo and even some sitar. Some copies came in plain cover.
"Michigan Avenue" 1969 (Fellowship 110) [300p; band photo cover; insert]
Equally obscure second LP from this band; this time they do all originals, in a folkrock style. The LP has "grower qualities". It seems some copies came in the first album sleeve. Both LPs were pressed in demo runs of a few hundred copies.
OMEGA ( )
"The Timekeeper" 1979 (no label)
Dual-lead hardrock obscurity from the Midwest in primitive black & white cover.
OMEGA SONSHIP (Austintown, OH)
"Earth Ride" 1980 (Jeree)
Dreamy Christian folkrock with mixed vocals, on local Northeast label with several releases. The band had two more albums out.
OM SHANTI (Houston, TX)
"We Are Home" 1977 (Solace 1001)
Spiritual hippiefolk sextet with female vocals, tablas, mandolin.
ONE ( )
"Live At Joe's Fishmarket and Saloon" 1975 (Back Door Sound)
Open mike quality melodic rock with comic interludes. The kind of group that plays for beer and gets kicked off the stage before their set is over. Covers of Beatles, Beach Boys, Righteous Bros, and more. Highlight: a basement fuzzed "Mr. Soul".
ONE
(CA)
"Creation Earth" 1977 (Children's Village) [2LPs; gatefold; inner sleeves; poster]
Communal concept folk-psych with apocalyptic religous concerns. Nice organ and fuzz in spots, mixed vocals. One of the few communal groups that (at least here) didn't float away into guru love chanting or hedonistic atonal dreck. The first LP contains a reference to Lite Storm, which was an earlier incarnation of this spiritual outfit, with the same key members. All of it was done under the spiritual aegis of the guru, Sai Baba. The title is a k a "Who Am I?"; promo variants have been found with bonus 45s. Later recordings exist, and shows the band moving into new age electronica while retaining a hippie folkpsych core. The commune still exists as of this writing, and offers CD and cassette reissues of most of their works from their Idaho base. No relation to the band and LP on Grunt.
100% UNKNOWN FIBERS (Laguna Beach, CA)
"Odd Lots" 1971 (no label) [plain stamped cover]
"Odd Lots" 2004 (Little Indians, Germany) [10p]Live recording from an outdoor festival with abysmal sound. Incredibly damaged over the top and down the other side sludge guitar, bass, and drums on the key tracks. A couple of dull jazzy noodlings, stage announcements, nearly inaudible vocals on most tracks. 10 copies only were pressed of the reissue and included in a Little Indians commemorative box-set of all their reissues with this item as a bonus. A proper reissue was planned but cancelled. [RM]
~~~
The LP was recorded during the Laguna Beach Christmas Day "Happening" 1970, and probably released in early 1971. No bands of note appeared, but newspaper articles from the time refer briefly to participants such as Sea, East Utopian Mission, Sound Spectrum and Primal Scream. The event was severely over-crowded and seems to have been a rather haphazard affair, but apart from a few drug freakouts from LSD and PCP nothing bad went down. The LP bears witness to the general drugginess with stage announcements such as "...Hello, we got to have some Thorazine at the medical tent immediately, some guy drank a whole bottle of acid". The music has been described as an amateur version of Cosmic Travellers, with crude rock jams and some jazz moves. Thanks to Stephan Colloredo for info. [PL]
101 STRINGS (Los Angeles, CA)
"Astro-Sounds From Beyond the Year 2000" 1968 (Alshire s-5119)
"Astro-Sounds From Beyond the Year 2000 / Miracles" 199 (CD Request) [+bonus tracks]
"Astro-Sounds From Beyond the Year 2000" 2004 (Licorice Soul LSD006) [+2 tracks]Classic exploito muzak sci-fi instro freakout psych, one of the true exploitation "musts". The best tracks combine spooky fuzz instros with swirling string arrangements for a unique experience, projecting a future in outer space as it was envisioned in the 1960s, and is closer to "Barbarella" than "2001". This LP (masterminded by David Miller and Alan Sherman) comes out of the same stock recordings that were used for Animated Egg LP, without strings and under different titles, and the basic tracks appear on other exploitation albums as well. The countless other orchestral hack LPs released under the "101 Strings" franchise are excluded here, naturally.
~~~
see -> Animated Egg
ONENESS SPACE see Love
Band
ONES (Unionville, CT / Boston, MA)
"Vol 1" 1966 (Ashwood House 1105)
Covers mostly on this rare LP, including "Diddy wah diddy", "Mr you're a better man", "Can't explain" etc. There was also a little-known 45 released around this time with two LP tracks ; Don't Make Me Over/Maybe it's Both Of Us (Contrapoint 9010). The B-side is an original. The band photo looks almost like a 1970s new wave band, but band member Jeff Costello has confirmed the release date as mid-1966. The Ones formed as early as 1964 and should perhaps be considered a club band rather than a garage act. An eBay copy of the LP sold for almost $3500 in 2006. [PL]
~~~
Prep rock covers half ravers half slow dance doo wop. A fuller, more mature sound than most garage bands of the period with some great early psych playing on "Mr. You're a Better Man Than I" and a fine version of "I Can't Explain". Only one original but a great early garage effort. [RM]
ONE ST STEPHEN (OH)
"One St Stephen" 1975 (Owl 553) [1000p; inner sleeve]
"One St Stephen" 1987 (no label, Austria) [385#d; inferior sleeve job; +bonus tracks]
"One St Stephen" 199 (CD no label, Austria) [+bonus tracks]Side 1 on this private press 1970s classic opens and closes with two extended moody psych tracks which are quite impressive. The LP has a couple of more strong tracks, plus 3-4 less exciting bluesy/rocking numbers. Edgar Allen Poe, heroin, and Jim Morrison all help shape Stephen's outlook, which results in one of the more distinctive late Autumnal moods manifest on vinyl. Good vocals, some howling fuzz and occasional use of moog in typical 1970s acidhead fashion. Above average, the reissue should be worthwhile. Both the Austrian bootlegs have bonus tracks by the totally unrelated St Steven from Boston (Front Page Review). [PL]
ONSTAGE MAJORITY (Aurora, IL)
"Solo Flight" 1971 (no label om-896)
Way cool lounge rocker with insane bouncy moog, vibes, gravelly vocals, and kitchen sink efx ala the Kaplan Brothers. One third lame-o balladry, two thirds lounge psych monster! [RM]
ONYX (CT)
"Onyx also Featuring Wildwood" 1981 (Weathersfield) [insert]
School project teen basement hardrock covers, some female vocals.
MICHAEL OOSTEN (WI)
"Michael Oosten" 1974 (Hub-City 5191) [500p]
"Michael Oosten" 2000 (Gear Fab Comet 411, Italy)
"Michael Oosten" 2000 (CD Gear Fab gf-132)Local weirdo 1970s folkie with long intense acoustic tracks and extended instrumental passages, like a second-tier Perry Leopold. His voice is OK and he's certainly not holding anything back. Mood and atmosphere dominates over songwriting, with lots of two-chord drone and half-spoken lyrics. Apart from Oosten's fine guitar-playing there is bass and occasional electric guitar, but no percussion. "Wavefaring boy" is a highpoint with a dramatic mood and an amazing section where the guy does a vocal imitation of the sound of the sea surf, and not a bad one either. After having heard many dozens of mediocre LPs in the style I would have to rate this above average, but can still only recommend it to genre fans. Silkscreened cover. [PL]
ORACLE (WV)
"Nataraja Da Nada" 1989 (Paradise Lost)
Freaky basement acid guitar excursions with flipped out biker redneck vocals. Side 1 is a bit disappointing, while side 2 is intensely psychedelic in a Yahowha 13/Strange-"Ruler of the universe" direction. This has been listed as a reissue, but is a 1985 re-recording of material originally laid down in 1976, which has led to some confusion. Later recordings in a similar style have been released on CD as by Skuldedog. A must for fans of fried basement cosmic drug guitar sounds, but not exactly for everyone. [PL]
~~~
see full-length review
ORANGE COLORED SKY (Los Angeles, CA)
"Orange Colored Sky" 1969 (Uni 73031)
Pop psych floater, good one. The band was originally from PA and were called the Fabulous Epics, then moved to LA in 1968. One of several bands to claim being the model for the Tom Hanks 60s retro movie "That Thing You Do".
~~~
see -> Cosmic Travellers
ORANGE PEELS (NJ)
"Orange Peels" 1963 (Wight Audio Studios WAS 62075)
"Orange Peels" 2000 (Mystic, Europe)Primitive surf/instro trip with a garage vibe, sometimes seen as a "prep-rock" artefact due to a Princeton connection. Covers of "Apache", "Runaway", "Honky Tonk", one band original. Superbly crude packaging. Cool one for pre-Beatle heads.
ORANGE WEDGE (Baltimore, MD)
"Wedge" 1972 (Wedge 3597/Contraband) [insert]
"Orange Wedge" 1998 (Little Wing 3051-52, Germany) [2LPs; yellow vinyl; obi; insert; poster; 500#d]Local hardrock with an appealing directness and above average guitar-playing, even in a genre full of good guitarists. The vocals are somewhat strained, and the reverbed and sometimes doubletracked production enhances rather then reduces this factor. This is not a major problem, however. Songwriting isn't bad at all, while the lyrics go in a bonehead macho direction typical for the genre, which admittedly adds to the authentic teenage vibe. Good, understated use of piano and acoustic guitars make for a varied sound, with a brief throwaway boogierocker the only wasted track. The overall feel of a local club band reaching for an upmarket Aerosmith-type sound makes it reminiscent of the Magi LP, and none the worse for it. A so-so song such as "One night lover" still has a truly great solo, while the closing track has an impressive epic feel. Two release variations exist; one with a Contraband label designation and a stamped title cover, the other with a Wedge label and an un-stamped cover. [PL]
~~~
Noisy 70s hard rock that has its moments. Mix of long and short songs and lots of loud guitar. It sounds like it was recorded live in the studio. There's nothing here to really distinguish it, style-wise, from a million other local hard rock albums, but the songs and hooks aren't bad, and the sound is appealingly low-budget. Not good enough for a blanket recommendation, but good enough to recommend to fans of the style. [AM]"No One Left But Me" 1974 (no label 1434) [textured cover; insert]
"Orange Wedge" 1998 (Little Wing 3051-52, Germany) [2LPs; yellow vinyl; obi; insert; poster; 500#d]Second album is slicker and has superior sound. In a few places that means it veers towards prog, but it also means the guitars sound sharp and powerful. I find it kind of dull, though, especially on the long songs. The vocals are very 70s AM radio friendly, which isn't really a good thing. Which of their two albums you prefer definitely depends on your personal taste, but I prefer the first. [AM]
~~~
The second LP (release as by Wedge) has a slightly more produced sound and more ambitious arrangements. Some keyboard has been added, and the vocal mixing is more successful. Other than that it's in a similar style to the debut, with agreeable songwriting and excellent guitarwork throughout. The epic last track has a melodic psych/prog feel unusual for the band. I rate this about equal with the debut: it seems to squeeze more out from the band's abilities and is a more varied experience, but is missing some of the raw directness. But the two are so close in quality and style that they're both best checked out as a package deal (as on the Little Wing reissue). [PL]
ORFEUS (KY)
"Lying To The Wall" 1973 (Lemco 721) [1200p]
Fairly mediocre local rock LP in various early 1970s styles, promising start with a Tripsichordish title track but rest is derivative and/or dull barrock/prog rock/hard rock with a Brit slant, covers of Free, James Gang and a bizarre "We can work it out", plus some feeble attempts at Santana/Allman Bros jamming. Except for a slight whiff of basement charm you're not missing much. [PL]
ORGANIZATION (Dartmouth, Canada)
"Organization" 1970 (Music Stop 100)
Obscure soft-rock and lyte psych private press in primitive cover.
ORIENT EXPRESS (NY)
"Orient Express" 1968 (Mainstream 6117)
"Orient Express" 199 (Mainstream, Germany) [bootleg; boardprinted cover]
"Orient Express" 199 (CD Head)
"Orient Express" 2005 (Tripkick, Spain)Real cool trip out Middle East by three beatnik immigrants who brought some European savoir faire along with their strange instruments. Not the usual sitar exploitation but a real ethnic vibe, like standing on acid at the Istanbul Grand Central with too much stuff going on to ever fully comprehend. Up there with Ganimian & the Orientals and the good tracks on "Side trips" for dawamesk/belly dancer vectors. French vocals on one track add a strange colonial twist. Despite occasional claims to the contrary, this band had nothing to with Liz Damon's Orient Express. One of my 3-4 favorites on the label. [PL]
ORION EXPRESS (Sacramento, CA)
"Orion Express" 1975 (Round Mound Of Sound 1001)
If you listened to the prevailing hype on this LP you'd see nonsense like "Killer rural hard rock/psych rocker with acid guitar jamming!" or "Backwoods guitar rock with wailing leads." The fact of the matter is that the only thing psychedelic here must be the stuff people were ingesting when they listened to the album, or wrote such nonsense. So let's get down to the facts. "The Orion Express" offers up a decent set of original material and covers. While there's some nice guitar on tracks like 'Gotta Get the First Plane Home' and a cover of Steve Miller's 'Mercury Blues' there's absolutely nothing psychedelic to be found here. Instead the general feeling is of competent (and occasionally quite talented) bar band who have a penchant for bluesy material such as "Down the Rail" and "Hard Goin' Down". The vocalist has a decent voice and he injects more enthusiasm into the material than most similar acts. The same is true for the rest of the band - they were probably a pretty good live act. Still, don't be fooled by the marketing hype! [SB]
P J ORION & THE
MAGNATES see P J Orion & the Magnates (under 'P')
ORKUSTRA
(San Francisco, CA)
"Light Shows For The Blind" 2005 (RD Records 16, Switzerland) [insert]
First ever release for this legendary 1966-67 Bay Area band, whose members would go on to various sorts of fame. Mainly instrumental music of a highly eclectic nature, mixing modal Eastern sounds with impressionist classical and plain old SF acid rock. Embryonic versions of two It's A Beautiful Day numbers can be heard. Somewhat challenging and with below average sound quality, but well worth hearing for pursuers of mid-60s freak sounds and of obvious historical value. The overlap with the Bobby Beausoleil CD is restricted to two short numbers. [PL]
ORPHAN EGG (San José, CA)
"Orphan Egg" 1968 (Carole 8004) [wlp exists]
-- also released in Germany by Vogue
"Orphan Egg" 2005 (CD Radioactive 146, UK)Typical '68 lyte-psych with an eclectic (or rag-tag) assortment of "hip" sounds; at best an edgy melodic fuzz-psych presence a la Food, at worst a wimpy early Brit Invasion vibe. Strong UK beat-psych influences throughout (think early Status Quo), with some side-glances at the commercial psych sound out of LA. Obvious signs of talent, given another 6 months or so they probably could have made a really good LP. Neat, zit-faced freshman vocals and 3-4 tracks that hit the vintage teen-psych moves right on means the LP needs to be heard, while some poorly chosen covers and an unsuccessful "heavy blues" excursion seals its ultimate fate in a manner similar to the Rainy Daze LP. This seems to have been the last album released by this shortlived GNP Crescendo subsidiary. Also released in Germany by Vogue. The band appears on the "Cycle Savages" movie soundtrack (AIP, 1970). [PL]
ORPHANN (Kansas City, KS)
"Up For Adoption" 1977 (OMI 70021)
Dual lead hardrock. There is also a second LP on OMI, "Don't Say No" (1980).
OTHER HALF (Pottstown, PA)
"The Other Half" 1966 (7/2 Records HS 1-2) [500p]
"The Other Half" 1984 (Resurrection cx-1266)Post-Half Tribe garage wizards from Hill School with a solid Northeastern sound and a little more punk edge than their regional competition. Two cool originals and the rest top 40/British Invasion covers including "Gloria", Sam The Sham, "Time won't let me", and a whole bunch of Stones tunes. Some variation is offered as they run "Like a rolling stone" into the ground with fun consequences. It appears that most or all originals have the sleeve opening on the left. There was also a 45 released on the same label. [PL]
OTHER HALF (Los Angeles, CA)
"The Other Half" 1968 (Acta 38004) [stereo]
"The Other Half" 1968 (Acta a-8004) [mono]
"Mr Pharmacist" 1982 (Eva 12003, France) [LP + bonus tracks]
"Mr Pharmacist" 1992 (CD Eva b-13, France) [LP + bonus tracks]
"The Other Half" 2004 (CD Radioactive 025, UK)
"The Other Half" 2004 (Radioactive 025, UK)Well-known Randy Holden vehicle in the typical (and to me unappealing) LA psych/hard rock transition style, those growling vocals are always a drawback. Starts out very weak with a bad version of "Feathered Fish" and more, some better tracks on side 2. Blistering guitar (of course) and some unusual r'n'b/club influences, occasionally rocks but just as often slow and lead-footed. Holden fans will still want to get it, of course. Also released in Germany with a different sleeve. The non-LP 45 is the best thing they did in my opinion. [PL]
OTHER HALF (Canada)
"The Other Half" 1971 (DDTB 001)
Mostly bland covers with organ upfront, "Summertime", Santana.
OTTER CREEK (Long Island, NY)
"Otter Creek" 1977 (Bolt b-3234) [500p]
Long Island band with a New Riders type rural/country-rock sound, they played live frequently in the late 1970s with a local following.
OUBA (Quebec, Canada)
"Ouba" 1968 (A1 33-213)
Westcoast and jazzrock jamming freakout with organ/fuzz, supposedly the Sinners or perhaps some other famous Quebecians in disguise. One long track stretched over two sides, with a 5-minute drum solo on side 2, some scat singing of mostly nonsense lyrics, and a general sense of abandon. Although nominally a private press, the label shows the Trans-Canada "t-c" logo.
OUR
GENERATION (Nyack, NY)
"Dawning Of The Day" 197 (Generation LPM/S 500)
What do you get when you combine the heavy fuzz guitar of Earthen Vessel, the swirling organ of Azitis and the joyous male/female harmonies of The Bridge? You get a humongous garage/psych monster by the name of Our Generation. This outfit’s debut is easily one of the top Jesus psych privates. Opens with the hard-driving rocker "11th Hour", followed by the chilling downer minor-key "Near The End" with heavy droning distorted fuzz, eerie vocals and lyrics dealing with death and despair. ‘Love’ provides some animated ‘60s garage-rockin’ fun with a bratty abrasive fuzz riff that sounds like it came straight out of the Rhino Nuggets boxed set. Lots of dynamic organ throughout, as on the high-energy "Look – Out" (which again hits us with another venomous explosion of fuzz), "Jesus In Your Life" (coupled with nice wah-wah electric guitar) and "Can You Make It?" with its dissonant spoken-word psychedelic intro. Even the quieter melodic tracks like "Beyond Yourself" and "I Can See Forever" definitely have that sought-after tripped-out edge. The title track closes out the LP with a slow dreamy mysterious psych mood. All original songs and every single one is a winner, with creative vocal arrangements and sincere Jesus-centered lyrics. Faint yellow-on-white cover art with hills, sunflower and chain of figures holding hands. Raise your hands and worship at high volume. Awesome! [KS]
"Praise And Prayer" 197 (Generation OG1072)
Holy cow, they did it again! The gang delivers another first-rate psych juggernaut here, with some of their loudest moments on record. "Hello Friends" begins the album with drums and a pulsating bass line, soon joined by fierce fuzz, psychy organ and odd spacey choral harmonies. Likewise ‘Praise’ bursts forth with a vicious guitar riff worthy of Jefferson Airplane or Big Brother & the Holding Company. More high-powered fuzz on "Jesus Paid It All". Quieter moods are expressed on organ-backed ballads "Only A Man" and "Have You Tried This One Called Jesus", as well as covers of Paul Stookey’s "Hymn" and The Youngbloods’ "Get Together". The latter has a female lead vocal for a change, as does side two’s opener "Sacrifice". Also includes Blind Faith’s "Presence Of The Lord" where they super-size the guitar break into extended total fuzz mayhem. Closes with an acoustic ballad entitled "A Prayer". Both of these records are intensely rare small-press items. [KS]
OVERSEAS HIGHWAY (Key West, FL)
"Miles Away" 1979 (Alpha) [500p]
This is essentially a bunch of short jams, in the San Francisco style, but with the addition of lots of reverb effects. The end result is a cool spacey sounding record, which benefits from the minimalist arrangements. It's simple, but appealing music. A little bit of synthesizer is a definite plus; a drum solo is a definite minus. There are vocals on only a few songs and those vocals are very weak. It's an enjoyable album, but nothing groundbreaking. A number of Overseas Highway songs are on the "Key West Psychedelic Daze" compilation, which has a photo of them as aging hippies on the front cover. Fun! There is also a retrospective sampler, "Prism Of Soul 2" (no label, 1998). [AM]
OWEN-B (OH)
"Owen-B" 1970 (Mus-i-col 101209)
"Owen-B" 1988 (Mus-i-col, Europe) [bootleg]This falls somewhere between post-Beatles power pop and 70s hard rock. Occasionally it's described as "prog," maybe because of the long song on side one, but that's not accurate. The tinny production is a little unfortunate, but the lovely acoustic guitar sound on the folky songs and the great harmonies shine through nonetheless. Solid throughout-great songwriting and inspired guitar playing. Nothing "psych" about this, but it's a heavier album than stuff like "Faces of Jade," and points the way toward more experimental post-Beatles bands. Like Zerfas or Anonymous (or maybe a more well-known band like Crack The Sky), it feels equal parts 60s and 70s, and while it's not as good as those masterpieces it's still an excellent record. There are also two 45s with rocking non-LP tracks, and a less interesting second LP (Old Happy Places, "A Good Example") in the late 1970s. [AM]
CHUCK "SNAKE" OWSTON see Snake
OXEN OF THE SUN (WY)
"Stations Of The Cross" 1969 (Calvary 666) [blank back; insert]
50-copy demo press of intense X-ian Dead/Quicksilver dual guitar jammer, one of the earliest in the style made famous by Kristyl, "Spirit Of Elijah", etc. Side 1 has four tracks in a Tripsichord bag, while the whole of side 2 is "Stations Of The Cross" a desperate messianic fuzz/wah wah desert guilt trip reminiscent of "Eye Of The Hurricane" by Fraction, except twice as long. Less than 10 copies known to exist. [PL]
OXFORDS (Louisville, KY)
"Flying Up Through the Sky" 1970 (Union Jac LH6498) [500p]
"Flying Up Through the Sky" 2001 (Gear Fab gf-168) [+bonus tracks]This is one of the best soft rock albums of the era, akin to bands like the Free Design but not quite as lightweight. Nice male and female vocals and intricate songs. The Gear Fab reissue has a whole bunch of bonus tracks from various parts of their career, including some bluesy, funky and humorous numbers. Lots of interesting songs, and the female vocalist is really excellent on the later stuff when she gets a chance to belt it out. [AM]
OZ KNOZZ (TX)
"Ruff Mix" 1975 (Ozone 1000)
"Ruff Mix" 1985 (Ozone, Italy) [bootleg]You have to like a band that names three consecutive songs “Doodley Squat”. On the other hand, this weird mix of prog, hard rock, and jazz is full of clichés: there are synths and mellotrons, long guitar solos, jazzy instrumental breaks, high-pitched male singing, a long blues song, a soulful song with a horn section. Despite that (or partially because of it), there’s an appealing kind of energy and kitchen sink experimentalism. It works best when it’s most surprising (i.e. the loud, jarring way the guitar solo begins in “Peanut Butter Yoni,” some occasional stereo tricks), worst when it settles into long soloing or focuses on the weak melodies. Most of the vocals are pretty tuneless (or annoying in that hard rock high-pitched way), but occasionally they get kind of unhinged, which is great fun. The musicianship is pretty strong, and they probably came across very well on stage, where the vocal and melodic limitations are less obvious. If you’re in the right mood, much of this album provides dumb fun and excitement. Originals are on notoriously thin vinyl, similar to RCA's Dynaflex. [AM]
KAREN H OZNICK ( )
"Karen H Oznick" 197 (no label) [plain cover]
Demo LP of female folk/s-sw with mostly originals and covers of Judy Collins, Leonard Cohen.
