ROBERT VALENTE ( )
"No Hype" 197 (no label)
Obscure loner/downer folk LP, rated highly by some.
DINO VALENTI (San Francisco, CA)
"Dino Valente" 1969 (Epic bn-26335) [bag; wlp mono]
"Dino Valente" 1969 (Epic bn-26335) [bag; stereo]
"Dino Valente" 1998 (CD Koch) [+2 bonus tracks]There’s a lot more wrong here than just the fact that the label spelled his name wrong on the cover. Valenti has one of the most annoying, self-centered singing styles on earth, and here these melody-less, formless songs drag on for 7 and 8 minutes at a time without going anywhere. The lack of actual arrangements (it’s all basically guitar and voice) adds to the monotony. A lot of people try to claim that this is some deranged scream from the soul like the Alexander Spence album or a deeply personal confessional like the Mayo Thompson album, but I think it’s just a bunch of self-indulgence. Robert Christgau once reviewed a Quicksilver album by saying that one of the reasons people hate hippies is that Dino Valenti is a hippie. He had a point. The LP was issued with an outer clear plastic bag with 'Dino Valente' printed in block letters, since there is no mention of the artist on the original front cover. Later Epic pressings add this in big letters, while the original British, Canadian and Japanese pressings added the name on the cover from the start. [AM]
VALHALLA ( )
"Valhalla" 1969 (United Artists 6730) [gatefold]
"Valhalla" 199 (CD Free 2006)Pretentious hard rock with a lot of organ. Influenced by the Doors and Iron Butterfly and similar to (but not as good as) the album by Julius Victor. It’s the kind of thing that can hit the spot if you’re in the exact right mood, but to be honest, it’s pretty average. Pompous sleeve of a viking ship on fire for the right bonehead vibe. [AM]
BRUCE VANDERPOOL ( )
"Bittersweet" 197 (Raydar 115)
Loner folk/folkrock in primitive paste-on cover.
VARCELS (Thomasville, NC)
"Hang Loose" 1967 (Justice 147)
"Hang Loose" 199 (CD Collectables 0622)One of the more obscure on the label, with a reasonable mid-60s teenbeat sound and less anemic than some of their colleagues. Hell, there's even a Standells cover! Opening title track original is a derivative sax instro, after which we go through typical top 40/club sounds from the era, with organ upfront and an OK recording. Beach music, ballads, instros, frat and 1950s all rolled into a big exciting parcel for Justice completists and local nostalgia collectors. Lacking the balls to go up against Eric Burdon, we get "House of the rising sun" in an instrumental arrangement, while band original #2, "I'm tired" is a nice 3-chord Motown/garage crossover and about the best thing on board, alongside the sloppy "Dirty water". The band is reasonably tight, amateur vocals have energy and atmosphere, and there's a nicely reverbed drum sound, if you want to single out high points. The worthwhile stuff is all on side 1. [PL]
VARIATIONS (NC)
"Dig 'Em Up!" 1966 (Justice 112)
"Dig 'Em Up!" 199 (CD Collectables 0615)Blue-eyed soul and pre-soul r'n'b covers all thru, not a whiff of 'the new sound from England' on this one. Atmospheric and charming for those interested in local non-garage mid-60s sounds, guttural teen vocals imitating Ben E King and the Righteous Bros are fun. Organ-led "Shake a tail feather" is a probably the most rocking track. Sax but no brass. Cool cover (the only Justice in full color) has them in Count Five vampire gear in front of their customized band hearse. [PL]
VARIOUS ARTISTS LPs are listed alphabetically under their titles. In other words,
"Fifth Pipe Dream" is listed under "F", etc.
VELVET NIGHT (NY)
"Velvet Night" 1970 (Metromedia 1026)
"Velvet Night" 1993 (no label)
"Art Of Lovin' / Velvet Night" 200 (CD Hipschaft) [2-on-1]Disappointing hippie-rock LP with sloppy playing and no original ideas whatsoever. Forget the hype, this one sucks, with mostly turgid covers of Cream, the Band and so forth. The LP was reissued as "Would" on Perception in 1971, with 1 track replaced and track order rearranged. Lord knows why. An original Italian pressing of the Velvet Night LP exists. [PL]
~~~
Most of the songs on this album are uninteresting covers of well-known 60s songs. A few of the originals (written by Jimmy Curtiss, the guy behind the Hobbits and a number of other bands) are decent and make an effort to be creepy and far-out. They’re not enough to make the rest worth listening to, though. [AM]
~~~
see -> Would
JACK VERONESI & FRIENDS (MA)
"Farewell Album" 1971 (Japanezi)
Wasted rockers and stoned hippiefolk.
KEVIN VICALVI (Worcester, MA)
"Songs From Down The Hall" 1974 (Starizon Studios 2065) [1000p; plain jacket with wraparound sheet]
"Songs From Down The Hall" 200 (CD Left) [+7 bonus tracks]This varied singer/songwriter album runs the gamut from folk to pop to blues to flamenco to piano ballads, hitting the mark on pretty much all of them. “Letter to Michael Henchard”, a dirge with a dissonant chord progression and some stunning mellotron, is so good that anyone who hears it will probably run right out and buy the album. Nothing else matches it or sounds like it, but it’s still hard to imagine too many people being disappointed by the rest of the record. Other nice moments include the synth on “Another Day, Another Time” and the poppy guitar hook on “You Just Don’t Know". The LP also features one Dennis de la Gorgendiere. [AM]
VICTIMS OF CHANCE (CA)
"Victims Of Chance" 1969 (Crestview crs-3052)
"Goin' Home Blue" 197 (no label 1014)
Lounge psych freakout with brass featuring Johnny Kitchen. The followup (assuming it to be the same band) is more into westcoast rural rock sounds with some female vocals, and comes in the same generic mill wheel cover as Fifth Flight.
~~~
see -> Crazy People; Jeremiah; Tarots
VICTORIA
(NJ)
"Kings, Queens And Jokers" 1971 (Dirty Martha 61471) [no sleeve]
"Kings, Queens And Jokers" 1971 (no label) [different mix; plain cover with stamped title; photos; press clipping; 100p]
"Victoria" 1996 (Little Indians 7, Germany) [400#d]
"Victoria" 1998 (CD Little Indians, Germany) [+7 tracks]Reissued alongside Jungle in similarly great packaging and is to me less disappointing musically. An organ-based conceptual song cycle with mostly female vocals and a Khazad Doom/school-play vibe, has lots of good guitar but is too cheesy and uneven to live up to the hysterical hype, at least in my ears. Some horns, nice amateur vocals, and a confused mix of westcoast, eastcoast and teen drama. The outstanding closing track sounds like Strawberry Alarmclock's "World's on fire" with female vocals. Worth hearing, and despite reservations a must for fans of female psychrock bands. [PL]
~~~
Band leader Greg Ruban found himself three capable young ladies to back him on his homemade musical fantasy. Greg himself is a pretty unusual guy... a professional volleyball player who at 6'6" was still playing into his 50's. Warning: Honky Hornaphobics Beware... this LP does make use of the dreaded horn section on 2-3 cuts and not necessarily always in a good way. Side 1 starts off with "Peace" a nice garagey ballad with echoey female vocals, spooky organ and those dang horns which will be hard to overcome for the average horn hater. "Cumberland" is even more low key with those cool echoey female vox and a Wendy & Bonnie feel but more amateurish. Cut #3 is fantastic... "Gevaro" starts off like a Santana style jammer but actually gets a little Middle East vibe going... killer fuzz guitar and the dreaded horns but they're buried on this track and a very bizarre drum solo (I like the "style" of this female drummer). This is for the most part, an instrumental. "Ride A Rainbow" starts off like a lost Hendrix cut but quickly gets into a female vocal track about Wizards & Dragons & Incense & Stuff. Nice guitar break and bass line. I have to admit that I can't think of another female psych band that are as tight as this one (no pun intended all you perverts) and Greg Ruban's guitar really cuts through the smoke with a classic psych sound. "Never Knew The Blues" slows the pace again with a great organ sound and cool low key wah-wah pedal guitar... this is probably my favorite cut on the LP and is what I always hoped the Jade Stone & Luv LP sounded like. Last cut on side 1 is a throwaway... a lame attempt at AM Top 40 drivel with horns from hell. Side Two is a totally different trip. Two long cuts starting with the 12 minute+ "Village Of Etaf". Imagine an East Coast version of CA Quintet's "Trip Thru Hell" done by three chicks influenced by Joan Baez and a second rate Herb Alpert & The Marijuana Brass. The only redeeming thing about this track is the effects used in the last 4 minutes that do indeed remind me of a "Trip Thru Hell". The final cut is probably the highlight for most owners of this LP. "Core Of The Apple" is an upbeat, fuzz guitar 8 minute killer with that same Middle East feel that we caught a glimpse of on side one. Overview: The good cuts are GREAT but the lesser cuts really bring this LP down a notch or two. In the world of female psych bands this may still be one of the best. Greg recorded a bunch of material in the late 60's and early 70's and one day maybe another one of his LP's, the demo-only pressing "Nickels & Dimes", will see the light of day. [RH]
VILLAGERS ( )
"Homemade" 1971 (no label 584 N10)
A folk quartet with mixed vocals, playing covers of CSN and "High flying bird", among others. Partly a live recording, housed in an elegant silhouette cover.
JOHN
VILLEMONTE (Madison, WI)
"People Like You" 1976 (no label) [200p]
Everytime someone describes David Crosby's "If I Could Only Remember My Name" LP to me, it is the best moments of this record I hear in my imagination. Lovely vocal harmonies, odd chords and phrasing, mix of quiet acoustic and electric jams, some perfectly placed flute ("Rain On Me") and piano ("Hours of Days") passages, decent writing (though, to be honest, I have no idea what they're saying most of the time). This reminds me of what music made on a perfect evening on the edge of the Hawaiian rain forest, stoked on primo weed and some nice Pinot Noir, might sound like. All the women look like Peggy Lipton, all the men like Merrell Fankhauser (or Kato Kaelin, or Jeff Spicoli... same thing). The first, rarest and best of three LPs this Wisconsin singer/songwriter made in the 1970s and early 80s. The songs here vary enough to hold your interest, but everything is sort of mid-tempo mellow and variations on tried & true 70s singer/songwriter romantic themes which does drop the grade a notch. The LP's second side opens with the very brief and very pretty "Why Do You Cry" which works as a lead in to "24 With Clancy," a floating and dreamy electric and acoustic instrumental jam that seems to take forever. It isn't that the playing is particularly good (though it's fine), it's more a matter of the gentle buzz it creates by stirring the collective memory of everyone who has ever sat up late with good friends quietly jamming until it starts to get light outside. Ultimately, there is nothing here that lifts the album into the A level of the private-press heavens, but it sits just below the standards set by better known LPs like These Trails. [SD]
~~~
Here's a comment from John Villemonte himself: "When one considers how my first album was recorded, with a 4-track TEAC tape deck with no signal processing and no mixing board, all instruments recorded with an $18 Radio Shack mic - it certainly has seemed to weather the test of time. Though I went on to record 8 more albums, this first one still remains my favorite.""This" 1979 (Some 905053-3520) [1]
Villemonte's second LP is similar in style and has been attracting much of the same clientele. There were several more albums from the man later on.
VINCENT (MA)
"Wild Strawberries" 1976 (Audem AU 1004)
Rarely offered private rural singer-songwriter folk rocker from Massachusetts. A number of the tracks have a country Grateful Dead influence a la Workingman's Dead, and Vincent's voice often sounds like he's trying to emulate Jerry Garcia's vocal style, though in a lower range. The LP is mostly acoustic, but some songs feature electric guitar (no fuzz though) and synthesizer (no fuzz on that either). [MA]
VINDICATION (IN)
"Vindication" 1973 (Custom Fidelity cfs-3570) [200p]
If Fraction is the Holy Grail of psychedelic privates then the corresponding honors in the world of progressive rarities would hands down go to Indiana’s Vindication. This is bona fide five-star progressive rock from start to finish, quite unlike any other album in Christian music. Lengthy tracks are the norm here and every one of them is solid. The instrumental "Sonnet To Seagulls" starts things off in driving allegro fashion - and the energy level doesn’t let up for a moment throughout the whole LP. "Atop Of The Mountains" follows in classic art rock tradition with the trio’s trademark ELP-ish compositional complexity of constantly shifting mood and tempo changes. "Money Window" and "Satan’s Song" share a similar focus, as does the 11-minute epic "Master Law" that opens side two. Here Brad Garton takes on the Keith Emerson role of the group with skillful piano and synthesizer that reveals strong classical training. Patrick Kennedy also gets several opportunities to shine on guitar, showing agility in not only the fast-paced jamming stretches, but also the more graceful acoustic passages (in particular the beautiful closer "You And Me And God"). Geoff Pacheco keeps the ever-changing beat going and gets a nice little solo in ‘Master Law’. Intelligent lyrics and good sound for a custom. [KS]
~~~
X-ian keys complex prog in ELP style. Dull and overblown to these ears, though this appears to be a minority opinion at present. [RM]
VIOLA CRAYOLA ( )
"Music: Breathing Of Statues" 1974 (Fautna) [500p]
"Music: Breathing Of Statues" 2004 (CD Radioactive 0093, UK)Instrumental guitar excursions with a hard edge and a playful vibe despite the album's lofty pretensions. Progressive towards the fusion camp but most of the traps of the style are avoided, thanks in no small part to the jammy feel provided by the rhythm section, while lead guitarist and main guy Anthony Viola soars on top, playing with a raw metal edge and plenty of fx boxes to help him. The music is carefully structured and composed, as evident from the back cover which provides sheet music for the basic themes of all eight songs! Some tracks such as "The bus to New York" go all the way into avant jazzrock but even at that remains reasonably open to the listener. "The last one on earth" has a nice doomy intensity, like Black Sabbath with a Juilliard degree. All over I found this LP surprisingly appealing, especially in small doses, and if you want to check the genre out this should be a good entry point. The memorable LP title comes from a poem by Rilke, printed on the front cover. Recorded in New York. [PL]
~~~
This isn’t the usual psych collectors’ fare, but never underestimate an album’s rarity as a factor in opening people’s minds to new genres of music. It’s instrumental progressive rock with some jazz leanings. Anthony Viola is a talented and creative guitarist, and at some points the soloing gets pretty wild. The songs are complex, full of odd time signatures and unusual riffs. I’m not especially knowledgeable about instrumental rock of this type, so I can’t compare the album to anything, but there’s no question that this is good stuff, instantly enjoyable. A couple of songs are really disjointed, while others flow smoothly despite the tricky time changes. The rhythm section keeps up nicely. The final song is a big goof, with the only vocal on the album, sped up Chipmunks-style and singing about sandwiches. Some of you will hate it, but after the rather serious music that preceded it, it’s kind of fun to end the album in a lighthearted way. Short album: 8 songs in about 25 minutes. [AM]
VIRGIN
INSANITY (Dallas, TX)
"Illusions Of The Maintenance Man" 1971 (Funky 72411) [plain stamped cover; blank back; 200p]
"Illusions Of The Maintenance Man" 2005 (DeStijl IND-046) [500p]
"Illusions Of The Maintenance Man" 2005 (CD P-Vine, Japan) [+7 tracks]Currently in vogue basement folk and folkrock with short songs and mixed male-female vocals. Hard to describe accurately (always a good sign), though comparisons drawn to the third Velvet U LP are not without merit, especially as the lady vocalist sounds as unschooled and earthy as Moe Tucker. The sound is disarmingly honest and stripped down, and indeed the concentrated minimalist vibe of the LP seems wholly deliberate. The album has strong grower qualities and eats its way into your brain, due in no small part to the excellent, understated songwriting and arrangements. Unlike the typical depression and claustrophobia of the genre, a rare warmth and closeness is projected here, and it's also a most atypical record to come out of Texas. One of the flagship pieces for the private press 70s folk sound. Perhaps not for everyone, but I was impressed and keep returning to it. The band has recently been found and confirmed the press size as 200 copies. Following the "Illusions" LP the band recorded a second, unreleased album called "Toad Frog", which is less structurally coherent and has a more varied sound but otherwise is clearly similar in style, and contains excellent songs such as "Clifton T". There is also a third unreleased LP by band leader Bob Long called "The Odometer Suite". Some of this unreleased material appear on the Japanese CD reissue, and there is also a standalone CD release of the complete material (P-Vine, 2006, Japan). [PL]
~~~
This album is years ahead of its time, sounding much more like an 80s/90s record on the K label or one of those cassette-only low-fi recordings that made the rounds before CDs started to dominate the market. They really want to be a pop band, but can’t quite figure out how, and some really sloppy drumming, loud acoustic guitars, untrained singing and tons of enthusiasm combine for a record that’s hard to dislike, but not really easy to listen to either. Unfortunately a number of songs are noticeably out of rhythm. A few attempts at clever vocal arrangements are charming. Some of you will like this a lot. You know who you are. [AM]
VISITOR (Albany, NY)
"Visitor" 1980 (Blue Elf/Arabellum AR 1033)
Hard guitar prog/AOR, highly rated by genre fans. There was also a 12-inch EP "4 by 5" in 1982 and LP "Take It" in 1983, both on the Visitor label. These later releases sell for at least as much as the 1980 album among AOR collectors.
VIVA ( )
"Automobile Downstairs" 1977 (Mark Holly)
Weird tax scam label LP that has connections with the movie "Gone In 60 Seconds" (original version). It’s a mix of 70s styles, none of them the kind collectors care about (except maybe a little funk.) The production is murky, there are huge gaps of time between songs, the song titles on side two are mislabeled, and the album is only 24 minutes long. It’s a typical tax scam obscurity (the “Album World” company, who released each of their albums under a different fake label name, have pulled all kinds of tricks, such as throwing together songs by more than one band under the name of one non-existent artist), a record that makes no sense at all and seems to be aimed at no actual audience. So, wouldn’t you know, despite all of the above, some of this is quite good unclassifiable 70s rock, with nice slide guitar, some haunting melodies, and a weird underground feel. Not a great album, but an interesting obscurity for jaded collectors. [AM]
VIZION (Dallas, TX)
"Rock For Your Life" 1980 (Future) [lyric sleeve]
Texas hard rock with an AOR vibe and a gruff female singer. It’s a little mainstream for my tastes, but as this kind of thing goes it’s quite good, and the singer has an appealing lack of femininity to her. A few songs have memorable hooks. They have some pop aspirations and overall it’s not too heavy, but rocks with enough energy to overcome their most FM-radio-friendly tendencies. [AM]
VULCAN (Spencer, IA)
"Meet Your Ghost" 1982 (North Star Productions ST 38456) [200p]
"Meet Your Ghost" 1994 (13th Record) [bootleg; 300p]
"Meet Your Ghost" 199 (CD Steece 13)
"Meet Your Ghost" 199 (Steece 13)Basement hard fuzz, Hendrix-style riffs. Somewhat cult-ish, but not everyone is impressed with it. There are numerous label and cover variants among the homemade originals. All covers state "reissue", even the originals. Most or all of the originals have hand-made labels, while later pressings have real printed ones. Recorded in 1978. We've also seen references to a second LP "Hard As Rock, Vol 1", credited to main Vulcan guy Lyle Steece.
VYTO
B (Chicago, IL)
"Tricentennial 2076" 1976 (Clay Pidgeon cps-3012)
This is Vyto Baleska, the force behind First Chips, doing an oddball one-man band spacy psych LP with some electronics. The cover design is priceless, and this may be one for the "outsider" crowd, in addition to the First Chips pedigree.
