Browse by Label: EPIC

Artist:	IVERS BAND, PETER
Title:	Knight of the Blue Communion
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	BN 26500LP

Exact repro reissue. "Ivers may not be a household name, but during his short life, he made an impact on many fronts. He was a musician, arranger, composer, screenwriter, catalyst, TV presenter, spotter of new talent, a black belt in karate and a yoga master. Peter's first big music industry break came in 1969, when Epic Records signed him to record his debut solo LP, Knight of the Blue Communion. In addition to playing harmonica and providing backing vocals, Peter acted as arranger and composer, while his friend Tim Mayer provided all the lyrics. Ivers assembled a fascinating group of musicians to play on his record. On drums was Cleve Frank Pozar, with Richard Youngstein on contrabass, and Tony Ackerman on guitar. The horn section featured Steve Kowarsky on bassoon, Henry Schuman on oboe and Paul Balmuth on sax. However, the icing on the cake was chanteuse Yolande Bavan, and the way in which Peter used her as lead vocalist on the album. Bavan was a singer and actress who was born in Sri Lanka and had started her professional career working as a vocalist with renowned pianist Graeme Bell. On its original release in 1969, Knight of the Blue Communion drew comparisons with Captain Beefheart and Frank Zappa, with Yolanda appearing to be the conventional vocalist cast in what was often a sea of avant-garde madness, the music a blend of blues, rock & jazz. The LP was produced by the veteran U.S. pop producer Sandy Linzer, who had written and produced the hit 'Let's Hang On To What We Got.'"

Artist:	DONOVAN
Title:	Greatest Hits
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$13.00
Catalog #:	P 737363HLP

Exact repro reissue on 180 gram vinyl. Originally released in 1969, includes the long version of "Sunshine Superman" and the stereo version of "Mellow Yellow." "...The productions and the songs -- 'Sunshine Superman,' 'Jennifer Juniper,' 'Wear Your Love Like Heaven,' 'Season of the Witch,' 'Mellow Yellow,' 'Hurdy Gurdy Man,' 'Epistle to Dippy,' 'There Is a Mountain,' 'Lalena' -- have proven to be classics of the era, and this is the best place to get them all on one collection." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	GOLDEBRIARS, THE
Title:	Straight Ahead!
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$14.00
Catalog #:	P 742925HLP

Exact repro reissue on 180 gram vinyl. Originally released in 1964. "Their songs come from all over, from every category. The material in this album alone spans the musical gamut from off-Broadway show tunes down through pop, and rhythm 'n' blues, to songs with a folk history. As Curt says: 'No matter what it is when we start working on a song, it always comes out 'GoldeBriar.' We can hear some guy playing a piano and really messing up a song -- even a song we're hearing for the first time -- and though he's playing different chords than we would and he's giving it a different beat than we'd give it, if it's really 'Goldebriar,' we can tell.'" -- Bob Gold(e)stein, from the back cover.

Artist:	OTIS, SHUGGIE
Title:	Here Comes Shuggie Otis
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	P 743877HLP

180 gram vinyl exact repro reissue of Shuggie's timeless 1970 debut. "Produced and arranged by his father, R&B legend Johnny Otis, the set features nine original cuts co-written by the pair, and in some cases others, and one written by Johnny with Dan Aldrich. The album is evenly divided between vocal tunes and instrumentals. The cast for these sessions included Johnny, Wilton Felder, Stix Hooper, bassist Al McKibbon, Preston Love, Jackie Kelso, Plas Johnson and a string section. 'Oxford Gray,' the album's opener, is an instrumental written by Johnny, Shuggie, Felder, and Hooper. Unlike anything that ever came before it, it's a baroque blues tune that features Shuggie playing both electric and acoustic bottleneck slide, a harpsichord, strings and a groovy little backbeat that walks the edge of blues and funk. It feels like a suite because of its many composed sections, but Shuggie's guitar is pure improvisational poetry. This is followed by the beautiful, psychedelic pop of 'Jennie Lee.' Shuggie's vocals weren't quite there, and were still somewhat tentative, but his gorgeous, Albert King-inflected guitar solo is right in the pocket, and stands in wonderful contrast to his acoustic string in the verses. The horns are restrained and regal, and the textural palette of the cut is lush and spacious. There is plenty of rootsy playing here too, such as on 'Bootie Cooler,' a Stax-styled blues groove, and the name-dropping shimmy and shake of 'Shuggie's Boogie,' the wig-tightening funk of 'Hurricane,' and the reverentially gritty 'Gospel Groove.' It closes with a modern soul rocker called 'Baby I Needed You,' with a killer hook in the refrain even if Shuggie's vocal doesn't quite pull it all off. Here Comes Shuggie Otis stands the test of time over 30 years later, and stands as a hallmark of songwriting, improvisation, and production acumen." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	OTIS, SHUGGIE
Title:	Freedom Flight
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	P 743879HLP

180 gram vinyl exact repro reissue of Shuggie's 1971 album for Epic. "Shuggie wrote four of the album's seven tunes, did all the arrangements and helped Johnny with production suggestions. The senior Otis produced the set and allowed all of Shuggie's 'weird' ideas full-reign in production, and he was joined by a host of musicians from the first album, along with George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar and the backing chorus of Clydie King, Venetta Field and Shirley Matthews, among others. Shuggie plays a slew of instruments on the set. Its centerpiece is 'Strawberry Letter 23' that filled out Inspiration Information's reissue, but there are no weak cuts here. Sample the guitars on 'Sweet Thang,' 'Purple,' and 'Freedom Flight,' the latter displays two extended jamming exercises with lots of wondrously magical production touches; the former is a visionary bottleneck number that is warm and oozes soul. The bassline on 'Me And My Woman' prefigures that distorted keyboard bass P-Funk trademarked earlier, by two years." -- All Music Guide

Artist:	OTIS, SHUGGIE
Title:	Inspiration Information
Label:	EPIC
Format:	LP
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	P 747285HLP

180 gram vinyl exact repro reissue of Shuggie's sublime 1974 album, featuring the original cover art. "Information belongs to the mind. It can be gathered, coded, processed and decoded, and used for any number of purposes. Inspiration comes from the soul. It is an elusive spark, one that cannot be bought or sold, nor artificially triggered. It is a gift. That the two can be combined into something quietly exciting is proven by the music on this, Shuggie Otis's third solo album. There is some old (several of the basic tracks were recorded over the last two years), and some new (for the first time, Shuggie has assumed complete artistic control, handling almost all of the production and arrangements). Most present, however, is the sense and beginning of a totally new struggle for Shuggie, the thirteen-year-old who made his recording debut with the Johnny Otis show, and later came to national attention through the Al Kooper sessions, is a man and an artist now. He is creating in the seventies, a time whose conflicts are being shaped by information -- and the lack of it. One gets the feeling that even as the information changes, so will the inspiration." -- Winston Cenac (Scoops), from the back cover.

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