Browse by Label: LION PRODUCTIONS

Artist:	FOLKLORDS, THE
Title:	Release The Sunshine
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP + 7"
Price:	$28.00
Catalog #:	LION 104LP

"When we first issued this terrific album -- twelve perfect examples of dreamy sunshine pop/folk psych released by independent Canadian label Allied Records in 1968 -- on CD some time ago, our booklet featured the few scraps of information on the band we could find. We challenged 'anyone out there' to find some information on this elusive and intriguing band, with the offer of a reward that would be 'something very Folklordish.' Well, we're pleased to say that someone took us up on that offer, and that someone was band leader Tom Waschkowski. He very graciously offered for this LP package a band history, lyrics, some terrific photos, and best of all, a rare pre-album single that the band had self-released. This allows us to offer up as perfect a reissue of this album as humanly possible. The Folklords Release The Sunshine is a captivating album, a notion shared by the many collectors worldwide who fight for original copies, which are few and far between. Glorious sound, as the reissue taken directly from the master-tapes. Bonus single is an exact replica of the rare, privately issued non-LP single, which features haunting, drum-less versions of 'Forty Second River' and 'Unspoken Love,' both of which were re-recorded for the original Allied release. Now, on to the presentation -- the highest quality mastering and pressing (done at Acoustech Mastering/RTI in California, the same plant that presses every title that audiophile label Classic Records makes); the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960s style gatefold jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve. The LP labels are replicas of the original Allied silver and blue labels. A top of the line pressing all the way. Limited edition of exactly 700 copies."

Artist:	SANDHY & MANDHY
Title:	Para Castukis
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	LION 105LP

"Here at last is a chance to discover why people have been willing to pay a very steep price to hear Sandhy & Mandhy, the duo who were not a duo, the band who were not a band, creators of perhaps the rarest and most expensive album from Argentina. To tell the story of Sandhy & Mandhy, we have to go back to 1967, when Alberto Infusino (Sandhy) and Alberto Vanasco (Mandhy) began their musical partnership in the beat band The New Free Men. Like many bands of that time, Los Shakers and Los Walkers, for example, the New Free Men played covers of songs by The Zombies, Animals, Kinks, Yardbirds, Doors, and so on, in clubs and at parties. Yet at the same time, Infusino and Vanasco started to play their own compositions, with a national touch to the music. Let's let Vanasco (Mandhy) take up the story: 'In 1969, we went to talk with Billy Bond, chief of La Pesada del Rock Roll to ask about the chance to make an album. Bond said that he was not looking for a band, but for a duo who sang songs in Spanish... So, we called some friends to play together, and we called the project Sandhy & Mandhy.' They recorded the album in three hours, with a full band (Farfisa organ, congas, drums, bass, and guitars) -- one take of each song. Instead of a demo, they decided to press an LP: the company (Phonalex) pressed 110 LPs in total, which the band gave out at gigs. Sandhy & Mandhy were one of the first bands in South America to bring a rebellious attitude to the music scene -- all this in a period of military repression, when forced haircuts in the streets were a common occurrence. Although they broke new ground, success was not their fate. And so 38 years after the burst of improvisation that was Sandhy & Mandhy, the rest of the world can finally take a taste of their dark, groovy, beat-influenced psychedelia (that fuzz guitar on the excellent 'Lluvia'!). At times introspective and acoustic, at others manic and ramshackle in the best way, it's quite a discovery. Now, on to the presentation -- the highest quality mastering and pressing (done at Acoustech Mastering/RTI in California, the same people who master and press every title that audiophile label Classic Records makes); the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960's style gatefold jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve. Inside the sleeve, you will find an insert with full details on Sandhy & Mandhy, including lyrics in Spanish and English, printed on 100% recycled paper. The LP labels are replicas of the originals. A top of the line pressing all the way. Limited edition of 800 copies."

Artist:	PARRENIN, EMMANUELLE
Title:	Maison Rose
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP
Price:	$22.00
Catalog #:	LION 106LP

"We begin by saying that this is an album unlike any other. A bold statement, perhaps. Yet look in the Scented Gardens of the Mind book and you will see this description: 'A revelation of a folk album, with songs of incredible beauty and innovative arrangements. It features traditional instruments you've hardly ever heard before and touches of the avant-garde. Play this album directly after that of another randomly chosen female folk album, and you will notice the difference! This is one of the best!' Parrenin had been part of a traditional 'antique folk' movement in France in the late 1960s (she was in many ways a French equivalent to Sandy Denny or Mandy Morton); indeed, she had recorded eight albums with musicians from this scene before Maison Rose -- her best, and last album, recorded in 1976 and released the following year. The record seems to alternate between a cosmic take on an ancient Breton sound, and delicate, multi-tracked ballads -- ranging from sounds that would not be out of place on an Ash Ra Tempel album to elements of traditional French folk music (including home-made instruments) that are just as exotic. Certainly, the avant-garde edge lurking beneath the simple folkiness of Maison Rose puts in mind the explorations of Brigitte Fontaine with her sometime musical voyager Areski; there are also suggestions of the pastoral caranavserai aesthetic of Vashti Bunyan, as well as the multi-track sensuality of Linda Perhacs (to name two much-touted singers who seem to have a similar ability to enchant). But Parrenin has her own style, her music has its own deeply ethereal quality, and the album itself has its own magic spell to cast that renders comparison with other albums unimportant in the end. Magnificent, we say. Now, on to the presentation -- the highest quality mastering and pressing (done at Acoustech Mastering/RTI in California, the same people who master and press every title that audiophile label Classic Records makes); the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960s style gatefold jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve. Inside the sleeve, you will find an insert with full details on Ms. Parrenin, printed on 100% recycled paper. The LP labels are replicas of the Ballon Noir originals. A top of the line pressing all the way. Limited edition of 500 copies."

Artist:	EL KINTO
Title:	Circa 1968
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	LION 107LP

"Exact replica of the original LP release of fourteen crucial tracks by these Uruguayan legends, whose line-up includes members of Totem and Limonada, and features the compositional abilities of candombe legend Ruben Rada, and his alter-ego, poet/panhandler and acid casualty, Eduardo Mateo. El Kinto began their brief but eventful life in music playing in the dark shadows at Orfeo Negro (Black Orpheus), a night club near the Portones de Carrasco in Montevideo, Uruguay. Inspired by the way Tropicalistas like Os Mutantes were transforming the pop music of Brazil, El Kinto embraced their own native music forms but, as always, they went a step further: they integrated candombe and bossa nova into beat music, but they also added their own notion of 'psicodelics.' They experimented with newness in all its variety -- new sounds from their guitars, new types of vocal delivery, new ways of striking the drums (with little brooms, with gavels or their hands). As one journalist noted in 1969, 'El Kinto, directed by the brilliant Mateo, and amplified to the maximum, creates a frenzy of rhythmic music in which -- with force and conviction -- pure wave 'beat' is synthesized with the warmth of the African drums.' The result of the group's tireless experiments is music which sounds fresh and engaging today. In a world dominated by the commercialization of everything -- including (although it is difficult to comprehend) -- the arts, all we can say is, thank god for El Kinto! Now, on to the presentation -- the highest quality mastering and pressing (done at Acoustech Mastering/RTI in California, the same people who master and press every title that audiophile label Classic Records makes); the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960s style jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve. Inside you will find a double-fold insert packed with photos, detailed band history, and lyrics for this most important of Uruguayan bands, printed on 100% recycled paper. The LP labels are replicas of the Sondor originals. A top of the line pressing all the way. Limited edition of 500 copies."

Artist:	LIMONADA
Title:	LimoNada
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	LION 108LP

"Although they sprung ready-made from of the ashes of legendary candombe/beat group El Kinto, one of the best-kept secrets from Uruguay's musical mythology is nevertheless the group of musicians who recorded one album as Limonada. So what happened? The story starts with the end of El Kinto, when band leader and iconoclastic maniac Eduardo Mateo decided to embark on a solo career (see our Lion Productions collection of his early music for more details), and the other members of El Kinto said 'let's do something together.' And so it was that in the middle of 1970, Limonada recorded their one and only album, LimoNada. It is a strange record, with backwards tape splices and abrupt song changes, that remains at the same time absolutely accessible and very groovy, in a Tropicalia sort of way, which might explain why it was an immediate success. In truth, it's a profound mystery why the LimoNada LP -- one of the ten best sellers of its time within three weeks of its release -- seems to have vanished from the consciousness of even the most devoted fans of obscure music. Until now, of course. Now, on to the presentation -- the highest quality mastering and pressing (done at Acoustech Mastering/RTI in California, the same people who master and press every title that audiophile label Classic Records makes); the resulting LP is housed in a poly-lined sleeve, inside an ultra-heavy 1960s-style jacket, which is housed in a loose-fitting plastic sleeve. Inside you will find an insert with historical background on the Uruguayan scene, details of the band's past, plenty of photos, as well as a brief overview of the legendary Sondor label, printed on 100% recycled paper. The LP labels are replicas of the Sondor originals. A top of the line pressing all the way. Limited edition of 500 copies."

Artist:	AGUATURBIA
Title:	Aguaturbia
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	LION 110LP

"One of the best and most important psychedelic bands to emerge from South America. It is impossible to indicate just how revolutionary they were; but the fact that the band were naked on the cover of their debut, and crucified their singer on the cover of their second album may give you an idea. The band's first album was recorded live in 1969 in a simple three-track studio. In a strict Catholic country, the album's front cover showing the band sitting nude in a darkly lit room caused quite a stir; record shops refused to stock the record and the press and Church both censored it. And the music rattled a few people too: raw, with heavy rhythms, bursts of distortion and fuzz, fantastic phased female vocals (inviting the inevitable comparison to Jefferson Airplane), and English lyrics. The band's guitarist Carlos Corales is superb, his skill most evident on the erotic 'Erotica' and the ten-minute long mini-epic 'Crimson And Clover,' which finds his wife Denise in superb vocal form." Housed in an old style tip-on jacket with a double-fold cardstock insert with photos and extensive notes.

Artist:	ODYSSEY
Title:	Live at Levittown Memorial Auditorium: 1974
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 602CD

"A live recording that was never really meant to be, recorded by Odyssey's sound engineer on a portable cassette recorder, and recently unearthed! Live at Levittown is the only document of Odyssey as they were in their progressive phase, just before Fred Callan and sometime Odyssey keyboardist Tom Doncourt recorded their legendary album as Cathedral (Stained Glass Stories). Bonus tracks include three cassette 'basement recordings' from the Setting Forth era -- two untitled originals that never made the album, plus the band's version of 'Whiter Shade of Pale'. All tracks have been salvaged as well as possible from the original sources but keep in mind these are not 'audiophile' quality! Twelve-page booklet has a continuation of the Odyssey story by band leader Vinny Kusy, as well as more rare photos from his own archive."

Artist:	CLASSICAL M
Title:	Bad Guys: The Complete Collection
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 603CD

"'Freedom fries' idiocy aside, the country of France and the genre of psychedelia are usually thought of as 'mutually exclusive'. We humbly present a glorious exception. Deftly combining lilting vocal harmonies and lush studio production, to say the brothers Maruani (Guy and Andre) and Henri Bratter were the 'Gallic Fab Three' is a claim ably backed up by the sheer brilliance of their two English-language 7"s released by EMI-Odeon in 1969. Fortunately for us, and despite the machinations of the Robert Stigwood Organisation (a management decision they would soon regret), they had a bit more to say and so we give you all four single sides, seventeen unreleased compositions (most in finished form with superb studio fidelity) and three tracks sourced from their 1970 appearance on the French TV show 'Pop Club' (also easy on the ears fidelity-wise). Rounding out this package are track-by-track liner notes by the ever-sardonic Guy Maruani, complete lyrics and a multitude of photos from the era. C'est si bon!"

Artist:	THE FOUR LEVELS OF EXISTENCE
Title:	The Four Levels of Existence
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 604CD

2009 repress. "Slightly revamped second edition of an album that many people consider to be the best Greek psychedelic album ever recorded, a belief that would mean that the Four Levels of Existence LP would supersede albums by artists like Axis, Aphrodites Child, Socrates, and George Romanos. We'll let you decide the argument, for there is no doubt of one thing: that this is tremendous hard-edged psychedelic rock, originally released on LP in a very small quantity by the private Venus label in 1976. As band leader Athanasios Alatas said: Through Nick's musical quest, Mario's sensitivity, Christo's madness, and my thoughts, we create many songs, all characterized by a psychedelic music sound, Greek lyrics, and monumental guitar solos. Since the appearance of our first edition of this album on CD, the excellence of the band has not gone unnoticed. This carefully documented reissue contains the entire Four Levels of Existence LP, the only recordings they ever made. A twenty-four page booklet includes historical background on the Greek music scene of the early 1970s, details of the bands past written by Alatas, rare photos of the group, as well as lyrics in both Greek and English. This second CD edition is strictly limited to 1,000 copies. As some of you may know by now, the guitar riff from 'Someday in Athens' plays a major role in Jay-Z's single, Run This Town (featuring Rihanna, Kanye West), from his chart-topping The Blueprint 3 album. Just another reason for people to discover the legendary, fuzz-guitar laced work of Four Levels of Existence."

Artist:	HOJAS
Title:	Mis Sue�os Piden
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 606CD

"The first two titles in our series of reissues licensed from Sondor, the most important record company in Uruguay. If you were in Uruguay in 1971, you would have known along with everyone else that Hojas (the Leaves) was the best band for melodic rock -- what we now might call power pop -- and slow-burn rock ballads. This was the year of their hit singles, 'El Mundo Es Una Flor' (The World is a Flower) and 'Caminar En La lluvia.' With their supple guitars, dreamy pop/psych melodies and driving rhythm section, Hojas rose to prominence quickly; and of course, it helped that most people agreed that the band's vocalist C�sar 'Cacho' Badin had one of the best voices they had ever heard singing rock music. But Hojas were not just a singles band. They recorded an LP, Mis Sue�os Piden, released by the Sondor label in August of 1973. The problem was that the album's release very nearly coincided with the arrival of a military dictatorship in Uruguay, which effectively ended the career of the nation's top bands, including Hojas. This carefully researched reissue contains the entire Hojas LP (its reissue debut), supplemented by seven bonus tracks, which include rare singles and an unreleased Badfinger cover."

Artist:	LIMONADA
Title:	LimoNada
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 607CD

"Although they sprung ready-made from the ashes of legendary candombe/beat group El Kinto, one of the best-kept secrets from Uruguay's musical mythology is nevertheless the group of musicians who recorded one album as Limonada. So what happened? The story starts with the end of El Kinto, when band leader and iconoclastic maniac Eduardo Mateo decided to embark on a solo career, and the other members of El Kinto said 'let's do something together.' And so it was that in the middle of 1970, Limonada recorded their one and only album, LimoNada, originally released by Sondor. It is a strange record, with backwards tape splices, abrupt song changes, yet at the same time it is absolutely accessible and very groovy, in a Tropicalia sort of way, which might explain why it was an immediate success. In truth, it's a profound mystery why the Limonada LP seems to have vanished from the consciousness of even the most devoted fans of obscure music. Until now, of course. This carefully researched reissue contains the entire LimoNada LP (its reissue debut), supplemented by an extended live bonus track. The sixteen page booklet includes historical background on the Uruguayan scene, details of the band's past, plenty of photos, as well as a brief overview of the legendary Sondor label."

Artist:	PTARMIGAN
Title:	Ptarmigan
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 609CD

"First official release of this cult favorite -- an album overflowing with brooding, mystical, Eastern-influenced hippie psychedelia dominated by long and largely instrumental tracks -- all based on a complex interplay of recorder, hand drums and acoustic guitar. Ptarmigan recorded the basic tracks for what would eventually become their only album in Vancouver, B.C. during the fall of 1972. It then took the band's producer and manager, renowned flautist Paul Horn, more than a year to find a label willing to release such unusual music. Finally, in 1974, Columbia Records released Ptarmigan's album to critical acclaim, and minimal sales. The music of Ptarmigan is deep and authentic, and sounds best when meditating on a landscape, an emotion, or a bottle of wine. Sometimes it is free-flowing and jazz-oriented; at other times it has the mystical feel of a shamanistic ceremony, with its oriental or South American harmonies. But in the end, this album is about the sea -- Ptarmigan was, after all, from Vancouver Island, and the musicians were well-versed in the contradictory moods of the surrounding ocean. One of those hidden gems from the 70s that makes life better when you discover them all these years later, rated by many as the best 'folk/progressive' and/or 'folk/psych' album ever made. As one contemporary review said, this is 'music from musicians, for musicians, late-at-night, last joint music.' Our Lion Productions reissue comes with a 28-page booklet that includes lyrics, liner notes from the band, and a multitude of photos and historical mementos."

Artist:	PARRENIN, EMMANUELLE
Title:	Maison Rose
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 611CD

"We begin by saying that this is an album unlike any other. A bold statement, perhaps. Yet look in the Scented Gardens of the Mind book and you will see this description: 'a revelation of a folk album, with songs of incredible beauty and innovative arrangements. It features traditional instruments you've hardly ever heard before and touches of the avant-garde. Play this album directly after that of another randomly chosen female folk album, and you will notice the difference! This is one of the best!' Parrenin had been part of a traditional 'antique folk' movement in France in the late 1960s (she was in many ways a French equivalent to Sandy Denny or Mandy Morton); indeed, she had recorded eight albums with musicians from this scene before Maison Rose -- her best, and last album, recorded in 1976 and released the following year. The record seems to alternate between a cosmic take on an ancient Breton sound, and delicate, multi-tracked ballads -- ranging from sounds that would not be out of place on an Ash Ra Tempel album to elements of traditional French folk music (including home-made instruments) that are just as exotic. Certainly, the avant-garde edge lurking beneath the simple folkiness of Maison Rose puts in mind the explorations of Brigitte Fontaine with her sometime musical voyager Areski; there are also suggestions of the pastoral aesthetic of Vashti Bunyan, as well as the multi-track sensuality of Linda Perhacs (to name two much-touted singers who seem to have a similar ability to enchant). But Parrenin has her own style, her music has its own deeply ethereal quality, and the album itself has its own magic spell to cast that renders comparison with other albums unimportant in the end. Magnificent... we say."

Artist:	MATEO, EDUARDO
Title:	Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$19.00
Catalog #:	LION 613CD

"Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame is a record that requires many superlatives in order to do it justice: from its first moments, the music is lilting, poetic, intimate, in turns life-affirming and melancholic, with pulsating percussion backed by unheard-of guitar chords and tunings (perhaps the reason for the frequent Caetano Veloso and Nick Drake comparisons); it is an album that sounds, simply put, honest. The record was released at the end of 1972 in both Argentina and Uruguay, and was received from that first moment as a classic in those countries, a position it still occupies today. When El Kinto co-founder and iconoclastic maniac Eduardo Mateo traveled to Buenos Aires in October of 1971 to record what came to be Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame, his situation was unusual. With the explosion of candombe-beat music on the popular scene, Mateo had become a living legend of Uruguayan music. Yet apart from the Musicasi 4 1/2 compilation, which had been released in July of that year, there were no published recordings of Mateo available, whether as a soloist or with his already dissolved group El Kinto. By this time, the public had a clear notion of the dreamy character of Mateo that by the end of his brief life had made him a part-time panhandler and apparent acid casualty. But they still wanted a record by him. It was singer Diane Denoir who gave the final push. She was in Argentina finishing a record for the De la Planta label that included eight songs written by Mateo. Denoir insisted that Mateo participate as arranger for three of these grooves. With Mateo in Buenos Aires, the owners of De la Planta decided to take the necessary steps to record him. This was not easy, as Mateo tried to erase everything he recorded as soon as it was put onto tape, and that only on the rare occasions when he showed up ready to play. In the end, engineers Carlos Pariz and Eduardo Rozas selected material for the album from hours of free improvisations, and formed the album as it appears today. Our first Lion Productions volume of Mateo's solo recordings includes the entire Mateo Solo Bien Se Lame album, plus a variety of tracks from Mateo's early solo years. The eight bonus tracks include songs originally issued in Uruguay on the legendary Musicasi 4 1/2 LP, two tracks live from a bowling alley (!), as well as four very special early recordings backing female singers: two sung by the lovely Diane Denoir, and two by the mysterious Veronica Indart. Special slip-case edition comes with an oversize 48-page full-blown booklet packed with photos, text, and lyrics, which tries to unravel some of the myth surrounding this great surrealist poet and drug casualty, whose decline and ultimate madness and early death have done nothing to diminish his stature as one of the greatest artists in South American music."

Artist:	DINO & MONTEVIDEO BLUES
Title:	Dino & Montevideo Blues
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 614CD

"The one and only album by Dino & Montevideo Blues (Macondo GAM 551, 1972) deserves to be a serious contender as one of the most important, and as it happens, most grooving, records ever released in Uruguay. But there is another reason that the album has attained exalted status: the incisive power of the lyrics, which are all the more impressive considering the national turmoil out of which they were created. Montevideo Blues was founded by Uruguayan songwriting legend Gast�n 'Dino' Ciarlo as a way to fuse the rawness of rock music with obscure native Uruguayan rhythms like malambo, milonga and chamarrita --a logical direction to pursue after Dino had attempted pop/candombe fusions in his solo recordings. 'At the time, we were revolutionary and looking for change,' said Dino. Montevideo Blues demonstrated an unyielding and combative attitude. During live shows in 1971, Dino often criticized the government -- a level of political commitment reflected in the lyrics of the songs, some of the most radical ever set to music. Eduardo Mateo, the sacred monster of modern Uruguayan music, was succinct: 'You have decided to prune the tree,' he said to Dino. The album opens with one of Dino's most famous songs 'Milonga de Pelo Largo' ('Milonga of the Long Hair'), a sinuous song transformed by the arrival of the dictatorship into a hymn of Uruguayan popular resistance. The rest of the album tracks have an edgy, atonal quality, with terrific unconventional angular guitar and a kind of ragged glory, all driven along by insistent grooving rhythms, whether from native drums or the clicking of drumsticks. Bonus tracks include beat-rockers 'Sendero de Rosas' and 'Rubio es el Color,' from the rare La Juventud compilation album, as well as both sides of Dino's two early singles for RCA Vik. A 32-page booklet is packed with photos, detailed band history, and lyrics for this important Uruguayan band."

Artist:	OPA
Title:	Back Home: The Lost 1975 Sessions
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 617CD

"This disc is a departure from the other reissues in our Uruguayan music series. It's not remotely in a psychedelic or rock idiom; it was not released on the mighty Sondor label. Yet when given the opportunity to reissue these 'lost' sessions, we did not hesitate for a moment. This music is funky and jazzy, groovy and urban, even sounding like Fela (on 'Goldenwings' at least); it has the sunny feel of sweltering days on South American beaches, but it also has a heavy dose of the grittiness of mid-1970s New York City. There are connections to the great bands of Uruguay, of course: both Fattoruso brothers, so successful with their beat band Los Shakers, greatly admired the work of the much less successful Eduardo Mateo, Ruben Rada and their band, El Kinto. Opa had their own style, and the critical acclaim for their recorded legacy would soon eclipse on an international level that of anything else from their native land. After coming to NYC in 1969, a regular club gig led to Opa becoming the backing band for Brazilian percussionist, Airto Moreira (Weather Report/Return to Forever); they toured the USA, working on a sound that resulted in the Fingers album for the CTI label (1973), Airto's most successful record. Things looked grim when Flora Purim, Airto's wife and singer of the band, was sentenced to two years in prison for drug possession. But drummer and producer Larry Rosen invited Opa to record in his small home studio. They recorded nine demos with Rosen during 1975 (all but one of the tracks that give this reissue a reason to exist, the other being the band's first demo recording from 1972). Included are versions of songs which would later be re-recorded the following year for Opa's debut album for Milestone Records. Rhythm-laden tracks that range from the heavily funkified to chilled out, shimmering, and trance-inducing. A 16-page booklet includes band history and photos."

Artist:	ERGO SUM
Title:	Mexico
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 618CD

"Along with the two records by Nurse With Wound favorites Moving Gelatine Plates, Ergo Sum's weird and wonderful album Mexico is an unusual portal into the intense creativity of early 1970s French music. True, the bands are not musically similar; yet these three albums are distinguished not only by their instrumental richness, but by their unceasing sense of adventure. We'd go so far to say that Ergo Sum presents one of the most distinctive experiences in a rock idiom (apart from Zeuhl music juggernaut Magma) to ever come from France. The band's one and only album (1971) features the unique voice of Lionel Ledissez -- his guttural sort-of-English language delivery described as being 'somewhere between Family's Roger Chapman and a drunken Champs-Elysees taxi driver,' although more sober comparisons to Tim and/or Jeff Buckley have also been made. The compositions develop at a relaxed pace; incredible jazz-inflected guitar, flute, piano and droning violin swirl around the vocals, and keep one submerged in, yet attentive to the intimate mood. Tracks full of instrumental richness-they simmer, rather than blaze, which makes the rewards ever so great for patient listeners. Bonus tracks include the superb 'All's So Comic,' one of the highlights of the Puissance 13+2 Th�l�me label anthology, as well as both sides of Ergo Sum's musically relevant single from 1972. A fulsome 28-page booklet includes band history, photos, lyrics, and a contemporary 1971 review from Superhebdo magazine. A three o-clock in the morning, slow burn album if ever there was one."

Artist:	OPHIUCUS
Title:	Ophiucus
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 619CD

"Ophiucus may be the name of an obscure constellation, but it's also the name of a French band that recorded an exceptional album in 1972 for the Barclay label. All the members of the band had already enjoyed ample success in music before musician/actor Emmanuel Booz brought them together in 1971: Jean-Pierre Pouret was a well-known session-man for Sylvie Vartan; brothers Alain and Bernard Labacci released albums as Tom & Jerry, and supported Jimi Hendrix for a TV appearance; Michel Bonnecarrere had founded the band Zoo (one of Andy Votel from the B-Music label's favorites), and was one of the composers, arrangers and musicians for that group's first two albums. Apropos of the period, the band members decided to live together as a small family in Flagy, a small town in France, where they lived a happy life and wrote the tracks which adorn this reissue. This ambitious album somehow manages to blend grungy psychedelic rock, acoustic blues and densely orchestrated French pop/psych (in an Ilous & Decuyper vein) into an impressive and cohesive whole. Sandy Spencer, cellist and member of Mormos contributed wonderful playing on 'Ne Cherche Plus' and 'Inachev�e.' This reissue includes the original album plus eight bonus tracks in English meant to be the basis of an international album that was never issued. A fulsome 28-page booklet includes band history and commentaries on the songs written by Ophiucus, photos, lyrics (French and English), and a contemporary review."

Artist:	THIRD ESTATE, THE
Title:	Agonistes
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	2CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	LION 620CD

"Third Estate's Years Before the Wine is an ambitious and intricate psychedelic concept album from 1976 about the French Revolution which blends warm Southern summer sounds (the band were from Baton Rouge, Louisiana) with baroque song structures. Never fear, the serious subject matter is no match for the strong songwriting and light, flowing music. Stunning vocals from Fae Ficklin on the title track are lovely, but even without them, this album would richly deserve its status as a psychedelic classic. Stark, intimate production, with tasty fuzz guitar, backwards tape-loop soundscapes and beautifully treated acoustic guitar, puts one in mind of the Ithaca/Agincourt/Friends trilogy from England. The sound of exploration is evident everywhere, as the band spreads its wings, and glorious harmonies flow forth. The previously unreleased album recorded as Agonistes (1973) shows that the later recordings were no fluke. It can stand alone as one of the most beguiling folk/psych albums we've ever heard. Additional bonus tracks include singles and home demos. Budget-priced double disc package includes a 28-page color booklet, with histories of both groups by band co-leader Robert Everett, as well as lyrics for all the songs included herein."

Artist:	STONE HARBOUR
Title:	Emerges
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 621CD

"What's a boy to do? It's 1974, you're young and have a head full of Hawkwind and Roky and the Elevators, and old brutalist blues in the Hound Dog Taylor/Fred McDowell backwoods whisky-fucked mode; you're stuck in Hicksville, USA; the music scene sucks: glam's dead or dying slowly; punk is a good year or so from even starting to get itself born. Town's too damn small to even muster up a band. It's just you and your buddy and that's it, man. So you grow your hair and wear satin, wander wide-eyed and tripping across small-town railway tracks and hang loose at the weekend in your basement. You gather a bunch of cheapo instruments on the never-never and you start cutting low-fi bedroom demos. Stone Harbour were Ric Ballas and Dave McCarty, and out of nowhere and nothing, at entirely the wrong time, they cut an LP that will blow your head clean off. This is a trip into the true dark heart of psychedelia! The music? 'You'll Be A Star' shimmers and aches in the midnight; cymbals wash over you, Dave McCarty's vocals emerge from some subterranean cave, as the keyboards flicker, flicker, flash across the periphery of the song; 'Rock & Roll Puzzle' is dark, twisted fried garage punk blues brutality, pre-empting The Gories and Pussy Galore by a good ten years! Songs fade in and out; finger-picking blurs into screaming squelching synths; guitars melt in the mid-summer heat. 'Grains of Sand' frazzles like The Stooges through a fucked-up amp and filtered through a transistor radio with the valves burning out, whilst 'Summer Magic Is Gone' is the most haunted, haunting song in many a long strange moon. Shimmers like stars in the 2 a.m. fog and haze, and bleeds lost and lonely and bruised into the heat-warped dawn. You're still awake, although the brain doesn't work like it used to. Blurred and bleary and exhilarated and stoned to the very core of your soul." Booklet includes lyrics and notes; disc has a handful of previously unreleased tracks from 1975 sessions as bonus tracks."

Artist:	BEAUTIFUL LOSERS, THE
Title:	Nobody Knows The Heaven
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 622CD

"To set the scene: it's 1974, it's Paris, two young guys in their bed-sit (one of whom is French music maven/famous producer Jay Alanski) are dreaming of counter-culture, and their internal versions of California and New York. The result is this album, a child begotten of Marc Bolan, Baudelaire, and Lautr�amont; a fascinating record, subtle and engaging as it is scarce; the re-creation of a parallel pop universe which one Michael Moorcock wouldn't have renounced. Somehow, the duo got their record out into the world on Monde Melody's one-off Silk imprint (a tribute to Marc Bolan). And what twisted songs (in English) they managed to squeeze into a fifty-minute slab of vinyl. The music drips with deep nostalgia for the decadent beautiful people who lived and breathed and then found a home in the songs of Lou Reed and Leonard Cohen, pervaded throughout with a kind of psychedelic sadness. All of this is expressed by means of long, jagged acid guitar runs (or in acoustic strums) supported by Moroccan percussion (bongos?) and heavy bass lines from Christophe J. A post-quaalude album, as band leader Jay Alanski has said. If the LP had been released in 1971, everyone would point to T-Rex as an influence, and call it glam folk; fast forward to today and it's hard not to think loner, and draw comparisons with the music of Devendra Banhart, albeit recorded 35 years ago! We're now several decades further on in the world's slow self-destruction, but this sole recording by the Beautiful Losers has lost nothing of its freshness and superb arrogance. Blessed be the listener who is going to discover such a hidden treasure!" Includes a 32-page booklet and bonus track "Nobody Knows The Heaven" (alternate version).

Artist:	LENO
Title:	Vida E Obra De Johnny McCartney
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 623CD

"Leno's Vida e Obra de Johnny McCartney was intended as the next musical step after tropic�lia, it's full-blooded rock and roll approach intended to link the music that had already been made to the music that would be played a few years later. This record just might have been that bold step had CBS released it in 1971. But censors banned most of the tracks, and Leno was fortunate (thanks perhaps to his string of innocent sounding Jovem Guarda number one chart hits in Brazil as half of duo Leno e Lillian) not to experience the exile or imprisonment of other artists of the time. He was also fortunate that the master tapes survived in the CBS vaults, making them available for this reissue. The album has a sound that has more to do with bands such as Sly & The Family Stone, the Beatles (post 1967), Cream, and Steppenwolf, and features contributions from music legends Marcos Valle, Raul Seixas (anarchic surrealistic icon of Brazilian counterculture), hard psych rockers A Bolha, and members of Los Shakers and Renato e Seus Blue Caps. One of the most singular records of the 1970s rock era in Brazil, speaking in terms both historic and musical, with a significance in Brazil that makes people who know it well wonder how it has taken so long to be known worldwide, in a time when the efforts of the Brazilian rock and psychedelic underground scene are so well-documented. A 24-page booklet (packed with photos and lyrics) details Leno's career, as well as the story behind this exceptional record."

Artist:	JARDINE
Title:	Look In The Window
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 624CD

"Jardine's album was recorded in three glorious weeks in June 1969, at Sounds Aquarian Studios, a stone's throw from that justifiably famous fashion hub, Carnaby Street. The sessions were fun. Polydor was supposed to release the album. Musicians dropped in to say 'hello' and ended up on the record (uncredited) -- among them Peter Frampton, Andrew 'Andy' Bown (Herd and Status Quo), and Brian Appleyard (drummer from East of Eden). Singer Mickey Cox had been in Robert Plant's pre-Led Zeppelin group The Band of Joy -- it was Cox, in fact, who became their singer when Plant left the band. But suddenly, thanks to band management problems, the LP was shelved. Keith Law, who had written all of the songs, joined Velvett Fogg for their only album, and Jardine was forgotten. Now, forty years later, you can be among the first to discover the brooding excellence of these tracks, music both strange and sinister, with moments of fragile beauty. There are some very pretty songs here (haunting melodies abound), but there is no escaping the dark side of life ('Masochists of Strangulation,' 'Execution of the Child,' and monumental dirge 'Blackbirds of Jardine,' which tells of self-same birds, and the fact that they will 'destroy you, and leave you pain, pain, pain'), songs perhaps more akin to the band Comus than to anything else we have encountered from the psychedelic era. There are also heavy guitar solos, churning organ, flute and flowing sitar, for good measure. A 16-page booklet includes a band history lyrics, and comments on the songs by Keith Law. A lost jewel of late-1960s UK psychedelia, from a short-lived but charismatic band!"

Artist:	BEAT BOYS
Title:	Beat Boys
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 625CD

"Along with Os Mutantes, the Beat Boys represented the most radical element in Brazilian rock: their name, clothes, hair -- and intense fuzz guitar raves -- were all fierce indicators of a rebel spirit, and this in a dangerous time for such self-expression. Here is the simple truth: The Beat Boys were at the very epicenter of the cultural revolution that convulsed Brazil during the late 1960s, that movement of rupture, that bringing together of electricity and avant-garde erudition that has come to be known as 'tropic�lia'. They backed Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil for their defining moments as artists -- both live, and in the studio on tracks which became the opening tropicalist salvo (a rare EP). So, what were this group of Argentine rock musicians doing in the forefront of all things outrageous in Brazil? More to the point, why is it that very few people, even among the Brazilian music cognoscenti, have ever heard of them? One explanation must be the fact that the band were essentially outsiders to the Brazilian music scene. As unlikely as it was for them to penetrate the inner circles of Brazilian elite musicians (it was unlikely), it was even more unlikely that they would remain there once their closest friends, Caetano Veloso and Gilberto Gil, were exiled from Brazil. This disc includes the Beat Boys entire output under their own name: their sole album -- an exercise in what one might call 'controlled tropic�lia', laden with torrid psychedelic moments (released by RCA Victor in 1968), as well as a rare singles track from the same year. A 20-page booklet includes lyrics, and an exploration of the Beat Boys' fascinating story."

Artist:	GURU GURU
Title:	UFO
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 626CD

"A brief version of the Guru Guru story is told in the rare OHR label LP sampler Ohrenschmaus: 'Formed in the summer 1968, when, as acoustic musicians Mani Neumeier and Uli Trepte (up to then Free Jazz) said, 'everyone bought a strong amplifier.' The album text goes on to note that: 'There are many groups who practice with acoustic or electronic instruments a spontaneously changing music, which is characterized as improvisation. Actual improvisation, however -- like for example with the Guru Guru -- is not straight ahead. They orient themselves at agreed upon structures.' Given freedom by the freest label of the day, free jazz drummer Mani Neumeier and bassist Uli Trepte and guitarist extraordinaire Ax Genrich let the acid and the musical innovation flow. Guru Guru were genius, and UFO (released in 1970) was their first testament. Like any truly groundbreaking and important album, UFO makes one ask oneself bizarre questions such as, 'could the members of Joy Division have heard this album?' or induces one to make emphatic statements like 'so this is where Throbbing Gristle got the idea.' This is an album which is �ber-psychedelic, proto-industrial, free in every sense. Or as one writer said, 'A high water mark for acid psychedelia that possibly cannot be beat.' Our Lion Productions edition comes with a 20-page booklet which contains band info, a history of Rolf Ulrich Kaiser and OHR Records, and an OHR label discography."

Artist:	EMTIDI
Title:	Saat
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 627CD

"Recording in a good studio in 1972 with an accomplished engineer/musician such as Dieter Dierks (Ash Ra Tempel, Cosmic Jokers, Tangerine Dream, and yes, the Scorpions), certainly enabled Emtidi to expand their musical style on Saat. The end result was a shimmering, lush cosmic folk trip, with multi-tracked and treated acoustic guitars plus electric piano, fragile angelic femme vocals, vibes, and mellotron, (punctuated by the occasional acid guitar solo). Yes, Saat is an elevated cosmic folk brew of a refined and most magical kind -- a richly textured sound thick with treated guitars, phased keyboards and trippy electronics, rendering a cosmic atmosphere similar to vintage Klaus Schulze or Ash Ra Tempel, and creating an album which has been called 'one of the most beautiful cosmic treks of all time.' Pastoral imagery runs like a green silken thread throughout this beautiful record, starting with the front cover, a psychedelic airbrush painting of a pink stardust ear of wheat ('saat' means 'seed'), and the inner gatefold, which depicts a luxurious golden field of corn. Bountiful and blissful. Our Lion Productions edition comes with a 16-page booklet which contains band info, a history of Rolf Ulrich Kaiser and his OHR/Pilz/Kosmischen Kuriere Records empire, and a Pilz label discography."

Artist:	GOLOWIN, SERGIUS
Title:	Lord Krishna Von Goloka
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 628CD

"In 1973, Rolf Ulrich Kaiser's visionary powers acted as a catalyst for an authentic combination of acid, music and spirituality: the mystical LSD-fueled musical project Lord Krishna Von Goloka. For this adventure into Indian and Oriental mythologies and legends, Kaiser asked esoteric Swiss artist (he was a friend of Giger's), poet, specialist on Alpine folklore, and friend of Timothy Leary, Sergius Golowin, to join a group of musicians including Klaus Schulze and members of Wallenstein and Witth�ser + Westrupp. It was perhaps mere coincidence that Golowin's classic treatise on witches, herbs, and magic mushrooms was published that same year (Magie Der Verbotenen M�rchen); the book was fast becoming a cult item -- iit was secretly xeroxed in what was then-Communist East Germany, and later distributed in the hippie-underground there. Sergius Golowin's intellectual and spiritual world of occultism, popular legends, and shamanism were the foundation for the project. He was responsible for the lyrics, which consisted of incantatory recitations in German over the multi-textural compositions. Our Lion Productions edition comes with a 24-page booklet which includes a Sergius Golowin biography, plus translated excerpts from interviews and texts, a list of Golowin's writings, translations of the original LP notes, text, and lyrics, as well as a Kosmischen Kuriere label discography. And on a personal note, we have long thought the song 'Die Wei�e Alm' to be perhaps the perfect cosmic folk track: blissed out and uplifting, without being cloying."

Artist:	A BOLHA
Title:	Um Passo A Frente
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 629CD

"Brazilian band the Bubbles became the toast of the underground Rio de Janeiro scene, backing Tropicalist singer Gal Costa's residence at the Sucata night club in 1970. They won the 'Best Band of the Festival' award at the VII FIC of 1971 (International Festival of Songs), the same year they appeared on Leno's Vida y obra de Johnny McCartney album. After venturing to England to attend the Isle of Wight Festival, they decided to experiment with a heavier sound, more akin to UK bands of that era (Deep Purple, Cream, King Crimson, Humble Pie, with a little Beatles' White Album in for good measure) than that of their Brazilian cohorts. A name change to A Bolha later, still loaded with verve and swagger, fueled by drugs, they recorded their first album, which has secured a permanent place as one of the best hard psych rock albums to ever emerge from South America. The LP, Um Passo a frente (A step forward), was released in 1973 by the Continental label, in a gatefold cover which was quite luxurious for the era. This masterpiece, now impossibly hard to find as an original, certainly made a name for A Bolha in the pantheon of 1970s Brazilian rock. But success in the early 1970s was not like it had once been in the old Jovem Guarda or Tropicalist days, when bands had weekly TV shows to help them become well-known nationwide -- and eventually, worldwide. In other words, the meager abilities of Continental to promote the album made it a collector's item, not the fate a band would actively seek for their recordings. Luckily, we at Lion Productions are able to present these recordings to the world all over again, with the additional benefit of a 20-page booklet with band history, photos, and comments on the songs by band leader Renato Ledeira. Includes both sides of the band's infamous hard-rocking 1971 single as bonus tracks."

Artist:	HUNT & TURNER
Title:	Magic Landscape
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 630CD

"Fabulous grooving folk rock sounds with plenty of atmosphere, first released by the much beloved Village Thing label in 1972. Ian Hunt and John Turner first teamed-up in the late summer of 1970, the inevitable collaboration of two of the West Country's most sought-after session musicians. String bassist and guitarist Turner had just left the infamous Pigsty Hill Light Orchestra and Hunt, a wizard guitarist and song writer who was already a 'big-name' on the Bristol scene, was looking for a new vehicle for his talents. Both had been spawned by the legendary Bristol Troubadour Club, which Turner had run for several years, and within months the new duo was picking up fans and followers around the UK and in Europe. This album went straight to number six in the Melody Maker folk charts upon its original release. Years later, Ian Hunt is still making stunning music and is rated amongst the finest guitarists in the land, while John Turner, ever the entertainer and entrepreneur, as well as being in his own words a 'part-time rake and bon viveur,' was until recently one of Britain's most respected BBC radio and television presenters. Crystalline acoustic and electric guitars and delicious vocals, backed with electric and string bass and bongos; imagine if you will British band Magna Carta with a guitarist as skilled as Wizz Jones or John Martyn: acoustic instrumentation and strong songs. Our Lion Productions edition comes with a 16-page booklet printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy, which contains a small dose of band info, album lyrics, histories of the Village Thing and Saydisc labels by co-founder Gef Lucena, as well as a Village Thing label discography."

Artist:	SUN ALSO RISES, THE
Title:	The Sun Also Rises
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 631CD

"Superb sought-after 1970 British acid folk rarity from the Village Thing label. The Sun Also Rises is another case of a folk/psych duo (we're thinking of Emtidi, whose Saat album we have also reissued) who virtually disappeared in the flesh, once they had left behind a small but fascinating recorded legacy. The sole Sun Also Rises album has been reissued (legally and illegally) on several occasions, a testament to continuing interest in the music contained therein. Who were they? They were Graham and Anne Hemingway from Cardiff, described everywhere as a mystical, magical hippie female and male folk duo, who played guitars, dulcimer, glockenspiel, vibes, bells, kazoo, percussion -- joined throughout by label-mate John Turner (bowed and finger-picked string bass), and Andy Leggett. Their one and only album is very much in the creative style and delivery of the Incredible String Band, with similarities to the work of their contemporaries Dr. Strangely Strange, COB, Comus, Forest and Tir Na Nog, as well as others of the original freak-folk brigade. The results of their efforts were tripped-out, spellbinding, esoteric folk collages -- songs of wizards and dragons, dreams and intentions, love, flickering candlelight, the sweet scent of half-remembered summers, death, jasmine, and suicide. We hope that this album will come as a wonderful surprise for lovers of the Incredible String Band and their ilk, as there were few bands that were able to stray into this much loved and much loathed world of fantasy and folk music, and live to tell the tale. Our Lion Productions edition comes with a 16-page booklet printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy, which contains a small dose of band info, album lyrics, histories of the Village Thing and Saydisc labels by co-founder Gef Lucena, as well as a Village Thing label discography."

Artist:	TETRAGON
Title:	Nature
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 632CD

"An ecology-inspired Krautrock album (1971) from a short-lived group comprised of German school-chums, some of whom had recorded an LP as Trikolon. Tetragon did not conform to any predetermined musical style: they played whatever they pleased, as long as it included groovy Hammond organ and very trippy, flanged wah-wah guitar, in various taut jamming modes that favored jazz/rock fusion � la Miles Davis with a small dose of classical music (adapting a Bach fugue along the way). The result is a bouquet of lush instrumentals, with elements of Egg or the Nice, and quite a bit of T2 to boot. The album was recorded in a converted barn, using a Revox A77 two-track tape recorder and seven microphones placed judiciously to best capture the sound of each instrument. Re-recording wasn't possible, as the record was mixed live. Yet these challenging conditions inspired the band to great heights: Hendrik Schaper played organ and clavinet simultaneously, with one hand on each keyboard; meanwhile, J�rgen Jaehner unleashed rampaging electric guitar solos, then, in an instant, switched to acoustic guitar for the next musical passage; Schaper didn't own a piano, so he used a pre-amp with a wah-wah pedal to imitate that instrument's sound. A virtuoso effort, from start to finish! Tetragon didn't bother contacting any record labels; they didn't think their music would interest anyone. A mere 400 copies of the album were released on a private label, named Soma after the drug-induced effect described in Alduous Huxley's Brave New World. Our edition includes all of the original pro-environment, anti-industrial pollution gatefold album art, a detailed band history, band photos, and a nearly fifteen-minute bonus track, recorded live in Georgsmarienh�tte in 1972."

Artist:	BRAINSTORM
Title:	Smile A While
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 633CD

"With this record from 1972, Brainstorm, led by future Guru Guru stalwart Roland Schaeffer, established themselves as one of Germany's premier bands. Their complex Krautrock, based on strange harmonics (thanks to Schaeffer's enthusiasm for Jimi Hendrix and the free jazz sounds of John Coltrane and Pharoah Sanders), and impelled by wild and distorted sax, flute and Vox organ, would later put them smack in the middle of that bible for the intrepid musical adventurer, the revolutionary music reference guide known as the Nurse With Wound list. As NWW themselves said, 'Categories strain, crack and sometimes break, under their burden -- step out of the space provided.' What better endorsement of Brainstorm could there be? Brainstorm took only fifteen days including mixing (during the tragic 1972 Munich Olympics, as it happens), to record their favorite numbers, all under the direction of a producer little interested in their music. That's a great shame, for these recordings show Brainstorm to be one of the best of the inventive off-beat bands of the era, along with the likes of Moving Gelatine Plates (France), Pazop (Belgium), and of course, Soft Machine and Caravan. Booklet reproduces all original LP gatefold art; liner-notes tell the band's history up to the completion of this album. Includes all the tracks from Smile A While, plus three heavily grooving bonus tracks originally recorded for SWF radio in 1971 as Fashion Pink."

Artist:	MATEO & JORGE TRASANTE, EDUARDO
Title:	Mateo Y Trasante
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 634CD

"As many of you who have followed along with us while we chart a course through the rich musical heritage of Uruguay know full well, a military dictatorship took control of the country in the early 1970s, causing most well-known musicians to emigrate. The nation's most influential musician, enfant terrible iconoclast Eduardo Mateo, had no chance to do so. And yet it was during this dark period that Mateo reached his zenith as a composer and arranger in case of this album, with a lot of help from world famous Afro-folk percussionist Jorge Trasante. On Mateo y Trasante (1976), Mateo's second post-El Kinto album, he goes further than ever before in his sonic explorations of different percussion variations and guitar techniques, evolving a more complex musical style. Even Mateo's voice underwent a relevant mutation for the album, which many people thought the result of a deep mental illness. (Trasante explains that Mateo was deeply influenced by Arabic music, and used the new modulations he discovered to get into different characters with his voice.) Many of Mateo's old fans and fellow musicians could not really connect with his new musical personality and this work went unnoticed. According to Mateo biographer Guilherme de Alencar Pinto, only around 343 copies of the album were sold; yet this record is now considered a legitimate work of art, and indisputable evidence of Mateo's genius. This Lion Productions edition comes with a 32-page booklet which contains abundant information on the making of the album, as told by Jorge Trasante, lyrics in English and in the original Spanish, historical background on the Uruguayan scene, a score of incredible photos, and a brief overview of the legendary Sondor label. Our sincere thanks to Enrique Abal Oli for allowing us to use his amazing photos, and to Daniel Figares for allowing us to translate text from his book Mateo y Trasante: Treinta A�os 1976-2006, which is the source for all of Jorge Trasante's musings on this epochal album included in this reissue. Printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy."

Artist:	SPERA, PIPPO
Title:	A Buen Puerto
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 635CD

"A summertime record, if ever there was one! Lilting melodies, including a shimmering cover of Eduardo Mateo's 'Mejor me voy,' infused with an undercurrent of bossa nova and the drowsy, faded memory of sun-drenched islands. All of this melodic loveliness is made ever-so-groovy in an Afro-Cuban sort of way thanks to a mighty contribution from world famous percussionist Jorge Trasante, Totem drummer Roberto Galletti, and Limonada drummer Jos� Luis Sosa. Pippo Spera had come into the orbit of Uruguayan master Eduardo Mateo back during the days of El Kinto (one of that band's finest songs is about a visit by Mateo to Pippo's house). From 1967 to 1970, Pippo concentrated on studying classical guitar at the Conservatorio Nacional of Uruguay, until the military dictatorship closed the school. So, Pippo started his songwriter career, which culminated in 1975/1976 with the recording of A Buen Puerto. As Pippo says, 'It was a beautiful experience to me. I had the help of the best musicians in town, they were like brothers. At that time in Uruguay, nobody used to get money to perform in a recording studio; for the musicians it was a pleasure, it was just love of art...' After the release of this LP, Pippo decided to leave a Uruguay oppressed by a brutal dictatorship. He sailed to Brazil in a ship much like the one hovering behind him on the A Buen Puerto album. Brazil was indeed 'a good port' for Pippo -- he became friends with many of the best Brazilian musicians of those years: Milton Nascimento, Geraldo Azevedo, Renato Rocha, and Alceu Valen�a, and ended up writing for and playing on Nascimento's Clube da Esquina 2 album." Includes a 12-page booklet with archival photos and liner notes, plus 2 bonus tracks.

Artist:	YAMA AND THE KARMA DUSTERS
Title:	Up From The Sewers
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 636CD

"Super political, rocking, anti-establishment communal band (c. 1970) put together as a result of the Kent State Massacre. As the Euphoria Blimpworks Band, fronted by Howard Berkman from morose garage punksters the Knaves, they played demonstrations and student strikes when they weren't opening for blues royalty -- or being the first band to play the yard at Cook County Jail. They were inter-racial, anti-war, Stop the Bomb, free love hippies, the wildest of the wild kids. And this is the quintessential anarcho-hippie record, a surprisingly well-engineered indie effort which came inside home-made silk-screened jackets, with twisted, poetic lyrics (Dylan or Arthur Lee and Love? you decide), and funky, rocking bones -- political, sociological, ecological, reflective and free-love sexy. The Karma Dusters really cook on the up-tempo tracks, sounding at times like a cross between The Blues Project and Dylan's band circa 1966, augmented by some dazzling violin. This excellent sounding master-tape reissue has two bonus tracks; it also has two booklets -- one is for the outrageous and explicit Gonzo history of the band and their urban commune; the other is a wrap-around booklet for lyrics, all served up together in a Mylar plastic sleeve. You just know the FBI has a huge file on these punks. But do they have the album?"

Artist:	GREEN
Title:	Green
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 637CD

"Green arrived in the mid-1980s, amidst a Chicago scene that included bands like Naked Raygun, Big Black, and Ministry (and eventually, Material Issue and Smashing Pumpkins). Green bypassed the major label-express that many of those other bands rode to fame and fortune, and continued to make records their own DIY way, records which were lauded in the pages of Trouser Press, Spin, and The Village Voice, among others. And with each passing year there are an increasing number of folks who are convinced that their debut LP is worthy of those Mojo/VH1/Spin/ lists of the top 50 or 100 rock albums of all time. From the first pulsating, exuberant notes of the intro, the band knows what they want to say: kids get ready, gotta rock steady, because they Gotta Getta Record Out, they are trying to Curry Your Favor, they play the records, and maybe most of all, they want to be Big in Japan! One astute reviewer said: The band darts through decades of pop history as impatiently as the Spiral Scratch-era Buzzcocks, with band leader Jeff Lescher's voice ranging from Princely falsetto to gravel-tinged field holler, but most often sounding as though someone stepped on Paul McCartney's toes in 1965. And as another reviewer quite rightly said, 'This is such a flawless pop masterpiece that I'm not even ashamed to trot out terms like 'flawless pop masterpiece.'' Green may be the bees knees for anglophile power poppers, but they deserve more notice than that; they were the kind of all-embracing band, with a taste for punk, glam rock and soul and with a twitchy sort of energy of the sort that burbled around in the late-80s, pre-grunge underground (a little Feelies anyone?). It remains a mystery why other bands are fixed in the collective memory as the era's best at the very least, Green should make a list of top obscure pop groups of all time! Booklet has band history and lyrics, plus many a fine photo, all courtesy of Lescher. Seven bonus tracks, including the CD debut of the band's 1984 EP The Name of This Band is Green. Printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy." "Their (first) 45 had two absolute masterpieces: 'Gotta Getta Record Out,' which yelps and shouts along like the best of the old Bongos or Jam or Feelies or somebody, and 'I Don't Want To Say No,' which is the sort of white Motown that assholes like the Replacements could never get right. This is not a punk record, except perhaps in spirit, but it isn't any worse for that." -- Steve Albini

Artist:	GOUDE, JEAN-PHILIPPE
Title:	Drones
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 638CD

"In the beginning there was the piano. As soon as he had mastered the basics, Jean-Philippe Goude discovered the spell of melancholy while working on a little musical piece: an etude ringing out in the style of a somber hymn. Not the dead meat smells of somberness that, according to Picabia, serious people emit, but the earthen gravity of an abyss dug by life itself. Everything is the result of this bedazzlement. At 11 years old, Jean-Philippe Goude closed his eyes. When his eyelids finally re-opened, he could only see turquoise bubbles. The times had changed. The color was set by Sgt Peppers and the Beatles. Goude then discovered the minimalist movement through the work of Philip Glass and Terry Riley; this gave him insight into unexpected perspectives. Goude enrolled at the Pantin Academy of Music, where he studied with Irene Jarsky. Parallel to these studies, Goude worked with with percussionist Olivier Cole, assisted by electronics wizard Francois Gingle, who modified their synthesizers in order to obtain the weirdest possible sound. Goude released his first album (with Cole) in 1975, Jeunes Annees (Saravah). A few months later, with Bernard Paganotti's band Weidorje, Goude initiated a rock adventure which ultimately resulted in a second album, Drones (Polydor, 1979)--an album which features an impressive gathering of some of the biggest names in late '70s underground French rock, including: Richard Pinhas (rhythmic synthesizer), Francois Auger (drums); Michel Ettori: (guitar), Patrick Gauthier (flute, synthesizer, piano, mini-moog), Manu Katche (drums), and Jean-Louis Rizet (mixing & special effects). Goude's proto-electronica cosmic loops and moog melodies now find themselves coupled with tough prog drum beats and other elements of rock music; Drones mixes solo keyboard pieces like 'Coma' and 'Duo' with group oriented pieces: 'Dies Irae' is a Zeuhl rock scorcher; 'Machine' uses a string quartet as the foundation for synthesizer musings by Goude and Richard Pinhas; 'Trepidanse' is a playful piece for dueling synthesizers. Although the Weidorje influence is evident on some numbers, Jean-Philippe Goude takes his music well beyond the Zeuhl trend. He offers a very personal approach to music, which contributed to the album's initial success, and has ensured that its cult status has lasted until the present day."

Artist:	ROGER & WENDY
Title:	Love Rog & Wem
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 639CD

"Formerly of 1960s U.S. psych-folk band Euphoria (MGM/Heritage), not to mention veterans of the late 1960s Greenwich Village coffee-house scene that spawned many a career, Roger & Wendy made this private press album for family and friends in 1971, in an edition of 50 copies. They later renamed themselves Bermuda Triangle; their recently reissued 1977 album under that name has garnered terrific reviews throughout the years. 'It started in New York City with the guy across the hall, who was missing two fingers, saying he earned money playing flamenco guitar in a Greenwich Village coffeehouse. Roger and Wendy (we two, the two of us) exchanged glances. Could it be that easy to get paid for making music? We put together some songs which featured our vocals and Roger's autoharp, and headed from our 5th floor walk-up slum tenement, where the holes through the ancient brick wall were big enough for snow to blow in, across town to the BASEMENT coffeehouse on MacDougal St. (in the Village) to audition. Hired after one song, we played our first sets that night and every night thereafter 'til 4 A.M., seven nights a week, 365 days a year. At the time, the coffeehouses were called basket houses, since the only pay you got was what was collected in a straw basket passed around at the end of each twenty minute set. Stephen Stills said, 'I love your guys' music,' and dropped $20 in, which more than half covered our $35 a month rent.' So begins the tale. With strong roots in folk music, Roger & Wendy have electric and often unconventional arrangements. The lyrics are complex and symbolic, the instrumentation very unusual. Roger is also the inventor of much of the technology required to create multiple effects that achieve a multidimensional quality: passages that listeners mistake for electric guitar are actually autoharp. Roger redesigned the autoharp's chord structure to facilitate switching between keys; now all major autoharp manufacturers worldwide make autoharps using his design. And as for Wendy, women bass players were a rarity in the '60s, and still are today. Consequently, their groups (then and now) have always been far out there beyond the leading edge. The Roger & Wendy Love Rog & Wem album is an alluring collection of shimmering psych-folk gems, and is the rarest of the duo's records (fetching $900+). A superb artifact from the early 1970s underground psych-folk scene, taken from the original master tapes, and using the original sleeve artwork for this deluxe mini-LP sleeve reissue. Booklet has photos, great stories, and five bonus tracks, too!"

Artist:	SNYDER AND BOB THOMPSON, DOUG
Title:	Daily Dance
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 640CD

"After meeting at a Stooges/MC5 concert, drummer Bob Thompson and guitarist Doug Snyder met one fine day in October 1972 in Thompson's kitchen and bashed out this set of fiery improvisations, seemingly influenced as much by Iggy's proto-punk moves as John Coltrane's whole sheets of sound ethos; the result is a mythical frenzy of distorted guitar and improvised drums, creating walls of psychedelic noise; its sound is unparalleled for its time, preceding its closest kin, New York's no-wave explosion, by a solid five years. And because of its lack of pretensions (it was done almost innocently), the record comes off as something, dare we say, a little more 'spiritual' than is the norm for such excursions. It is a singular recording, one that mainlines the classic high energy pantheon of the Velvet Underground, Stooges, Pharaoh Sanders, Sonny Sharrock, etc. while anticipating the free jazz/noise/no wave synthesis of groups that would follow in their footsteps. Thompson and Snyder get into some abstruse territory, with Snyder tearing industrial gamelan shapes from his six strings while Thompson uses the guts of his kit as the basis for new tonal alphabets. But it's all rendered with a strong savage ethos that effortlessly equates monochord rock obliteration with the celestial freedom of Cecil Taylor/John Coltrane, et al., while establishing new territory as advanced as that attained by the most far-reaching visionaries of the rock n roll blueprint... still hard to believe that this was recorded in 1972. A major historical unearthing, remastered from the original tapes, and beautifully packaged in a Stoughton paste-on mini-LP jacket, with an informative Obi/U-Card, and an extensive 20-page booklet of liner notes and photos. Produced in conjunction with Cantor Records, who recently made Daily Dance available on vinyl for the first time in 35 years. Includes one bonus track (not included on the LP reissue), which was intended for the original release, but left off at the last moment for time considerations."

Artist:	FREAK SCENE
Title:	Psychedelic Psoul
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 642CD

"Fresh from his studio experiences with The Deep and the Third Bardo, Rusty Evans decided to create a psychedelic 'happening' which would also function as a recording group. He gathered together a few New York musicians, including three members of The Deep (David Bromberg among them), dubbed them the Freak Scene, and began work on the Psychedelic Psoul album, which was released in 1967. The intention was to pursue the Indian-Eastern influence in rock -- and this raga rock idea is used to great effect on songs like 'Grok' and 'Rose of Smiling Faces' (sounds like it could have been the sole inspiration for Damon's Song of a Gypsy album). As the only true psychedelic band on Columbia at the time, the Freak Scene got decent exposure. No doubt this number would have been much greater had the band been a touring ensemble, instead of a one-time psychedelic event. The album is gritty, tense, subversive, brittle, and yes, psychedelic. Perfect in its own way. Included as bonus tracks are nine demos from the summer of 1966, some of which would end up in quite a different musical context on The Deep's Psychedelic Moods and Freak Scene albums. These songs, with their P. F. Sloan/Dylan (or even Sixto Rodriguez) vibe deepen the legacy of edgy, insightful songs from Rusty Evans/Marcus Uzilevsky. Comes with a 16-page booklet which includes a biographical portrait of Marcus, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy."

Artist:	SANDHY & MANDHY
Title:	Para Castukis
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 643CD

"Sandhy & Mandhy: Alberto Infusino (Sandhy) and Alberto Vanasco (Mandhy) began their musical partnership in beat bands The New Free Men and La Maquina de Musica. In 1969, Billy Bond, chief of La Pesada del Rock Roll and legendary major domo of Argentine rock, asked them to prepare a demo as a duo. Instead, they recorded an album (in three hours!) with a full band (Farfisa organ, congas, drums, bass, and guitars): one take of each song. They decided to press the record-only 110 LPs were made, making this album the ultimate Argentine rock rarity. Sandhy & Mandhy were among the first in South America to bring a rebellious attitude to their music-all this in a period of military repression, when forced haircuts (and brutality) in the streets were a common occurrence. The simmering, intense 'La indeferencia los pone mal' (Indifference Upsets Them), was an important protest song, possibly the first from South America. Every word demonstrates the strong concern that Sandhy & Mandhy felt about the repressions they experienced every day: 'Like little birds, we will have to fight/against all who want to change us with stones/why do they have to be so cruel/or is that indifference upsets them/I do not know what they want, to teach us morals/they should clean first their consciences/and then we will talk.' In the end, Bond said that Sandhy & Mandhy sounded too much like a band (not a duo), so success was not their fate. But now through the magic of reissues, you can check out their groovy, organ-driven melancholy psych, with Zombies-ish harmony vocals, a little touch of bossa, and other treats (that fuzz guitar on the excellent Os Mutantes-esque 'Lluvia'!). There are artistic ambitions too, with tape edits/inserts very unusual in an album of the era. At times introspective and acoustic, at others manic and ramshackle in the best way, it's quite a discovery. This CD companion to our deluxe LP edition (LION 105LP) has an additional five tracks."

Artist:	INDEX
Title:	Black Album + Red Album + Yesterday & Today
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	2CD
Price:	$24.00
Catalog #:	LION 644CD

"In the mid 1960s, Detroit Michigan was a thriving industrial city. It was at the edge of a cliff, however. The great ethnic diversity in the inner city was a brewing powder keg of civil unrest. This, coupled with a disillusioned population struggling to make some sense of a questionable war in the rice paddies of Vietnam, set an uneasy and troubling tempo for the future. Still, there were pockets of communities in the Detroit area where things were good and economic life was vibrant. The Grosse Pointes were such communities. It was on the outskirts of this political and racially tense era, in the affluent suburbs just outside of the city of Detroit, that Index was formed. The music of Index has been lauded by music heads for decades, and with good reason: it is bizarre, atmospheric, and 'home-made' (in the best of all possible ways); the band has a druggie sound, with songs full of feedback and fuzzy guitars, hazy guitar riffs and loud rhythms. Hidden amongst the echoing canyons of sound there's some snotty post-punk attitude wrapped up in that trippy velvet fuzz; a wonderful bleak sound, both droning and murky, the atonal side of late 1960's rock that would leave the most lasting impression on those who would eventually become punk, post-punk and indie rock artists like Joy Division or the Fall. Includes a 32-page booklet, written by Index drummer Jim Valice, detailing the band's rock and roll adventures, replete with photos and lyrics; printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy."

Artist:	EDEN ROSE
Title:	On The Way To Eden
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 645CD

"It might be easy to think of Eden Rose as simply a first version of famed French progressive band Sandrose. Both bands had the same musicians; both existed at nearly the same moment in time (c. 1970). But Eden Rose is now seen, quite rightly, as something unique, a chimera from the misty past, a time during which the winds of change were blowing on the fixed universe of music. Rules were blown away, stagnant structures were swept aside, and musical conventions emancipated, this freshness and spontaneity the essence of a style that hadn't yet been formalised. As for Eden Rose, they took off once they teamed up with guitarist extraordinaire Jean-Pierre Alarcen, who had worked with Jacques Dutronc and played in Le Systeme Crapout chik. The result was this batch of psych-inspired, decidedly grooving, upbeat instrumental tracks, with wailing (at times) fuzzed-out guitar and distinguished Hammond organ aplenty, over driving beats. A unique sound, brilliant, bright, and singing from the first note to the last. And man, if my ears don't deceive me, the main theme from 'Walking In the Sea' (before it spins off into Jimi Hendrix territory) sure sounds like a lovely jazzy riff on Serge Gainsbourg's 'Je t'aime... moi non plus,' which had been released the year before this album hit the racks. Two bonus tracks are from the band's only single that contained non-LP tracks. Booklet has the band's story in English and French, and is printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy." LP version on Guerssen (GUESS 066LP).

Artist:	SEA-DERS, THE
Title:	The Sea-Ders
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$11.00
Catalog #:	LION 646CD

"This specially-priced disc contains all known recordings of infectious Middle Eastern inflected rock/beat from the Cedars (or Sea-Ders), Lebanon's top musical export to the world. Eight dynamic tracks, with driving rhythms, blazing electric bouzouki (or oud?), recorded between 1966-1968. Fantastic! Starting in 1965, many groups began to borrow elements of Eastern music to add a little mystery and exotica to their sound. Some prominent examples of this trend include the Kinks' 'See My Friends,' the Beatles' 'Norwegian Wood,' and the Byrds' 'Eight Miles High'; less well-known than the aforementioned acts, but considered masters of the form by those in the know, were the Sea-Ders. For them it wasn't a case of flirting with foreign culture -- they tapped right into the source, there in their own backyard! Decca Records contacted the group and offered them a record deal in the UK. The Sea-Ders relocated to London, and in 1967 Decca released 'Thanks A Lot' b/w 'Undecidedly.' The record got some airplay on the pirate stations, but failed to break into the charts. Nevertheless, Decca went ahead with an EP release, featuring three tracks along with the fine 'Cause I Do Care.' Apparently the record had a very limited pressing as it's now very rare, despite being one of the most exciting releases of the era. Booklet contains liner notes by Mike Stax (Ugly Things Magazine), printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy."

Artist:	MIGUEL Y EL COMIT�
Title:	Para Hacer M�sica, Para Hacer...
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 647CD

"El Syndikato made Miguel Livichich a rock star in South America; but it was his sole effort as Miguel y el Comit� that made him a groove-loving crate-digger's dream! Livichich left El Syndikato and in an instant formed another band, joining forces with an existing group called Feeling Rock. This new group was called Miguel y el Comit� (Miguel and the Committee) -- a clear allusion to Livichich's previous group (the Syndicate), and also a demonstration of his leadership role; even though Miguel y el Comit� worked as a proper band in their structure, Miguel Livichich made all decisions concerning the group. As Livichich recalled, 'I told them, I want a band to join me, but we all work together -- more rock and candombe and a few things more commercial. Accept, and we make a titanic effort. An aggressive launch. I do not lie, in fifteen days we were recording the LP. It was pin, pin and we were playing at all dances. It was amazing working with Miguel y el Comit�.' That band's 1971 album, with Livichich firmly at the helm, fused the local candombe rhythm with beat music in an unusual and aggressive (oft-times funky, break-beat) way. Miguel y el Comit� played mostly original songs, but they also mixed in covers of tracks by other Uruguayan bands. They were the first to sing hits by other groups (El Kinto, Los Shakers), which added a new dimension to the burgeoning Uruguayan scene. Percussion plays a key role in the band's sound, although the guitar playing is most distinctive: sometimes melodic, at other times carving a path through the mix, with a hard and acid distorted fuzz guitar sound, as on the title track and the fabulous cover of El Kinto's 'Qu� me importa.' Dynamite! Comes with a 28-page booklet, printed on FSC recycled, chlorine-free, 100% post-consumer fiber paper manufactured using biogas energy, with band history, photos, and bi-lingual lyrics."

Artist:	SANDSTONE
Title:	Can You Mend A Silver Thread?
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 648CD

"There is nothing ordinary about Sandstone. This private press folk/psych album (1971) is so head and shoulders above almost every other album in the genre, it's hard to believe it's not better known. The instrumentation and compositional style are reminiscent of heavy English folk hitters like Mellow Candle, Pentangle, and Heron. The Sandstone album was not a major label production like those records. But the local studio at which it was recorded must have been quite high end, because the production quality is astounding. Nearly everyone involved in these recordings was younger than eighteen, but there's very little evidence of that: the music is well constructed, and no aspect of it is without sophistication well beyond the years of its creators. The three teens behind this music (David Sheirer, Laurie Braunstein, and Mario Grella) molded a seamless compound of British trad-folk with themes of American antiquity, from pilgrims' progress to Civil War tragedies to the tainting of their unspoiled valley. Poetic lyrics, haunting female vocals, and judicious use of string sections, all serve Sandstone's entirely original compositions: the result is a dreamy, wistful mood that calls to you across the decades. After weeks of recording, overdubs, and mixing, the album was sent off to be manufactured. Sadly, the band only had cash enough for around 300 copies. Other than a few college radio spins for 'Flute Player' barely anyone heard Can You Mend A Silver Thread? outside of their inner circle. A monumental accomplishment nonetheless! From the cover to the instrumentation to the deeply strange and lovely lyrics, maybe the truest folk/psych music that these shores ever produced. Our Lion Productions edition (courtesy of Numero Group) includes two bonus tracks, out-takes from the album sessions."

Artist:	HEAVEN & EARTH
Title:	Refuge
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	LION 652CD

"This reissue has been a long time coming, in no small part because we wanted it to be perfect. We're happy to finally be able to announce the re-release of this psychedelic folk/funk beauty from 1973, featuring the gorgeous voices of Pat Gefell and Jo D. Andrews (and produced by Space Age percussionist/composer Dick Schory for his short-lived but influential Ovation Records imprint). At one time this was an album completely unknown outside of Chicago, where the label was based; but these days, word gets around, and tracks like 'Feel The Spirit' and 'Jenny' have been making the rounds on the DJ circuit. No matter what your musical taste is--psych-folk, funk, soft rock--this LP seems to have something special to offer. This is due in part to notable backing from veterans like bassist Phil Upchurch (Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, Stan Getz, Groove Holmes, and Cannonball Adderly), and space age pop maven Bobby Christian on drums and percussion. But primarily it is due to the clear voices and intelligent songs crafted by Gefell and Andrews. Our Lion Productions replica LP version comes in an old style tip-on gatefold jacket with lyrics printed inside, and includes an insert packed with band history and rare photos. It is a quality vinyl pressing, newly mastered from the original tapes. The deluxe mini-LP sleeve CD version has two booklets--one packed with rare photos from the Ovation Records archives; the other with musings by both members of the group on their time spent as Heaven & Earth. Better yet, the CD version has fifteen bonus tracks, including both sides of the duo's two singles, as well as alternate takes and some never before released songs plucked from the vaults."

Artist:	SANDROSE
Title:	Sandrose
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 661CD

"On their sole release (Polydor, 1972), Sandrose play a superb mellow proto-progressive rock based on the continuous floating sounds of the mellotron, incisive guitar interventions by Alarcen (whose sublime playing explodes during superbly constructed instrumental passages), and singer Rose Podwojny's powerful, clear voice. On songs like 'Vision' and 'Never Good at Saying Goodbye,' Podwojny's voice expresses such a maturity and sensitivity that simply listening to this song is enough to have goose-bumps and tears in your eyes. But it's the eleven minute instrumental 'Underground Session' that is the centerpiece of the album, with Alarcen giving free rein to his creativity; it's not just a highlight of the album, but one of the great instrumental rock tracks of all time. I'm serious. As for singing in English, Alarcen explained at the time: The spirit of our music is closer to the Anglo-Saxon spirit, it is perfectly normal that we have the words in that language.' Elegant 16-page booklet reproduces all original LP art; liner-notes tell the band's history, and include rare photos, discography, and translations of several contemporary articles. If you love groups like Earth & Fire, Julian's Treatment/Julian Jay Savarin, Goliath, or Analogy, (and who doesn't?), then Sandrose is an obvious choice for you."

Artist:	JUNG MI, KIM
Title:	Now
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 663CD

"At the dawn of the 1970s, South Korea's rock music scene was at its zenith. Much of the reason for this was the god-like guitar wizard, songwriter, producer, and arranger Shin Joong Hyun. For this album, he took a young girl named Kim Jung Mi, and transformed her from a wallflower student into a folk-psych chanteuse in record time (if Francoise Hardy is the Marianne Faithful of France, then Kim Jung Mi is, I suppose, the Francoise Hardy of Korea). The ten songs on Now were written and recorded during 1973 with a firm mandate to create a truly psychedelic sound experience. On each number, Shin Joong Hyun and his backing group laid down pure emotion on tape. Mr. Shin's fuzz guitar weaves in and out of the tracks, interlaced with his own poetic musings on nature (spring, sun, flowers, rain, and wind), all else in the world apart from Kim Jung Mi's soothing voice and insistent bass that crouches and creeps, depending on its mood, displaced. This raw feeling, combined with Kim Jung Mi's seductive, expressive vocals and empathetic string orchestration, resulted in an album that is nothing short of awe-inspiring. Mr. Shin's ethereal cover photo--the blue graininess of the sky dripping into fading clouds, with Kim Jung Mi surrounded on her sky-high isolated mountaintop by flowers--is the perfect image to represent what is, without a doubt, one of the best psychedelic albums ever created. Our version of this quintessence of psychedelia features Korean/English lyric translations, rare photos, re-mastered audio, and comprehensive liner notes by Kevin 'Sipreano' Howes and Shin Joong Hyun expert Jae-Myeong Ro (director of the Korean Classical Music Record Museum, and author of the book Shin Joong Hyun and Beautiful Country. The deluxe mini-LP sleeve CD version has a 20-page booklet with rare photos, and great stories about Shin Joong Hyun and Kim Jung Mi's continuing place of prominence in the Korean music scene."

Artist:	EL POLEN
Title:	Cholo
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$17.00
Catalog #:	LION 7655CD

"The fusion of native folk instruments and trippy psychedelic rock elements produced some of the finest music to emerge from South America in the early 1970s: Congregacion from Chile, Arco Iris from Argentina, Wara from Bolivia, and Genesis from Colombia. To this list of excellent bands should be added that of El Polen, artistic commune from Peru founded in 1969. Integrating European folk music with Peruvian indigenous music elements, El Polen used mandolin and violin in place of electric guitars; cello instead of bass; and percussion instead of drums. The result was a unique style where violins sounded like fuzz guitars. El Polen's debut album, Cholo, was released in 1972 as the original soundtrack music for a film about soccer player Hugo Cholo Sotil. The opening track, 'La Flor' is a psychedelic acoustic improvisation akin to the music of Brazilian legend Lula Cortez. Other tracks like 'Sitting Dreaming' and 'Tondero', start with Andean folk elements and evolve into long psychedelic excursions. For many years it was thought that the original reel-to-reel tapes were missing, but after laborious research our friends at Repsychled found the master tapes. Along with the tapes was another important discovery: an unreleased track by El Polen featuring vocals by Grammy Award winner and current Peruvian Minister of Culture, Susana Baca. This special mini-LP sleeve edition comes with a replica ticket for the first El Polen concert in 1971, a replica poster from the second El Polen concert in 1971, and a black and white photo of the band taken in Barranco. A limited, numbered edition of 400 copies, remastered from the original master tapes."

Artist:	A PASSING FANCY
Title:	A Passing Fancy
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	PACE 034LN-CD

"Revised and expanded version of the much beloved Canadian pop-psych album by A Passing Fancy! This edition has been a long time in the works, with most of the delay resulting from our efforts to make something out of the fragments of mangled stereo master tape that still exist (the previous edition was in mono). All the delays left us with plenty of time to consider the excellence of the album, which has surprising variety: tough garage rock (lead track 'I'm Losing Tonight'); beat music influence (singles tracks 'A Passing Fancy,' 'You're Going Out Of Your Mind,' and 'She Phoned'); sunshine pop ('I Believe in Sunshine'); songs with a social conscience (the discursive 'Spread Out'); and a great acid rock meltdown ('Your Trip'). These same delays also left us ample opportunity to uncover what had become of the various band members. A bit of searching led us to A Passing Fancy lead singer, rhythm guitarist, and primary song-writer Jay Telfer. He supplied a band history and lyrics for all the songs to round out this revamped edition."

Artist:	FOLKLORDS, THE
Title:	Release The Sunshine
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	PACE 047LN-CD

"Fourteen perfect examples of dreamy, sunshine-infused pop psychedelia with a folk bent, originally released by independent Canadian label Allied Records in 1968. When we first issued this terrific album on CD many years ago, our booklet featured the few scraps of information on the band we could find. We challenged 'anyone out there' to find some information on this elusive and intriguing band. Well, we're pleased to say that someone took us up on that offer, and that someone was band leader Tom Waschkowski (credited on the album as Tom Martin). He graciously offered us a band history, lyrics, some terrific photos and best of all, a rare pre-album single that the trio had self-released. This allows us to offer up as perfect a reissue of this album as humanly possible. The Folklords Release the Sunshine is a captivating album, a notion shared by the many collectors world-wide who fight for original copies, which are few and far between. Strange thing is, if someone were to say to us that the Folklords album was released by Creation Records in 1987, it would be difficult to argue. Why?, you well may ask. Our answer: the chiming guitars, the rattle of tambourine, the dreaminess, and the meandering harmony vocals of Martha Johnson place the Folklords closer to Biff Bang Pow, the Jesus and Mary Chain, the Revolving Paint Dream or even My Bloody Valentine's debut, Ecstasy and Wine (granted, at a much slower speed, and without the rampant fuzz guitar). Glorious remastered sound, as the twelve LP tracks were taken directly from the master-tapes; the two bonus tracks come from the rare, privately issued non-LP single, which features haunting, drum-less versions of 'Forty Second River' and 'Unspoken Love,' both of which were re-recorded for the original Allied album. A 16-page booklet includes a band history lyrics, and comments on the songs by Tom Martin."

Artist:	49TH PARALLEL
Title:	49th Parallel
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	PACE 048CD

"First proper version of this legendary Canadian psych album, supplemented by eleven bonus tracks, two of which have never seen reissue before now. The group's first two singles, 'Laborer'/'You Do Things' (1967), as well as 'She Says' and 'Citizen Freak' (1968), are prime pieces of pouting Prairie punk. In the spring of 1969, the 49th Parallel had a hit in Canada and the USA with 'Twilight Woman,' a lovely song that sounded like a poppier, slightly folkier version of what bands like Tomorrow were doing in England. The success of the singles resulted in the release of the 49th Parallel's only album, on MGM affiliate Maverick Records. All hyperbole aside, this is easily one of the top Canadian rock albums ever released. The album contains excellent material, including the pulsating psychedelia of 'Lazerander Filchy' and the ultra-strange '(The) Magician,' as well as the quintessential punk edginess of 'Now That I'm a Man' and '(Come On Little Child &) Talk To Me.' Dan Lowe's blazing fuzz guitar work stands out, particularly on 'Missouri,' and when challenged by organist Jack Velker's brilliant stuttering work on 'Eye To Eye,' 'Talk To Me' and 'The People'. Strong melodies, great playing and sympathetic production make for a must- own collection of songs."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Groove Club Vol. 2: Cambodia Rock Spectacular!
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	2LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	LION 112LP

"Recorded in raw, bare bones conditions, mostly live and with traditional Cambodian instruments finding their place alongside found keyboards or guitars, the music of the Khmer rock musicians transformed the nightlife of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh -- and many years later seduced countless listeners around the world with their groovy sound. The rise to power of the anti-Western, fanatical Khmer Rouge in 1975 caused drastic and permanent changes for Cambodia. These years saw social upheaval in the form of massive famines, selective executions and a brutal campaign of genocide responsible for the deaths of an estimated two million Cambodians, many in the notorious 'killing fields.' Even the most famous and beloved Khmer musicians could not escape. Sinn Sisamouth ('the Emperor of Khmer Music'), Ros Sereysothea ('The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital'), and Pan Ron met their deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The music of these honored musicians and others live on in this exclusive 2xLP edition, assembled with much love and respect for the artists who made the Khmer rock scene as thrilling as we find it to be. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating, sometimes sweet and lyrical, but always moving. Cambodia Rock Spectacular! captures that deep soulfulness ingrained in the best music; perhaps the most definitive collection of classic Cambodian rock music to appear on the scene to date." Housed in a gatefold sleeve with extensive liner notes.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Groove Club Vol. 3: Cambodia Rock Intensified!
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	2LP
Price:	$21.00
Catalog #:	LION 113LP

Sister album to Cambodia Rock Spectacular! (LION 112LP). "Cambodian rock music is (rightfully) adored in Cambodia. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating (in an Ethiopiques way) or sweet and lyrical, but always moving and with that deep soulfulness, regardless of actual musical genre or style, that singles out the best music. We have assembled what we consider to be the most definitive collection of classic Cambodian rock music to appear thus far: crucial Khmer rock tracks, assembled with love and respect for the artists who made the Khmer rock scene as thrilling as we find it to be. Without further ado, welcome to Cambodia Rock Intensified." Housed in a gatefold sleeve with extensive liner notes.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Groove Club Vol. 1: La Confiserie Magique
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$16.00
Catalog #:	LION 641CD

"Fabrice, 17 years old, is a minet, or to say it better, a mod from one of the posh neighborhoods, the 16th district in Paris and such 'golden ghettoes' as Auteuil, Neuilly and Passy. Fab' likes to have his 'ronron at the Drugstore', as Dutronc sang it (an untranslatable wordplay on ronron, 'cat food', and a minet - 'a kitten' - purring). Fabrice attends Henri IV prestigious high-school; his father, a businessman who made a fortune selling plastic flowers, and his mother, a former model from Jacques Fath, are never home, a cozy home indeed! With his Weston shoes, a slim-fitting suit by Renoma and his haircut modeled on those of Anglo-Saxons musicians appearing on French EPs, Fabrice dreams of Carnaby Street and the Sunset Strip. He is not alone: there's his sister Stephanie, 16, who wears a fringe, a mock Courreges dress, a pink Shetland pullover and white boots. Stephanie reads Salut Les Copains and Mademoiselle Age Tendre, which both fuel her passion for Francoise Hardy, Zouzou, Twiggy and the Beatles. The Groove Club is happy to present twenty-two records that we dug out as a tribute to Fabrice's kinky faves. We imagine those magic years 1966-71 (with two inclusions from 1976 & 77) to have been as you can hear it here -- truly decadent pop-psych, as beautiful as the cathedral of Evry, whether it's the arch-hippie Lolita taking us beyond the limits of pop music, singing songs which make one dream of Anicee Alvina riding her bicycle in a red dress, or whether it's sunny and stunning, or brooding and tinged with sadness. And we sense that, paradoxical as it may seem, although we have imagined a parallel cosmos to the Grande Heures of pop culture, we are not far from the truth. Popisme fantastique!"

Artist:	LOS DUG DUG'S
Title:	Dug Dug's
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 649CD

"Here it is - Los Dug Dug's self titled debut (also known as 'Lost in My World'): the 'must have' first album (1971) from psychedelic guru Armando Nava and his band, recorded after their failed trip to NYC did not produce the stardom they had been promised--pain and disappointment sparking great song-writing on this, the first Mexican psych album in English. After an extended stint as the house band at Tijuana strip joint Fantasitas, Los Dug Dug's relocated to Mexico City in 1966. They quickly garnered a rabid fan following there, which resulted in the Dug Dug's signing to RCA Records and cutting a series of singles (the band also headlined a pair of 1967 films, El Mundo Loco de los Jovenes and Cinco de Chocolate y Una de Fresa). Upon returning to Tijuana in 1968, Los Dug Dug's took up residence at the popular Sans Sous Ci club. An American tourist was so impressed that he offered to bankroll a trip for the band to New York City. The group played a handful of live dates and recorded a few demos, but having no money to pay the union fees necessary to earn them the opportunity to play NYC's larger venues left them with little choice but to return to Mexico. Los Dug Dug's immediately began work on their first LP for RCA Mexico, little knowing at the time that it would become a classic of psychedelia. Long-simmering creative differences between band leaders Nava and Jorge de la Torre forced the latter's resignation after the album was completed; by the time the resulting psychedelic opus appeared in 1971, the first incarnation of Los Dug Dug's was essentially no more. All that remained was this heavy, explosive album, a record which captures the fever/dream humidity of flower children running amok on a July afternoon. Essential." Packaged in a paste-on mini-LP sleeve with a dust sleeve and obi strip.

Artist:	LOS DUG DUG'S
Title:	Smog
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$15.00
Catalog #:	LION 650CD

"The second album (1972) from psychedelic guru Armando Nava and his band is in Spanish this time, as all other Mexican bands were by now singing in English. The recording sessions were tumultuous: after the band -- now stripped down to a power trio -- had recorded just three songs, Nava stormed out of the sessions and locked himself in his house for fifteen days. Everyone on the outside worried about his safety, but Armando was fine: he kept himself busy reconfiguring the entire album, including penning the punishing riffs that form the central motif of the mesmerizing twelve-minute medley that explodes over the album's entire first side. So again, as with the genesis of the Dug Dug's debut album (also available from Lion Productions), the end result of all the tumult surrounding the band was a great album. There's no doubt that the Dug Dug's toughened up their sound on Smog: to some people they sound like a crazy Mexican version of Jethro Tull, and to others like a Spanish speaking incarnation of MC5. No matter how you look at it, this is tremendous progressive-influenced hard rock, with a new chunky sound. It is clearly among a small group of elite recordings from the psychedelic age; it is also possibly the best Mexican hard rock album of all time." Packaged in a paste-on mini-LP sleeve with a dust sleeve and obi strip.

Artist:	VA
Title:	Groove Club Vol. 2: Cambodia Rock Spectacular!
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	LION 655CD

"Recorded in raw, bare bones conditions, mostly live and with traditional Cambodian instruments finding their place alongside found keyboards or guitars, the music of the Khmer rock musicians transformed the nightlife of the Cambodian capital, Phnom Penh -- and many years later seduced countless listeners around the world with their groovy sound. The rise to power of the anti-Western, fanatical Khmer Rouge in 1975 caused drastic and permanent changes for Cambodia. These years saw social upheaval in the form of massive famines, selective executions and a brutal campaign of genocide responsible for the deaths of an estimated two million Cambodians, many in the notorious 'killing fields.' Even the most famous and beloved Khmer musicians could not escape. Sinn Sisamouth ('the Emperor of Khmer Music'), Ros Sereysothea ('The Golden Voice of the Royal Capital'), and Pan Ron met their deaths at the hands of the Khmer Rouge. The music of these honored musicians and others live on in this exclusive collection, assembled with much love and respect for the artists who made the Khmer rock scene as thrilling as we find it to be. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating, sometimes sweet and lyrical, but always moving. Cambodia Rock Spectacular! captures that deep soulfulness ingrained in the best music; and along with its sister album, Cambodia Rock Intensified!, it is perhaps the most definitive collection of classic Cambodian rock music to appear on the scene to date. Packaged in a deluxe case book with a 36-page booklet filled with rare photos and info on the khmer rock movement."

Artist:	VA
Title:	Groove Club Vol. 3: Cambodia Rock Intensified!
Label:	LION PRODUCTIONS
Format:	CD
Price:	$18.00
Catalog #:	LION 656CD

Sister album to Cambodia Rock Spectacular! (LION 655CD). "Cambodian rock music is (rightfully) adored in Cambodia. The music is wild and anarchic, rhythmic and undulating (in an Ethiopiques way) or sweet and lyrical, but always moving and with that deep soulfulness, regardless of actual musical genre or style, that singles out the best music. We have assembled what we consider to be the most definitive collection of classic Cambodian rock music to appear thus far: crucial Khmer rock tracks, assembled with love and respect for the artists who made the Khmer rock scene as thrilling as we find it to be. Without further ado, welcome to Cambodia Rock Intensified. Packaged in a deluxe case book with a 36-page booklet filled with rare photos and info on the khmer rock movement."

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