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LP
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NA 5107LP
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2017 repress. "Definitive reissue of the legendary late '60s Los Angeles psychedelic masterpiece: restored/remastered transfer, pitch/speed corrected for the first time ever. Extensive booklet contains dozens of unpublished photos and images, a thorough investigation into this landmark album, and an extensive interview with Damon. Damon's Song of a Gypsy is generally regarded as one of the finest privately-pressed psychedelic rock records and has, for over twenty years, been one of the most sought after late '60s American rock artifacts in the world, with the scant original copies that exist exchanging hands for thousands of dollars. Song of a Gypsy has remained high on its own plateau: out of reach and indescribable. It seemed that this homespun, funky psychedelic monument borrowed from nothing and sprung from nowhere. Damon's unique, introspective songwriting and nuanced voice, the interplay between he and lead guitarist Charlie Carey and an atmosphere that so perfectly captured the last bloom of the flower power era as it decayed into the dark haze of the '70s underground could only have arisen from a spark of auspicious genius. But did it? Over the past seven years, we at Now-Again have been obsessed with Song of a Gypsy and have researched the album, and Damon's life-arch. This anthology is our attempt to put forth a convincing argument for the overwhelming importance of this album, a unique high point from within but also outside of America's psychedelic movement. We follow Damon on his 'predestined life as a gypsy' from his birth into a tight knit Italian American family in Rochester, New York, through the various Los Angeles communities that he would call home. We analyze the entirety of his oeuvre, from his first surf-rock single in 1960, through schmaltzy pop, convincing doo-wop, blued eyed soul and garage rock in the mid '60s. And we focus on the year 1967, the founding of his label Ankh, and his transformation from a pop hopeful to the tortured soul who would create Song of a Gypsy. We attempt to make sense of the seminal moments that made this transformation possible in a crucial moment in America's psychedelic high water mark in this, the definitive reissue of this album."
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2CD
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NA 5107CD
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"Deluxe reissue of the legendary late '60s Los Angeles psychedelic masterpiece: restored/remastered transfer, pitch/speed corrected for the first time ever. Contains second disc: the entirety of Damon's '60s recordings, and never-before-heard demos. Extensive booklet contains dozens of unpublished photos and images, a thorough investigation into this landmark album, and an extensive interview with Damon. Damon's Song of a Gypsy is generally regarded as one of the finest privately-pressed psychedelic rock records and has, for over twenty years, been one of the most sought after late '60s American rock artifacts in the world, with the scant original copies that exist exchanging hands for thousands of dollars. Song of a Gypsy has remained high on its own plateau: out of reach and indescribable. It seemed that this homespun, funky psychedelic monument borrowed from nothing and sprung from nowhere. Damon's unique, introspective songwriting and nuanced voice, the interplay between he and lead guitarist Charlie Carey and an atmosphere that so perfectly captured the last bloom of the flower power era as it decayed into the dark haze of the '70s underground could only have arisen from a spark of auspicious genius. But did it? Over the past seven years, we at Now-Again have been obsessed with Song of a Gypsy and have researched the album, and Damon's life-arch. This anthology is our attempt to put forth a convincing argument for the overwhelming importance of this album, a unique high point from within but also outside of America's psychedelic movement. We follow Damon on his 'predestined life as a gypsy' from his birth into a tight knit Italian American family in Rochester, New York, through the various Los Angeles communities that he would call home. We compile, and analyze the entirety of his oeuvre, from his first surf-rock single in 1960, through schmaltzy pop, convincing doo-wop, blued eyed soul and garage rock in the mid 60s. And we focus on the year 1967, the founding of his label Ankh, and his transformation from a pop hopeful to the tortured soul who would create Song of a Gypsy. To that end, we've uncovered demo recordings and acetates that show an artist in transition, and we attempt to make sense of the seminal moments that made this transformation possible in a crucial moment in America's psychedelic high water mark."
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CD
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XENOS 001CD
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2021 warehouse find, last copies. "Damon. This is the artistic name of David Del Conte, a genius American gypsy musician who is responsible for probably the rarest and most sought-after psychedelic music album of all time. We're talking about his debut album, Song Of A Gypsy, which was originally released in 1969. This album has a totally unique sound, with the 'crooner-like' voice of Damon, the omnipresent melodic fuzz guitar of Charlie Carey and truly atmospheric melodies. Vernon Joynson, on his latest Fuzz Acid & Flowers book, says about this album: 'If there really is such a thing as psychedelic music, this is surely it. The Damon album is an essential purchase.' This is a new CD version of the album. Reproduction of the original first pressing, in textured carton and golden graved lettering, gatefold cover with brief liners in the inside."
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CD
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DAMON
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Late 1990's reissue of this US private pressing monster from the late '60s -- available again. This has been booted twice before (UK's Afterglow and on LP via the "fuck you" Fanny label out of Belgium), but this is the first legit issue, from original masters, via the resurfaced hands of Damon himself. Originally recorded in 1969 and released in some micro-quantity of non-distributed LPs, the album documents Damon's travelling-gypsy-psych concoction and will either blow you into the stratosphere with its precise period-evocations, or have you in a rage of tears. Personally, I find the exotic percussion, the lovely zap-fuzz psych guitar and the invigoratingly heart-stopping hippie-era insight of Mr. Damon's lyrical genius one of life's more rewarding small pleasures. The final track, "The Road of Life," a metaphysical battle where "some wear suits, some wear beads," caps off one of the finest philosophical acid-comedy records of all time. This record is also in Paul Major's "Top Five of Weird Underground Psych/Folk", as revealed in Vice magazine.
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