|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
LP
|
|
BONF 001LP
|
Bonfire Records present a reissue of The Free Design's Heaven/Earth, originally released in 1969. A vocal band that made it through, the Free Design have been more than an exception in the glittering world of the psychedelic circus. That was the Age of Aquarius in the end, but in the long run the four-piece had an enormous impact on the younger generation. Released in 1969 Heaven/Earth is a cornerstone on its own and 30 years later the band had a sort of epiphany, thanks to the spanning interest of artists such as Cornelius, Beck, Stereolab, and crate digger master Madlib. By now the Free Design are considered in the same league of The Beach Boys and The Carpenters. Under the influence of the Hi-Lo's and Peter, Paul and Mary, the Free Design rose through the folk scene of the Greenwich Village coffee houses, achieving national prominence with the enchanting "Kites Are Fun". They would prove to be at least the artistic equals of such popular contemporaries as The Association, The Mamas and the Papas, The Fifth Dimension, and Harper's Bizarre, but without quite matching their commercial success. Rather than be dictated to and diluted by the majors, they chose to commit to the artistic freedom and potential to develop offered them by the producer Enoch Light through his independent set up Project 3 Total Sound. Licensed by Cherry Red. 180 gram vinyl.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 005CD
|
"The Free Design, those oft-overlooked legends of '60s soft pop, drew inspiration from such diverse musicians as Duke Ellington and the Mamas & The Papas. Today, with its sweet harmonies and even sweeter lyrics, the Free Design inspires such diverse musicians as Belle & Sebastian and Jurassic 5. Listen to the band's acclaimed third album, Heaven/Earth, to experience a sound that has awed the in-the-know for more than three decades. The New York-based family band -- siblings Bruce, Chris, Sandy and younger sister Ellen -- recorded Heaven/Earth in 1969 for acclaimed producer Enoch Light's Project 3 label. The album is quintessential Free Design with 'a sweet sound that caressed the aural taste buds and floated deliciously,' in the words of rock historian Kingsley Abbott, 'daring listeners to follow it.' Chris Dedrick's imaginative lyrics of both innocence and irony, and the band's tight vocals and dreamy enthusiasm, shine on '2002 -- A Hit Song,' 'Dorian Benediction,' and the album's other delights. As a special treat and for the first time on CD, fans will finally be able to enjoy eight ultra-rare bonus tracks from the Project 3 archives: Ellen Dedrick's 1969 solo 45, as well as six Tony Mottola cuts recorded in 1968 and featuring 'The Groovies' on background vocals (aka the Free Design)."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 004CD
|
"Fans of the Beach Boys, the 5th Dimension and other seminal pop artists have a gaping hole in their music collections if it doesn't contain Kites Are Fun, the 1967 soft-psych-pop masterpiece from the Free Design. Never heard of the band? You're not alone. Although now admired by audiophiles such as Beck, Stereolab and the Polyphonic Spree, the Free Design never achieved mainstream fame -- an injustice that still puzzles many critics. In 1966, the family act was filling New York City coffee houses with dreamy, deceptively complex harmonies when acclaimed producer Enoch Light signed the siblings -- Bruce, Chris, and Sandy Dedrick -- to his Project 3 label. One year later, the Free Design debuted with Kites Are Fun. Nine of the album's songs are originals, notably the title track, which became an instant soft-pop classic; well-chosen covers, including the Beatles' 'Michelle' and Simon & Garfunkels' 'The 59th Street Bridge Song,' complete the collection." Remastered, with liner notes by Cornelius & Michael White, plus 2 bonus tracks.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 013CD
|
"The Free Design make childhood a bit more psychedelic with this 1970's children's album, featuring many of the group's classic favorites, plus a number of new cuts." "Back in 1969, we were all big fans of PPM and when Mary Travers became a mother, they released the Peter, Paul and Mommy album. I think it was one of the seeds that resulted in the germination of the Free Design's Sings for Very Important People album. Other contributing factors included the fact that we were all parents by then and that several ('Bubbles', 'Kites', 'Daniel Dolphin') of our songs already on our other albums were ideal for a children's album. Our father, Art Dedrick, a prolific composer of concert band, jazz band and choral music had a song he had written years before called 'Little Cowboy' that was perfect for the album and Sandy's 'Love You' fit right in. Sesame Street the TV program was in full swing and that theme was one we had fun with in the studio. The album is full of lyrical references either to our childhood or that of our own children." --The Free Design's Bruce Dedrick (excerpt from CD liner notes). Remastered, with 2 "bonus tracks" (outtakes from a chapstick commercial?).
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 007CD
|
"Originally released in 1970 on Enoch Light's Project 3 label, Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love served as the Free Design's turning point: mixing the group's timeless elements of soft-psych with a dose of funk! In the words of Free Design historian Robbie Baldock, 'Stars is where the Free Design gets funky!' With Stars/Time/Bubbles/Love the group's fourth album, chief Free Design songwriter Chris Dedrick continued to develop his experimental approach to composing, songwriting, and arranging, while beginning to introduce his love of jazz, gospel singing, and the Motown sound. Even the Jackson Pollack inspired-album art showcased a change of direction for the Dedricks, illustrating the group's contention that, with this album, they were pushing the Free Design sound out in completely new directions. As an added bonus, the CD version includes the previously unreleased track 'To A Black Boy', an undiscovered studio gem from circa 1970 and composed by Chris Dedrick. Plus, the 1970 single version of 'Butterflies Are Free.'"
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 006CD
|
"Light In The Attic presents the Free Design's brilliant 1968 sophomore album You Could Be Born Again. After hitting the charts with their 1967 debut Kites Are Fun, You Could be Born Again is the sound of a band discovering what they are capable of, amid the excitement of what is to come. Beautiful and elaborate originals intertwine with classic '60s pop hits, arranged in such a way that they could literally claim ownership. Duke Ellington's celestial 'I Like the Sunrise' takes on a life of its own, dazzling the listener and reminding one of Gil Evans, while original tunes such as 'I Found Love' unearth Chris Dedrick writing one of the great moments in pop, though history doesn't know it. The album's closing number entitled 'An Elegy' sees the Free Design at its starkest, musically and lyrically, in the group's entire career, serving as a powerful tribute to Dwight Dedrick, who died in Vietnam the same year of this release. In You Could Be Born Again, the Free Design master the ability to cover previous songs with an innovative and unsullied feel! A feat only do-able by the best of the best! Three decades later and the Dedricks influence still rings strong -- the Polyphonic Spree, Madlib, Belle & Sebastian. As an added bonus, the CD version features two Free Design Christmas classics, originally released in 1968." With a 16-page full-color booklet and new liner notes by Sean O'Hagan (High Llamas).
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
LITA 016CD
|
Early 2006 release. "Three years in the making, the Free Design Redesigned series comes to its logical conclusion. Compiling both vinyl-only volumes of the critically-acclaimed series and including 3 exclusive bonus tracks onto one CD, Redesigned features a stellar selection of today's finest music makers. All have risen to the challenge of reworking classic tunes from '60s soft-pysch masters, The Free Design. Redesigned contains 19 radical reinterpretations for the club, home, or hi-fi. Highlights include Stones Throw's official beat conductor Madlib, who turns 'Where Do I Go' into an Afro-funk celebration. Belle & Sebastian's Chris Geddes envisions '2002 - A Hit Song' as a four-on-the-floor stomper and Grey Album mastermind Danger Mouse & Def Jux legend Murs make their debut collaboration with a wicked twist on the unreleased Free Design track 'To a Black Boy.' Caribou (formerly Manitoba) delivers an insane 8-minute free jazz psych opus while the Super Furry Animals and Stereolab & the High Llamas celebrate their love of the group with their trademark sound. Previously unreleased works include Styrofoam's (Morr Music) fresh take on 'I Found Love,' Koushik with Dudley Perkins (Stones Throw), and renowned turntablist Kid Koala & Dynomite D rework the darkest song in the Free Design's catalog, 'An Elegy.' Far from being another boring tribute piece, Redesigned's musical testimonials speak for themselves. Everyone involved has sought something deeper than your average remix; obvious testaments to the Free Design's unique brand of feel good pop-pysch."
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
CD
|
|
MA 052CD
|
Originally released in 2001, this release saw the return of one of the most idiosyncratic and original groups from the sixties: The Free Design -- cited as a main influence by artists like Stereolab (who named an entire EP after the group), The High Llamas, Saint Etienne and Cornelius (who reissued their sixties recordings on his own Trattoria label). The group recorded seven albums between 1967 and 1973, and originals of these albums are now extremely sought-after. Free Design main man Chris Dedrick agreed to a one-off reformation in 2000 to contribute to the Marina compilation of Caroline Now! The Music of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys. This led directly to a full-scale reunion, and Cosmic Peekaboo presented the first new material by The Free Design in almost 30 years. Performed by the original line up that recorded their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun, Cosmic Peekaboo is a complex masterpiece of unique beauty, abstract vocal harmonies and truly unusual arrangements of all new original songs. Over 30 years, The Free Design remain separate from the pack with a completely unique artistic vision. Cosmic Peekaboo is as heavenly and artful as pop can be.
|
|
|
Artist |
Title |
Format |
Label |
Catalog # |
|
|
LP
|
|
MA 052LP
|
LP version. Originally released in 2001, this release saw the return of one of the most idiosyncratic and original groups from the sixties: The Free Design. The group recorded seven albums between 1967 and 1973, and originals of these albums are now extremely sought-after. F Performed by the original line up that recorded their 1967 debut album Kites Are Fun, Cosmic Peekaboo is a complex masterpiece of unique beauty, abstract vocal harmonies and truly unusual arrangements of all new original songs. Over 30 years, The Free Design remain separate from the pack with a completely unique artistic vision. Cosmic Peekaboo is as heavenly and artful as pop can be.
|
|
|
|