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LP
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LION 177LP
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"In February of 2009, Jim Valice of Index discovered three reels in a cardboard box stuffed in a closet of his parents home in Michigan. These songs from 1969 were on those reels. Fourteen original compositions by Index, seven making their vinyl debut, the other seven released for the first time ever, all transferred from the original tapes! Index was once again a pure power trio by 1969. There was massive demand for Index personal performances. Index was not interested. It was becoming more difficult for guitarist John Ford to travel back from Yale University to Detroit on a weekly basis. Index wanted to push the bounds of their own creativity. They chose to use their limited time together to write and record. Index were the epitome of a DIY band. They made great use of the newly developed sound on sound (SOS) technology. It allowed Index to record basic tracks (guitars, drums and lead vocals); with SOS they then could add keyboards, additional guitar tracks and vocals. A musical revolution in miniature! The addition of Tom Ballew on bass in 1968 made a positive impact on Index's sound. He and drummer Jim Valice laid down a musical foundation in and around which John would weave his guitar. 'Livin' In Detroit' and 'Kick It Out' are two perfect examples of that dynamic. Here you'll also find over-the-top psychedelic numbers like 'Street Crime' and the fast version of 'Yesterday and Today.' But on this album you'll also find mature romantic ballads filled with angst, such as 'Love is Here To Stay' and 'I Walk Alone.' The hip-shaking, organ-driven '432 Lakeshore' highlights another groovier aspect to Index's sound. The music of Index has been lauded by music heads for decades with good reason: the band has a druggie sound, with songs full of feedback and fuzzy guitars, hazy guitar riffs and loud pushy rhythms. It's wonderful, droning, murky and introspective: 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 or Felt to name three out of a thousand. Or in the case of the previously unreleased song 'Something Sweet,' The Jesus & Mary Chain. It's as if Index projected their sound through time and space, creating sonic templates for future artists. Index continues to inspire bands all over the world even to this day. Listen to Index and feed your soul. All tracks are new to vinyl +this is first release in any format for seven out of the fourteen total tracks. Includes a 4-panel color insert, written by Index drummer Jim Valice, detailing the band's rock and roll adventures, replete with rare photos."
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Cassette
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LION 102CS
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Black Album on cassette. Five-panel insert; Edition of 300. "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."
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LP
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LION 176LP
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2019 repress. "All of the original compositions from the band's two self-released holy grails of psychedelia (the Black Album and the Red Album, from 1967-68) combined into one collection -- all newly transferred from the original tapes! Most of you have no doubt heard of records that have been touted as 'mind blowing', 'fuzz monsters', or 'lost/undiscovered classics'. The raves rarely turn out to be justified. That's certainly not the case with the music of Index -- if anything, the raves underplay the essence of the band's music, which is seething with cavernous reverb, snaky guitar lines, and downer lyrics. It is fantastically minimalist, starkly atmospheric, and sprinkled with ferocious guitar work. In the mid 1960's, Detroit Michigan was a thriving industrial city. But 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 Viet Nam, 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 those affluent suburbs just outside Detroit, that Index was formed. The music of Index has been lauded by (and bootlegged by) music heads for decades, and with good reason: it is unexpected, 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 pushy rhythms. And in there amongst the echoing canyons of sound you'll find some snotty post-punk attitude wrapped up in all that trippy velvet fuzz. It's a wonderful bleak sound, droning and murky and introspective -- 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... you know, artists like Joy Division or the Fall or Felt to name three out of a thousand. Includes a 4-panel color insert, written by Index drummer Jim Valice, detailing the band's rock and roll adventures, replete with rare photos."
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