It seems like I'm catching up with some modern psych classics lately. After Hills' "Frid" a not too long while ago, I now got the vinyl reissues of two more albums which are (or should be) absolute classics.
BRIAN ELLIS - Quipu (sun marble vinyl 2LP) (2011/2021)
Multi-instrumentalist Brian Ellis was already familiar to me as a key figure in the San Diego psychedelic rock scene as well as in the El Paraiso Records section of my record collection through his performances with Psicomagia, Monarch, the Ellis/Munk Ensemble and of course his very own Brian Ellis Group.
Organ, synths, saxophone, guitars, bass, percussions... you name it, Brian Ellis plays it. So far every record with his participation I know is at least very good, if not absolutely brilliant.
Yet still "Quipo", that solo album from 2011, which has now been released on vinyl for the first time by Necio Records, succeeds in standing out.
With the exception of the drums on three of the seven tracks Ellis performed everything on this double album by himself - and it sounds like the live jam of a lifetime by the some greatest psychedelic jazz fusion freaks of a generation.
Ellis is the Dark Magus burning The Inner Mounting Mekanik Flame. He's walking on all the paths Miles Davis' electric phase and everything spawned by it, have build with an ease, as if he had been on stage with all the masters themselves. From the enlightened to the haunted - he channels it all. And then on side D with "Walomendem" he goes full Vander with a stunning Zeuhl epic, chants and all, an enormous offering to the almighty singularity which is Magma.
"Quipo" sounds like it should be a much more revered classic than it is. The good thing about this being a sleeper for the broader audience is that even though this beautiful transparent orange vinyl gatefold will probably already be sold out when I'm releasing this review, there's still a good chance to find the original CD for a relatively reasonable price.
THE HEADS - Relaxing With... The Heads (25th Anniversary Reissue) (silver / yellow with red splatter vinyl 2LP) (1996/2021)
An undisputed genre classic, yet for musically totally different reasons is the the 1996 debut of Bristol's THE HEADS. It's an album I didn't think I would need to have until very recently, because I already own a copy of their live recording from their Roadburn Festival performance in 2015, a double album which already has all the hits.
But then this anniversary edition includes a full bonus LP with a their first John Peel Session on the A-Side and tracks from two BBC Radio sessions plus a former 7" B-Side on the uhm... B-Side.
(Completionists might check out the digital version on Bandcamp - see below the review -, which includes even more of those.)
And yeah, this stuff kills live, so that was the kicker for me to want this. Just bring it on!
The fun with "Relaxing With... The Heads" already starts with the iconic, but also quite misleading cover and title. Of course you can relax to whatever you want to, but this breed of space punk psych'n'roll is just wild! The Heads are utilizing primitivism ans sheer energy, but they do it in their very own distinct and almost timeless way, that sets them apart from everyone else - and which stills feels astonishingly fresh.
The album absolutely kicks ass, and so does the bonus material of this edition. However, in all honesty, the last five minutes of "Coogan's Bluff" alone would already make this worthwhile. Fuck yes, The Heads, man!
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