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Rare LPs from the 70’s and 80’s by guitarists Rick Deitrick, Tom Armstrong and Larry Conklin/Jochen Blum are now available here on the site. Praised by Aquarium Drunkard, MOJO, PopMatters, Folk Radio UK and many more, these LPs are part of an ongoing series of reissues by artists featured on Tompkins Square’s Imaginational Anthem vol 8 : The Private Press 2LP set.
Tompkins Square has reissued two albums by Texas singer/songwriter Will Beeley – the self-released mega-rare (only 200 copies) private press LP Gallivantin’ from 1971, and Passing Dream, originally released by Malaco Records in 1979.
Recorded in San Antonio, Gallivantin’ shows Beeley’s heartfelt, folky side – a wistful set of original tunes, plus a cover of Bob Dylan’s “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere” and a spaced-out, 10 minute+ Eastern-influenced psych take on Buffy Sainte-Marie’s “Little Wheel Spin And Spin / Co’Dine”.
Recorded in Jackson, Mississippi, Passing Dream reveals the shifting musical direction of opposite sides of the 70’s – a tougher, huskier, more alt-country sound emerging, presaging modern day troubadours like Chris Stapleton and Jamey Johnson. Released by Malaco Records in 1979, the album features the very first studio credit by guitarist Larry Campbell (Bob Dylan, Levon Helm), along with drummer James Stroud (Marshall Tucker Band, Eddie Rabbitt), keyboardist Carson Whitsett (Paul Simon, Tony Joe White) and other crack studio players.
Now a truck driver living in New Mexico, Will Beeley recently recorded his first new album since 1979’s Passing Dream. Produced by Jerry David DeCicca of The Black Swans (who also produced Larry Jon Wilson’s final album), the new one features Michael Guerra (The Mavericks), and is mixed by Stuart Sikes (Loretta Lynn’s Van Lear Rose, Cat Power’s The Greatest). The album is slated for release on Tompkins Square sometime in 2018.
Limited edition LP available exclusively at independent record stores on Record Store Day, April 22.
San Francisco’s Tompkins Square label is proud to announce the reissue of Meredith Monk’s 1971 debut LP, Key.
Composer, singer, director/choreographer, creator of new opera, musical theater works, films and installations, Meredith Monk is one of the most unique and influential artists of our time. Awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Obama in 2015, Monk has blazed her own influential trail through music and movement over the past 50 years. Pitchfork noted in a recent review of her latest ECM release, ‘On Behalf of Nature’: “Meredith Monk’s influence as a singer and composer extends through Björk, Joanna Newsom and beyond.”
‘Key’ contains Monk’s earliest compositions for voice, composed and performed from 1967-1970. In her words:
“In ‘Key’ I wanted to create a constantly shifting ambience. Each song dealt with a different vocal character, landscape, technical concern or emotional quality. I was trying for a visceral, kinetic song form that had the abstract qualities of a painting or a dance. I knew that I didn’t want to set music to a text; for me, the voice itself was a language which seemed to speak more eloquently than words. I chose certain phonemes for their particular sound qualities. In a sense, each song became a world in itself with its own timbre, texture and impulse.”
The Tompkins Square reissue faithfully reproduces the original 1971 LP on Increase Records, with textured cover and original insert images and notes, exclusively released in a limited edition for Record Store Day – April 22, 2017.
LP – TSQ5371 / Tompkins Square is distributed by INgrooves and Revolver in North America, Cargo UK for Europe.
“Mandel’s trademark sound is as supple and searing as molten steel”
- DOWNBEAT Editor’s Pick
“A storming return to the fray”
-MOJO 4 Stars
“True musical heroes are hard to find, and Snake Pit could be the album that finally gets Mandel his due as a top-shelf guitar savior”
-CHICAGO READER
Harvey Mandel is among the most innovative guitarists to emerge from the Chicago blues scene of the late 1960s. His career began at Twist City and other local hotspots, sharing stages with Muddy Waters, Howlin’ Wolf and Buddy Guy. He came up in that scene alongside Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Bloomfield, Barry Goldberg and Steve Miller, leading to an invitation from Bill Graham to open for Cream at San Francisco’s Fillmore Auditorium in August 1967.
Mandel was a member of Canned Heat, appearing with them at Woodstock. He played on numerous John Mayall albums, and on the Rolling Stones’ 1975 LP Black and Blue (“Hot Stuff”, “Memory Motel”), having auditioned for Mick Taylor’s job, which ultimately went to Ron Wood.
Known for his “tapping” technique and sinewy, sustain-driven phrasing (thus his nickname, “The Snake”), Mandel’s solo albums such as Cristo Redentor, Baby Batter and Righteous have been sampled and drooled over by guitar geeks, DJ’s, and fans of funky, soulful, otherworldly composition.
Harvey’s fifteenth studio LP and his first widely distributed album in 20 years, Snake Pit was recorded in two days at Fantasy Studios in Berkeley, CA. Harvey teamed with fellow Chicago-based musicians Ben Boye (keys), Ryan Jewell (drums), Brian Sulpizio (guitar), and Anton Hatwich (bass), who have all played with singer/songwriter Ryley Walker, among their many other musical pursuits. Harvey and the band had not met previously, nor had they rehearsed. He played snippets of song ideas for the band on his iPhone, and then they would lay down a track in one or two takes. Hard to believe when you hear the album, but that’s exactly how it went down. Minimal overdubs with strings and percussion were added, but mostly what you hear is what happened spontaneously in the studio. The album contains six new original compositions by Mandel and two revisited songs : “Baby Batter” from his 1971 Janus LP of the same name, and “Before Six” by Larry Frazier, which appears on his first album, Cristo Redentor.
Snake Pit marks a spirited return in a career that now spans six decades — all the more intense and poignant given Harvey’s recent battle with cancer.
Read more about Harvey Mandel via Aquarium Drunkard
Track list:
Snake Pit
Space Monkeys
NightinGail
Baby Batter
JackHammer
Buckaroo
Before Six
Ode to B.B.
Harvey Mandel – Guitar
Ben Boye – Keys
Anton Hatwich – Bass
Ryan Jewell – Drums
Brian J Sulpizio – Guitar
Jose Najera – Percussion
Recorded at Fantasy Studios
Real strings arranged and performed by Dick Bright
Produced by Harvey Mandel and Josh Rosenthal
Recorded & mixed by Jesse Nichols
Mastered by George Horn
Original artwork by Sara Gossett
Imaginational Anthem vol. 8 : The Private Press
Out now on Tompkins Square
2LP set (only 500 – ltd ed) / CD / Digital
8th volume of the acclaimed acoustic guitar series focuses on impossibly rare private press recordings 1968-1995
The guy who taught Bob Dylan how to fingerpick. A sitar gifted by Jimi Hendrix. Among other obscure tales …
LISTEN / POST Gary Salzman “The Secret Forces of Nature” (1968)
Tompkins Square label presents the 8th volume of Imaginational Anthem, the acclaimed series focusing on acoustic guitar, particularly in the American Primitive vein.
Since 2005, the series has revived interest in old masters of the genre while also giving many folks their very first taste of artists like William Tyler, Steve Gunn, Chris Forsyth or Daniel Bachman.
Volume 8, compiled by hardcore record collectors Michael Klausman (former used LP buyer for NYC’s recently shuttered Other Music) and Brooks Rice, features some of the best and most obscure private press guitar records virtually no one has heard.
Amidst the obscure entries are bits of rock-star lore; Joe Bethancourt was supposedly given a sitar by an admiring Jimi Hendrix, and Perry Lederman was reportedly responsible for teaching Bob Dylan how to fingerpick. But the true joy of this collection is derived from discovering incredible acoustic guitar performances completely lost to time. Until now.
BINGE-LISTEN TO ALL 8 volumes of Imaginational Anthem on Spotify
2LP Gatefold set (Ltd) : TSQ 5289
CD : TSQ 5272
Irish singer/songwriter Brigid Mae Power has shared stages with Lee Ranaldo, Alasdair Roberts, Richard Dawson, and Ryley Walker. Born in London to a big Irish family, she moved to Ireland (Galway) when she was twelve years old. In addition to the guitar, she plays accordion, baritone ukulele, piano and harmonium; creating hauntingly dreamlike soundscapes.
9/10 – “Masterpiece” – UNCUT
4 stars MOJO
4 Stars Guardian
4 stars Irish Times
Limited edition (500) Red Vinyl
TOUR DATES :
26 Sept Okayama – Inryoji temple
28 Sept Tokyo – Lutheran Ichigaya Hall
29 Sept Tokyo – Fluss
19 October London, UK – St. Pancras Old Church
20 October Briston, UK – Cube Cinema
21 October Oxford, UK – St Barnabas Church
22 October Manchester, UK – St Michaels Church
12 November Münster, DE – Petrikirche
17 December Yorkshire, UK – The Band Room
The first legit reissues of these rare, stellar LP’s by DC-based singer/songwriter Bob Brown. Richie Havens took Bob under his wing, produced both albums, and released them on his Stormy Forest label distributed by MGM. Although they failed to make a commercial impact at the time, cosmic-folk enthusiasts and vinyl-heads have long placed these albums in high esteem alongside the works of exploratory greats like Tim Hardin and Tim Buckley.
First-gen American Primitive guitarist’s new album, Too Late To Die Young, now available on every digital service worldwide.
Tompkins Square label is proud to announce the release of the first commercially available full live concert recording of old-time legend Roscoe Holcomb, out now on LP, CD and via every digital service, worldwide.
Discovered by folklorist John Cohen in 1959 in East Kentucky, Roscoe Holcomb is among the most revered traditional musicians to emerge during the folk boom of the 60’s. A favorite of Bob Dylan (who name-checked him in his 2014 MusiCares speech), Eric Clapton, and many others, Holcomb’s high lonesome singing and driving banjo style can be heard on several classic Folkways recordings.
San Diego Folk Festival 1972 was recorded at the annual event produced by Lou Curtiss, who provides insightful notes on how the concert came together. John Cohen, author of ‘The High Lonesome Sound’ (Steidl) also contributes new notes to the set. Previously unseen photographs from the event were shot by Virginia Curtiss. Jean Ritchie duets with Holcomb on a beautiful eight-minute version of ‘Wandering Boy’.
