Warning : This is a rare item, hardly available on the surface of the globe! Only 2 copies in stock.
Vinyl 7" / 45rpm - / 2014 reissue - limited edition of 500 / with replica labels
1968-USA
Release notes :
Lysergic Sound Distributors, Tucson, Arizona announces the first ever fully authorized, licensed, restored, and remastered reissue of the legendary Graveyard Five 45, featuring “The Graveyard Theme” b/w “The Marble Orchard”. This 45 is one of the true “holy grails” of the garage rock collector world and number 11 on the G100 Collectible U.S. Garage 45’s List. Truly, one of the rarest 45’s in the world, there are only a handful of original copies known to exist and they have sold for more than $4500 when they’ve come on the market.
The Graveyard Five (the band claimed they got their name from a Ouija board session) hailed from Lakeport, California and gigged all around the East Bay. The band was comprised of four musicians but appeared onstage with a coffin, which they considered the fifth member of the group! After winning a battle of the bands contest, the band was awarded a contract with local producer Stan Sweeney, which resulted in the now-legendary single being released on his Stanco label in September 1968.
The A side of the single, “The Graveyard Theme”, an exercise in fuzz guitar excess, was inspired by the Ouija board session in which the band derived it’s name. The legend goes, members of the band sat down at a Ouija board, turned off all the lights, their hands got cold and they heard someone walking outside the window in the gravel. There was no one there! After that, the “Graveyard Five” came to life.
The B side of the single, the fuzz guitar soaked reverb-laden monster, “The Marble Orchard”, was written in Lakeport’s Hartley Cemetery by lead guitarist Louie Shriner and bassist Steve Kuppinger. The song starts off with the thump of a panic stricken heartbeat and then proceeds to tell the true tale of a creepy, wet October night the duo spent in the cemetery where they were convinced they saw something move from behind a tombstone and then heard “a wolfpack howl”.
If the circumstances and subject matter of these songs isn’t enough to scare the socks off of you, the recording studio where these songs were recorded was supposedly haunted by a spectre that provided guest background vocals in the form of a growling noise that’s clearly audible near the end of “The Marble Orchard”.
A true masterpiece of 60’s U.S. garage rock that’s finally available as a reissue after more than 45 years.
Vinyl LP / limited edition / inserts with pictures of the band, posters from live appearances, and a lyric sheet.
Restoration & Remastering at Screw Loose Studios Tucson, AZ.
In memory of two talented artists and great friends, Merl Reagle & Alan Wolney R.I.P.
1969-USA
Release notes :
LYSERGIC SOUND DISTRIBUTORS unearths another unknown buried treasure of pure 1960's underground psychedelia by GREYLOCK MANSION, a potent four piece band that emerged loudly from the Sonoran Desert city of Tucson, Arizona in 1968. There's a total of nine original songs, all of them restored and remastered from the original 1969 studio reels that had been stored for more than 45 years. Six of these songs were never released while three of the songs had been released on two private label 45 micro-pressings in 1970 and 1971.
The sound is a powerful blend of deep underground psych with dominant thick funereal organ, distorted fuzz guitar and effects, and heavy precise drumming. The influence of The Doors and Iron Butterfly is evident as well a touch of early Black Sabbath's slow grinding sludge. Yet for all the desired heaviness, which is plentiful, the lyrics may be even more interesting - generally dark, meaningful, thoughtful words that are masterfully constructed and thought provoking, with mystical, sci-fi and otherworldly themes like time travel, trips to Mars , death by spider (seriously) and funeral accoutrements, along with other wicked inventiveness!
It's hard to believe the lyrics and music were written by a 19 year old college student until you realize that student was MERL REAGLE, who later became a master wordsmith, raconteur and the most famous crossword puzzle author in the U.S. Merl was syndicated in more than 50 of the largest newspapers in the country and made numerous television and movie appearances and was even portrayed as a character on the enormously popular TV show, The Simpsons.
GREYLOCK MANSION'S mix of original songs that meld science fiction, horror movie themes and Reagle's lyrics, together with roaring heavy fuzz guitar, doomy organ and spiritually mysterious psychedelia, is a robust and compelling blend that can finally and deservedly be heard and appreciated by fans of the heavy ultra-obscure underground psychedelic gems of the era. Their musicianship, melodic yet heavy tunes and songwriting are superior to many of the "big name" bands of the time.
The cover art is a colorful enigmatic portrayal of the very early 20th century mysticism that visually represents the name of the band, it's sound and it's subject matter quite accurately. This is a fully licensed Lysergic Sound Distributors release , (catalog number JLP 031578), presented only as a limited number vinyl release. Included are inserts with pictures of the band, posters from live appearances, and a lyric sheet.
Tracklisting :
A1 Catafalque 3:49 / A2 Dedication 5:09 / A3 Pretty For Petting 2:46 / A4 Spiders 6:00 / A5 Time Machine 4:24
B1 Over My Shoulder 3:11 / B2 Sanctum Sanctorum 5:48 / B3 On The Mountainside 4:13 / B4 Mars 9:02
