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LIGHT IN THE ATTIC

Cover of Wont You Tell Your Dreams by Gold Leaves / Lee Hazlewood.

Gold Leaves / Lee Hazlewood

Wont You Tell Your Dreams

Light In The Attic

    Limited edition 7" series on "smokey grey" vinyl with custom LITA juke-box style sleeve in a poly bag with custom die-cut sticker.

    Other artists in the series include Iggy Pop & Zig Zags covering Betty Davis, Mark Lanegan covering Karen Dalton, and Sweet Tea (feat. Alex Maas of the Black Angels & Erika Wennerstrom of the Heartless Bastards) covering Wendy Rene. More releases in the series to be announced.

    For the 10 Year Anniversary 45's Series, Gold Leaves record a hazy take on Lee Hazlewood's "Won't You Tell Your Dreams." Found on the flip side is Hazlewood's version, which was originally included on his solo album Requiem For An Almost Lady, released in 1971 on his label LHI.

    A-side is produced by Gold Leaves, engineered by Chris Early, and recorded in Seattle in September 2012.

    B-side features Lee's original version as remastered by John Baldwin for our recent compilation Lee Hazlewood - The LHI Years: Singles, Nudes, & Backsides (1968-71).

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    Cover of Thin Lizzy by Thin Lizzy.

    Thin Lizzy

    Thin Lizzy

    Light In The Attic

      First official vinyl reissue
      24 bit / 96 kHz remaster from the original tapes
      Deluxe gatefold “Tip-On” jacket featuring both the original Decca and London album covers
      Book-deep liner notes by Kevin “Sipreano” Howes interviewing Eric Bell and featuring rare archive photos
      Includes bonus over-sized 18″×24″ poster

      When scrolling down a list of debut LPs by rock’s heaviest hitters, Thin Lizzy is as unheralded as they come. Long before the group’s trademark “twin-guitar” sound was born and anthems like “The Boys Are Back In Town” became instant hall-of-fame material, the street tough Irish group was a dynamic power trio consisting of guitarist Eric Bell, singing bass player Philip Lynott, and sticksman Brian Downey. Forming only a year before their monumental signing to world-famous Decca Records, Thin Lizzy fused folk, hard rock, lyrical poetry, and a dose of Celtic lore in a heady brew that despite its potency, sold poorly at the time of release. Often ignored apart from hardcore Lizzy devotees around the globe, Light In The Attic is incredibly proud to produce a much-needed vinyl-only re-release of Thin Lizzy.

      If you’ve never heard Thin Lizzy, we won’t hold it against you. “Honesty Is No Excuse,” “Look What The Wind Blew In,” and “Return Of The Farmer’s Son” are certified underground classics making original Decca copies of the album a collector’s prize. Rich in vibe and vibrations, this is the type of record one hangs onto. Now is your chance to enjoy this crucial music at a reasonable price. To sweeten the pot, the lowdown is as follows: Original master tape transfer and re-mastering by Dave Cooley (Elysian Masters), 180-gram virgin black vinyl, original album art reproduction (both UK and US versions), extensive liner notes by reissue producer Kevin “Sipreano” Howes (Jamaica-Toronto series, Rodriguez Cold Fact and Coming From Reality, Monks, Mowest anthology) featuring an in-depth late 2011 interview with Eric Bell, and unseen archival imagery.

      Don’t worry rock freaks; this one is for the black and blues lovers, midnight ravers, and parking lot bangers. We don’t take this mammoth responsibility lightly. Phil, Eric, and Brian and the legions of diehard Thin Lizzy supporters deserve the best and our best we’ve given. It’s funny how 1971 can sound so contemporary, a testament to the music, power, strength, feeling, and sensitivity of Thin Lizzy, three out-of-their-heads Dublin rockers who gave their heart and soul for a monster dose of rock and roll, influencing thousands upon thousands right up to the present. Thanks for the music good fellows.

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      Cover of Dreamin' Wild by Donnie & Joe Emerson.

      Donnie & Joe Emerson

      Dreamin' Wild

      Light In The Attic

        Pacific Northwest isolation mixed with wide-eyed ambition, a strong sense of family and the gift of music proved to be quite the combination for teenage brothers Donnie and Joe Emerson. Originally released in 1979, Dreamin’ Wild is the sonic vision of the talented Emerson boys, recorded in a family built home studio in rural Washington State. Situated in the unlikely blink-and-you-missed-it town of Fruitland and far removed from the late 1970s punk movement and the larger disco boom, Donnie and Joe tilled their own musical soil, channeling bedroom pop jams, raw funk, and yacht rock.

        Spurred on their high school’s music program, Donnie and Joe received a further push from their lifelong farmer father, who drew up a contract stating that he’d support his sons lofty ambitions with their very own recording studio as long as they focused on original material, sage advice for a man with zero experience in the music business. After taking out a second mortgage to help cover costs, Don Sr. also built his children a 300-capacity concert hall (dubbed Camp Jammin’) replete with ticket booth, stage, and fully functioning snack bar. The only problem was that the projected audience never quite materialized, despite a prime time TV profile entitled “The Rock And Roll Farmers” from nearby Spokane, Washington. Even the Emerson brother’s school pals were nonplussed at their privately pressed long player; hand distributed to local music stores, but not as far as Seattle, five hours away from their rural home. Somewhat rejected by the muted response, but never surrendering, both Donnie and Joe continued down a musical path and are still active as performers today.

        This rare slice of bedroom-funk gets the usual Light In The Attic treatment with newly remastered audio, detailed liner notes, and expanded original album art with loads of photos from the Emerson’s collection. Be sure to also check out the short documentary Rock and Roll Farmers, premiering on LightInTheAttic.net.

        “‘Baby’ has been a staple on just about every playlist / mixtape I’ve assembled in the past 3 years. It is nothing short of sublime.” - Ariel Pink.

        FORMAT INFORMATION

        Coloured LP Info: 40th edition pressing on baby blue colored vinyl.

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        Cover of Jim Sullivan by Jim Sullivan.

        Jim Sullivan

        Jim Sullivan

        Light In The Attic

          On March 4, 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

          By coincidence–or perhaps not–Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O.. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to re-release it–and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

          Light In The Attic’s reissue of U.F.O. introduced the world to an overlooked masterwork and won him, posthumously (presumably), legions of new fans. Those new admirers are in for a real treat: a lavish reissue of Jim’s 1972 sophomore album, Jim Sullivan.

          The self-titled LP was originally released on Playboy mogul Hugh Hefner’s short-lived Playboy imprint. Horns sweeten this funky and bombastic session driven by Jim’s unmistakably larger-than-life voice and exceptional song-writing chops, alongside a cast of legendary session musicians including Jim Hughart. Another LP you’ll rarely see in the wild, it is by no means the poor relation of U.F.O., but rather a big stride into country, folk rock, and swampy blues, mesmerically finger-picked, brass-bedecked, and with that uniqueness of phrasing–part crooner, part jazz singer–that makes Sullivan such a rare performer.

          Each song could have been a bonafide radio hit, but with spotty promotion and negative connotations surrounding the Playboy name, the self-titled album suffered a fate known all too well and fizzled out. While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue.


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          Cover of If The Evening Were Dawn by Jim Sullivan.

          Jim Sullivan

          If The Evening Were Dawn

          Light In The Attic

            On March 4, 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost. Some think the mafia bumped him. Some even think he was abducted by aliens.

            By coincidence–or perhaps not–Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled U.F.O.. Released in tiny numbers on a private label, it too was truly lost until Light In The Attic Records began a years-long quest to re-release it–and to solve the mystery of Sullivan’s disappearance. Only one of those things happened, and you can guess which…

            Light In The Attic’s reissue of U.F.O. introduced the world to an overlooked masterwork and won Sullivan, posthumously (presumably), legions of new fans. Those new admirers are in for a real treat: a lavish, first-time release of a previously unheard 1969 studio session.

            If The Evening Were Dawn contains 10 acoustic solo recordings that have never seen the light of day. Whereas U.F.O. was bolstered by legendary sessioneers The Wrecking Crew, this is Jim Sullivan on his own terms, stripped down and soulful as ever. Recorded at a Los Angeles studio circa 1969, the session contains acoustic versions of a handful of U.F.O. tracks alongside a half dozen previously unheard songs. This, then, is the closest thing to those fabled Malibu bar performances at which Sullivan was first noticed.

            According to his widow, Barbara, this was the album Jim always hoped to record. It serves as an unprecedented glimpse into the mysterious, larger-than-life figure who’s become the stuff of legends.

            While Sullivan’s disappearance remains unsolved, his music endures and is finally gaining him the recognition he deserves, albeit long overdue. This recording serves as an unexpected missing piece of the puzzle; this is Jim Sullivan’s true swan song.


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            Cover of UFO by Jim Sullivan.

            Jim Sullivan

            UFO

            Light In The Attic

            In March 1975, Jim Sullivan mysteriously disappeared outside Santa Rosa, New Mexico. His VW bug was found abandoned, his motel room untouched. Some think he got lost in the desert. Some think he fell foul of a local family with alleged mafia ties. Some think he was abducted by aliens.

            By coincidence - or perhaps not ' Jim’s 1969 debut album was titled "UFO" The album was a fully realised album of scope and imagination, a folk-rock record with its head in the stratosphere. Sullivan’s voice is deep and expressive like Fred Neil with a weathered and worldly Americana sound like Joe South, pop songs that aren’t happy – but with filled with despair. The album is punctuated with a string section (that recalls David Axelrod), other times a Wurlitzer piano provides the driving groove (as if Memphis great Jim Dickinson was running the show). "UFO" is a slice of American pop music filtered from the murky depths of Los Angeles, by way of the deep south.

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            Cover of 400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56 by Lee Hazlewood.

            Lee Hazlewood

            400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56

            Light In The Attic

              Phoenix, Arizona 1955…a twenty-five year old disc jockey and fledgling songwriter, Lee Hazlewood, is trying to break into the music industry. He takes Greyhound bus trips to Los Angeles to pitch songs, only to be rejected each time. Undeterred, Lee starts a record label called Viv Records. Running the label out of his house, Lee finds the artists, writes the songs, produces the sessions, arranges the pressings of the records and handles distribution. Recently discovered tapes in the Viv Records archive yielded an unbelievable find, the earliest known recordings of Hazlewood singing his songs…Lee’s first demo! The mysterious and bountiful tapes featured Lee singing early unheard compositions and a complete first draft of his Trouble Is A Lonesome Town song cycle that would become his first official solo album in 1963.

              Light in the Attic Records is proud to continue it’s Lee Hazlewood archival series with 400 Miles From L.A. 1955-56, a collection of previously unknown intimate recordings, never intended for release. Lee sings, plays guitar and even presses the record button on the tape machine. These are rural sketches and small town dreams, captured in an innocent time before the path ahead was clear.

              These songs rewrite Lee’s recorded history, adding a new first chapter to his saga. For Hazlewood addicts, hearing these early tracks and the embryonic version of Trouble Is A Lonesome Town is akin to finding an early draft of the Old Testament.

              “That’s beauty of Lee’s songwriting. It lives on. People will hear it for the first time, even though it’s fifty years old or whatever, if it’s good enough and strong enough, they’ll accept and like it as much as if it was just created. That’s the wonderful legacy that Lee has. It’s wonderful to look back and make all this early work available. To put “Boots” and all those other LHI songs into perspective. That it all started somewhere and this is where.” – Arizona Music Historian and record producer, John Dixon.


              FORMAT INFORMATION

              2xLtd LP Info: 2xLP pressed at RTI & housed in a deluxe Stoughton “tip-on” jacket.

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              Cover of Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990 by Various Artists.

              Various Artists

              Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990

              Light In The Attic

              Light In The Attic’s Japan Archival Series continues with Kankyō Ongaku: Japanese Ambient, Environmental & New Age Music 1980-1990, an unprecedented overview of the country’s vital minimal, ambient, avant-garde, and New Age music – what can collectively be described as kankyō ongaku, or environmental music. The collection features internationally acclaimed artists such as Haruomi Hosono, Ryuichi Sakamoto and Joe Hisaishi, as well as other pioneers like Hiroshi Yoshimura, Yoshio Ojima and Satoshi Ashikawa, who deserve a place alongside the indisputable giants of these genres.

              In the 1970s, the concepts of Brian Eno’s “ambient” and Erik Satie’s “furniture music” began to take hold in the minds of artists and musicians around Tokyo. Emerging fields like soundscape design and architectural acoustics opened up new ways in which sound and music could be consumed. For artists like Yoshimura, Ojima and Ashikawa, these ideas became the foundation for their musical works, which were heard not only on records and in live performances, but also within public and private spaces where they intermingled with the sounds and environments of everyday life. The bubble economy of 1980s Japan also had a hand in the advancement of kankyō ongaku. In an attempt to cultivate an image of sophisticated lifestyle, corporations with expendable income bankrolled various art and music initiatives, which opened up new and unorthodox ways in which artists could integrate their avant-garde musical forms into everyday life: in-store music for Muji, promo LP for a Sanyo AC unit, a Seiko watch advert, among others that can be heard in this collection.

              Kankyō Ongaku is expertly compiled by Spencer Doran (Visible Cloaks) who, with a series of revelatory mixtapes as well as his label Empire of Signs (Music For Nine Postcards), has been instrumental in shepherding interest in this music outside of Japan. Together with Light In The Attic’s celebrated anthologies I Am The Center and The Microcosm, Kankyō Ongaku helps to broaden our understanding of this quietly profound music, regardless of the environment in which it’s heard.


              STAFF COMMENTS

              Patrick says: Now, while the Japanese ambient revival has been going on for some years (check out essential reissues on Palto Flats, WRWTFWW, 17853) Light In The Attic steal a march on their competitors with this sublime compilation of obscurities from the Land of the Rising Sun. Wonderfully packaged, presented and curated, "Kankyo Ongaku" is a fitting companion to "I Am The Center" and the "Microcosm", exploring the New Age and ambient sounds of 80s Japan. Minimal, relaxing and utterly beautiful, this music is almost heavenly.

              FORMAT INFORMATION

              2xDeluxe CD Info: 2xCD housed in a custom 7”x 7” hardbound book.

              3xLP Box Set Info: Vinyl repress!!
              Triple black vinyl LP with deluxe Stoughton “tip-on” jackets and slipcase.

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              Cover of 1992-2001 by Acetone.

              Acetone

              1992-2001

              Light In The Attic

              Counting their early years in the scuzz-rock band Spinout, whose sole self-titled release came out in 1991 on Delicious Vinyl, guitarist Mark Lightcap, bassist Richie Lee, and drummer Steve Hadley played together for a total of 15 years. They disbanded in July 2001, when Lee committed suicide in the garage next to the house where the trio practiced. Afterwards, Rolling Stone ran a short obituary saying Acetone’s albums were “well received” but “failed to make any waves.” It was the first and only time they were featured in the national music press.

              Between 1993 and 2001 the trio released two LPs and an EP on Vernon Yard—a Virgin subsidiary—and two LPs on Vapor, the L.A.-based label founded by Neil Young and manager Elliott Roberts. In that span, they were selected to tour with Oasis, Mazzy Star, The Verve, and Spiritualized. Against a rising tide of post-Nirvana grunge and slipshod indie rock, Acetone tapped into a timeless Southern California groove by fusing elements of psychedelia, surf, and country.

              They rehearsed endlessly in an empty bedroom in northeast Los Angeles, recording hours of music onto cassettes that were subsequently stuffed into shoeboxes and left in a shed behind the drummer’s house. Those tapes are being released for the first time in this anthology, which also includes highlights from Acetone’s official releases. Taken together, the songs form a companion soundtrack to Sam Sweet’s book, which maps the character of Los Angeles as a place through the lens of these three unique characters bonded by music.

              “I think our music is all about moods and feeling but hopefully it will get as weird as it possibly can,” said Richie Lee in 1997. “We want things to get weird in the way that you could hear an Acetone song and know that no one else in the world could make that kind of music but us.”

              * First time band anthology.
              * Includes 9 unreleased tracks.
              * Audio restored and remastered from original tapes.
              * Liner notes by Sam Sweet.

              “Acetone are one of my all time favorite bands. Their music is still as electrifying and beautiful now as it was back then.” – Hope Sandoval (Mazzy Star)

              “A lovely mix of what would it be like if Dick Dale and Neil Young played with Isaac Hayes and The Velvet Underground. A seminal American band.” – Richard Ashcroft (The Verve).


              FORMAT INFORMATION

              2xDeluxe LP Info: Double black vinyl. Housed in a deluxe gatefold Stoughton tip-on jacket.

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              Cover of Cochin Moon by Haruomi Hosono.

              Haruomi Hosono

              Cochin Moon

              Light In The Attic

              "Cochin Moon" (コチンの月 Kochin no Tsuki) is Haruomi Hosono's fifth solo album. Initially intended as a collaboration with illustrator Tadanori Yokoo, who traveled to India alongside Hosono (as part of a group) for inspiration; Yokoo ended up only drawing the cover, having been the worst victim of an outburst of severe diarrhea amongst the group during the trip, rendering this as a Hosono solo album. Cochin Moon was conceptually written as the soundtrack of a non-existent Bollywood film, a trait inspired by the artists' trip. The album includes performances by Tin Pan Alley keyboardist Hiroshi Satō and Yellow Magic Orchestra members Ryuichi Sakamoto & Hideki Matsutake. Despite being Hosono's first completely electronic solo album (at the time YMO's debut was still being recorded, making this Hosono's first electronic album to be released), the exotica feel of Hosono's previous solo work is still present. The first half of the album (named after an Indian hotel that the group was in for the trip, a picture of the hotel's front appears in the back of the album's packaging) consists of three thematically themed songs, the second half of the album (and Hosono's keyboard performance) is credited to "Shuka Nishihara" (西原朱夏), a pseudonym Hosono created as a play on Hakushū Kitahara's pseudonym.

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              Cover of Forty by Lee Hazlewood.

              Lee Hazlewood

              Forty

              Light In The Attic

                * Album remastered from pristine LHI master tapes
                * Includes session outtake “For Once in My Life” and previously unreleased backing track “Send Out Love”
                * Liner notes by Hunter Lea including an interview with Shel Talmy
                * Archival photos
                * LP housed in a deluxe gatefold Stoughton tip-on jacket

                “I asked him if he wanted to use any of his songs, and he said, “No.” We had a long chat before we did any of this. He said, ‘No, I want you to do it and I want to just be a singer.’ So I said okay.” -Shel Talmy

                Originally titled Will The Real Lee Hazlewood Please Stand Up?, Forty was a different kind of Hazlewood album, one in which Lee just focused on being a performer. In 1969 on the eve of his fortieth birthday, Lee flew to England and enlisted Shel Talmy (The Kinks, The Who, Chad & Jeremy, Bert Jansch) to produce an album and hand pick the songs. Shel picked some incredible songs for Lee to sing and even wrote him a song that should’ve been a hit, “Bye Babe.” Recorded at famed IBC recording studio with cream of the crop British session musicians and arrangers, no expense was spared.

                Nicky Hopkins piano/organ work on “The Bed” and “The Night Before” evoke his then recent work with the Rolling Stones on Beggar’s Banquet and Let It Bleed. Arranger David Whitaker’s (Serge Gainsbourg, Vashti Bunyan, Air, “Bittersweet Symphony”) wizardry creates a lush, sophisticated orchestral sound.

                “He was one of the more unique arrangers I’ve ever run into. I think “It Was A Very Good Year” is one of the best arrangements of that song ever.” - Shel Talmy

                Forty begins with the boozy suite “It Was A Very Good Year”, a swingin’ shapeshifter that could’ve been a James Bond theme. The album traverses many styles from melancholy baroque orchestral pop(“What’s More I Don’t Need Her” “Bye Babe” & “The Night Before”) to country funk (“The Bed” & “Let’s Burn Down the Cornfield.”)

                Light in the Attic Records is proud to continue its Lee Hazlewood Archival series with an expanded reissue of Forty. Every track Shel and Lee recorded for Forty are included here for the first time, including the outtake “For Once in My Life” and the previously unreleased backing track “Send Out Love.”

                In exchange for piles of money from major labels, Lee and LHI made promises to produce an amount of recorded material that wasn’t humanly possible for one man and a small label. The logistics didn’t matter to Lee; once the check was cashed, he would do his damnedest to deliver the herculean output. Forty was one of those records, but what a beautiful way to meet a quota.

                Lee liked his work with Shel so much that tracks from Forty were included on subsequent Hazlewood albums Cowboy in Sweden (1970) and Movin’ On (1977).


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                Cover of Rose Colored Corner by Lynn Castle.

                Lynn Castle

                Rose Colored Corner

                Light In The Attic

                Though most of the world may not know the songs of Lynn Castle, she is an artist whose work stretches across seven decades. Light In The Attic Records is very excited to continue its Lee Hazlewood Archive Series with Rose Colored Corner, a collection of intimate recordings Lynn Castle made with Jack Nitzsche in 1966 and her complete recorded output with Lee Hazlewood on LHI Records. For the first time ever Lynn is sharing recordings from her personal archive and telling her story.

                In the 1960s Lynn became the first lady barber in LA just as long hair on men became hip. By day she was styling The Monkees, Boyce and Hart, Del Shannon, Sonny & Cher, the Byrds and countless others…by night she was writing songs. Despite lacking the desire to self promote and a crippling insecurity that made it hard to sing in front of anyone, her songs managed to bend the ears of such industry heavyweights as Phil Spector, Jack Nitzsche and Lee Hazlewood. “It was so hard to get me to sing,” explained Castle. “I had buried it so low, I didn’t think I was good at all. Lee heard my songs and thought I was fabulous. He said, ‘Oh my god, you’re really good! Let’s cut a record.’

                Her sole 1967 45 “The Lady Barber" b/w "Rose Colored Corner,” released on Lee Hazlewood Industries is a slice of psychedelic pop heaven. A full length album was never completed, but her sparse demos with Jack Nitzsche give the listener a peek of what one might have sounded like. If you are familiar with Nitzsche’s mid-60s work with Tim Buckley, Bob Lind, and Buffalo Springfield…you can squint your ears and imagine her songs bejeweled with lush strings, finger cymbals, and delicate harpsichord. Instead, the songs remained unheard until now.

                Just because her songs weren’t recognized at the time doesn’t diminish their magic. This music is meant to be found and heard. Though commercial success may remain elusive, sometimes strange premonitions are realized… “When I was young, making music in the ‘60s, I had this strange thought that one day I would be this old woman, and young people would come find me and tell me that my music meant something to them.” - Lynn Castle


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                Cover of Sing It High, Sing It Low : Tumbleweed Records 1971-1973 by Various Artists.

                Various Artists

                Sing It High, Sing It Low : Tumbleweed Records 1971-1973

                Light In The Attic

                * Restored and remastered audio
                * Liner notes interviewing Tumbleweed principals Larry Ray and Bill Szymczyk, as well as surviving employees and artists
                * Unseen archive photos, album artwork and label history
                * Housed in a deluxe Stoughton “Tip-On” gatefold jacket

                In February of 1971, Larry Ray and Bill Szymczyk fled an earthquake and a debauched L.A. music scene to claim their own slice of utopia in Denver, Colorado. After meeting and bonding at ABC-Dunhill, where Ray landed as general manager, and where Szymczyk had breezed in from New York — fresh off his first real hit as a burgeoning engineer/producer with BB King’s “The Thrill is Gone” — they’d often daydreamed about starting their own label.

                In Denver, Ray and Szymczyk settled on the name Tumbleweed Records, and through industry connections they secured multi-million-dollar financing from Gulf + Western, whose head honchos believed they were bankrolling the hippie movement’s next big thing.

                But instead of producing the next Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix, Ray and Szymczyk turned their sights on idiosyncratic wunderkinds like Pete McCabe, moody songwriters Robb Kunkel and Danny Holien, psych-folk rocker Arthur Gee, all the while providing a platform for more established musicians like Albert Collins and Dewey Terry (of Don & Dewey fame), while launching the career of Michael Stanley.

                It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, and, per Szymczyk, it was a “bitchin’ disco time.” Drugs, parties, poetry, celebrities, money—Tumbleweed had it all, except airplay and distribution. Two years after its storied start, the label was finished.

                Ray would go on to various opportunities, including producing five country albums alongside Bill Halverson, while Szymczyk would soon skyrocket to fame after producing The Eagles’ Hotel California. Yet most of Tumbleweed's artists have been relegated to thrift store bin obscurity—until now. This landmark release not only showcases Ray’s vision and Szymczyk’s early work, but begins a major reappraisal of Tumbleweed’s catalog by bringing these songs out of the shadow of the Rocky Mountains and back into the spotlight.


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                Cover of Sonhos E Memorias 1941-1972 by Erasmo Carlos.

                Erasmo Carlos

                Sonhos E Memorias 1941-1972

                Light In The Attic

                Erasmo Carlos has no counterpart in the universe of Anglophone pop music that could begin to hint at his relevance, popularity and his complex relationship with the only Brazilian pop star more universally recognized than himself, Roberto Carlos. He may be a beloved pop star and household name in Brazil, but hardly because of the music found on the three albums reissued by Light In The Attic. While in retrospect they can be appreciated as some of his most creative, consistent and personal albums, they were also some of the least commercially successful and underappreciated of his long career, at least until recently. Embracing the artistic freedom of the global counterculture of the late sixties and early seventies, over the course of these three albums, Erasmo evolved from his bubblegum beginnings into a sophisticated seventies singer-songwriter. "Erasmo Carlos E Os Tremendões" (1970), "Carlos, ERASMO . . ." (1971) and "Sonhos E Memórias 1941-1972" (1972) collectively find this maturing teeny-bopper delivering a mix of world class psychedelic Rock, traditional Rock ‘N’ Roll, Soul, Funk, Folk, Bossa Nova, and Samba-Rock to an unsuspecting Brazilian audience.

                "Sonhos E Memórias 1941-1972" is truly singular within Brazilian pop fusing rock, soul, jazz and singer-songwriter styles. It’s simultaneously rootsy, funky, modern and nostalgic. The lyrics are highly personal, searching for deeper meaning with lots of flower power imagery and language, while the music is tight, highly rhythmic, melodic and restrained in its delivery and effortless groove. Built around the future fusion trio Azymuth with keyboardist José Roberto Bertrami, drummer Ivan Conti aka “Mamão” and bassist Alex Malheiros, a majority of the album’s tunes make excellent use of this trio’s telepathic tightness, subtle funkiness, and melodic mastery. The album dabbles with a few different styles and rhythms, all telling Erasmo’s musical story be it Bossa Nova, Roots Rock, Hard Rock, ballads, and soulful grooves, but a certain sonic frequency or tempo alongside the autobiographical elements unite this masterwork.


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                Cover of Have You Been Good To Yourself by Johnnie Frierson.

                Johnnie Frierson

                Have You Been Good To Yourself

                Light In The Attic

                * Re-mastered from the original cassette
                * Never before released on LP or Digital
                * Includes download card
                * Hand numbered Stoughton “tip-on” jacket
                * Liner notes by Memphis native Andria Lisle

                Followers of our output might have a pang of recognition on reading the name Frierson. That was the surname of Wendy Rene, whose work was collected into the 2012 LITA anthology After Laughter Comes Tears, and indeed, Johnnie Frierson is Wendy’s brother – a fellow member of her mid-’60s Stax four-piece The Drapels.

                But Have You Been Good To Yourself will come as a surprise to anyone expecting more of the beat-driven R&B Johnnie and his sibling produced – including that compilation’s much-sampled title track. A mix of spoken word and gospel songs laid down direct to cassette, these ultra-rare home recordings draw from Johnnie’s religious upbringing and his history in the music business, which was interrupted in 1970 when he was sent to fight in Vietnam.

                Crate digger Jameson Sweiger found Have You Been Good To Yourself and a companion album, Real Education, released under the name Khafele Ojore Ajanaku in a Memphis thrift store, but it was noticeably Frierson’s work. They hadn’t made it far – they would originally have been sold at corner stores and music festivals in the Memphis area, where Frierson continued to perform and host a gospel radio show, all the while working as a mechanic, laborer and teacher.

                The seven songs on Have You Been Good To Yourself are overtly religious; some, such as “Out Here On Your Word,” are strident and faithful; others, like the self-questioning “Have You Been Good To Yourself,” are more meditative. They reflect the difficult situation that Frierson was in when recording, shell-shocked from his time in the military and grieving the untimely death of his son. “He was really trying to find his way,” remembers Frierson’s daughter Keesha in Andria Lisle’s liner notes. “And writing and making music were a way out for him.”

                Remastered and released professionally for the first time, the message spread by Frierson – who passed away in 2010 – remains undimmed.

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                Cover of For A Reason by Lifetones.

                Lifetones

                For A Reason

                Light In The Attic

                Political post-punk trio This Heat dissolved at a turbulent time in the UK. Margaret “The Iron Lady” Thatcher was in power, and her budget-cutting, ultra-conservative influence was felt strongly in–among many other places–the cultural melting pot of Brixton, South London, where This Heat had their origins. Dusting himself off after the collapse of the band in 1982, guitarist/vocalist Charles Bullen united with Julius Samuel to form Lifetones and embraced the sounds of the local West Indian community to fuse reggae flavor to the kind of propulsive, rhythmic, and experimental music made by This Heat.

                'Deceit', This Heat's 1981 album, had seen them work with David Cunningham, who had already helped mesh dub reggae with new wave pop on The Flying Lizards’ 1979 single, “Money (That's What I Want Want).” Even so, 'For A Reason' was a great leap, one that created a strange, unsettling mood as Bullen’s multi-tracked, chant-like vocals met dub beats and Krautrock-informed repetition. Where 'Deceit' dealt with the nuclear threat, 'For A Reason' was less reactionary, even quoting Bob Marley in its lyrics: “you love the life you live, you live the life you love.”

                Just six tracks and half an hour long, the album was recorded at Cold Storage studio and released on Bullen’s own Tone Of Life Records. It has become a sought-after collector’s item that changes hands for hundreds of dollars a time. As a solo artist, Bullen was not prolific–it was 15 years until, in 1998, he released Internal Clock under the name Circadian Rhythms–but like the rest of his band, he has enjoyed a long, enriching career in unending pursuit of new sounds.

                Even though This Heat had no commercial success to follow up on, 'For A Reason' was an album created with no intention of hitting the charts. Reissued on Light In The Attic, Lifetones’ single album retains a timeless quality and perhaps - on tracks such as “Good Side” - a futuristic sound that nobody else ever caught up to.

                FORMAT INFORMATION

                LP Info: -- ONE COPY FOUND!!

                * 24bit / 96kHz remaster from the original tapes
                * Lacquers cut by John Golden
                * LP expanded to a gatefold Stoughton “tip-on” jacket
                * Includes essay and download card for full album

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                Cover of Zulu Rock - Light In The Attic Edition by Lizzy Mercier Descloux.

                Lizzy Mercier Descloux

                Zulu Rock - Light In The Attic Edition

                Light In The Attic

                * Remastered from the original tapes
                * Essay by “Punk Professor” Vivien Goldman, interviewing key players
                * LP Includes download card for full album + 5 bonus tracks
                * CD includes full album plus 5 bonus tracks

                In the course of three albums, Lizzy Mercier Descloux, the rogue poet, artist, and singer-songwriter, travelled on a musical voyage from Manhattan (1979 debut 'Press Color') to The Bahamas (1981 follow-up 'Mambo Nassau') and apartheid South Africa (1984's 'Zulu Rock') - a controversial cultural boycott in protest of the nation's racially divided society.

                One place Descloux had never visited was the pop charts, but that changed when “Mais Où Sont Passées Les Gazelles? (Where Have The Gazelles Gone?)” - a reworking of a South African Shangaan disco hit - went all the way to the top spot in her native France, giving her a platform and a profile in the land she'd fled many years before. Recorded at Satbel Studios in Johannesburg, the album followed what her mentor Michel Esteban describes as "an extraordinary adventure" through eastern Africa following the footsteps of 19th century poet Rimbaud through Sudan, Ethiopia, the East Coast.

                A socially conscious person, Descloux wanted to use her music to draw some attention to the situation in South Africa, even obliquely, but there were musical motivations too - she was tapping into a hot and little-heard dance music in the aforementioned Shangaan disco, Soweto jive and mbaqanga, the style Malcolm McLaren had mined for his mash-up hit "Duck Rock" a year before.

                The music of South Africa seduced, subsumed, and molded Lizzy, who sounds surer and more swinging than ever before throughout 'Zulu Rock', but credit must also go to British producer Adam Kidron, then best known for his work with Scritti Politti, who joined Esteban and Descloux for the entire African journey. Lizzy and Adam’s was a battle of wills from the start, but his insistence on getting Lizzy to sing in a more conventional, tuneful way resulted in an emotional, ambitious, creative power struggle that delivered arguably her best vocals yet.

                In Vivien Goldman's new liner notes for this reissue, Kidron says: “My first impression of Lizzy was that she couldn’t sing but that she had that crazy Madonna, Neneh Cherry, Nina Hagen attitude thing going on and a magical way with words — a marketer’s gift for getting to the essence of a feeling or idea.” And for once, on this album, the marketing did itself. 


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                Cover of Suspense - Light In The Attic Edition by Lizzy Mercier Descloux.

                Lizzy Mercier Descloux

                Suspense - Light In The Attic Edition

                Light In The Attic

                * Remastered from the original tapes
                * Essay by “Punk Professor” Vivien Goldman, interviewing key players
                * LP Includes download card for full album + 6 bonus tracks
                * CD includes full album plus 6 bonus tracks

                By the time bohemian singer/poet/artist Lizzy Mercier Descloux recorded her fifth album, 1988's 'Suspense', she'd enjoyed a recording career that was as far from the clichés of music lore as is possible, flitting between genres, continents and collaborators, enjoying great success and equally great failure and even stealing the final breaths of master trumpeter Chet Baker for 1986's One For The Soul. When she came to make 'Suspense' she was, for the first time, working without her longtime muse, partner and manager Michel Esteban, with whom she'd first moved from their native France to New York, where it all began.

                The pressure was on to repeat the success of “Mais Où Sont Passées Les Gazelles”, a smash hit in France, and Descloux's label were keen to make a conventional artist of her, pairing her with John Brand, an in-vogue producer with a style geared to a big, shiny 1980s chart sound - an approach Lizzy had never experienced before, nor intended to.

                In Vivien Goldman's new liner notes, Esteban notes that Suspense sounds "less Lizzy than the other records, less open," but in splitting herself into two – English and Francophone – the album has two personalities too; oddly, it shines a light on the real Descloux that her cultural experiments never did.

                Though the initial aim was to make a folky, acoustic album, the pop sound suited the singer, and “A Room In New York” is as fine and sparky as AOR gets. But when early single “Gueule D’Amour/Cry of Love” stiffed, EMI lost confidence and buried the LP. Bound by her contract to the label, Descloux moved away from music and focused on painting. She eventually settled in Corsica, the French island, where she died, aged 48, of cancer. Descloux's musical career ended, therefore, with the aptly titled Suspense. It was only a matter of time before this furiously creative artist's work was re-evaluated, and with these deluxe reissues, that time is now.


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                Cover of One For The Soul - Light In The Attic Edition by Lizzy Mercier Descloux.

                Lizzy Mercier Descloux

                One For The Soul - Light In The Attic Edition

                Light In The Attic

                * Remastered from the original tapes
                * Essay by “Punk Professor” Vivien Goldman, interviewing key players
                * LP Includes download card for full album + 2 bonus tracks
                * CD includes full album plus 2 bonus tracks

                By the time poet, singer-songwriter, and artist Lizzy Mercier Descloux recorded 1984's 'Zulu Rock', she'd marked herself out as both a globe trotter with more passport stamps than Tintin and a musical innovator whose loose, arty spirit could be applied to styles as varied as no wave, Bavarian oompa and Soweto jive. She'd also established a tight-knit threesome with muse/former lover Michel Esteban and producer/on-off lover Adam Kidron, who all reunited to follow 'Zulu Rock' a surprise hit in her native France - with something that, once again, represented a complete about-turn.

                The location, this time, was Rio De Janeiro, a suitably exotic location to follow their sojourn in Soweto given that Brazil had recently emerged from twenty years of dictatorship. But unlike 'Zulu Rock''s broad appropriation of the local sound, One For The Soul borrows very liberally from Brazilian culture. The aim, says Kidron, was to "reimagine the blues", but Lizzy’s musical essence was in flux. “A Word Is A Wah" meshes reggae with her beloved accordion, “Women Don't Like Me” is wild, new wave pop, and she even wanders into soul territory, with whispery lounge versions of Al Green's “Simply Beautiful”. Most notable is the album's foray into jazz, and the fact that Chet Baker, the master jazz trumpeter, blew his last on “Fog Horn Blues” and the sensuous “Off Off Pleasure”.

                Rio was to be the last great hurrah of Lizzy and Michel’s global recording adventures, and although work proceeded apace, the experience was often quite tense. "The sessions were tough work,” says Kidron, in the new liner notes by Vivien Goldman accompanying this deluxe reissue. “Lizzy never quite got singing, no matter how much she drank, and no matter how hard she tried. Chet was very much at the drug-ravaged end of his life and had very little stamina or dexterity left… but there is a deep, sad, lyrical tone to his performances on the album.”

                So fraught were the sessions, it's a miracle that such a cohesive, sparky record emerged. The record-buying public did not agree, and as the album crashed and burned, so did the relationship between its three heroes. Lizzy was, for the first time, about to take on the world alone – and there was but one album left in her. 


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                Cover of Its Cause And Cure by Lee Hazlewood.

                Lee Hazlewood

                Its Cause And Cure

                Light In The Attic

                  The mid-to-late '60s were strange days for Lee Hazlewood. Having struck gold as songwriter and vocal foil for Nancy Sinatra, he signed up to MGM as an artist in his own right, and between 1966 and 1968, produced three ambitious solo albums that were eclectic, idiosyncratic, and most of all, unpredictable.

                  It was a happy time for Lee; his music was hot on the charts, he was fully immersed in his collaboration with his muse, Suzi Jane Hokom.

                  The second of his MGM trilogy - 1967's peculiarly named Lee Hazlewoodism: Its Cause And Cure - took on countrified French ye-ye (“The Girls In Paris”), a tale of a young bullfighter built on Spanish guitar and choral cowboys (“Jose”), a string-drenched song about the passing of time (“The Old Man And His Guitar”), and a western epic about a Native American tribe (“The Nights”). And that was just the first four tracks. Elsewhere, the honky tonk madness of “Suzi Jane Is Back In Town,” the Byrds-like jangle of “In Our Time” and–in the bonus tracks–an instrumental named “Batman” confirm this to be one of Hazlewood's most far-ranging, far-out LPs ever.

                  It’s the result of two main factors: ambition–to top Phil Spector, primarily–and cash, which paid for orchestras, plush studios, and the inestimable talents of arranger Billy Strange. “I think the big sound of those records came out of the Spector thing,” says Hokom, in the new liner notes. “If you can have a big sound and you have money to burn… it was a flamboyancy.”

                  Released before the Nancy & Lee LP–a bona fide hit for Reprise Records–Hazlewoodism was a tougher nut to crack, a record that confused by combining po-faced delivery with unabashed comical touches. By 1967, Hazlewood had founded the LHI imprint, and was busy building his own empire–one we've been lovingly archiving for the past few years. We now present this missing link in the story, plus predecessor, The Very Special World Of Lee Hazlewood and follow-up, Something Special. Welcome to Hazlewood's magnificent–and mad–MGM years.

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                  Cover of 'Second Poem To Karmela' Or Gypsies Are Important by Peter Walker.

                  Peter Walker

                  'Second Poem To Karmela' Or Gypsies Are Important

                  Light In The Attic

                  Remastered from the original stereo 1/4" tapes LP and CD feature expanded gatefold tip-on jackets and liner notes.

                  Light In The Attic and the legendary folk/blues/roots label Vanguard Records are proud to begin a series of collaborations under the umbrella Vanguard Vault.

                  The series will explore the vaults of Vanguard and see the reissuing of obscure nuggets, psychedelic weirdness and just some good old-fashioned seminal music.

                  Originally released in 1968 on Vanguard Records, Peter Walker’s album “Second Poem To Karmela” Or Gypsies Are Important was a ground breaking blend of folk, raga, psychedelia, Eastern and Modal sounds that has remained unsung for decades. While his debut album for Vanguard,Rainy Day Raga, has been reissued several times on LP and CD, this album (his sophomore effort), remains an obscure and hard to find vinyl relic. Until now..

                  Carefully re-mastered from the original tapes, guitar scholar Glenn Jones recently interviewed Peter Walker for hours and has written a book-deep essay for the CD and LP liner notes that detail Walker’s association with an incredible cross-section of 1960’s counter-culture icons including LSD guru Timothy Leary (Walker personally provided ‘the soundtrack’ to many a trip), he studied raga music with Ali Akbar Khan, and like his close friend Sandy Bull, Walker worked on a fusion of Western and Eastern sounds. Jim Pepper plays flute on Second Poem (he also recorded with The Fugs and Don Cherry), other accompaniment to Walker’s guitar, Sarod and Sitar playing includes violin, organ, tablas, and tamboura.

                  This is true “acid folk” as interesting, progressive, and memorable as fellow 1960’s world travelers Robbie Basho, Davy Graham, and the Incredible String Band.

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                  Cover of A World Of Peace Must Come by Stephen John Kalinich.

                  Stephen John Kalinich

                  A World Of Peace Must Come

                  Light In The Attic

                    THIS IS A RECORD STORE DAY 2014 EXCLUSIVE, LIMITED TO ONE PER PERSON.

                    "A World Of Peace Must Come is his masterpiece. That was fantastic." - Brian Wilson
                    "'Be Still' is the only song I've ever heard that made me want to be a better person." - Brian Barr, The Seattle Weekly

                    "The only other artist as pure as him is Captain Beefheart." - Bill Bentley

                    Stephen John Kalinich was born in Endicott, New York and grew up in Binghamton. In his early teens, he stared writing poems and articles about World Peace. He first came to California around 1964, fell in love with it, and promptly transferred from Harper College in upstate New York to UCLA.

                    Kalinich found himself immersed in the vibrant anti-War culture of late 60’s California, often writing songs and poems against the War. He found a musical partner and kindred spirit in Mark Lindsey Buckingham. They cut a demo for a track called "Leaves of Grass," inspired by the famous Walt Whitman poem "Leaves Of Grass", and Kalinich started taking demos around.

                    In the mid 60s, it was either at Brother Records or while pumping gas that Kalinich first met the Beach Boys. He hit it off with Brian, Carl and Dennis right away. As the first artist signed to the Beach Boys new label Brother Records, Carl Wilson produced a record for him. His first songs that saw release were "Little Bird" and "Be Still," which he wrote with Dennis and were released on the Friends album. His relationship with Dennis would lead to a number of further collaborations and Kalinich / Dennis Wilson co-writes, including: 20/20 - "All I Want To Do," Hawthorne, CA - "A Time to Live in Dreams", Pacific Ocean Blue - "Rainbows," and Bambu - "Love Remember Me.”
                    A World of Peace Must Come was recorded at various LA studios and Brian's house in Bel-Air in 1969. The tapes were promptly lost, not to be heard again until our discovery of them in 2008. Following the CD-only reissue in that year, this is the first time this timeless snapshot of an era and an ethos will be available on vinyl for Record Store Day 2014.


                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                    Ltd LP Info: * First time reissued on vinyl
                    * Long lost psych poetry album by legendary Beach Boy song-writer
                    * Co-produced by Brian Wilson in Los Angeles in August 1969
                    * Booklet featuring liner notes by Beach Boy archivist Alan Boyd, unseen photos, archival material, and full lyrics
                    * Record Store Day exclusive featuring hand-numbered “tip-on” jacket.
                    * Pressed on “ORANGE” wax for Record Store Day

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                    Cover of Bobby Charles by Bobby Charles.

                    Bobby Charles

                    Bobby Charles

                    Light In The Attic

                    Bobby Charles pioneered the musical genre known as ‘swamp rock’ – he wrote the early rock & roll classic “See You Later, Alligator” (best known via the version by Bill Haley & the Comets). Another early gem penned by Bobby Charles was “Walking to New Orleans” as recorded by Fats Domino. He also appeared at the legendary “Last Waltz” concert in 1976 - in which he performed “Down South in New Orleans” accompanied by The Band and Dr. John.

                    But the main reason that musicians like Andy Cabic of Vetiver sing his praises (and cover his songs) is for Bobby’s 1972 self-titled album released on Bearsville. Despite numerous CD reissues through the years, this is the first time in decades that the seminal album has appeared in its original vinyl LP format.

                    A virtual who’s who of classic ‘roots’ rock – the album features 10 Bobby Charles classics supported by the likes of Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, and Richard Manuel of The Band, long time Neil Young sidekick Ben Keith, Bob Dylan’s former running mate Bob Neuwirth, session maverick Amos Garrett, the esteemed Dr. John, Geoff Muldaur and several others.

                    But this is far from an all-star jam session – this is an ensemble record in the truest sense of the word – with each musician simply supporting the Louisiana vibe that flows thru the 10 song collection of country, blues, R&B, and folk that all have that distinctive Bobby Charles signature sound. Album also includes the slow burner “Street People” as featured on Country Funk 1969-1975, Volume 1.

                    Perhaps Dr. John said it best “I think all of Bobby’s songs have something to offer at all times, for all people.”

                    Light In The Attic now offers Bobby Charles re-mastered from the original tapes, packaged in a beautiful gatefold sleeve and waiting for heads to turn on and tune in ‘round the globe.

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                    Cover of Walk In Africa by National Wake.

                    National Wake

                    Walk In Africa

                    Light In The Attic

                    * First ever anthology
                    * Remastered from original sources
                    * 2xLP housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket with 20-pg book, and download card full full anthology
                    * Vinyl cut by John Golden and pressed at RTI
                    * CD housed in a deluxe gatefold tip-on jacket with 48-pg book
                    * Scholarly liner notes by Punk In Africa director Keith Jones
                    * Unseen photos, flyers, and band ephemera

                    The South Africa of the late 1970s was neither the right place nor time to launch a mixed-race punk band. Yet, following the student-inspired Soweto Uprising of 1976, it was also exactly the right conditions to foster a band like National Wake, one formed in an underground commune, and one whose very name exists in protest at the divisive, racist apartheid regime. Never before collected together, Light In The Attic is set to release National Wake’s full body of work as Walk In Africa 1979-81.

                    Featured heavily in the Punk In Africa documentary, National Wake played punk, reggae and tropical funk, equally at home in the city’s rock underground and the township nightclub circuit. Ivan Kadey started the band with two brothers, Gary and Punka Khoza. The three were from different worlds –while Ivan was an outsider, a Jewish orphan born in the traditional Johannesburg immigrant neighborhood, Gary, Punka and their family were forcibly moved to the troubled township of Soweto under the apartheid regime. Later joined by guitarist Steve Moni, the whole band grew up against a backdrop of township unrest, social upheaval and suburban tedium that characterized apartheid-era South Africa.

                    National Wake released just one album, in 1981. It sold approximately 700 copies before being withdrawn under government pressure. The band subsequently disintegrated, but their influence could be traced in the racially mixed post-punk underground centered around Rockey Street in Johannesburg throughout the 1980s, their legacy transmitted through fanzines and underground cassette trading.

                    Sadly, Gary and Punka Khoza both passed away in their 40s. Kadey now works as an architect in Los Angeles, but his attention eventually turned back to the band as their legacy grew in the digital era, with the emergence of specialized music websites and Punk In Africa leading to their rediscovery. Czech State Radio memorably described the band as “perhaps the most dissident music scene of the 20th century: a multi-racial punk band in a fascist police state.”

                    In 2011, Kadey re-released the band’s self-titled album, but spoke about having more than 20 tracks that had never seen the light of day –until now. “All of these recordings put together they speak of the whole evolution of the band,” he has said. “From a sort of naive, almost belief that we could miraculously change everything to realizing what a struggle it was, and what the country was going through and what it would go through.”

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                    Cover of Trouble Is A Lonesome Town by Lee Hazlewood.

                    Lee Hazlewood

                    Trouble Is A Lonesome Town

                    Light In The Attic

                    Light In The Attic’s Lee Hazlewood Archive Series continues with an expanded reissue of Lee Hazlewood’s debut album. Re-mastered from the original tapes, this is the first time Trouble Is a Lonesome Town has been available in its original mono mix since the 1960s. Presented as a double LP and expanded CD with 15 bonus tracks and an eight page booklet, this is an essential purchase for Hazlewood fans or anyone curious about about the man before the mustache.

                    Originally released in 1963, Trouble… finds the bohemian cowboy sketching out a vivid picture of a backwater place named Trouble, where trouble with a small ‘t’ is never far away. “Trouble is little and it’s lonesome,” he says, on the title track, “you won’t find it on any map, but you can take three steps in any direction and you’re there.” Lee says plenty on the album. The first voice you hear is Hazlewood’s spoken-word narration. It’s a format the singer-songwriter would revisit frequently, introducing his stirring songs with a touch fireside storytelling in the rich, Texan drawl he’d tried hard to lose during years he was struggling to make it as an aspiring radio DJ.

                    Each mini, pre-song poem seems to impart unexpected wisdom. Indeed, if the record sounds remarkably wise and mature for a debut album, Hazlewood was, of course, no spring chicken on making this debut. 34 years old at the time of the album’s release, he was already a seasoned producer, writer and publisher with dozens of hits under his belt and a few singles under his own name and more under the pseudonym ‘Mark Robinson’ – all of which are included here in this reissue.

                    A pet producer of Duane Eddy’s, Hazlewood could turn his hand to any musical style (bonus ‘Mark Robinson’ track ‘Pretty Jane’ is unreconstructed rock ‘n’ roll), but with Trouble…, it felt like the singer had touched on something that was uniquely him.

                    In 2000, however, the late singer revealed that he hadn’t planned on making what’s best described as a musical storybook. “That was a demo. I didn’t know it was a concept album. I wrote a complete story of a make-believe town,” he said. The town nearly lived outside of the album too – in August 1968 there was serious talk of a television show based on the album. Lee wrote a script for a proposed weekly half- hour series called,Trouble Is a Lonesome that, sadly, never made it to air.

                    The cover sees Lee by the railroad tracks in Avondale, west of Phoenix. Smoking a cigarette and holding a guitar case, Hazlewood’s myth was laid out here. The newly minted performer’s long journey had taken him from Texas to Los Angeles via service in the armed forces and radio stations in small-town America. By 1963 he’d made it as far as the Hollywood Hills, but in many ways, his story was only just beginning. Light In The Attic will be revealing the rest of it throughout 2013 and 2014.

                    We’ll leave the final words to album supervisor Jack Tracy. His 1963 liner notes still true nearly 50 years later. “I happen to think that Trouble is as significant a chunk of Americana as has been written in many years,” he wrote. “But don’t let that get in your way. It was written to be enjoyed and to entertain. It will surely do that.”

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                    Cover of Country Funk 1969-1975 by Various Artists.

                    Various Artists

                    Country Funk 1969-1975

                    Light In The Attic

                    All tracks newly re-mastered.

                    Features rare cuts by Bob Darin, Gray Fox, Dennis The Fox, Cherokee, Gritz and more.

                    What in the hell is country funk you ask? The answer is a complicated one, in part due to the fact that Country Funk is an inherently defiant genre, escaping all efforts at easy categorization. The style encompasses the elation of gospel with the sexual thrust of the blues, country hoedown harmony with inner city grit. It is alternately playful and melancholic, slow jammin’, and booty shakin’. It is both studio slick and barroom raw. And while these all may seem unlikely combinations at first glance, upon close listen, it all makes sweet sense.

                    Light In The Attic presents Country Funk 1969-1975, a melting pot concoction of the music of Dale Hawkins, John Randolph Marr, Cherokee, Johnny Adams, Mac Davis, Bob Darin, Jim Ford, Gray Fox, Link Wray, Bobby Charles, Tony Joe White, Dennis The Fox, Larry Jon Wilson, Bobbie Gentry, Gritz, and Johnny Jenkins.

                    Featuring extensive liner notes by Jessica Hundley (MOJO, The New York Times, Vogue), original album/label artwork, and new illustrations by Jess Rotter (JessRotter.com, Rotter & Friends), this down home package is not only a treat for the ears, but a feast for the eyes. Think of this as a fantasyland where the Josie-era Meters back young Elvis singing Kris Kristofferson-penned slices of rustic American life and you’ll begin to understand the country funk vibe. It’s from the swamp to the city and all points in between.

                    STAFF COMMENTS

                    Darryl says: Supreme reissue label Light In The Attic celebrate their 10 anniversary in style with this wonderful compilation. Rather than being a definitive genre, "Country Funk" is more of a tag-line for a certain style, a certain feel, a certain cool; it’s a melting pot of sounds and styles, "a badass playlist" as Pitchfork puts it, that all somehow come together to create a distinctive vibe, it’s “Country Funk”.

                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                    CD Info: CD with 24-page booklet with liner notes plus Jess Rotter’s illustrations.

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                    Cover of TOBE + Live At The Doubletree Inn by The Overton Berry Ensemble.

                    The Overton Berry Ensemble

                    TOBE + Live At The Doubletree Inn

                    Light In The Attic

                    Have you ever heard of Tukwila? Well, it's safe to say that if Light In The Attic wasn't located in Seattle, Washington, they might not have either. Just a short drive from the Emerald City it was once home to the now infamous Doubletree Inn. Despite its non-central location, the Doubletree was once the Pacific Northwest hotspot with line-ups around the block. The reason? The Overton Berry Trio, who ably filled the lounge with sounds of jazz, soul, and pop over clanking drinks and decadent dinners. While local music lovers, dedicated crate-diggers, and diehard funk heads will have heard of the classy pianist (often compared to his better-known peer, Ramsey Lewis), it's finally time to let the world in on this little secret.

                    At the dawn of the 1970s, Berry and company recorded two long player albums: The Overton Berry Trio "At Seattle's Doubletree Inn" (1970) and "TOBE" (1972). Both take the listener to a time long forgotten, a place where music engaged, invited dialogue, and struck chords deep in one's soul. In celebration of this still relevant sonic legacy, Light In The Attic Records releases the original "Doubletree Inn" and "TOBE" (The Overton Berry Ensemble) albums in a lovingly packaged double vinyl-only reissue. Prominently featured on Light In The Attic's Wheedle's Groove release, their transcendental interpretation of The Beatles' "Hey Jude" (from The Overton Berry Trio At Seattle's Doubletree Inn) is notorious amongst forward thinking DJs and record collectors the world-over. The "TOBE" album (especially the break-beat heavy "Jesus Christ Superstar") has also piqued the radar of many a tastemaker and original copies are virtually extinct and prohibitively priced when available in record dealer's crates or offered for sale on the web.

                    Now with lovingly remastered audio, extensive liner notes, and unpublished photos, this double LP set gives you both of the aforementioned rarities and the best of Overton Berry - that is, if you haven't had the good fortune of seeing the man play live. Still performing his trademark blend of standards, thoughtful interpretations, and original compositions weekly in-and-around Seattle, if you find yourself music hungry in the Pacific Northwest, you just might have a chance. Berry is still doing his thing with the utmost respect and dedication to his craft.

                    FORMAT INFORMATION

                    2xLP Info: Limited vinyl only reissue with re-mastered audio, hand numbered jacket, new notes and unseen photos. Includes download card featuring three previously unreleased live takes. 100o copies only.

                    2xLP includes MP3 Download Code.

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                    Cover of The Early Years 1964-65 by The Monks.

                    The Monks

                    The Early Years 1964-65

                    Light In The Attic

                    Today, 'garage', 'psych', and 'punk' are three overused words to say the least. They're dropped from every direction to brand, market, and sell, but looking back to the mid-1960s, there was only one group of musical mavericks that clearly defined them. The Monks were five beat playing American GIs stationed in Germany who, after their discharge, decided to stay and continue their musical mission. Meeting up with a team of local managers, they transformed themselves and their sound into a holy racket like the world had never known. This five-person order literally birthed the above genres through a fuzz-drenched evolution of sound, bursting with social commentary and future primitive rhythms. Krautrock? It started here. Do we hear non-believers? We are NOT making this up.

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                    Cover of Black Monk Time by The Monks.

                    The Monks

                    Black Monk Time

                    Light In The Attic

                    Today, 'garage', 'psych', and 'punk' are three overused words to say the least. They're dropped from every direction to brand, market, and sell, but looking back to the mid-1960s, there was only one group of musical mavericks that clearly defined them. They were five American ex-servicemen who met in post-war Germany, and they created the tightest, loudest, heaviest music ever put on record, then or now or ever, most likely. Created in 1966 and still sounding like the proto garage / punk record, you should own the album if for no other reason than to have the outer limits of rock n' roll at your disposal, ready to be played and gawked at.

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                    Cover of Directions To See A Ghost by The Black Angels.

                    The Black Angels

                    Directions To See A Ghost

                    Light In The Attic

                    Originally released in 2008.

                    Last time we met The Black Angels, they were staring into the desert sun somewhere outside of Austin, Texas. Two years later, night has fallen and the spirits have come out. It's time for The Black Angels to provide "Directions On How To See A Ghost". If you're familiar with "Passover", the band's 2006 debut, you'll know that The Black Angels's music alone is enough to invoke spirits. There's a name for the band's sound; they call it 'hypno-drone 'n roll'. It's the sound of long nights on peyote, of dreams of a new world order, and of half-invented memories of the seamy side of 60s psychedelia. While the Iraq war is still a major influence on the band's lyrics, there are new forces at work here, including Eugene Zamyatin's dystopian novel 'We' and – in Christian Bland's words – 'psychic information from the past and future.'

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                    Cover of Passover by The Black Angels.

                    The Black Angels

                    Passover

                    Light In The Attic

                    This is the sound of a bad mescaline trip in the searing heat of the desert. It's the sound of 60s psychedelia reinvented through post-millennial angst. It's dangerous, it's dark and it's Texas-sized in scope. It's "Passover", the debut album from Austin's The Black Angels, and the sound they describe as Native American Drone 'n' Roll. Built on rumbling drums, searing guitars and an ever-present droning organ, "Passover" is a stunning, raw debut that's keen to address the big issues of the day.

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                    Cover of They Say I'm Different - Light In The Attic Reissue by Betty Davis.

                    Betty Davis

                    They Say I'm Different - Light In The Attic Reissue

                    Light In The Attic

                      One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing musical magic of Outkast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or even the early Red Hot Chili Peppers without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Her style of raw and revelatory punk-funk defies any notions that women can’t be visionaries in the worlds of rock and pop. In recent years, rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music.

                      There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: she was a woman ahead of her time. In our contemporary moment, this may not be as self-evident as it was thirty years ago – we live in an age that’s been profoundly changed by flamboyant flaunting of female sexuality: from Parlet to Madonna, Lil Kim to Kelis. Yet, back in 1973 when Betty Davis first showed up in her silver go-go boots, dazzling smile and towering Afro, who could you possibly have compared her to? Marva Whitney had the voice but not the independence. Labelle wouldn’t get sexy with their “Lady Marmalade” for another year while Millie Jackson wasn’t Feelin’ Bitchy until 1977. Even Tina Turner, the most obvious predecessor to Betty’s fierce style wasn’t completely out of Ike’s shadow until later in the decade.

                      Ms. Davis’s unique story, still sadly mostly unknown, is unlike any other in popular music. Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late ’60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock, and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix - personally inspiring the classic album 'Bitches Brew'.

                      But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first, but the young woman penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal, which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything. Heading to the UK, Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. A common thread throughout Betty’s career would be her unbending Do-It-Yourself ethic, which made her quickly turn down anyone who didn’t fit with the vision. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.

                      Her 1974 sophomore album 'They Say I’m Different' features a worthy-of-framing futuristic cover challenging David Bowie’s science fiction funk with real rocking soul-fire, kicked off with the savagely sexual “Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him” (later sampled by Ice Cube). Her follow up is full of classic cuts like “Don’t Call Her No Tramp” and the hilarious, hard, deep funk of “He Was A Big Freak.”

                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                      CD Info: Deluxe CD reissue in digi-pack sleeve. Includes four previously unreleased tracks and 32 page full colour booklet.

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                      [ - ]
                      Cover of Wheedle's Groove - Seattle's Finest Funk & Soul 1965 - 1975 by Various Artists.

                      Various Artists

                      Wheedle's Groove - Seattle's Finest Funk & Soul 1965 - 1975

                      Light In The Attic

                      Taking their title from an Annakonda's 45 (Wheedle was the mascot of Seattle's SuperSonics basketball team), Light In The Attic bring us 21 brilliant tracks of funk and soul from the Emerald City, including 18 original 60s / 70s grooves, and three 00s cuts inspired by them. DJ Mr Supreme searches out the rarities that vied for the attentions of KYAC Soul Radio, including original compositions and cover versions of "Hey Jude", "Cissy Strut", "Louie Louie" etc. With band names like The Ovetton Berry Trio, Black And White Affair, The Clarence Mack Express, Cold, Bold & Together and Cookin' Bag, you know you're in for a treat!

                      FORMAT INFORMATION

                      CD Info: In true LITA style, you get an informative full colour booklet with photos, gig posters and a blurb about each act included.

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