Freeborne - Peak Impressions 1969

The Freeborne - Peak Impressions 1967 size: 81.9 mb bitrate: 320 Personnel: NICK CARSTOIU gtr, keyb'ds, vcls, recorder, cello A DAVE CODD recorder, harp, perc, vcls, bs A LEW LIPSON drms, perc A BOB MARGOLIN ld gtr A MIKE SPIROS keyb'ds, chimes, trumpet, perc A ALBUM: 1(A) PEAK IMPRESSIONS (Monitor MPS 607) 1967 NB: (1) has been counterfeited at least twice on vinyl in the eighties and nineties. It has also issued on CD by Afterglow in 1995, but with one track either edited or missing. More recently the album has been reissued again on CD by Distortions (DR 1041) 1998, this time with three bonus cuts! 45: 1 .Land of Diana/Images (Monitor 45-1806) 1967 A Boston group whose sole album, recorded at CBS Studios in New York, is excellent - full of the acid imagery which typified the Bosstown sound in 1968. Almost every track is of interest. For example Land Of Diana has a compelling organ intro, Visions Of My Own some fine woodwind instrumentation and Inside People unusual fuzztone vocals and pleasing keyboards. In 1997, an alternate 45 mono mix of Land of Diana surfaced on Erik Lindgren's excellent A Heavy Dose Of Lyte Psych (CD), and in 1998 Distortions reissued Peak Impressions on CD together with three bonus cuts: the mono 45 version of Images, an alternate stereo mix of Land Of Diana, and Incidental Music - twenty-odd seconds worth of spacey keyboard noodlings. In the mid-'70s, Bob Margolin became a member of Muddy Waters' band and he later played with the Johnny Winter Group. He is still touring and recording Chicago Blues albums. Nick Carstoiu too remains active in the music scene. In 1978, Mike Spiros released, as "Mic Spiros and the ITMB (Incredible Two Man Band)", a rare album of atmospheric prog rock based on keyboards and synthesizers. [IMG]http://img371.imageshack.us/img371/4883/small3jt.jpg[/IMG] Track listing 1. Images 2. Land Of Diana 3. Visions Of My Own 4. Sadly Acknowledged 5. Peak Impressions & Thoughts 6. Yellow Sky 7. Hurtin' Kind Of Woman 8. Inside People 9. A New Song For Orestes 10. But I Must Return To Frenzy SOME REVIEWS: Track List: Images, Land of Diana, Visions Of My Own, Sadly Acknowledged, Peak Impressions & Thoughts, Yellow Sky, Hurting Kind Of Woman, Inside People, Song For Orestes, But I Must Return To Frenzy. Review: This is probably one of my favourite albums to come out of the Boston area during the 1960?s. It is certainly one of the trippiest and it comes complete with more complex imagery and twists than a Hitchcock plot. The album opens with the jazzy piano sounds of ?Images? which beaks into a superb Flamenco/Latin sounding solo in the middle of the song one almost expects to hear an ?Ole? shouted at the end. ?Land of Diana? swims and dances its way through your head. A very psychedelic song that climaxes into an astonishing organ and guitar freak-out whilst the final seconds of the song ends with a 1920?s style acapella do-wop. Truly bizarre but nevertheless it is highly entertaining and makes for a great finish. ?Visions Of My Own? is a beautiful song that superbly marries a medieval sounding harpsichord and recorder with the marching sound of a militaristic drum roll. One can almost see (hallucinate) a psychedelic court jester in full regalia dancing merrily for his King in the Palace forecourt. ?Sadly Acknowledged? is a short ditty about war?although written during the Vietnam War, the lyrics and orchestral background conjures up images of WW1 infantryman lining up to die in the trenches outside of Ypres town. Side One closes with the hallucinatory ?Peak Impressions & Thoughts?. This has to be one of the greatest songs about an LSD trip ever captured on tape. At times it is reminiscent of ?Grace? by CJ & the Fish, but its brain plucking guitar notes and adrenalin rushing climatic build-up make it much more spooky and ethereal than CJ & the Fish ever were. Marvellous stuff but I?m not sure if it?s a good trip?or a bad one. In my opinion, side two pales in comparison to the brilliance of side one, however there is still some interesting and worthwhile musical explorations going on. ?Yellow Sky? has a nice twisty, spinning feel with some great wah-wah guitar. The jazzy blues of ?Hurting Kind of Woman? has a moody atmosphere that makes you feel as if you are sitting in a dark, smoky bar. ?Inside People? has a pretty cool fuzz tone effect on the vocals making the song very druggy indeed. The album then closes with possibly its two weakest tracks (for me). ?Song for Orestes? and ?But I Must Return to Frenzy?. It?s not that these songs are bad, they just are not up the same standard of the previous tracks. This is certainly an essential recording for any psych collector and due to its extravagant and unusual musical accompaniment it makes for a unique listening experience. I can?t fathom that this album could have been recorded in any other decade than the late 60?s. (Reviewed by BlueMagoo - November 2002 - pOoTer's pSycheDelic shAcK Bands - F - http://www.pooterland.com/index2/bandsmenu/bands_f/bands_f.html) Freeborne ? Peak Impressions Originally released: 1967 Track listing: Images, Land of Diana, Visions Of My Own, Sadly Acknowledged, Peak Impressions & Thoughts, Yellow Sky, Hurtin' Kind Of Woman, Inside People, A New Song For Orestes, But I Must Return To Frenzy Review: I'll not beat around the bush where this, the sole album release from The Freeborne is concerned. Alongside the Cold Sun's "Dark Shadows", Notorious Byrd Brothers and the Golden Dawn's "Power Plant" album I'd rate this as one of the finest US 60's psychedelic album release I have heard to date. This Boston act sculpted one of the most original, ambitious and psychedelic releases of the era. What is unusual about the album for a 1967 release is the depth to which the band explore psychedelic textures with instruments other than lead guitar and organ. This is illustrated perfectly by the stunning opener "Images" with its consecutive piano and trumpet solos, and not least the beautiful interplay of piano and lead guitar throughout the track. The next track "Land Of Diana" maintains the high level of innovation with a beautiful jazz guitar and keyboard figure that forms a drifting backbone for the track that is punctuated by washes of in-and-out of focus vocals mixed with chimes and tolling bells. The surreal atmosphere of the track is then concluded with a few very unexpected bars of Scat. "Sadly Acknowledged", shares a similar spirit to the Byrds' "Draft Morning" in that it mixes an angelic, almost resigned vocal with military imagery as a chilling reminder of the horrors of war. "Peak Impressions And Thoughts" is undoubtedly the albums centerpiece, a swirl of cymbals, organ and Nick Carstoiu's drifting vocals. The closest comparison to this track would be the most psychedelic tracks from Country Joe and The Fish's "Electric Music For The Mind And Body" such as "Section 43" and "Bass Strings". Another favourite track of mine is lead guitarist Bob Margolin's blues number "Hurtin' Kind Of Woman" that is only matched by "Time Of The Season" for cool delivery. I could wax lyrical about the merits of each and everyone of the tracks on this album but I'd only be delaying you further in acquiring this masterpiece. If you don't already own this album, hunt it down today. This is one of the very few albums really deserving of the old "lost psychedelic classic" tag. (17/9/03) Rating: 5 (from American 60's and 70's psychedelic albums - http://homepages.tesco.net/~beautiful.day/American%2060's%20and%2070's%20psychedelic%20albums%20E-F.htm)

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Ozz (2006-03-20)

Reseed please!

nebulax (2008-10-22)

Reseed for me too, please!