LOVECRAFT / H.P. LOVECRAFT II

A great revival to psychedelia's past!

This was a very historic release, as it provided a much sought after option to hear some of the best psychedelic music to come out of the sixties. Ever since the individual albums "H.P. Lovecraft" and "H.P. Lovecraft II" went out of print and became tough to find, people seeking the true psych-folk experience of the late sixties missed these two groundbreaking releases. Now, thanks to Britonic, 1997 saw the re-release of the first two albums released by this amazing band. This is a very easy compilation to obtain, much easier than trying to track down the two original albums somewhere n the internet. Also, with the inclusion of two bonus tracks from the recording session, this becomes an essential package for anybody seeking the natural sounds of the sixties.

4 stars, undoubtedly a great addition to any collection, progressive or not!

When most people think about psychedelic rock from the sixties, it's a pretty good bet that H. P. Lovecraft is not one of the first names they come up with. Despite having a relatively successful couple of years, and two pretty solid albums, the band has largely been forgotten in the annals of rock history. That's a shame because, although their records don't exactly qualify as lost masterpieces, there is a lot to enjoy in their music. Luckily, those of us who wish to seek it out, can pick up this two-fer (can you tell I like these?) containing both of their studio records and a couple of singles.

The style of the band is basically psychedelic folk, but with a more complex instrumental palette than other similar groups. Rather than the standard folk dominated by acoustic guitars, H. P. Lovecraft employ many orchestral instruments as well as organ, piano and harpsichord. The sound is, however, not nearly so dark as their name implies. In fact many of the songs are (unfortunately) rather standard interpretations of popular folk songs. I find these a bit tedious, and the insipid peace-and-love lyrics of these hippies drives me nuts, but that's not the whole story.

Where the band really shine is on their original compositions, most notably the six and a half minute "The White Ship." The atmosphere of this track is one of mystical gloom, with french horns and ships bells droning on somberly. It's a really nice mood piece and the vocal harmonies are quite lovely. There's also an a capella rendition of the Gloria Patria prayer at the ned of the album which is pretty cool. Finally, the faux-twenties pastiche "Time Machine" is usually derided, but I find it quite fun, although strangely out of place on the record.

Thankfully, the second album shows the band in a more adventurous mood. After wading through a bit of folk nonsense at the beginning, we are treated to some real psychedelia. "Ellectrolentando," "At The Mountains of Madness," and "Mobius Trip" deliver a three-in-a-row punch of trippy atmospherics and gloomy dirges. There's also a forty second sound collage/recitation called "Nothing's Boy" that reminds me a lot of "In The Beginning" from the Moody Blues' "On The Threshold of a Dream." Actually, this group could be compared to the Moodies in a lot of ways, now that I think of it.

Folk is not a style of music that it is very easy for me to enjoy, and I find a lot of it dated and silly. Nevertheless, H. P. Lovecraft's expansion of the genre with inventive arrangements and progressive song structures is worth hearing, whether you are a fan of the genre or simply interested in the history of Psychedelia and Progressive rock.

When I was young I had a poster. It was the poster of a concert of Pink Floyd, Captain Beefheart and H.P. Lovecraft. Being a fan of the writer I've always been curious about this band, too early for me to hear them on vinyl, so about two years ago I have found this compilation as nice price in a supermarket (incredible, isn't it?) and this is still all I have of this band.

I was expecting something more "horrorific" than this early psychedelia, but I like psych so I'm not disappointed at all. In terms of horrorific music, I think that Arzachel's Azatoth and mainly Shub Niggurath's "Yog Sototh" are more in line with the novels and the characters of the Providence's night owl.

The presence of a brass section is the link to the American R&B of the 60s. "Wayfaring Stranger" is enough to understand where we are. This song has an early psychedelic flavor deeply dated in its time and a bit of Grateful Dead influence.

I''ve been surprised by "Let's Get Together" because it's a song I already knew without knowing who the author was. The flute was an unusual instrument but it's not used in a very "progressive" way as Moody Blues started doing followed by Jethro Tull.

"I've Been Wrong Before" is the first song which deserves the attribute of proto-prog. It's possible that Roger Waters has been influenced by this song for Julia Dream. Or possibly it's just the flute which is very similar.

The following song "The Drifter" it's a typical west coast psych song with the brasses adding a touch of R&B. The bass line and the keyboard, however are remarkable. The first reminds to Pink Floyd again: a line that seems taken from a spy movie like on Lucifer Sam and a keyboard with a vibrato which sounds like Rick Wright on The Piper.

"That's The Bag I'm in" is a psych song less than two minutes long. Not bad.

"The White Ship" is another highlight. When a band of this kind writes a song longer than 3 minutes, and this scores above six, they have surely something interesting to put into it. Basing on this track only we may think to a full prog category. It's a song that could stay on the Renaissance's debut album. Between Yardbirds and prog folk with the keyboard playing a bolero tempo like the "It's A beautiful Day" on "Salaam Bombay".

"Country Boy and Bleeker Street" has a bit of funk and a very good guitar plus a very acid keyboard. Nice song between Jerry Garcia and the Doobie Brothers.

"The Time Machine" is a kind of a joke. A piano ragtime with the voice filtered by a megaphone which becomes a swing in New Orleans style. Arlo Guthrie was a master with this kind of things.

Another full prog song: "That's How Much I Love You Baby". A jazzy thing full of blues on which the band plays an excellent vocal performance. The guitar is as clean as a jazz guitar should be.

A short "gregorian chant" for 30 seconds, then "Spin Spin Spin". This is another song which would deserve a full prog category: prog folk. If anybody knows the very unfortunate band "Chimera", this song reminds to me the excellent works of Lisa Bankoff and Francesca Garnett but also Linda Perhacs. A pity the piano coda faded out.

"It's About Time" is another (relatively) long song of over 5 minutes. An acid song with semi- operatic vocals. I mean that it could stay in a musical soundtrack, I think to Hair. However it has the first very "psychedelic as we know it" instrumental part. In case Pink Floyd will decide to reunite, this Dave Michaels could be a perfect replacement for our beloved Rick Wright.

"Blue Jack Of Diamonds" is another excellent acid folk song. This second album is surely of more interest for proggers. Also the following "Electrollentando" deserves a mention. Somebody can call me mad, but this sounds quite Krautrock to me.

The first real reference to the writer to whom the band is inspired comes with "At The Mountains of Madness" that's also the title of one of the HPL novels. Effectively the high pitched organ and the discordant sounds give the idea. Loops, reversed tapes, this song is not at the level of the Arzachel's Azatoth but is good enough.

"Moebius Trip" is another good early psych song made of acoustic guitar and choir supported by a piano. Son of its times.

"High Flying Bird" has a different instrumentation but looks like the follow-up to the previous song. I'm imagining how Chappo Chapman's voice could have sounded with this band. They are not much far from Family in this second album of the compilation.

45 seconds of psych in Hawkwind style: a bass voice repeats zero while a narrator speaks about "Nothing's Boy".

"Keeper Of The Keys" is another title referring to HPL (the writer) and the song reminds to the Family more than anything else on this compilation.

Two bonus tracks complete the compilation: "Anyway That You Want Me" and "It's All Over For You". Listening to those two songs I have the impression that they may have been a single published before the two albums. The first is a song of a kind the 60s were full of. The second could be early Rolling Stones or the Animals (in particular their cover of Bob Dylan's "It's all over now Baby Blue").

Some songs are very good, but even with some songs which could seem seminal I think this compilation fits well in the "good but non essential" definition, but if you like the genre it's an album which can deserve some bucks with no regrets. I have personally enjoyed it a lot.

This review is for the CD containing the first two albums. I give it 4 stars for prog-loving fans of H. P. Lovecraft's Dream Cycle stories, the rating would be lower if you were expecting something else!

When I first encountered the band, I was already a long-time fan of the author H. P. Lovecraft. I think i was lucky that I was already my early-30s when I discovered the band. I knew not to get my hopes up! So, going in cautiously, I was able to learn to love these two albums and this band. As mentioned in another review, don't expect the Cthulhu Mythos-aspect ' the main song from the first album with a direct Lovecraft connection is 'The White Ship' which is from his 'Dream Cycle,' a different set of stories that are more fantasy than horror oriented. Don't despair though, it's a great song, and the stories are great too.

The organ sound dates the recordings somewhat ' these albums are definitely from 1967-1968! Overall the sound is folk rock meets psychedelia. The vocal sound reminds me of Jefferson Airplane - some of the vocals seem melodramatic at first, but stick with it, realizing that vocalist Dave Michaels had a classical background, and the combination of Michaels and George Edwards is actually pretty magical. There are definitely a nice range of songs, from uptempo stuff like The Drifter and The Bag I'm In to ballads like That's How Much I Love You (More or Less), along with weirder stuff like Mobius Trip and Keeper of the Keys.

The song High Flying Bird is interesting ' it's got a nice medium tempo groove. Is the bird of the title a reference to the bird of fate in the story 'The White Ship?' I guess I'll have to listen to the lyrics more! But that's part of the fun of this band ' chasing down the references in my Lovecraft collection! I have read and re-read all of his stories ever since I discovered him at the age of 12. Thirty-five years later I find myself going back to HPL less and less, so it was nice to dig in to these albums again which led me to dig in to the stories again. For me this collection is worth it because you get The White Ship (best song on the first album) and At The Mountains Of Madness from the second - everything else is icing on the cake, and delicious icing it is!