LILY & MARIA

Noticed by the talent executives from Columbia Records, LILY AND MARIA entrered the studios with session players who played with Bob Dylan. It seems the girls had hit the big time as they released their debut self-titled release in 1968, both at the tender age of 21! The album itself featured nine tracks at about 34 minutes of playing time and in addition to the two girls' vocal and guitar contributions was a low-key orchestral backing that included eleven session musicians which added all kinds of guitar sounds, organ, vibraphone, piano, strings, flute, clarinet, bass and drums.

The album is most a slow burner with soothing vocal narrations backed up primarily by soft acoustic guitar strumming and subtle orchestral elements that created a truly 60s psychedelic experience. The album was dreamier than the usual politically charged folk music of the 60s. You have to remember these were the days when Bob Dylan and Phil Ochs were the hottest thing since sliced bread as well as NYC's top folkies Simon & Garfunkel adding chamber pop elements to craft super catchy crossover hits. LILY AND MARIA delivered strange off-kilter melodies that are now referred to as psychedelic or progressive folk music and while the music captured interesting melodies in their own right, they weren't the kind of slick pop ear worms that most fans were eating up during this decade.

While it's not exactly known why LILY AND MARIA's sole release failed to make an impact and garner any interest, it's been speculated that Columbia didn't promote the album and that the heavier acid rock and psychedelic rock bands like The Doors were usurping any dominance of the folk music that had its primary revival in the early 60s before the British Invasion made rock and roll cool again. Whatever the case this album remains a relative obscurity despite being released on a major label however the album has seen a renewed interest in the 2000s as all things prog and psychedelic from the 60s and 70s have become popular again therefore the album has been reissued several times on the Sunbeam label which focuses on all those long lost psychedelic and folky relics of the past.

The closest thing i can compare LILY AND MARIA to would be Linda Perhacs' 1970 release "Paralellograms" but while that album spiraled further into the farthest trips that folk music can take, LILY AND MARIA remained a rather intimate sounding duo focused on the earnest and contemplative lyrical perspectives that offers subtle yet distinct folk guitar chord progressions as well as delivering an interesting background of various supplemental sounds. In the vein of the California duo Kathy & Carol only tailor made for the late 1960s psychedelia scene. While more or less a contemporary folk duo with psychedelic accoutrements agglutinated to the musical flow during the production process, what makes this album unique is the depth and enigmatic themes that show a maturity level of two 21 year olds beyond their years. LILY AND MARIA is a unique obscurity from 1968 that sounds more relevant today than it must've nearly 60 years ago.

- Ismenê-Jasmine : 1. "Subway Thoughts" (1:39) solo notes from a guitar's bass strings precedes a gap before the airy voice of one of the duo enters, practically a cappella, before spaciously picked acoustic guitar joins in as sole accompanist. (4.425/5)

2. "Everybody Knows" (4:35) beautiful dual vocals throughout. Lily and Marie are so perfectly attuned to one another that their timing is impeccable. The shifts and turns within the course of this four-and-a-half minute song are amazing, wonderful, and totally unexpected/unpredictable. (9.333/10)

3. "I Was" (4:01) incredibly intimate vocal with acoustic guitar and intermittent influxes of clarinet and strings. Amazing! (10/10)

4. "Ismene - Jasmine" (1:46) chamber strings instrumental supporting picked acoustic guitar before everybody backs off for Mellotron-sounding organ to solo. Guitar and others rejoin. (4.5/5)

5. "There'll Be No Clowns Tonight" (6:43) (8.75/10)

- Scatterings : 6. "Aftermath" (3:21) sounds like a standard 1960s folk duet over acoustic guitar. The vocal complexity skyrockets with the more upbeat chorus--amazing harmonizing. Things smooth out again for the second verse and then ramp up again for the next chorus. (8.875/10)

7. "Morning Glory Morning" (3:15) another gentle masterpiece similar to "I Was". Guitar chord progression is familiar but the lilting flute play in the background is so sumptuous. (9.75/10)

8. "Melt Me" (5:27) opens so gently but then bursts forth with such power and emotion! Similar to some Jefferson Airplane & Grace Slick but really something unique--the likes I haven't experienced since Edith Piaf, Marianne Faithfull, or Anne Pigalle. And such an unusual and interesting yet-subtly-sophisticated song construction/arrangement. (10/10)

9. "Fourteen After One" (3:22) classical organ opens as bass and gently picked acoustic guitars join in before one of the vocalists begins singing. The second vocalist enters later singing as if her own song (in a style imitative of one that Simon & Garfunkle occasioned). Beautifully rendered if not quite my cup of tea (too dependent on the lyrics/words). (8.75/10)

Total time 34:09

A/five stars; a masterpiece of early rock-influenced Prog Folk music and definitely an essential addition to any Prog lover's music collection--especially if one is interested in the history and significant developments within the folk side of progressive rock music movement. Simply put: this is an album that one must hear--as well as one that continues to reveal more and more surprises and delights with repeated listens.

it is not my habit to go into discussing the music in detail in my reviews, and I certainly won't start here. just listen and enjoy. but this album is one of my absolute favorites and deserves 5 stars, which I gladly give so more people will listen to this wonderful little gem