Mad River - "A Gazelle" & "Orange Fire", 1967 Berkeley 33rpm EP, rare
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- Опубліковано 4 жов 2024
- Mad River came together in Ohio and relocated to Berkeley in order to become part of the emerging countercultural music scene. Their unique sound resulted in a privately-produced 7" EP, which was distributed mostly in stores along Telegraph Ave, near the UCBerkeley campus. However, a small number apparently made their way out of state, because I auditioned and bought this only copy in the rack, at a small underground record store in Greenwich Village, NYC, in September 1967. In 1995, a CD was released with material from 4 EP's which had been privately released by local groups in the Berkeley music scene during the '66-'67 time period, among them Mad River and Country Joe and the Fish.
The CD is findable, I scored mine in 2007 via an Amazon dealer.
CD info:
"The Berkeley EPs - Nuggets From The Golden State"
Big Beat Records, London, 1995
CDWIKD 153
The group went on to record two LPs on Capitol, but they were not big sellers. CDs are available as well.
The songs on this EP were re-recorded for the LP albums, and don't have the spontaneous feel and energy as the versions on this EP, IMO. The first track here is labeled "A Gazelle"; on the LP, it was called "Amphetamine Gazelle". The musicianship on this track is amazing, and the guitar work is as good as any of the Bay Area groups that were successful at the time. "Orange Fire" is a scathing commentary on the then-current Viet Nam war, and expressed the sentiments of many of their contemporaries.
The side-B song, "Windchimes", will be posted at a future time.
Record sound quality was poor, mostly due to low-quality of the pressings, resulting in surface noise being almost as loud as the music in the quieter tracks. Advanced editing tools were required to make this recording more presentable.
To be listened to in the spirit in which it was made - enjoy!
These are great! Even better than the album takes.
Orange Fire is a killer song!
I saw these guys in Vancouver at the 'Retinal Circus'...the drummer had feathers, beads and sticks hanging from his drums...David Robinson has inspired me ever snce...they played the most amazing impossible music...legend has it their 'big break' was when they got to warm up on the grateful dead's pa system
12 yrs late to the party here 😥 in 1970 (age 10 and learning guitar fast) Mom and I were in a record store and I saw Mad River's 1st LP. the cover so freaked me I had to sneak back days later and buy it . terryifying, life changing music to a wee lad but I spin this album to this day, this band haunts me . I've NEVER heard a more passionate blues than "Eastern Light"... it's still OMG to me
Wow that's a completely different version from the Lp!!! I like the vocals on this one.
thanks for posting this. Far out.
just sorry i never got a chance to see these spacey lunatics- sure made some great acid rock- and the second release on capitol had some sweet pedal steel guitar - i believe their drummer later joined country joe/fish and i have the solo record by laurence hammond on takoma label- loved this A Gazelle - for vinyl- sounds real nice
@Steelyking6725 Yes, this is the EP which came out before the Capitol albums were recorded. Their performance here totally eclipses the album takes. They were one hot band.
oh yeah...you can their two albums on one cd at most web sites (the one named after a big river in brazil!)
SO KILLER
I was lucky to find singer Laurence Hammond's 2 country CDs ... "Coyote's Dream" and "Presumed Lost". I cherish them
Great band,sounded a lot like like Quicksilver and the Grape.
And Also-Thin White Rope!
I have often recommended on other posts to people claiming that this band or that is psychedelic, when they are mostly bands that used the word and came along for the ride. Mad River is a great example of a great "unknown." I don't necessarily agree that this version of A Gazelle is the better one, just a different take. They sound much more like Jefferson Airplane on this one. The album intro is strangely comic. Between Orange Fire and War Goes On, I have to choose War Goes On. Thx 4 upld
Outsanding -- and a major holy shit for 'Orange Fire' - first time I've heard it since, well, THEN. The arguments about studio vs. demo...for cryin' out loud, it's great to have both, consider yourself lucky. I've spent decades in cutout stores and vinyl graveyards looking for this stuff and I find it here, for free, by the grace of a fellow fan. My thanks to you for posting this. Get a grip guys, it's a big universe and there's a lot of room what you like and...the crap you don't.
Clear Light is also a great band similar to these guys- if you do not know them- u need to- soon- only one album on Electra- with really nice sounding drumming- Electra was a great label- did the early doors stuff- and for vinyl- sound really kicks- maximizes the double drumming on the l.p. - guess the only thing left to do is light up- hey man !!!!
Is the L. Hewitt listed as the producer on the EP Lonnie Hewitt? If so, I think Lonnie Hewitt was an R&B singer from Oakland who also founded Wee Records. There's a rare garage band single on that label with Denise Kaufman of Ace of Cups, I think.
You're absolutely welcome! I'll be posting the flip side "Windchimes" in the future. There's a hell of a lot of effort that goes into restoring this vinyl, especially this badly printed record, and Windchimes is 7 minutes of mostly-quiet, very moody and melodic music, so it's gonna take some time. Stay tuned!
i really liked the craziness on the second song orange fire - i was listening just still i couldnt believe what i was hearing. great thanks for posting
great memories!
wow always wanted to hear this,thanks for showing us the cover & disk too
I agree. That's why I posted this version. Enjoy!
@deaddoc You're welcome, and thanks for the engaging comment!
Speaking of "unknown" bands I highly recommend Dirty Filthy Mud, from Berkeley,Cal, 1967, whose "Forest of Black" and "Morning Sunflower" are two of my favorites
great to share this very obscure EP I had heard in various psyché reviews.
I see that you have another cartridge.looks like a moving coil Denon . Did you try it for the EP ?
Had a Denon, and the chanel separation and high frequency tone are better than with moving magnets.
Check out my channel for a recent video from Clear Light.
I saw these guys in Vancouver at the 'Retinal Circus'...the drummer had feathers, beads and sticks hanging from his drums...David Robinson has inspired me ever snce...they played the most amazing impossible music...legend has it their 'big break' was when they got to warm up on the grateful dead's pa system