Biography
: Released in a limited batch of 99 in 1970, A to Austr's one-off
masterwork Musics from Holyground takes the psych-pop aesthetic to an
entirely new level. A behemoth (and fun) journey through psychedelia,
Musics from Holyground touches on everything from psych-pop and eastern
influenced folk to pub ready saxophone jams and vaudevillian break
downs, with a ton of other sounds I have no business describing thrown
in the mix. The Penguin Guide to Rare Records calls A to Austr's only
record "the most sacred UK LP there is," which sort of makes sense
considering only 99 folks in the world have an original copy, and it
wasn't given the reissue treatment until 1989. Apparently the initial
goal was "to write about King Arthur who lies sleeping with his knights
of the Round Table until England needs him." This was news to me, as the
record in no way, shape or form feels like a treaty on Renaissance
knights, rather an exploration of an entire genre, gleaming back and
forth from the nuanced psych pop of "Birds" to "Hawaiian War Chant"
(which sounds exactly like its title suggests) to "It's Alright", which
is basically the Incredible String Band-Love-Zombies collaboration I've
been dreaming about for years. I could go on and on about this record,
but it wouldn't do any good, mostly because its impossible to describe.
Even after listening to it about twenty five times over the past six
months, I still have trouble wrapping my head around it, as if its not
supposed to be chewed on, merely experienced, over and over again, sort
of like life (and psychedelic experiences in general). If this spiked
your interest, even just a little bit, I highly recommend heading over
to Holy Ground's website and peeping their extremely thorough and
insightful history of the recording session, the album itself, and its
little known legacy.
Tracklist:
01.Bird 2:45
02.Judy 2:16
03.Mini 2:51
04.Prelude To Change For Arthur 0:10
05.Thumbquake & Earthscrew 2:47
06.Change For Arthur 0:39
07.Between The Road 2:30
08.Hawaiian War Chant 1:12
09.It's Alright 6:45
10.Reprise Of Part Of Bird 0:20
11.Essex Queen (She Dances) 3:08
12.D Minor Minuet 1:01
13.A Curse On You 3:18
14.What Did You Go 7:56
15.Grail Search 4:28
16.Essex Queen (First Version) 2:46
17.Grail Search (First Version) 3:36
18.Judy (Fragment Of First Version) 0:48
19.It's Alright (Later Version, Remixed) 6:42
20.Aren't You Glad You Stayed (Early Vocal Version) 3:59
Line-up:
Brian Calvert - lead guitar, vocals, guitar, lute, horn, trombone
Chris Coombs - lead guitar, vocals, guitar, piano, organ, glockenspiel, horn, percussion
Brian Wilson (aka Pete Taylor) - bass, vocals, guitar, organ, mandolin, harp, clarinet
Ted Hepworth - drums
Mike Levon - triangle, effects, electronics
and:
Bill Nelson - guitar, hawaiian guitar
Mike Gould - trumpet
John Perfect - tenor sax
Lyn Cavell - alto sax
George Mabon - flute
Gill Green - cello
Al Green - organ
Dave Wood - goüd
Yvonne Carrodus - vocals, triangle
Denise Calvert - vocal, piano, harpsichord
Gill Maudsley - spoken vocal
Cath Wood - raspberry saw
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