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Saturday, November 12, 2011

One St. Stephen - One St. Stephen (1975 us, heavy acid psych blended with various influences)



Another private pressing, this time one that first saw the light of day on the Owl label in 1975. This is an album which is generally regarded as one of the finest heavy acid psych albums of its time.

One reviewer described it thus: 'Side 1 opens and closes with extended, awesome moody psychers which will blow you away. Poe, heroin and Jim Morrison all help shape the One St. Stephen outlook, which results in one of the more distinct late autumnal moods [ever] manifested on vinyl. Good vocals, some howling fuzz and occasional use of Moog in typical '70s acidhead fashion'.

Don L. Patterson wrote the music and lyrics, was lead vocalist, played electric guitars, directed and produced the album 'One St. Stephen' in March of 1975. The music was originally intended for a film Don was developing with the working title 'The Devil's Reservation'. Due to a famous Jazz musician with the same name, Don used the alias of One St. Stephen.

The music was recorded at the legendary Owl Studios (Columbus, Ohio), using the same 8-channel analog recording deck that was used to tape the audio at Woodstock in 1969. Because everyone who heard the LP wanted a copy, Don pressed a very limited amount from Queen City Record Company (Cincinnati Ohio). He also designed the album sleeve and label. The response by regional disc jockeys was phenomenal.

The album got a lot of regional air play. A few months later, Don was offered a recording contract from two major record companies in New York City. Don was asked to tour. Don was never interested in the world of rock and walked away from a music future. Since then the album has been sought by record collectors around the world and bootlegged twice in Europe.

One St Stephen has been issued on CD before (on an unknown Austrian label in the '90s), but that particular version erroneously included 2 tracks by a completely different band (St Steven, from Boston), so this is the first time that this highly-regarded album has appeared in its original form.


Tracks
1.November Edgar - 7:32
2.November - 2:37
3.You May Be Religous - 2:19
4.Nightly Drift - 6:03
5.Old Man - 2:14
6.Junkie's Lament - 2:01
7.Twelth St. Shuffle (Don L. Patterson - Bill Blechschmid) - 3:26
8.Richer You Get - 3:01
9.Dash In The Rocks - 4:41
All songs by Don L. Patterson, except where noted.

One St. Stephen
*One St. Stephens (aka Don L. Patterson) - Vocals, Guitar
*Bill Blechschmid
*Terry Finneran
*Danny Lawson
*David Pierce
*Franklin Reynolds
*Bruce Roberts
*Charles Squires

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17 comments:

  1. oldfuzzface says"thanks for sharing this "heaviness"I was wondering if you have the second White Lace and Strange album called The Room of Loud Sounds.If you posted it,that would be great,and if you didn't that would be fine too because you share such great stuff.Thanks for all you do Marios.We appreciate all that you do.

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  2. Patterson to finish the project and finance a limited pressing (reportedly some 2,000 copies) for friends and acquaintances. Patterson's subsequently claimed that he made his money back within three months, lots of reference works draw comparisons between Patterson and Jim Morrison and the Doors. Unfortunately, if you're looking for The Doors, "One St. Stephen" probably won't do much for you. True, on a couple of tracks ("November" and "Nightly Drift"). Patterson's mannered vocals bore a mild comparison to Morrison, but that was pretty much where the comparison stopped. Exemplified by original material such as "November Edgar", "Without You" and "In Your Mind" most of the album had a fairly mainstream rock sound. Blessed with an attractive and versatile voice (check out the second side where he displays his versatility), Patterson also proved an impressive guitarist and synth player. Personal favorites, the proto-punkish "You Maybe Religious" and the psych-influenced ballad "Silver Children". Unlike many rarities, this one clearly lives up to the hype (though you may not want to shell out $600-$700 for an original copy)
    Mariaos, thanks for CD the edition

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  3. Πολλά ευχαριστώ Μάριε για την αναβαθμισμένη έκδοση!!!!

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  4. Hi Marios, is this the same version as the one posted on phrock a while ago? This is a very good album indeed, highly recommendable.

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  5. Very good guitar playing on this album.
    Thanks for presenting it.

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  6. Many thanks for this Marios! These guys probably would have had more success with this album had they released it in '70. It doesn't matter matter to me though - love this kind of stuff!

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  7. Thank you for the reup Marios. This album is one of the best discoveries of the year.

    Cheers,
    Pietro

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  8. One of the finest album of all time
    Thanks Rockasteria!

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  9. I'm getting late on this one but I am not disappointed,fabulous stuff with these guys,great voice and guitars.A must have.Thanks for the discovery.

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  10. Hi Marious ......just been reading about this album......is there any chance of re-upping the mp3 files for this album please ?......many thanks Stu.

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  11. Stu, "One St. Stephen" ...reposted

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  12. Many thanks for that Marios.....you are a diamond.

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